Battalion Editorials
Page 2 THE BATTALION
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 15, 1955
A New Philosophy
“This year’s going to be different.”
No, we’re not talking about the old Aggie
football refrain. For that, each year (and
next year) is going to be different. We’re
just leading into the fact that this editorial
is going' to be different.
For years, the editorials in this special
“Back to School” edition have just summar
ized the changes which took place over the
summer vacation. For those, this year, may
we refer you to the news stories and the wel
comes in other pages of The Battalion.
This year let’s talk about you. Yes, you
senior, you junior, you sophomore, you fresh
man, you civilian, you corps, you air force
corp£, and you army corps. With all of the
differentations available to put one student
in one category and another student in some
other category, we can find only one thing
that all have in common . All of the “yous”
(excuse) are students at the Agricultural
and Mechanical College of Texas.
College life is a society, and men must
hold something in common for a society to
evolve. Since the only characteristic com
mon to us all here is that we are students,
let us build upon that.
Even with the idea of our society in*mind,
we still find two alternatives of degree. Is
our society to be an open society or it it to
be closed? A society that rejects all pro
posed changes is a closed society, possessive
ly clinging to what it has already attained
instead of daring to make actual the full
abundance which should be its natural heri
tage. In such a society, or college atmos
phere, are we now living.
But change is afoot. The new trend is
toward building the philosophy of the* school
around all its students, not just the corps
students, or civilians or the various classes.
The military life of the college, the Corps of
Cadets, has been put under the office of the
Dean of the College, an academic side of
A&M. Or, if you prefer your facts bluntly,
it has been put in its place.
Texas A&M College is not a military in
stitution ; it could not survive as a military
institution. It is a place where boys (sorry,
no girls) can go to further their knowledge
of life, both by experiencing and through
study, while they are growing into men.
And modern life is dynamic; it has changed
so that the Old Army way of making men out
of boys has no place in society—ours or any
other in this world.
The military is here, the Corps of Cadets
is here, and a welcome and needed part of
our overall progrlvm. But it is not the entire
program. And what has been said about the
military side of life at A&M applies equally
well, with changed titles, to civilian life and
to the caste system of ranking by year.
Within the Corps’ program, of course, in
tegration of classes would be impossible. As
a student advances in classification he na
turally learns more and is able to assume
more responsibility. But his greater re
sponsibility is to the school and, most of all,
to himself.
No one really asks integration of classes
—only respect for the dignity and rights of
others. And these rights cover a far wider
range than could ever be defined within the
limits of the Cadet Corps or civilian student
programs. The extra-curricular activities of
our college (and the Corps is not such; it is
the lab for ROTC) are the programs organ
ized and directed by the members of our
society—students. And if a student can do
the job, let him stand or fall upon the results
he obtains. Fish Jones might have some
new, or might not have some old, ideas.
Old Army has gone; New Army is not
the answer nor is civilian “Esprit de Corps.”
Our error was not that we sought such
things, but that we tried to carry them to
extremes—and hold them there. We have
placed in danger the principle that an aca
demic institution should be founded upon:
individual freedom, the right to get what you
can from school—to become an integral and
useful part of a group, not a mechanized cog
in a wheel. Who pulls the strings when
the master is gone?
Pinocchio had his Blue Fairy; he became
human and was able to experience and un
derstand life. But not many people believe
in Blue Fairies anymore. And those who
do, shouldn’t.
Both in this editorial and in reality we’re
a long ways from the kind of society we need
to build—a new order centered around the
persons in it; a society strong and coopera
tive in its diversity. An open society, uni
fied through its individuality.
But we should be patient; it takes time
for all change. Change calls for a new phil
osophy, and philosophy is subject to indi
vidual interpretation. Just look at what has
happened to the ideas of some of the men
who have most influenced civilization:
Christ, Newton, Darwin, Marx, Keynes and
Einstein. All had hopes.
For us, then, can we hope? Can we learn
to accept a student for what he is and ac
cord him respect for what he can do? Can
we accept our new philosophy of student life
in its full meaning—of students as individ
uals, not as one more Corps’ boy, civilian stu
dent, senior, junior, sophomore or freshman.
Cadet Slouch by James Earle
New A&M Dean
Welcomes
Students Back
Howdy—and Welcome!
I hope I do not appear presump
tuous in “welcoming’” those of you
who have been at Texas A&M
longer than I. After nearly three
month on the campus, however,
during which time I have enjoyed
the friendliness and the hospitality
for which Aggieland is known, I
can say that I have come to like
this college a gerat deal, and that I
feel as if I’ve been an Aggie for a
long time! I am pleased to be
associated with you at Texas A&M.
We are all a part of a great
college—a college which increas
ingly is attracting favorable atten
tion throughout the nation. A
sound academic program, an able
faculty and staff, a capable and
talented student body, fine oppor
tunities for co-curricular partici
pation and development, and a
beautiful campus are ours.
As we begin this new year, rec
ognizing with pride the opportuni
ties which are ours, it is my hope
that we may also recognize the
responsibility which each of us has
to keep Texas A&M great—and to
make this college greater. Our
dedicated and undivided loyalty and
support, coupled with improved fa
cilities and expanded services and
offerings, should lead to an even
finer Texas A&M.
Again, I’m happy to be here.
Speaking for the faculty and staff,
we’re happy you are here. May
the year ahead be one of good fun
and fellowship, meaningful work,
and fine development for us all.
May God richly bless each of
you!
Sincerely,
Kobert B. Kamm, Dean
Student Personnel Services
EE Wives To Hold
Meeting Monday
Electrical Engineering Wives’
will hold their first meeting of the
fall semester Monday at 8 p.m. in
room 2-A of the Student Center.
Mrs. M. M. (Rosie) Newsom,
acting chairman, announced that
they will elect officers and make
plans for new members’ campaigns.
An invitation has been extended
to all EE Wives as well as the
faculty.
Traditional ‘O & A’ Gone
Freshmen Get New Boot
This article, dealing with a col
lection of writing, represents it
self a collection of thoughts by the
three book editors and the writer.
It is being run because the fresh
man year is so important to a stu
dent at Texas A&M, and of all
courses to be taken, including those
of the major field of study, none
are more important than the fresh
man English courses 103 and 104.
These courses, coming at the gene
sis of one’s college career, provide
the best chance for a student to re
assess his standing—past, present
and future—in life, and to prepare
his mind for experiencing the full
ness and swiftness of life at col
lege.
“I must do something, anything,
to fight against the deadening rou
tine that numbs me.” John Dos
Passes.
And in one’s reassessment, facil
itated by books like “Opinions and
Attitudes” and “Readings for
Thought and Experience,” comes
the opportunity for true open-
mindedness, the best defense
against anything becoming rou
tine.
. . . Bill Fullerton
A tangible object having intangi
ble qualities of greatness has now
left A&M. This object is a book,
well-known to all undergraduate
students, which has become almost
a tradition at tradition-ridden Tex
as A&M College.
This book, “Opinion and Atti
tudes,” edited by Dr. Stewart S.
Morgan, head of the English De
partment, was for a long time the
key to starting new students here
off on a quest of knowledge. It
had its faults, but as a whole was
a good anthology of some of the
best minds in various fields of
knowledge.
In its place is coming another
book, this one edited by three A&M
English professors, these being
Drs. Morgan, John Q. Hays and
Dr. Fred E. Ekfelt. Having kept
constantly within reach the “O and
A.” edited by Dr. Morgan and
knowing personally the other two
professors, this writer feels certain
that this new collection of essays
for courses in college composition,
“Reading for Thought and Expres
sion,” will be a true reflection of
three minds seeking to'reproduce
the best.
The 542-page book is being pub
lished this month by the MacMill-
ian Publishing Company of New
York, and will be used this year in
freshman English coui*ses at A&M
and other colleges. Dr. Morgan
said the book should be here about
a week after the beginning of the
term. It will be used in English
103 and 104.
The book contains 49 essays,
classified under 10 different head
ings, some of which are “Democ
racy,” “The Mind,” “Science,” “Ed
ucation” and “Familiar Writings.”
The chief purpose of the new book,
say the editors, is to introduce the
student to the conflict of opinions
on modern problems and to stimu
late him to reassess his own ideas.
Most of the essays were first
published in the past 10 years. The
edtors, assuming an objective
point of view, have presented es
says illusti'ating different opinions
ana ways of thinking.
Represented in the book are such
well-known modern writers as Al-
LV
bert Schweitzer, James Thurber,
E. B. White, A. Whitney Griswold,
Julian Huxley, Barbara Ward, Jos
eph Wood Krutch and Chester Bow
les. Along with these are several
young writers, like Ian Stevenson
and Oscar Handlin, much less fa-
milian as contributors to books of
this kind. The collection also in
cludes pieces by 19th century writ
ers, for example, Charles Lamb
and Thomas Henry Huxley, and
writers of the last generation,
Henry Mencken and James Harvey
Robinson.
As did its predecessor, the new
book has exercises for each es
say, some aimed to help the stu
dent read with greater comprehen
sion and some giving- suggestions
for topics to be used in writing.
The book, according to the edi
tors, attempts to illustrate various
degrees of formality in good writ
ing and to indicate the different
styles used by good writers.
Cadet Slouch Back Again
FRITZ and JOE’S
(Old Hrdlika Place)
COMPLETELY REMODELED
BETTER RAR-B-Q
and COLD DRINKS
i/ 2 Mile South of Kyle Field
Cadet Slouch, the most famous
or infamous clow-n on the A&M
campus in cartoon form, will be
back starting his third year with
the Battalion with this issue.
He will be coming to us via mail
from Jacksonville, Tex., where his
creator James Earle is residing
since having been graduated in
architecture last spring. Earle has
been drawing Slouch nearly two
years now and has become very
popular with the. A&M student
body. It’s rumored that some peo
ple read the comic strip and throw
the rest of the paper away!
Slouch has gone through many
trails and tribulations since enter
ing A&M, but finally graduated
last year.
When Slouch graduated adver
tisers threatened to quit running
Battalion ads, students said they
would never read another paper
and it was thought the post office
would revoke the Battalion mail
ing permit because the paper was
cluttering the MSC floors like un
wanted box holder advertisements.
Now things are back to normal
cy. Cadet Slouch is returning. Part
of the time though, in comic strip
form, Slouch will be a civiban stu
dent. He entered a syndicate con
test this summer and knew he
wouldn’t stand a chance in uni
form.
DON’T BUY
UNTIL YOU’VE CHECKED
IT'S FRESHER ...
WHEN BOTTLED
LOCALLY!
Yes, ma’am, you’ll
get fresher milk from
this friendly milk
man because the milk
he delivers comes
from local farms. De
livery is not delayed
by long-distance haul
ing. Your milkman is
dependable, too.
He’ll see that fresh
butter, cream, cottage
cheese, and other
dairy products are
there when you want
them. At your favor
ite food store or
Phone 376J
fAILKDROP MQE SEZz
CARE makes it GOOD!
FQRm DBEftlES
Phone 3763
Bryan, Texas
Guiort
0
OPEN SATURDAY — 1 P.M.
“THE WILD ONE’’
Marlon Brando
Th e Battalion
The Editorial Policy of The Battalion
Represents the Views of the Student Editors
The Battalion, newspaper of the Agricultural and • i
College of T exas and the City of College Station, is publkh^H K ani ? a ‘
dents four times a week during the regular school year n - y S A U '
summer terms The Battalion is published once a w GP C a ^ • e
examination and vacation periods, once a week. Davs TY and during
are Tuesday through Friday for the regular school P W b K ,lcat J on
during the summer terms, and Thursday during examiko J’ Ahui ; scl ay
cation periods. The Battalion is not published on th^ w^ ^ nd - Va -
mediately preceding Easter or Thanksgiving. Subscrimin day lm ‘
$.».o0 pei semester, $6.00 per school year, $6.50 per lull v „ n raAe s are
per month. Advertising rates furnished on request. * ar ’ 01 $L()0
Entered as second-class
matter at Post Office at
Collette Station. Texas,
under the Act of Con
gress of March 3, 1870.
Member of
The Associated Press
Na’tTrn 1 ^ na A t r a,,y by
Services Advc '-tisin r
York City 1 Ch- at N ' ow
Angeles h i CHK0, I ' os
cisco. ’ and Yran-
, • The Associated, Press is entitled exclusively to the~ut;r> rC. i
cation of all news dispatches credited to it nr nr.t ntu U ^ e AOr re Publi-
the paper and ]„ ca | news „f spontaneous oriSn piblisheTlf 6 in
of repnbl.cat.on of another batter here°n are P a“so rested m ' Ri * h ‘‘
or at
\ th H eplit “ 1 ''al U office Toon^SoTcRKKfwi'n'lialT 6 C fas s’} 4 ? r 4 ' 7604 )
• la «£ by telephone. (4-5324) or at the Studont "?*y
be placed by telTphrne ^^ ads may
Room 207 Goodwin Hall. ^ 1 the Publication Office,
BILL FULLERTON
Ralph Cole
Ronnie Greathouse
Don Shepard
Welton Jones
Barbara Paige
Maurice Olian ....
., Editor
Managing Editor
Sports Editor
-r—News Editor
City Editor
phq Woman’s Editor
-GHb ..ports Correspondent
Basilic owns a valuable
lection.
In a Sweal?5
There’s no need to
if you bring your
clothes to . . .
C A m p u i
GLEANERS
• Fast Service
• Expert Workmanshi
our S ub-st
for convenience
THE
Tailor - Made
UNIFORM TROUSERS
Will.
Fen Extra Features
AT
LOUPOT’S
Trading Post
PKEVUE SATURDAY — 10:30 P.M.
Also Sunday and Monday
T5I2 2$ CTi . . . CMAS2 IS
OARVL*'Gilbert' ftOLAMU Cesar ROMERO - KatyJURfltiO > lefe JJ tOBfe
With High Fidelity Stereophonic Sound
— Plus CinemaScope Featurette —
“A DAY ABOARD A JET CARRIER”