Image provided by: Texas A&M University
About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 25, 1960)
The Battalion Volume 59 COLLEGE STATION, TEXAS THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 1960 Number 73 “ Inspects Ice Storm’s Effects Miss Beverley Zemanek, receptionist in the the day Wednesday until it changed to light Department of Student Publications, in- snow Wednesday night. Roads in College spects some of the ice on the trees on the Station were covered with slush making campus Wednesday. The sleet started Tues- driving hazardous, day night and continued through most of Town Hall To Present Ballet Russe Company Town Hall will present Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo, the most popular and world-famous ballet company in the United States, March 4, at 8 p.m. in G. Rollie White Coliseum. The company of ballet stars, headed by Nina Novak, Nathalie Krassovska, Irina Borowska, Alan Howard and Georg-e Zoritch will perform such classical numbers as “Swan Lake” by Tschaikowsky, “Giselle”, the oldest classical bal let in continuous performance and “Les Sylphides”, which utilizes the most memorable of Chopin’s compositions. These ballets are all designed to display the brilli ant technique of the company’s stars. A new ballet, “Ballard”, with a specialty commissioned score by Herbert Donaldson and choreo School Board Election Set For April 2 April 2 is the date set for the election of two members of the Consolidated School District school board, W. T. Riedel, A&M Con solidated superintendent of schools, said today. Riedel said the deadline for fil ing for the two three-year posts, which must be done by petition, will be March 3. The petitions may be picked up at his office, he said, and must -have at least five signatures when they are sub mitted. The positions are being vacated by George Carroll and Henry Allen. Carroll, an electrician, lives at Peach Creek. The board consists of seven members. To prevent all elections from occurring in the same year, they are scheduled two per year] P°> n f e( | for two years and three the re maining year, said Riedel. No one has filed for a position as yet, the superintendent said. Residents of the school district who have paid their poll tax or graphy by Jan Cieplinski, will be added to the repertoire. The name Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo has historic and sentimental value. The words “ballet ruse” in- UN Club to Hear Talk on Indonesia Michael V. Krenitsky, assistant librarian, will talk on Indonesia at a meeting of the United Nations Club Friday at 7:30 p.m. in the YMCA. Krenitsky will show slides in conjunction with his talk. In cluded in the program will be an Indonesian song and a display of Indonesian art. A social hour will follow the meeting. dicate the classic past from which the company sprang, while its as sociation with Monte Carlo as a “home port” during the latter years of Diaghileff’s life gives the company the right to the glamour of that title. The company goes on tour seven months of the year and plays to an estimated audience of nearly a million people. If the number of people who see the company or its stars on television each season were added to the “live” audience, it would mean a total equal to the population of New York City in its entirety—nearly eight million peo ple. Admission for the production will be $1 for high school and ele mentary students; and $3 and $2.50 for adults. Town Hall tickets will be honored. Convocation Speaker Cites Importance of Marriage On Shaw Production Ag Players Begin Play Rehearsals “A Night With George Bernard Shaw,” an Aggie Player produc tion to be presented in the Lower Level of the ’ Memorial Student Center April 20, will begin re- hersals tonight at 7:30 in Room 211, Academic Building, according to Vic Wiening, the show’s direc tor and assistant professor in the Department of English. Two of Shaw’s one-act come dies, “The Man of Destiny” and “How He Lied to Her Husband” will comprise the two hour show, Mardi Gras Trip Saturday By Volunteers The Ross Volunteers, A&M”s honor guard, will leave Saturday for New Orleans for the Mardi Gras festivities. The company, which was organ ized in 1887—making it the oklest organized student activity on the campus—will be guest at the Rex Ball and will lead the King Rex parade on Mardi Gras day. This is the eighth anniversary of the New Orleans trip for the group. For eight years they have occupied the first position in the parade. Earlier this year, a group of seniors attended the Texas Fores try Service Exposition in Living ston. In the past years, the RV’s have served as honor guard to the gov ernor of Texas at his inaugima- tion; have taken part in the Dixie Festival in Shreveport, have at tended Buccaneer Days in Corpus Christi and the Battle of Flowers in San Antonio. The group is commanded this year by Wade Dover, deputy Corps commander. Executive officer is Hubert Oxford; administrative of ficer is Calvin Hines and first sergeant is Don Alexander. The three platoons are led by Doyle Nichols, Jon Pierce and Joe Dee per. Wiening said. Brazos County the ater-goers will have a chance to see a new kind of theater as both plays will be read, not acted. “The practice of having actors read a play rather than acting it out is not a new concept in the ater, having its start with the Psalms,” Wiening said. However, as a form of modern play produc tion it is just now being revived.” While there will be some setting and costuming, and a certain a- mount of stage lighting, the play ers will not act their parts but read them from lecturns, Wiening said. “The Mgn of Destiny” is a com edy concerning a little known in cident in the life of Napoleon. The play presents the French empei’or as the complete reverse of the usual picture of Napoleon. A lady, her lover and her hus band set out to destroy the usual romantic notion held by most peo ple in England in the early part of the century in “How He Lied to Her Husband.” They do so in a laugh packed 20 minutes of pure fun. Cast for “The Man of Destiny” are Ed Herider as Napoleon, /Ben Trail as the Lieutenant, Richard Reiser as Guiseppe and Mrs. Ern est Smerdon as the Lady. “How He Lied to Her Husband” will present Regie Lundergan as the lady, Bob Sloan as Her Lover and Tommy Holbein as Her Hus band. A&M Professors Back from Meet Dr. Wayne Hall, head, and Dr. Luther Bird and Dr. Harry Lane, associate professors, all of the De partment of Plant Physiology and Pathology, participated in the re cent seventh annual Agricultural Chemicals Conference at Lubbock. Hall presented a paper on growth regulators and quality pro duction. Bird discussed the rela tionship of farm chemicals to cotton disease and Lane talked on growth and fruiting balance of cotton. Spring Term Has Increase InEnro Ilmen t Spring enrollment is up 234 from last year’s total, according to official enrollment figures re leased yesterday by Registrar H. L. Heaton. This spring’s total enrollment is 6,365 as compared to last spring’s total of 6,131. Enroll ment for the spring semester in 1958 totaled 6,355, 10 less than this semester. Enrollment in the graduate school has increased 43 from last spring’s semester. This total is now 608 as compared to last spring’s 565. President Earl Rudder, com menting on the figures, ex pressed the belief that the fig ures are further proof of the good job being done by the faculty, staff, administrators and students. AgEducationGroup To Practice Teach Forty agricultural education sen iors, under the supervision of the Department of Agricultural Edu cation, will leave March 7 to begin six weeks'of practice teaching in 22 high schools over Texas. The seniors, in co-operation with the local vocational agriculture teachers, will be allowed to take over a school’s agriculture classes for a period of six weeks, said O. M. Holt, associate professor in the Department of Agricultural Edu cation and director of the pro gram. The students are assigned in pairs to the various high schools, which were selected on the basis of their outstanding agricultural programs, said Holt. Designed to give the seniors practical experience in teaching, the program will also familiarize them with teaching methods in general, Holt added. Members of the Department of Agricultural Education who will supervise the practice teachers are O. M. Holt, J. R. Jackson, Dr. Earl Knebel, Dr. Jarrel Gray, and Dr. E. V. Walton. This year’s figure is an increase of 14 over last year’s total of 26 boys, Holt said. Says Marriage Is God’s Idea By TOMMY HOLBEIN i Battalion Staff Writer “Good Shoes for a Long Jour ney”, was the sermon topic of Dr. Herbert R. Howard, convocation speaker for Religious Emphasis Week, as he spoke in Guion Hall at 10 a.m. today. “Compared with the vital im portance of our nation’s sex mo rality and the health of our insti tutions of marriage and the home, nothing else really matters,” said Dr. Howard. Continuing his talk, Dr. How ard said, “Marriage is God’s idea, his plan for the maturing and completing of human personality. God says, ‘It is not good for man to be alone.’ For the most part, then, we can say that God’s plan of bringing men and women to true maturity is in the marriage relationship, and, idealy, in the roles of parenthood.” “There are two requirements for a successful marriage”, Dr. How ard said, “Which are the good shoes for a long journey.” These requirements are charity and chastity, or kindness and faith fulness. “The term ‘successful’ marriage is preferred to ‘happy’ marriage, because ‘happy’ is such a nebulous and relative matter. It is a jour ney, not a destination. It is a quality of existence we know while we are seeking something else worthwhile,” said Dr. Howard. “The two requirements for a successful marriage are: charity, in the New Testament sense, which is “love in action”, and chastity, which is fidelity and loyalty to the marriage vow.” “Charity is knowing one another as persons, accepting one another as persons, appreciating one anoth er as persons and helping one another as persons,” said Dr. How- aid. Chastity, is complete loyalty to one another as whole persons. Married persons should never be lonely. Even on unavoidable sepa ration there can be spiritual un ion. Other considerations contrib ute to a successful, but only these two are absolutely necessary. Pistol Team Plays Host ; To Air Force The Aggie Pistol Team will host the Air Force Academy Team on Saturday for a shoulder-to-shoul- der match at the Kyle Field range. This will be the second trip here for the Falcons and their last visit was in 1958. The match will be a 90 shot course consisting of 20 shots Slow fire, 20 shots Timed fire, 20 shots Rapid fire and a 30 shot three- stage gallery course, with firing due to start about 1 p.m. The team has just completed fir ing the N.R.A. Postal Champion ship match and is now firing the U. S. Revolver Association S-wOek postal matches as well as firing postal matches against other col leges. Bo far thrO S'' year'TH'^ has competed against New Mexico Military Institute twice; Univer sity of Arizona twice; Michigan State; Coast Guard Academy; Na val Academy and the Air Force Academy, losing only the match to Coast Guard by a 1401 to 139(3 score. Members of this years team in addition to Gill are Charles A. Benson of Sour Lake; Buddy Boll- frass of Houston; Cyril Adams of Houston; James A. and Thomas E. Wilson of Pasadena; S. M. Ragan of Ranger; Warren Copeland of Friendswood; Jerry B. Nelson of Houston; Charles Sabin, Ft. Worth and Franklin H. Sprague of Weatherford. Coach of- the team is M/Sgt. William'H. Card qf Pe oria, Illinois who is a member of the Army ROTC unit here at A&M. iEiF''IPLI * tmk Pinky Avid Aggie Supporter for 58 Years ‘Mr. Aggieland’ Turns 76 Friday By JOHNNY JOHNSON Battalion Editor “If I live to be 99 years old, I want my last words to be — ‘Be good to the Aggies!”’ These were the words of P. L. (Pinky) Downs Jr., ’06, today on the eve of his 76th birthday which is tomorrow. Pinky, “Mr. Aggieland” to the thousand of Aggies is official greeter of the college, a post he has held for the past 10 years, and probably the most avid Aggie sup porter to ever pass through the gates of Aggieland. Now in his 58th year of associ ation with A&M, Pinky entered A&M Sept. 17, 1902, and gradua ted in 1906. In 1923 he was ap- to the Board of Direc tors, he was chairman of the Building Committee. As Pinky tells it, A&M had no suitable natatorium, so, working in the best interest of the Aggies he loves so well, Pinky initiated are legally exempt may vote in the | a drive to secure $62,000 to erect board election. “the best natatorium in the state.” After telling the students in an assembly in Guion Hall that they would soon have the largest in door swimming pool in Texas, one Ag came up to Pinky to tell him that Texas was building a nata torium the same size (50 by 100 feet). Determined that A&M would not be outdone by Texas, Pinky promptly had the size of the pool increased to 60 by 100 feet—mak ing the P. L. Downs Jr. Natator ium, as he proudly relates, “Ten feet bigger than the one the Tea- sips have!” After concluding his term on the A&M Board of Directors Pinky, although not officially connected with the college, continued his work for A&M until 1940 when he again became officially associated with the college. He started work ing in the Fiscal Office, then be came business manager for the Department of Athletics, moved up to assistant to the Director of System Information and Publica tions and then to the present offi cial greeter post and a post as as sistant informational representa tive for the Department of College Information and Publications. During the 10 years and 8 months he has served as official greeter of the college, Pinky has personally greeted 604,121 visi tors to the A&M campus. After coming to A&M Pinky had only one regret—he couldn’t buy a house on the campus. A Mason and a member of the Methodist Church, Pinky is a mem ber of the pioneer Downs family of Temple. He was born Feb. 26, 1884, and was an Aggie from the word go as his uncle, Col. P. L. Downs graduated from A&M in 1879. Some years back a reported visi ted the Downs home and while talking to Mrs. Dowms, asked her if Pinky w r as a Christian. Mrs. Dowms told the reporter Pinky was and the reporter asked if she had ever heard Pinky say his nightly prayers. Mrs. Dow r ns replied, “Yes. Every night he says, ‘Lord, you take care of the Aggies tonight and I’ll take over again in the morning’.” Speaking about his age and his long years of association with A&M, Pinky remarked, “I’m very thankful that the Lord has been good enough to allow me to live to the age of 76 and has granted me the privilege of being associa ted with Aggies and Texas A&M.” “One of the finest things at A&M this year has been that every Aggies on this campus has be come interested in giving fellow Texas students a chance to come to A&M and get the finest educa tion possible and to enjoy the fin est fellowship in the yvorld,” Pinky said. When asked what had impressed him most about A&M and Aggies during his 58-year association with the college, Pinky quickly replied, “Without a doubt it is the loyalty of one Aggie to another through a lifetime. They’ll stay with you to the last ditch!” One of Pinky’s proudest activi ties as official greeter of the col- n lege has been the hosting of pati ents from the Veterans Adminis tration Center at Temple for Ag gie football games. The director of the center re cently wrote Pinky expressing the gratitude of the patients and the hospital administrators for these visits. When Pinky moved to College Station, he was dissatisfied with the fact that Brazos County, with more Aggies than any county in the state, had no A&M Former Students Club. So, Aug. 4, 1941, Pinky organized the club and serv ed as its first president. Another action that demonstrated Pinky’s undying interest in A&M. A perennial speaker at the Bon fire, Pinky also makes talks at Yell Practices and at New Student Week activities. Pinky and his wife, who live at 304 E. Dexter in College Station, celebrated their 43rd anniversary Dec. 7. They have one daughter, (See PINKY on Page 4) P. L. (Pinky) Downs ... celebrates birthday Friday