Image provided by: Texas A&M University
About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 15, 1960)
4* THE BATTALION Page 2 College Station, Texas Thursday, December 15, 19G0 BATTALION EDITORIALS CADET SLOUCH by Jim Earle FIFTH IN A SERIES A Proposal '■'Formal consideration of the proposed name-change for Texas A&M will be taken soon after the holiday recess. And since there is but a matter of hours remaining before the break, The Battalion submits the following proposal in regard to the issue. The proposal is directed pri marily to the Name Change Com mittee, which will make a recom mendation to the A&M College System Board of Directors. But it is also open to rebuttal or ap proval, as always, from the stu dent body, the exes, the faculty and the anonymous. Recognizing the worth of the ideas and the opinions of these various factions, we submit the following proposal: ★ ★ ★ ' First. The name' of Texas A&M should be changed to in clude the word “university.” By- definition, a “college” is a learning institution wherp only one subject material is studied, such as the college of agriculture or the college of arts and sci ences.' A “university”, on the other" hand, is an institution com posed of several “colleges.” Texas A&M is such an insti tution. A dictionary definition is not the only reason behind the neces sity of a name-change. The ex tra monies received through grants and aids; the quality of faculty and students that would be attracted; and the added pres tige of simply being a “univer sity” virtually eliminates the ar guments against a name-change. ★ ★ ★ ; Second. The name should be changed to “Texas State Univer sity and the Agricultural and Me chanical College.” [True, the terms “Agricultural and Mechanical” are limiting, but they are a paramount emphasis in the curriculum on the Texas A&M campus. Moreover, we are aware of the decades of tradition behind the name of Texas A&M. We are also aware of the accomplish ments of the College under that name since the first 50 cadets gathered Oct. 4, 1876 for the for mal dedication of Texas A&M. But tradition cannot stand alone as an opposing argument. Therefore, The Battalion be lieves that the formal title of the school should be “Texas State University” but that the “Agri cultural and Mechanical College” I be retained in leiu of 84 years of tradition. ★ ★ ★ Third. The Battalion submits finally, that the words “Agricul- ' tural and Mechanical College” be retained to preserve the three - main characteristics of the school that should, by tradition, remain constant. These characterstics are the senior ring, the nickname “Ag gies”, and the school songs and yells. All three are symbols of the school and are the direct sub ject of the tradition argument. The name “Texas State Univer sity and the Agricultural and Mechanical College” should in no way alter these characteristics of Texas A&M College as we know them. ★ ★ ★ Any name-change will doubt less bring salt to the mouths of students and exes, but The Bat talion believes that this proposal can satisfy the necessity for a new name to include the word “university” and still preserve the three tradition—flavored char acteristics of the school. ' 'TV:- I’m a little high-waisted.” Sound Off Social Calendar , The following clubs, and organ isations, will meet on campus: * Tonight l The Bryan Garden Club will hold its annual Christmas Pil grimage from 4-8 p.m. The Pil grimage will include two homes, those of Mr. and Mrs. Fred [Far rar, 1020 Francis St. in College Station and Mr. and Mrs. Joe Varisco on Jones Bridge Road. Tickets good for both homes may be obtained for' $1 from the fol lowing places: Lester’s , Down town and Townshire, Jarrott’s, Tpwnshire and Varner’s Jewelery of from any Garden Club mem ber. The Panhandle Hometown Club will meet at 7:30 p.m. in Room 264 of ,the Academic Building. ’The Midland Hometown Club wil hold a meeting in Room 201 of the YMCA Building at 7:30 p.m. [The Grayson County Hometown Club will meet in the Main Lobby oi the YMCA Building at 7:20 p.m. ••Plans for the Christmas Party, picking the club sweet heart and this year’s picture for Aggieland, ’61. The Galveston County Home town Club will meet in the Brooks Room of the YMCA at 7:30 p.m. The • El Paso Hometown Club wil meet at 7:30 p.m. in Room 229 of the Academic Building. The Amarillo Hometown Club will hold an extremely important meeting in Room 206 of the Aca demic Building at 7:30 p.m. The Deep East Texas Home town Club will meet at 7:30 p.m. Editor, in Room 20 of the Memorial Stu- 1 * ie Battalion: dent Center. The Fayette-Colorado County Hometown Club will meet in Room 307 of the Academic Build ing at 7:15 p.m. The Richardson Hometown Club will meet at 7:30 p.m. in Room 204 of the YMCA Building. The Galena Park Hometown Club will meet in the lobby of the Academic Building at 7:30 p.m. Lavaca County Hometown Club will meet at 8 p.m .in Room 108 of the Academic Building. The Ft. Bend County Hometown Club will meet in Room 223 of the Academic Building at 7:30 p.m. Editor, The Battalion: It seems to us The Battalion, the administration and a handful of students are not satisfied with the name of their school and feel the school is suffering because it is called Texas A&M College. We feel safe in saying not a single student here today de cided to come to Texas A&M be cause of its title alone. We are also more than sure there are very few, is any, students at tending other institutions merely because the name A&M didn’t appeal to them. In choosing a school we believe that a person looks at the school’s academic standing and the courses offered rather than closely analyzing the school’s name. It Texas A&M keeps it present name, which undoubtedly has achieved great prestige through out the state and nation, and continues to offer prospective students a first-rate education at a comparatively low rate, we can not see how the suggested change can be of any helpful signifi cance. John L. Mogford, ’62 Boe W. Martin, ’62 Joe B. Harvey, ’62 ★ ★ ★ MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR Thank You For Making This Another Successful Year BEVERLEY BRALEY Travel Service VI 6-7744 Special 30 day Credit Arrangements Available THE BATTALION Opinions expressed in The Battalion are those of the stu- lent writers only. The Battalion is a non-tax-supported, non- nofitj self-supporting educational enterprise edited and op erated by students as a community newspaper and is under the supervision of the director of Student Publications at Fexas A&M College. L. A. Duewall, director of Student Members of the Student Publications Board are I Publications, chairman; Allen Schrader, School of Arts and Scienct Truettner, School ,of Engineering; Otto R. Kunze, School of Agriculture: Mcfifurry, School of Veterinary Medicine. Arts and Sciences; Willard I. ol of Agriculture: and Dr. E. D. Sta- Septem- d as second-class at the Post Office ege Station, Texas, the Act of Con- >f March 8, 1870. MEMBER: The Associated Press Texas Press Assn. Represented nationally by National Advertising Services, Inc., New York City, Chicago, Los An geles and San Francisco. dv<?: College Station, Texas. Mail subscriptions are $3.50 per semester: $6 per school year, $6.50 per full year. squest. Address: The Battalion, Room 4, YMCA, • BILL HICKLIN . Joe Callicoatte .. EDITOF Sports Editor For the past few days, the subject of changing Texas A&M’s name has been on the minds of many individuals, including my self. Should the name of Texas A&M be changed? If so, for what good reason? A main and important factor for those opposed is tradition. Tradition as we know it is an inherited culture and to students it is among our most cherished possessions. Just as students be fore us have handed them down to us, we owe it to ourselves to TRIANGLE’S LUNCHEON MENUS Thursday Deep Fried Gulf Trout 75 Smothered Swiss Steak w/creole sauce 85 Baked Ham w/raisin gravy 95 Chicken Fried Steak 95 (Served w/two vegetables, salad, hot rolls, coffee or tea) Friday Deep Fried Red Snapper 75 Sliced Bar-B-Q Beef 85 Chicken Fried Steak 95 Braized Beef Tips 95 (Served w/two vegetables, salad, hot rolls, coffee or tea) SERVING HOURS 12:00 to 1:00 — 5:00 to 8:00 P. M. The TRIANGLE TA ‘'.1352 3606 S. College Bryan, Panama Has Colorful History Story; Canal Is Factor In Economic Growth ■s I do the same for future students. Is this not so? This is a question of “art for art’s sake.” Changing the name will abol ish many of our traditions but at the same time boost someone’s own personal gains, be it admin istration, faculty or businessman. These traditions have helped our standards to be among the best (who can deny it). And should the name be changed, we will have to start at the bottom rung of the ladder. For this reason I don’t believe the name of Texas A&M should be changed. I do not believe that changing the name will draw more stu dents. If they haven’t heard about Texas A&M, which has been around since 1876, how do you expect them to hear about it under a new name? If what they want is more stu dents, why don’t they have a bet ter public relations group that really goes campaigning for stu dents instead of sitting on their laurels ? I’m almost sure the junior college 20 miles from my hometown had better public re lations than Texas A&M. I do not think the name should be changed for it will be the stepping-stone for coeducation and integration and eventually the downing of our standards. For example, our “D” in courses may no longer be a 70- 75 but might be changed to con firm (sic) with other colleges and universities of 60-70 for a grade of “D.” I do not think the name should be changed because as a student made mention in Dec. 9 ‘Sound Off” that Texas A&M is mainly agricultural and mechanical. I feel that the name change should be brought up before the whole student body and let them decide for themselves. This is not asking too much, is it? Miguel P. Garcia, ’61 (Editor’s Note: Fifth in the series of articles on South Amer ican countries, this was written by William E. Eero, Jr.) By WILLIAM E. FERRO, JR. Three hundred and eighty-five years after the first survey was completed for an artifical water way between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, the steamship “Aucon” became the first ocean going vessel to make a commer cial transit of the Panama Canal. A lot of things had happened in Panama before this great event and a lot has taken place since. The first discoverer of the Ist- mus of Panama was Rodrigo de Bastidas, who was later followed by the famous Vasco Nunez de Balboa. A year later Christopher Columbus visited the coasts of the present day provence of Ver- aguas and established in them the first colony, named Santa Marie de Delen, but the colony was short lived. The present day Panama City was founded in 1673. The ruins of the old city still stand today, and it is known as “old Panama.” One of the last countries to proclaim its independence was Panama. Therefore, on Nov. 28, 1821, the people of Panama denounced Spanish authority and proclaim ed themselves independent. The Republic then became a part of Colombia. Then on Nov. 3, 1903, one year before the ca nal was started, Panama pro claimed itself independent from Colombia. One of the most notable fore runners of the present day canal was a railroad built across the Istmus. Completed in 1855, five years after it was begun, the road was a spectacular but short lived commercial success. By 1858 it had not only earn ed back the $8 million cost of construction, but also showed a net profit of $6 million. However, the road prosperity was to come to an end because it was based on the fact that thousands of men were flocking from the eastern United States to California in search of gold. s When the rush was over and the Union Pacific railroad was completed across the United States, the Panama Railroad died. The first actual effort to dig a canal across the Istmus was be gun in 1880 by a French com pany under the leadership of Ferdinand deLesseps who had es timated it would take 80 years and $168,500,000. Eight years later, $260 million had been spent, and less than one- third of the canal was complet ed! Funds were exhausted and the project was abandoned. Then another French company was formed but it also failed. Disease was a primary reason for these failures. Thousands of men had died from yellow fever and malaria in the earlier build ing of the Panama Railroad. But this number was small compared to the number of men who fell victim to those diseases during the two french attempts. In 1904 the United States tackl ed the task of pushing a canal through the jungle. A treaty was signed with the Republic of Pan ama by which the United States was granted the use, occupation and control of a zone of land ex tending five miles one each side of the center line of the canal, and any other lands and water outside that zone which might be necessary for the construction and protection of the canel. In return, Panama received a cash payment of $10 million and an annqal payment of $250,000 beginning nine years after the date of the treaty and increased to $430,000 in 1936. The actual payment now is $1 million. Ten years later, on Aug. 15, 1914, the first ship sailed through the canal. Today more than a million ships have gone through Nov. 4, 1960, for the first time in the history of Panama’s inde pendence, there was a parade of Panamanians through the Zone and the Panamanian flag now flies permanently in the Canal Zone by executive order of Presi dent Eisenhower. These action have done a lot to increase and improve good re lations between the United States and Panama. And although there may still be some points of dis agreement between both coun tries, they are both moving for ward toward a better understand ing of each other. ip Tried Regular Filter Cigarettes? Tried Other Menthol Cigarettes? v i * NOW! Come Up...All The Way Up to the MENTHOL MAGIC otKOOL! When your taste tells you it's time for a change, remember: Only Kool— no regular filter cigarette, no other menthol cigarette- gives you real Menthol Magic! ©I960, BROWN & WHUAMSON TOBACCO CORPORATION YOU FEEL A NEW SMOOTHNESS DEEP IN YOUR THROAT! ' Ik THE MARK OF QUALITY IN TOBACCO PRODUCTS CLIP OUT FOR REFERENCE DURING HOLIDAYS HOLIDAY SCHEDULE For Campus Activities BOWLING LANES OPEN 9 A.M. TO 10 P.M. Monday Thru Friday (Both Week’s) Games, TV, Newspapers Available — Bowling At Reduced Rates — FREE Ping-Pong FREE CAFETERIA OPEN 9 A. M. TO 4 P. M. Thru Friday December 23,1960 A\. y. TRAVEL SERVICE — WESTERN UNION Long Distance Telephone—Usual Business Hours Entrance — West Front Door of MSC GIFT SHOP —OPEN 8 A.M. TO 5 P.M. Monday Dec. 19 Thru Wednesday Dec. 21 For Your Xmas Shopping Convenience C YMCA —OPEN 8 A.M. TO 10 P.M. Thru Friday December 23, 1960 FOR MORE DETAILED MSC SCHEDULE See Notices Posted At Entrance Or Ask For Copy Of Schedule At Social Office. PEANUTS By Charles M. Schulz ONE MINUTE MV FOOTBALL 15 IN THE FRONT VARD, AND THE NEXT MINUTE 50MEB0DV HAS PUNTED IT INTO THE B/WARD BUT WHO?THERE'S ISN'T A HOMAN BEING IN SIGHT] 5yj4= % a*