THE BATTALION Pa£« 2 College Station, Texas Tuesday, March 5, 1963 BATTALION EDITORIALS Goal For Public Schools Puts Burden On Public In his official proclamation designating- this week as Public Schools Week, Gov. John Connally commented that never before in our history has there been a greater need for educated leadership. The governor added: “Our goal is to make Texas public schools the finest in the nation.” During this Public Schools Week, parents and all other citizens should take full advantage of the opportunity to visit our schools and be particularly mindful of this for midable goal of making Texas’ public schools the best in the U. S. Unfortunately, visitors this week will more than likely find that our public schools could stand vast improvement, not only now but in meeting growing challenges of the future. In reality, Texas public schools rank no better than mediocre, at least according to an evaluation by the National Education Association. During 1961-62, when public school enrollment jumped to 40,007,912 across the nation, Texas ranked 26th in average teachers’ salaries, 28th in per-capita expenditure by the state for education, 34th in total local and state per-capita expendi ture, 38th in the number of eighth-grade students who have completed high school, and, for good measure, 29th in higher education per-capita expenditure. The state was not without its bright spots, but overall the picture was not particularly encouraging. On the brighter side however, Texas ranked third in the number of ele mentary school teachers with master’s degrees and fourth in the total number of teachers with at least a bachelor’s de gree. They Play... We Pay «« mimmm ninnu il- ^ BiffiHTiTW T • k A-j 11 l'J TO EUROPE IN A LIGHT TWIN THIS SUMMER A TWO MONTH EXPEDITION ON WHICH YOU WttL • PARTICIPATE AS AH ACTIVE CREW MEMBER • CROSS THE NORTH ATLANTIC VtA LABRADOR. GREENLAND AND ICELAND • FLY THROUGH GREAT BRITAIN, EUROPE, AFRICA, AND THE MEDITERRANEAN AREA THIS VB-ITURE IS NOT FOR TOURISTS. FT IS AN OPPORTUNITY FOR THE EXPERIENCE OF A LIFETIME FOR THE YOUNG MAN. FOR YOU? WRITE NOW FOR INFORMATION. Texas Aviation Engineering Co. fort^wSr^h/^xas THE BATTALION Opinions expressed in The Battalion are those of the st%- ’dent writers only. The Battalion is a norir-tax-supported, non profit, self-supporting educational enterprise edited and op erated by students as a college and community newspaper and is under the supervision of the director of Student Publications at Texas A&M College. Members of thi McGuire, School The Battalion, a student newspaper at Texas A.&M. is published in College Sta- l, Texas daily except Saturday, Sunday, and Monday, and he her through May, and once a week during summer school. The tion, Texas daily except Saturday, Sunday, and Monday, and holiday periods, Septem- dispatc The Associated Press iredited to spontaneons origin published ved. In are also reserve republication of all newi 'er and local news all other matter hero- vs of Becond-class postage at College Station, T paid exas. MEMBER: The Associated Press Texas Press Assn. Represented nationally bj National Advertising Service. Inc-., New York City, Chicago, Loe An- feles and San Francisco. Mail subscriptions are $3.60 per semester; $6 per school year, $6.50 per full year. All subscriptions subject to 2% sales tax. Advertising rate furnished on request. Address: The Battalion, Room 4, YMCA Building, College Station, Texas. News contributions may he made by telephoning VI 6-6618 or VI 6-4910 or at the •ditorial office. Room 4, YMCA Building. For advertising or delivery call VT 6-6416. ALAN PAYNE EDITOR Ronnie Bookman Managing Editor CADET SLOUCH by Jim Earle Sound Off “... If we didn’t go, we’d be admittin’ to th’ world we didn’t have girls!” Editor, The Battalion: The current trend toward great er selectivity in admission of students seems to have been adopted in a somewhat modified manner by the administration and board of directors of Texas A&M. However, instead of basing the greater selectivity upon the aca demic potential of students, it seems that availability of finan ces has become the criterion for admission and continuance in college. An example is the proposal to increase rent of College View and Project Housing apartments. It is perhaps significant that the rent will not be increased in Hensel apartments. Common knowledge makes it plain that the investment of large sums of money in building the Hensel housing was not a profit able one. The college has lost money year after year since con struction of these apartments simply because few students can Educator Says Soviet Schools In Big Crisis The NEA report did not attempt to rank the states on education quality, but it did post some directional signs. It showed, for example, that Utah has the highest average education and tied for the lowest percentage of Selective Service registrants failing the mental test. South Carolina tied for the lowest average education, and led in mental test failures. I,n the median number of school years completed by residents age 25 or over, Utah had the high mark of 12.2 years, while South Carolina and Kentucky were at the bottom of the list with 12.1 years each. Innumerable studies of the public school situation have been made, with most results pointing at the quality of teachers—the area where Texas ranks highest. One of the most recent studies, by Dr. James B. Conant, president emeritus of Harvard University, resulted in this three-point program to improve the quality of teachers: 1. There should be a very large jump in salary for teachers who have proven themselves after at least four years of teaching. ^ , 2. Older skillful teachers should be paid extra for pro viding on-the-job training for new teachers. 3. State funds should be used to insure that the best teachers available supervise college students on their practice teaching assignments. As in most studies, money is made the answer to all of public education’s problems. Whether we like to admit it or not, money is probably the biggest hindrance to a more suc cessful Texas public education system, bue we wonder if a more aroused public feeling could not achieve almost the same results. The idea for Public Schools Week is an admirable one, but, on the other hand, it is discouraging that our schools are visited only on special occasions and not more frequently. Only an aroused, sincerely interested public can put Texas’ public school program in the spotlight as one of the nation’s best. What is known as the Texas legislature is now in session at the state capitol in Austin. The legislature is made up of legislators, elected representatives who are supposed to enact laws and lead the state to great heights. Last month, however, a few legislators decided they were too overworked and needed time off for horseplay— specifically, to. suggest that A&M’s name bechanged to the University of Texas Agricultural and Mechanical Branch at College Station. The only throwback is that this “joke,” as they call it, was not enacted during off hours, but during a regular com mittee session. This means that while we were all laughing, we were also paying ... if not for the lawmakers’ time at that very moment, then possibly for the called sessions that such horseplay could eventually lead to. PITTSBURGH high school stu dent spent about 50 per cent of this time on languages, literature, the humanities and social science, and about 9 per cent on techno logical subjects. Since 1958, he added, only 20 per cent of the time is spent on the humanities, and 44 per cent on vocational education. Bulletin Board Wives Clubs Graduate Biology club will meet at 7:30 p.m. at Pruitt’s Beauty Shop at Southside. Architecture Club will meet at 7:30 p.m. in the Art Room, MSC. Professional Societies Pre-Veterinary Society will meet at 7:30 p.m. in the vet school theater. Dr. L. H. Russell will speak and officers will be elected. Freshman Engineering Society will meet at 7:30 p.m. in the geo logy lecture room. Officers will be elected. Agricultural Economics Club will meet at 7:30 p.m. in Room 146 of the Physics Building. AGGIELAND PORTRAIT SCHEDULE CORPS JUNIORS AND SOPHOMORES All juniors and sophomores in the corps will have their portrait made for the AGGIELAND ’63 according to the following schedule. Portraits will be made in Class A winter uniforms. Portraits will be made at the Aggieland Studio between the hours of 8 a. m. and 5 p. m. on the days scheduled. March 4-5 March 5-6 March 6-7 Sqdns. 5-8 Sqdns. 9-12 Sqdns. 13-16 PARDNER You’ll Always Win The Showdown When You Get Your Duds Done At CAMPUS CLEANERS Job Calls Soviet serious The following firms will inter view graduating seniors in the Placement Office of the YMCA Building: Wednesday Alcoa — Chemical engineering, electrical engineering, industrial engineering and mechanical engi neering. Phillips Petroleum Co. — Arch itectural engineering and civil engineering, BS; chemical engi neering, electrical engineering and petroleum engineering, BS, MS, PhD; mathematics, BA. MA. PhD; chemistry, MS, PhD; geology, geological engineering, geophy sics and industrial engineering, BS, MS; physics, PhD. Western Union — Electrical en gineering and mechanical engi neering, BS, MS. U. S. Army Material Command —A eronautical engineering, chemical engineering, electrical engineering, industrial engineer ing, mechanical engineering, chemistry, mathematics, physics and entomology. NASA Flight Research Center- Aeronautical engineering, electri cal engineering, mechanical engi neering and physics, BS, MS, PhD; mathematics, BA, MA, PhD. LAST DAY “MYSTERY SUBMARINE” & “RANCHO NOTORIOUS” STARTS TOMORROW STRAIGHT FROM > TODAY’S HEADLINES... The true story of the incredible “freedom tunnel ”! CIRCLE LAST NITE “PIGEON THAT TOOK ROME” & “THE JAY HAWKERS” When a man sa surance, one happen . . . says “no” to life in- of three things will 1. He will buy it later and pay a higher rate for it because he will be older. 2. He will never buy, and his family (or his old age) may pay for it in sacrifices. 3. He money for hil e will wait too long, and find alone will not buy life insurance Would you be sorry today more life Don’t delay, see ou had bought more life insurance 10 years delay BERNIE LEMMONS ’52 today phone VI 6-5800. PALACE Bra.™ Z-SSn LAST DAY “SKY ABOVE MUD BELOW’ STARTS TOMORROW THE GIANT STORY OF MODERN HAWAII! Panavision* Eastman Color DIAMOND HiM BESIDES MEXICAN FOOD ZARAPE RESTAURANT will serve from March 2 on Mrs. Andert’s Wiener Schnitzel, Chicken Fried Steaks and Austrian Style Fried Chicken. afford the $65 per month rental. Yet all funds taken in from rental are lumped together, and the college must find some way to make up for the money lost from the unoccupied Hensel apart ments. So, it must have seemed logi cal to increase the rent on the popular Project Housing and Col lege View apartments to balance the ledger. Now, $10 per month may not seem like an unreasonable sum. But coupled with the increase in tuition (especially for non-resi dent students), this will severe strain on the al: budgets of married this college. It seems that a more of balancing the loss of venue due to unoccupied apartments could be food The deadlim . , . , “Bions for At any rate, k should ■ for ad the families who live in