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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 8, 1959)
SCONA Opens Here Tomorrow HE BATTAL Volume 59 COLLEGE STATION, TEXAS TUESDAY, DECEMBER 8, 1959 Number 42 Rudder Commends Corps On Dorm Study Conditions Freshman Grades Down From 1958 President Earl Rudder told Corps commanders and scho lastic officers that study conditions in the dormitories were to be commended, but that freshman grades were lower as a class this year than last. The meeting was held in the Biological Sciences Lecture Room yesterday at 5 p. m. This year 8.26 per cent of the freshman class posted above a 2.0 grade-point-ratio as compared with 10.59 last year. 37.31 per cent were in the 1.0 to 2.0 as compared with 39.17 in 1958, said Rudder. The President added that 54.43 per cent fell below the 1.0 mark while only 50.24 dropped below the mark last year. In spite of the lower grades, Rudder pointed out, only 94 freshmen had left this year ns compared with 155 at the same time last year. “We. have no thought of aban doning the plan of treating our men as we would want to be treat ed,” said Rudder. On a national average, Rudder pointed out, 70-75 per cent of en tering students retm-n to their col leges the second semester. He add ed that 40 per cent graduated on schedule and that an added 20 per cent graduated soon after. The president their called for questions from Corps members. ■ “Are we trading quality for quantity?” one man asked. In answer Rudder said 72 per cent of the freshmen who had left Tere in the top half of their high school class, and that they had been in the top 68 per cent of the college placement tests. “Our goal is to keep the man around long enough to make a good Aggie out of him,” said Rud der. “Our faculty has a great obli gation in this, too. But it is going to take everybody to do it.” Another question was, “Is the Corps CQ policy with its honor passes too lax?” Rudder said it could be too lax. He said, “The honor pass system is no good unless the honor is there:” “Is it not true that the Aggie freshman takes a bigger course load than most college freshmen?” asked another. Rudder said this was true, and that no comparison with other col leges could be made, since our sys tem of grading is' different from most colleges. James P. Hannigan, Dean of Students, presented the results of a study by Frank W. Hubert, dean of Arts and Sciences on why the grades might be low from a facul ty standpoint. He said Math 100 and English 100 had been dropped. They were introductory courses for freshmen who were weak*in these subjects. Two other changes in the De partment of Mathematics were putting calculus into the curricu lum earlier than before, and a new intensity in Math 102, making it a more difficult course than before. He said the Department of Chemistry had adopted a new book and new theories which outdated older books. In summary Hannigan said, “I consider the Coi’ps at A&M a splendid one. Any low grades that the students get are not the result of a lax policy.” “The Senior class is doing a whale of a good job and 90 per cent of the juniors ai’e, too. How ever, in certain outfits there is a bad situation that should be cor rected,” he added. Fish ‘Doing Well’ After Fall in Dorm Toby Cunningham, freshman pe troleum engineering major from Miami, suffered a fall down a flight of stairs in Dorm 14. He was taken to St. Joseph’s Hospital where he was x-rayed and reported not to have been ser iously injured, according to hos pital attendants. Cunningham fell shortly before noon Monday. . Nike Missile on Display A U. S. Army Nike Missile is now on dis- U. S. Army Missile Program. Gen. Medaris play in front of the Memorial Student Cen- will be the first speaker for the fifth annual ter in conjunction with the talk Wednesday Student Conference on National Affairs, by Maj. Gen. John B. Medaris, chief of the Aggie Campus Chest Totals $1,074.25 in First Round Debate Team Wins Second Andrew Schovaloff, left, and Jay Hirsch won second place in the Southwest Conference Traveling Debate Champion ships held Saturday at Texas Tech. The pair were the top affirmative team in the tourney. The Aggie Campus Chest put $1,074.25 in the bank in the first round of the 1959 drive. “It’s not quite what we expect ed,” commented Marvin Schneider, Chairman of the Student Senate Welfare Committee, “but it’s still pretty good.” There are still sev eral outfits which have not turned in their money, Schneider pointed out. On the whole, the Corps did a good job this year. One outfit con tributed over $100, said Schneider. • Contributions to the Aggie Cam pus Chest were taken in the Corps of Cadets last Saturday morning. Each military unit commander was responsible for the collection with in his own outfit. Money collected was turned over to Brigade or Wing staffs and then forwarded to Marvin Schneider or Wade Do ver, members of the ’59 Campus Chest Committee. Debaters Win Second in SWC The A&M debate team finished a close second to Baylor for the second consecutive year in the Southwest Conference Traveling Debate Championships held at Texas Tech in Lubbock Saturday. The Aggies racked up 26 deci sions to Baylor’s 27. An A&M team composed of An drew Schovaloff and Jay Hirsch was chosen top affirmative team, while a Baylor team of Judy Wil liams and George Schell was cho sen best negative team. Teams from schools in the Southwest Conference, with the ex ception of Arkansas, debated the question: “Resolved, that Congi’ess should have the power to reverse decisions of the Supreme Court.” Each team competed in six rounds in the two-day tournament. Last night and tonight collection for the Campus Chest will be made in the civilian dorms. William H. Brown, M-l, Puryear and Roland Dommert, 1-10, Walton are in charge of the Civilian collection this yeai% according to Schneider. Results of this year’s Chest drive will not be known until sometime Friday, Schneider said. Totals from the Corps and Civilian col lections, and the amount taken from the boxes in the MSC will have to be considered. Sixty per cent of this year’s Ag gie Campus Chest will be returned directly to the student body, Schneider said. In the past, sev eral checks have been sent to de serving Aggies or their families. The remaining forty per cent goes to such deserving organiza tions as the World University Service, the Brazos County Tuber culosis Association, the College Station Community Chest and the March of Dimes. Aggies who missed the collectors when they came ai'ound the dorms are reminded that they can still contribute by putting their money in the receptacles located at the end of the coffee lines in the MSC, or by contacting any member of the Student Senate Welfare Com mittee. Medaris Address To Launch Event By JACK HARTSFIELB Battalion Staff Writer Maj. Gen. John B. Medaris, chief of Redstone Arsenal, will kick-off the Fifth Student Conference on National Af fairs tomorrow in the Memorial Student Center. Medaris, responsible' for launching the Free World’s first earth satellite, Explorer I, will talk on “Facing the Challenges of the Space Age” at 1:30 tomorrow in the Ball room of the MSC. In conjunction with SCONA’s address by Medaris, an exhibit on United States Army Missiles opened at noon to day in the Promenade of the MSC, and in front of the MSC. The exhibit is composed of a Nike Hercules Missile, America’s first line ground-to-air high altitude defense weap on. The exhibit will display^ nose cones, instruments and space experiments. There is also a continuous showing movie on the preparation and launching of a missile. Army per sonnel will explain the exhibits. Munro Delayed Sir Leslie Munro, United Na tions Special Representative to Hungary and former New Zealand Ambassador to the United States, was scheduled to follow Medaris to morrow evening at 8 in the G. Rol- ie White Coliseum. However, Munro notified SCONA officers by phone last night that he will be unable to appear as scheduled due to the current Hun garian and Algerian debates in the United Nations. Moved up to replace Munro’s talk will be the address by The Hon. R. S. S. Gunewardene, Am bassador of Ceylon to the United Sates, tomorrow night at 8 in G. Rollie White Coliseum. His topic will be “Coping with Crisis Areas in the Cold War.” Ambassador Gunewardene was a founder-member of the Ceylon Na tional Congress which led the coun try through the path of constitu tional development to ultimate in dependence in 1948. He was leader of the Ceylon delegation to the United Nations General Assembly sessions in 1957 and was elected vice president of the General As sembly, polling one of the highest votes yet recorded. This past year, he was re-elected Chairman of the Human Rights 'Commission. He was also recently appointed concurrently Ceylon’s Minister Plenipotentiary and En voy Extraordinary to both Cuba and Mexico. Dr. Howard R. Bowen At 8 p. m. Thursday in the MSC Ballroom, Dr, Howard R. Bowen, president of Grinnell College in Iowa, will address the student as sembly on “Expanding Our Econo my in an Unstable World.” As one of America’s most out standing economists, Bowen will cover in his speech the effects of mutual assistance programs, pro moting international trade, produc tivity, automation and a shorter work week and potentialities of the common market. Bowen has been an economic consultant to many federal and and state agencies, to the Na tional Council of Churches and to the Social Science Research Coun cil. In 1949 he was a member of the United States tax mission to Japan which reorganized the tax system of that counti’y. In 1950 he was president of the American Fi nance Assn. Along with his duties at Grinnell, (See FIFTH on Page 3) SCONA V SCHEDULE OF EVENTS Following is a summary of the schedule of events for SCONA V: Wednesday 1:30-3:45 p.m. Speech by General Medaris (MSC Ballroom) 6-7 p.m. Smorgasbord (MSC Ballroom) 8-9:30 p.m. Speech by The Hon. R. S. S. Gunewardene (G. Rollie White Coliseum) Thursday 6-7:30 p.m. Texas-Style Barbecue (Back Lawn—MSC) 8-10 p.m. Speech by Dr. Howard Bowen (MSC Ballroom) Reception Immediately Following (Assembly and Birch Rooms—MSC) Friday 6-7 p.m. Buffet Supper (MSC Ballroom) Speech by Di\ Nabor Canillo (MSC Ballroom) Reception Immediately Following (Assembly and Birch Rooms—MSC) Saturday 8:30-10 a.m. Review of Corps of Cadets (Main Parade Ground) 12:15-1:45 p.m. Luncheon and Final Speech by William H. Lawrence (MSC Ballroom) Ballinger Named TACT Vice Prexy Dr. Richard H. Ballinger, pro fessor in the Department of Eng lish, was elected vice president of the Texas Assn, of College Teach ers in Austin Saturday. Dr. James H. McCrocklin of Tex as A&I was named pi’esident; Claude Bowen of Lamar Tech, ad ministrative vice president; and Clifford Casey of Sul Ross, secre tary-treasurer. The next local chapter meeting of TACT will be held tonight at 7:30 in Room 107 of the Biological Sciences Building. MSC Event Begins at 8 in Guion Aggie Talent Show Tonight The Aggie Talent Show is set tonight at 8 in Guion Hall with 10 outstanding acts highlighting the evening program. The winner of the show will rep resent A&M in the eighth annual Intercollegiate Talent Show to be presented in March. Both talent shows are presentations of the Me morial Student Center Music Com mittee. In addition to the 10 scheduled acts, specialty numbers will be presented between the acts includ ing the first public presentation of a satirical song, “Soldier, States man and Knightly Gentleman.” The song was written by Dr. Phil lip B. Goode, professor in the Divi sion of Business Administration. The acts include: ® Jerry Brown, a rock ’n’ roll singer who accompanies himself. • John Holveck, hillbilly singer and fiddle player. • Melvin Goodwin, singer of old Irish songs. • Jose Maher, Spanish guitarist and calypso singer. • “The Emeralds,” a combo. • Buchanan and Lee, pianists. • Paul M. Paige, popular sing er. Master of ceremonies for the Lions Begin Sale Of Christmas Trees The College Station Lions Club opened its annual Christ mas tree sale Monday and will continue the sale through Wed nesday, Dec. 23. Proceeds wil be used to con tinue club projects. The sale lot on Highway 6 at the East Gate will be open on weekdays from 1 to 8 p.m., on Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. and on Sundays from 2 to 6 p.m. In additions to the trees, the club also has lights and pine cones for sale. evening is Joe Easley, a band soph omore from Eagle Pass. Easley has been working in radio stations for the past five years and was em ployed last summer by the Amer ican Broadcasting Co. News De partment. He has done stage and theater shows for the past six years including a show with John ny Ray. The judges for the show will be Capt. W. T. Rife Jr., Department of Military Sciences and Tactics; Dr. E. E. Stokes, Department of English; Rush McGinty, vice pres ident of the MSC Council; Mrs. M. T. Harrington; and Mrs. Rod Whisenant. The Aggie Talent Show Staff is comprised of eight members, in cluding the chairman, Jimmy Rob erts; director, Paul Phillips; stage manager, Joe Jackson; and assist ant stage manager, Richard Nagy. Also on the staff ai’e Don Rey nolds, lighting director; Davq Woodard, program design; David Hughes, publicity chairman; and Mike Bozardt, staging. ASAT Re-Elects Anderson Officer Dr. John Q. Anderson, professor in the Department of English, was re-elected secretary-treasurer * of the American Studies Assn, of Texas at its fourth annual meeting at the University of Houston Sat urday. Other faculty members from A&M who attended the meeting included Dr. J. Milton Nance, head of the Department of History and Government, J. T. Duncan, Herbert H. Lang, and Haskel Monroe, all of the Department of History; and Melvin M. Rotsch of the Division of Architecture. The fifth annual meeting of the A.S.A. of Texas will be held in San Antonio in December, 1960.