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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 22, 1963)
... • .:,v... THE BATTALION Thursday, August 22, 1963 College Station, Texas Page 7 SOME 85 YEARS OLD Traditions Are Many, Varied Entering freshmen will find ion Hall not only a place where letings are held during New Stu nt Week, but also a main source enjoyment and relaxation here the campus. Located between the Memorial udent Center and the Military ience Building, the theater, with leating capacity of 1,925, is open iday, Saturday and Sunday for convenience of students. Tickets are only 40 cents as the later is not set up to operate for frofit. THE FILMS shown are the new- ■uion Is One Main Source Campus Entertainment est available and of the variety de sired most by the students. The only drawback is that the films may not be shown here for at least 30 days after they have been in Bryan or College Station movie houses. Built in 1917 and put into use in 1919, Guion Hall was originally used only for meetings, speeches and plays. Not until 1941 was it converted to a theater for the stu dents. Previous to World War II, pic tures were shown on Wednesday and Saturday nights in the old inging Cadets Give Concerts ’hroughotit Sontli Each Year Back in 1906 at Aggieland, ten iidents got together and organ- id their own singing group. Today this group is known as he Singing Cadets” and consists more than 50 members. Under e direction of Robert C. Boone, e group gives concerts at schools, lieges and civic organizations roughout the south. Members of the Singing Cadets me from almost every major ea of study on the campus. Both rilians and members of the Corps 'Cadets may join. None of the members of the :oup in the past have planned make singing their career. They irtieipate because they enjoy iging and the fellowship. Dressed in their special uniforms, e Singing Cadets have sung with Houston Symphony Orchestra and many other organizations. They have traveled to all parts of Texas and the south to give their concerts. They practice each day from 5 to 6 p.m. in the Music Hall. The Singing Cadets have brought choral entertainment that has drawn the plaudits from noted singers and musicians throughout the land. Their record album has sur passed all other similar college albums in sales—more than 11,000 copies had been sold through last year. Students interested in joining the Singing Cadets should see Rob ert C. Boone, music director, in the Memorial Student Center. Several trips have already been planned for the coming year. Assembly Hall. This was located on the site now occupied by the All-Faiths Chapel. In 1941 all the equipment and facilities were moved to Guion and started opera tion on a daily basis. REMODELING has been recent ly completed which included the repairing and sand-blasting of the outside of the building and the re modeling and complete addition of a new men's rest room. Wide screen viewing, sterophonic sound and the use of new project ors make the theater compare to most movie houses. There is also a concession stand. Any profit from the operation of Guion Hall goes into new equip ment, improving the present facili ties and back to the student in the form of entertainment. Guion Hall is still used for var ious other presentations. The Ag gie Players, a group consisting of students and local amateur actors, usually presents about three plays each semester in the theater. THE BUILDING is often used for speeches and pi'ograms provid ed by the Great Issues Committee and the Town Hall Series. Many important speeches and presentations have taken place in Guion Hall in the past. An exam ple of these would be the presenta tion of an Honorary Doctor of Law degree to General Dwight Eisenhower in April, 1946. For the past 85 years customs and traditions have come and gone at A&M, some remaining only a few weeks while others have lasted throughout the school’s history. Probably the first tradition and one of the more important ones is ‘•Once and Aggie always and Ag gie.” The class of 1880, first to graduate here, is said to have in augurated it to promote school spirit. As Aggies of today travel around the country they often meet one of the A&M men from older classes who inevitably greets them as long lost brothers and goes all out to make them feel at home. THIS CUSTOM of sticking to gether is now world known, and wherever two Aggies meet, no mat ter what their ages, there is sure to be much handshaking and back- slapping. Another well-known custom at Aggieland is speaking to and meet ing everyone you come in contact with. This custom isn’t as old as most 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, however, and the familiar “howdy” rings out all day long across the campus. THE TRADITION of class distinction stems from the militai'y training at A&M. The adage “rank hath its privileges,” is very true here. The senior is top dog and his word is law. The junior en joys some prestige over the sopho more, and the “Fish” are low men on the totem pole. By the way, “Fish” is the name given freshmen by one of the classes of the 1880’s. The “Fish” catches all the messy jobs and lives only for the next year. The Aggie has a language all his own. A person eating in one of cadet dining rooms would likely starve unless initiated in Aggie mess hall slang. For example, meat is called “bullneck,” butter is “grease,” desert is “cush,” and syrup is “reg,” a term stemming from “regulator” which early 20th century Aggies used. The syrup used to come in large, 100-pound barrels. By the time cooks got to the bottom of a barrel, fermentation had set in and made the syrup a very effective laxative. OTHER TERMS which are familiar to the Aggies are “Bull,” which refers to one of the Army officers stationed here to teach military science, and one of the most important words to every Aggie—“sack,” meaning his own bunk where he catches as catch can, 40 winks. Corps Trips are another tradi tion of long standing. Today the trips are made by automobile to watch football games, but in the old days the school would rent a train and the entire Corps would pile in and chug away to the game. One of the most widely known traditions involving Corps Trips is the Twelfth Man. It started in 1922 when the Aggies played a football game against Centre Col- i on Kyle Field students converge I The incoming freshman will soon lege in Dallas. on the yell leaders, hoist them up | discover that the customs mention- Top opponents were tearing the on shoulders, and carry them to ed here are but a few of the many Aggies up and the reserves on the fish pond across campus near he’ll adhere to during the next four the A&M bench were fast dwind- Sbisa Hall for a dunking. I years, ling away. When the coach was down to his last reserve a young sophomore named King Gill, who had worked out with the team several times, dashed out of the stands and suited up. GILL DIDN’T get to play but his gesture gave the school its famous tradition and today dur ing a football game the entire student body, dates and anyone who happens to be in the Aggie section stand while the team is on the field, ready to go in as the Twelfth Man. Still another time-honored tra dition at Aggieland is the Midnight Yell Practice. In addition to the two regular after-supper yell prac tices held each week during foot ball season, the band and student body participate in midnight af fairs before each home game. At 11:30 p.m. the band leaves its dorm and marches up and down the streets of the campus, gathering members of the student body and dates in its wake. THE MARCHERS arrive at Kyle Field at midnight and a lengthy yell practice begins. Another of the much-publicized customs at A&M is the tradition of kissing one’s date when the Aggies score in a football game. According Free Demonstration to the code, any touchdown, extra At last year’s first Midnight Yell Practice a yell leader and point or field goal warrants a demonstrate what is to be done following each “movie love scene” type kiss. Aggie score. In this tradition, the yell leaders claim, they When A&M wins a football clash have their best cooperation from the student body. 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