Battalion Editorials
Page 2
WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 14, 1955
Accidents Don 7 Happen . .
Words can’t tell the true story of a serious accident.
Words can only symbolize the outward aspects of the horror
that accompanys.
Pictures, although in some ways better than words, can’t
tell the true story, either. The part that hurts most, the
part that can break the body and crush the spirit—that can
only be lived.
Only some people—36,000 in traffic accidents alone last
year—don’t live through the tragedy that we are hoping—in
this, the 1955 Battalion Safety Edition—to translate in ver
bal and pictoral terms.
Accidents are caused; very seldom does something hap
pen that could not have been prevented by more care or more
skill on the part of someone.
And accidents happen at A&M—our primary reason for
publishing this special edition just before Christmas vaca
tion begins.
Friday and Saturday, more than 3,000 automobiles will
be leaving the campus. The students in them will be going
to different parts of our state and to others. A lot of miles
to travel—and a lot of chances for accidents in the holiday
traffic.
To these students we especially plead to take care going
home and also in returning to A&M.
The chances are that some student may not be here when
school begins after the holidays.
The Silver Taps ceremony which is held following the
death of any student is a beautiful and worthy tradition.
But it’s one that no one likes to see necessary.
So read these pages—and remember them. For, like
Frank Buck,, our aim is “to bring you back alive.”
Games Are Fun,
Bui Not Injuries
By BARRY HART
Intramural athletics play an im
portant role in student life at
A&M, but a broken bone or a pain
ful sprain can turn an exciting
game into a tortuous experience.
Five serious injuries have been re
ported so far this year. Three of
the men were hospitalized.
CARL REBA, SENIOR in B En
gineers, was the victim of the se
mester’s worst injury when he suf
fered a shoulder separation in a
freak football accident. Reba was
rushing the opposing team’s pass
er, and as ball was thrown, the
other player hit Reba’s arm with
his own, throwing the shoulder out
of joint.
Rove Davis, freshman in Squad
ron 4, twisted his knee while at
tempting to catch a pass, and Del-
mar Deterling, a Squadron 16
freshman, sprained his elbow on
the same sort of play.
Basketball caused two badly
sprained ankles as W. B. White,
junior in Squadron 24, and George
Shepard, an A Ordnance sopho
more, were hurt during games.
AS MIGHT BE expected football
leads all intramural sports in the
injury department with about 90
Hunting Could Prove Tragic
By JOE TIN DEL
The most joyous season of the
year is almost on us. We are
looking forward to the great time
that we will have. Probably some
of us will be deer hunting during
the holidays. It would be a shame
to turn this season of joy into one
of grief by not observing the prop
er safety rules while hunting.
Many of us will remember the
story of the great baseball pitcher,
Monty Stratton. Monty was one
of the greatest pitchers in the his
tory of baseball until he lost his
leg in a hunting accident during
the Christmas holidays.
Monty was hunting before dinner
one day. While walking through
the field, he tripped on a limb,
his rifle went off and struck him
in the leg. The wound was so
serious that his leg had to be am
putated. True, he continued pitch
ing, but he was never the great
star that he had been before be
cause of his handicap.
This is a somber story to tell
at the beginning of this joyous
season, but maybe it will make us
The Passing Scene
by Vip
"How many pedestrians have you bagged?’
The Battalion
The Editorial Policy of The Battalion
Represents the Views of the Student Editors
The Battalion, newspaper of the Agricultural and Mechanical
College of Texas and the City of College Station, is published by stu
dents four times a week during the regular school year. During the
summer terms The Battalion is published once a week, and during
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mediately preceding Easter or Thanksgiving. Subscription rates are
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matter at Post Office at
College Station, Texas,
under the Act of Con
gress of March 8, 1870.
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News contributions may be made by telephone (4-5444 or 4-7604)
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Room 207 Goodwin Hall.
BILlTfULLERTON - Editor
Ralph Cole Managing Editor
Ronnie Greathouse Sports Editor
Don Shepard, Jim Bower, Dave McReynolds ..News Editors
Welton Jones City Editor
Barbara Paiere Woman’s Editor
Barry Hart Assistant Sports Editor
Jim Neighbors, John West Reporters
Maurice Olian CHS Sports Correspondent
Tom Syler ...1 Circulation Manager
James Schubert, Mike Keen, Guy Fernandez Photographers
think before we scoff at the rules
of safety.
Several simple rules of safety
while hunting will mean the dif
ference between life and death for
us or our loved ones.
1. When hunting in a group stay
close together or know where each
member of the party is.
2. Carry your rifle with the muz
zle toward the ground.
3. Don’t shoot at something be
fore you’re sure what it is.
4. Walk carefully through brush
and vines with the safety catch on.
5. Make sure the gun isn’t load
ed while you’re cleaning it. You
might have been safe all day and
then forget this rule and lose your
life.
These are the basic things to
remember. You can never be too
safe. The life you save while hunt
ing may be your own.
Library Schedule
For Holidays
The following is the holiday
schedule for the Cushing Library:
Sunday, Dec. 18—closed.
Monday, Dec. 19 through Friday,
Dec. 23—8 a.m. - 5 p.m.
Saturday, Dec. 24 through Mon
day, Dec. 26—closed.
Tuesday, Dec. 27 through Friday,
Dec. 30—8 a.m. - 5 p.m.
Saturday, Dec. 31, through Mon
day, Jan. 2—closed.
Tuesday, Jan. 3—regular sched
ule.
Alec says=
‘lean play wilt) danger...
but your CHILD
has only ONE life'
Who’s to blame if small
tykes get hurt playing with
matches, tacks, or anything
within reach? Maybe you?
It’s easy to put things out
of reach. Easier than hav
ing a child hurt. So just
remember...
BE CAREFUL—the child you
save may be your own!
DAVIS AUTO
SUPPLY
E. 23rd & Washington
BRYAN
per cent of the total, although few
of the injuries are results of di
rect contact, but rather of twisted
knees, wrists and ankles.
“Most of the injuries around
here result from the class against
class tackle games that are play
ed in the dormitory area,” said
Barney Welch, director of intra
mural athletics, “and the rest are
usually an old injury that a man
picked up in high school sports and
acts up when he puts pressure on
it in intramurals.”
“It might be a good idea to have
a required physical examination
before being - allowed to participate
in Ihe intramural program,” add
ed Welch. “Many schools require
one and keep a check on men who
are playing sports.”
AN OLD INJURY of any kind
can frequently become a nemisis
when reinjured playing intramur
als. Those who have had knee,
shoulder or ankle injuries while in
high school should not participate
in sports where there is any
chance of being hurt again.
Many of the injuries are direct
results of poor conditioning, a
thing not uncommon among col
lege students.
Studies, a variety of o t h e r
school activities and just plain laz
iness are factors contributing to
the lack of conditioning among
A&M men, and any person who
goes out only once a month is ask
ing for a pulled muscle or a twis
ted joint.
The worst accident in recent
years occured last spring when
Don Burrow, then a junior in
Squadron 19, broke his leg in five
places while sliding in an intra
mural softball game. Burrow was
on crutches m'ore than six months
and just recently was able to get
around without them.
Before you begin playing any
sport here on the campus, take a
lesson from the men who have suf
fered serious injuries in the past
and use these hints for injury pre
vention.
• KNOW THE SPORT before
you start playing: Don’t try to go
all out the first time you try a
new sport. In football you should
know how to protect yourself from
blocks and to avoid flying elbows,
feet, knees and fists. You can’t
throw a downfield block or a per
fect hook-slide the first time you
try, and chances are you’ll get
hurt trying.
• Warm up before the game
starts: Never try to get right into
the action cold. This is perhaps
the main reason for pulled mus
cles. You don’t expect your car
to start when it has set out all
night in the cold, so don’t expect
your body to react perfectly un
less you give it a chance to get
warm first.
• Play the game the way its
supposed to be played: Know the
rules and observe them. Play it
right or don’t play it at all. Let
the officials control the play and
go by their decisions. Dirty play
can ruin the game and may hurt
the man playing against you.
• Get into condition: If you
knqw you’re going to participate
in intramural sports try to keep
in good enough physical shape so
you can do your best for the bet
terment of the game.
A Few Reflections
Pictures Paint A Story
By WELTON JONES
Look at that picture again.
Look at it the way that boy on
the far left is.
Look at it with your eyes wide
open and your jaw hanging slight
ly-
Look at it and think.
I found this pictui'e in the Bat
talion files when we began to
make up the 1955 safety edition. I
have no idea when the accident
happened, who was involved in it,
or how serious their injuries were.
I can use my eyes, though.
Look at the hood. Crumpled is
not the word for it. The hood or
nament has been pushed down un
til it is out of sight. On the driv
er’s side holes have been torn in
the metal. I wonder how much
force was necessary to tear metal
like paper.
We can’t even find a trace of the
windshield. A few jagged slivers
of glass—no more. Where is the
frame ? The door on the right has
been beaten down along with the
frame until it is almost level with
the dashboard.
Look at the door posts. The one
on the right vye can’t see. The one
on the left we]had rather not see.
Wc began to wonder if this was
a convertible. Then we look closer
It’s Easy To Walk
Yourself To Death
More than 7,900 people walked
themselves to death in the United
States during 1954.
Yes, in urban and rural areas
combined 7,900 pedestrians were
killed last year. In urban areas,
more than half of .the accidents in
volved pedestrians, with accidents
between intersections nearly as
frequent as accidents at intersec
tions. One of every seven fatal
accidents occurring in town in
volves a pedestrian.
In rural areas, more than four
out of 10 fatal accidents were non-
collision accidents, and in more
than three-fourths of these, cars
ran off the road. One fatal acci
dent in ten in rural areas involved
a pedestrian.
The Passing Scene
by O. Soglow
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The Travelers Safety Service
at the -torn top sticking out the
back. It must have been solid.
Again I wonder how much force is
needed to tear metal like paper.
If we look closely at the front
fender on our left, we will see
where some oil has shot out from
under the hood. Evidently the car
has suffered some “internal injur
ies” that we can’t even see.
Someorte was diiving this car.
We can see that by the torn twisted
steering wheel. I wonder if any
one was in the back seat. I can
see splinters of glass stuck in the
seat cushion. We can also see
something that looks like blood
Spattered behind the back seat.
That brings up something else.
1 wonder where the driver’s
head was. Or where it is.
What would your thoughts be if
you were one of the wide-eyed
spectators standing there with your
hands in your pockets? What are
these men thinking?
You may say “Well that’s an
older model car anyway. They
make them safer today.”
They make them faster, too.
Burgess-Price Insurance Agency
College Station, Texas
fhero/e is —
when stippery
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Contributed as a public service by
College Station State Bank
THOUGHTLESS DRIVING
SKI IS KID STUFF!
Contributed as a public service by
THE BATTALION