Page 8 ^ College Station, Texas
Thursday, Atignst 23, 1962
THE BATTALION
SCONA Brings Nationally
Know Leaders To Campus
A man that skillfully answered
Russian Premier Nikita Khrush
chev’s shoe-ponding charges in the
United Nations will be on the
campus this fall to tell his exper
iences to a group of serious-minded
college students.
James J. Wadsworth, former
U. S. Ambassador to the United
Nations and now president of the
Peace Research Institute, will be
just one of the top-fligdit speakers
of national and international fame
to appear at the Eighth Annual
Student Conference on National
Affairs.
Slated for December 14 this
year, SCONA VIIT, as it is known,
will bring- students from all over
the United States to hear speakers
and discussion on the theme
“Sources of World Tensions.”
WILLIAM H. LAWRENCE
. .. SCONA speaker
SCONA’s objective is to provide
an informal atmosphere for the
student delegates to debate, hear
and reject or accept discussion on
topics of major importance.
Planned By Students -
The conference is student plan
ned, financed, and operated. From
the start of the idea for the next
year’s conference, the students take
over and plan the complete meet
ing.
Students raise money to defray
the expenses of bringing the dele
gates to A&M from other schools,
expected to be about $16,500 this
year. They contact interested per
sons all over the Southwest and
Mexico, persons who are willing
and ready to help college students
debate and discuss more important
problems than which movie to see
tonig-ht.
Other committees begin their
work at the same time the Finance
Committee is making its rounds.
The transportation committee
must make arrangements for many
delegates, speakers, and round-
Many Dances
Highlight Year
For Freshmen
-
SCONA BARBECUE
.. . time for relaxation
Read Battalion Classifieds Daily
Holiday Plaza
Motel
WELCOMES YOU TO AGGIELAND
Swimming Pool
Complete Hotel Service
Elehugh Levy ’32
Mr. and Mrs. F. T. Chambless
TA 2-3748
1720 Texas
Several weekends during the
year, A&M’s students bring their
dates to the campus, dress in their
finest, and attend the various balls
held in Sbisa Hall.
Each class has its own ball dur
ing the year. The Fish Ball is
usually held after the start of the
second semester. Last year’s ball
was on Feb. 24. It is an occasion
when the freshman dons his best
Class A uniform and prepares for
the brightest weekend of his fish
year.
Other dances which freshmen can
attend are the Cotton. Ball and all
dances held for the student body in
the Memorial Student Center base
ment and Ballroom.
Army cadets of all classes don
their best fatigues for the Combat
Ball, another annual dance feature.
The setting for this dance is usual
ly some combat zone, and cadets,
as well as the faculty and staff
attending, dress accordingly.
Air Science cadfets have their
individual ball in a little more
splendor, as the Air Force Ball
is a formal affair, with formal uni
form being worn.
The two groups combine each
year for another highlight, the
Military Ball.
Bands are usually imported from
other cities for these dances, al
though, on some occasions, a local
group known as the Aggieland
Orchestra plays good music for the
dancers.
table leaders to get to and from
the college. They use buses, air
planes and autos as necessary.
The publicity committee begins
to get the support of the press in
the area, and to draw interest to
the conference.
The secretariat committee
handles the enormous amount of
correspondence necessary to get
any undertaking of this size started
and keep it going smoothly.
Opportunity To Help
This takes willing and capable
hands, and freshmen who want to
hear and see the speakers and
leaders who help shape the events
of our world can take advantage
of this chance by helping the com
mittees of their choice.
In addition to the major speak
ers, well-known individuals serve
as round-table chairmen during
panel discussion groups. These dis
cussions give the student a chance
to tell his opionions on the topics
being discussed and hear the opin
ions of others. In this way, he may
gain a better knowledge and in
sight into the problems that face
this country today.
One SCONA leader described the
conference as “not the place where
questions are answered, but where
questions of importance are
brought to light so the individual
can work out the answer himself.
Roundtable chairmen for the 1962
conference include Howard A. Cut
ler, assistant to the president of
Pennsylvania State University,
Mrs. Alice Pratt of Houston, direc
tor of the Southern Region Insti
tute of International Education;
Rocco M. Paone, director of U. S.
Naval Academy Foreign Affairs
Conference.
Also William S. Livingston, Uni
versity of Texas government pro
fessor; Harrison E. Hierth, English
professor at A&M; J. T. Faubion,
Dow Chemical Company official;
and representatives of two other
service schools, West Point and the
Air Force Academy.
SCONA ROUNDTABLE
place where students exchange ideas
Broader Scope Of Learning
Objective Of Great Issues
William L. Shirer, author of
several best-sellers, will be on the
Texas A&M College campus this
fall as a student-sponsored Great
Issues program.
Shirer, whose radio voice from
Berlin became familiar to millions
during the Hitler regime, will be
one of several outstanding pro-
grams for the 1962-63 Great Is
sues.
Slated to speak Oct. 16, Shirer
has lived and worked in Europe
and Asia for two decades. He has
received many honors, including
the George Foster Peabody Award,
radio’s coveted prize, with Wen
dell Willkie One World Award for
his outstanding achievement in
journalism, and the Legion of
Honor from France.
His best-known works include The
Rise and Fall of the Third Reich,
Berlin Dairy, End of a Berlin
Dairy, The Traitor, MidCentury
Journey and the Challenge of Scan
dinavia.
His subject during his A&M
visit will involve “Russia and Ger
many—Keys to the Future.
Although plans are still not com
plete, the Great Issues Committee
plans to hold a two or three-day
space fiesta in early February. The
program is to feature space of
ficials of national importance,
along with exhibits of equipment
and methods used in space flight.
The Great Issues Committee is
another Memorial Student Center-
based committee, whose goal;
bring to the campus speakers
will broaden the student’s is
edge.
Featured in previous years!
been authors, statesmen, dipla
and people in other fields*
give the student knowledgete
never receive from books.
Another program of nationa
international flavor whicji is sd
uled for the Memorial Student
ter this year is the World A
ture Series.
Owen Lee’s underwater e!)
tion, with films and exhibit',
be part of this series, as will
ma Shaw speaking on Czeck
vakia and Russ Potter on I«
SPEAKING, CORPS TRIPS
A&M Has Its Own Customs
Since A&M was established in
1876, its customs and traditions
have ^rjown to help piake this
school pne of the most nearly
unique' in the world.
For the past 84 years customs
and traditions have come and gone
at A&M, some remaining only a
few weeks while others have lasted
nearly the whole time. It is these
which make the school rich in its
heritage.
Probably the first tradition and
one of the most important is that
“Once an Aggie always an Aggie.”
Welcome
FRESHMEN!
North
Barber
Gate
Shop
See Us
“For That Cut of Distinction’
North Gate
College Station
The class of 1880, the first to grad
uate, is said to have inaugurated it
to promote school spirit, mess hall slang. For exam-
Today as Akffies travel around pie meat is called “bullneck;” but-
the country we often meet one of
these Aggies from older classes
who inevitably greets us as a long
lost brother and goes all out to
make us feel at home. This custom
of sticking together is now world
known, and wherever two Aggies
meet, no matter what their ages,
there is sure to be much hand
shaking and back slapping.,
Speaking
Another great custom at Aggie
land is speaking to and meeting
everyone you come in contact with.
This custom isn't as old as most
of us may think. F. J. Mikeska,
’28, now an engineer in Shreve
port, La., says when he went to
school here nobody spoke as they
do now. This has changed now,
however. The familiar “howdy”
rings out all over the campus.
Another tradition which dates
well back into the beginning of
the school is the custom of the
senior ring. The fii’st Aggie sen
ior ring was worn by the class of
1894. The design has changed
very little, so today we still wear
the ring designed by that class.
The tradition of class distinction
stems from the military training
at A&M. The adage “rank hath
its privileges” is very true here.
The senior is the top dog and his
word is law. The junior enjoys
some prestige over the sophomore
and the “fish” are low men on
the ladder.
By the way “fish” is the name
given the freshmen by one of the
classes in the 1880’s which one is
not exact. The “fish” catches all
the little messy jobs and lives only
for the next year.
Language Unique
The Aggie has a language all
his own. A person eating in one
of the cadet mess halls would like
ly starve unless initiated in the
ter is “grease;” beans, “artillery;”
dessert “cush;’’ and syrup, “reg,”
a term which stemmed from the
early 20th century cadets’ name
of “regulator” given syrup, be
cause it was then sent in big 100
pound barrels.
By the time the cooks reached
the bottom of the barrel, fermen
tation had set in and made it a
very effective laxative.
Other terms which are familiar
to the Aggie are “Bull,” which
means one of the Army officers
stationed here to teach military
science; “the gate,” meaning the
North gate business district; and
one of the most important words
to every Aggie—“sack,9' meaning
his own bunk where he catches as
catch can, 40 winks.
Corps Trips
The Corps Trips are another
tradition which is of long stand
ing. Today the Corps Trips are
made by automobile to the cities to
watch football games, but in the
early days the school would rent
a train and the entire Corps would
pile in and chug away to the game.
There are many traditions in
volving Corps Trips. One of the
most widely known is the Twelfth
Man tradition. It started in 1922
when the Aggies played a football
game against Centre College in
Dallas.
The opponents were tearing the
Ags up and the reserves on the
Aggie bench were fast dwindling
away. When the coach was down
to his last reserve a young sopho
more named King Gill, who had
worked out with the team several
times dashed out of the stands
where he was sitting and suited
up.
Gill didn’t get to play but his
gesture gave the school its fii
tradition and today durin?
football game the entire sii
body, dates and anyone wlol
pens to be in the Aggie
stand while the team is pi»!
ready to go in as the Tf
Man, U
Bad Memory
Another Corps Trip
which is not as pleasant as
Twelfth Man tradition coaf
the trip to Waco, for the k
game in the 20’s.
During the game there
fight between several of the
dents from both schools,
fight an Aggie was killed
dentally by a thrown chair,
entire Corps left the game,
the train they had come fro®
lege bn, and returned to Ail
load up the cavalry and artil
The Aggies worked all r
loading the train with the s
army of cadets in full battled
with the intent of going bad
Waco and leveling the canji
Baylor. The Governor called
the National Guard however,
the. train was stopped befa 1
got to- W acc b
For this reason there hast
been another Corps Trip to ft!
and there probably never *
such is the bitterness over
event.
Last Tribute
Another custom at A&Mi
nal Review, which is held ob
last day before final exams ii
Spring.
At this time the Corps st
a full dress review on the I
drill field. After once passin!
the reviewing stand under
command of the seniors the *
mand is turned over to the jtt®
next year’s seniors and
march by saluting the graditf
seniors.
UPPERCLASSMEN KNOW WHERE TO GET THE BEST DEAL ON BOOKS
AND SUPPLIES---If You Are
LOUPOTS
In Doubt Ask An Upperclassman
TRADING POST