Freshman
Edition
THE
ION
Section
Number 11: Volume 57
COLLEGE STATION, TEXAS, THURSDAY, AUGUST 22, 1957
Price Five Cents
New Student
President’s Welcome
Why are you going to college?
Why was Texas A&M the school of your choice?
I know many very good answers to both of these ques
tions, but if you are a first year man coming here then you
are the only one who can and must supply the answers.
Clear objectives will help but, if you are not certain
about the field of work in which you want to spend your fu
ture, do not be disturbed, because there is still time for such
a decision after you have spent some time getting more
familiar with various possibilities and in finding more about
your own aptitudes.
The one most important thing for a sliuThh! To make up
his mind about is to do well whatever lie undertakes. Your
college career will be a happy one and you will like A&M if
you are master of your school work from the very beginning.
Nothing else can satisfactorily replace good scholarship in
college. By all means take part in athletics, and in extra
curricular activities that have an appeal to you. In a very
short time your class must furnish the leadership. A col
lege man needs to have an all around development, but re
member he can’t get this unless he is on top of that school
work. Work hard and play hard. Work and play to win.
Military at A&M is on a voluntary basis. However, I
strongly urge and recommend that you become a member o
the Cadet Corps for the first two years you are here. After
that you will know from your own judgment whether you
will want to continue for the last two years. You will be
proud to be a member of the Corps of Cadets and the train
ing will be invaluable to you in the future. Being a member
of the Corps goes much deeper than just training for Mili
tary Service. It provides the best and quickest way for you
to get acquainted with a large group who will be your lifelong
friends. You will value the disciplines involved in leadership
training.
A&M is a great school. It is located in a splendid en
vironment for a college. The Staff is capable and devoted.
A strong religious atmosphere prevails on the campus. This
is a wholesome community with stress . on schools and
churches.
We are happy that you are coming to A&M. We will do
all within our power to help you build a solid foundation for
your future. You must do your part. Put first things first.
For your first few months that is scholarship.
Why are you coming to college?
I trust that you accomplish the fullest measure of your
own answer.
Sincerely yours,
D. W. Williams
Acting President
\ Opens With 2,MM)
Civilian,
Leaders
Corps
Help
PRESIDENT D. W. WILLIAMS, standing in front of the Richard Coke Building, wel
comes the class of 19GI. The Coke Building is the.college administration building.
N iie l ear
Training
A&M’s Atomic Reactor
A rrives, First In Texas
A&M moves into the spotlight
even before the opening of foot
ball season with the arrival of
Texas’ first atomic reactor set for
next week.
Budget Hearing
Held For CHS
W. T. Reidel, superintendent of
Consolidated High School, announ
ced the public hearing of the school
budget for 1957 and 1958.
The hearing tonight will begin
promptly at 7:30 in the Junior
High School Library.
Sea Scout Plans
Plans are being made for the
organization of a Sea Scout unit
at College Station and any stu
dents who have had any experi
ence as Sea Scouts ai'e urged to
see C. M. Loyd, Physics Depart
ment, or call him at VI 6-5023
as soon as possible.
Weather Today
PARTLY CLOUDY
Yesterday’s high was 96 de
grees, and this morning’s low, 69.
At 10:30 a.m. the reading was 88
degrees.
Conference Rule
Changes Uniforms
Now that television plays such
an important role in football, the
Aggies and other schools are com
pelled to make a uniform change
for the 1957 season.
For the benefit of the television
audiences identification ease, each
player’s number will be written on
the side of his helmet.
Further identification aid will be
the numbers on the sleeve to cor
respond to the player’s larger
number on his back.
These requirements were made
by conference rules.
A football game has gone to al
most the same extremes as the
production of a first class movie.
!VIotllers , Club Meet
A&M’s Mothers’ Club will hold
their fall board meeting in the
Birch Room of the MSC on Sep
tember 14 at 10 a.m. Room re
servation for September 13 should
be made by the first.
Made available through a $156,-
800 grant from the Atomic Energy
Commission, the AGN 201 nuclear
training reactor will be used for
educational purposes coupled with
courses in nuclear engineering.
In charge of the reactor is Rich
ard E. Wainerdi, who will serve
as associate research engineer with
the Engineering Experiment Sta
tion and associate professor of nu
clear engineering in the School of
Engineering. Other titles of Wain
erdi include chairman of the Re
actor Operations Committee and
reactor program coordinator.
Courses in nuclear technology in
physics and chemistry will got un
derway in September, Coordinator
of the educational work is Ed
ward H. Andrew Jr., Of the De
partment of Electrical Engineer
ing.
• Immediately after the arrival of
the reactor, which is being ship
ped from California, it will be ac
tivated and A&M will have the
first working nuclear reactor in
the Southwest. The scope of the
usefulness of the reactor is prac
tically unlimited.
First scheduled use of the re
actor is to train operators from
among the staff of the Experiment
Station and members of the fac
ulty. The training course lasts for
several days.
Army Intelligence
Reservists Return
Col. Robert L. Melcher and Col.
Frank S. Vaden Jr., both from the
Bryan-College Station ai’ea, are
returning* * from a two-week re
serve tour of duty at Fort Sam
Houston this weekend.
Melcher, director of training, and
Vaden, director of Administration,
were attending the 10th annual
Fourth U. S. Army Area Intelli
gence School. States represented
in the school are Arkansas, Louis
iana, New Mexico, Oklahoma and
Texas. The 40 citizen-soldiers
were trained in current intelligence
doctrine, techniques, principles and
methods.
Training was organized into six
departments; intelligence, ling
uists, aei'ial photo interpretation,
cider of battle, censorship and
counterintelligence. The students
found themselves assigned to posi
tions of staffs of Army, Corps and
Divisions for the last two days of
the school. They were confronted
with problems which actually hap
pened in World War II.
Safety is one of the most out
standing factors in the develop
ment of the AGN 201 and the re
actor is safe enough to be install
ed in an existing building and it
is unnecessary to build special
housing for it.
Another safety factor is the
health protection being provided
for anyone on the campus who is
working with any radioactive ma
terial including the x-ray technic
ian at the College Hospital. A film
badge service protects every per
son working with the material and
gives a week to week checkup to
see they do not get an overdose
of radiation. Dosemeters are also
used as a double check.
In less than a year from the
time when plans were first out
lined for the possibility of A&M
getting a training reaetdr, already
future plans are being made to
expand operations in the field of
nuclear research and go even fur
ther into the realm of nuclear re
search.
According to officials working
with the reactor, this piece of
equipment is less dangerous than
most drivers on our highways.
A&M has taken a big step in a
short time and the school is now
on the threshold of becoming rec
ognized as the nuclear research
center of the Southwest.
Arrival of the Class of 1961, about 2,100 strong, heralds
the official opening of New Student Week at A&M Monday
morning at 8, September 9.
With the incoming” freshmen, are Civilian and Corps
leaders who will help guide and counsel 1he new students
dining the week and show them which lines to get in and
where to go at specified times.
Until registration on Friday, September 13, the new
students will have four days of meetings, orientation talks,
unit meetings, general assemblies and individual conferences
with Basic Division advisors.
Following is a schedule of the week’s activities:
Monday, Sept. 9
Freshmen will pay fees, se
cure room assignments and
keys, receive uniform author
izations and secure new stu
dent information cards. All this
may be done in the Ballroom of
the Memorial Student Center.
The remainder of the day will
be used to set up rooms for liv
ing. Noon and evening meals will
be served in Duncan Hall. Gen
eral assembly will be held in The
Grove for all new students with
C. II. Ransdell, associate dean of
the Basic Division in charge.
Tuesday, Sept. 10
General assembly is scheduled
for S a.m. in G. Rollie White Col
iseum at which time Col. Henry
Dittman, professor of Air Science,
and Col, Delmar P. Anderson, pro
fessor of Military Science and Tac
tics, will speak to the group about
their respective branches of RO-
TC.
(See NEW STUDENT, Page 5)
Dorms Close
Bizzell, Hart
Remain Open
All summer session students
are reminded that all dorms will
he closed and locked at 6 p.m.
Friday August 23, with the ex
ception of Bizzell and ramp C
of Hart Hall.
Students who wish to remain
on the campus between terms
may register for Bizzell or ramp
C of Hart Hall for this period
by paying room rent of $8.35
at the Fiscal Office and present
the receipt at the Housing Of
fice, room 16, YMCA. This in
cludes students now living in
these two locations. This regis
tration must be completed by 5
p.m. Friday, August 23.
A&M’S NEW ATOMIC REACTOR arrives,
will be used in nuclear training at A&M.
The reactor