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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 19, 1965)
THE BATTALION Tuesday, October 19, 1965 College Station, Texas Page 3 n it 80 Nor.' s; mm workitj fraduati of thei: er alon{ 'dgers.") may Ik througt dr mi ers an on ami jy want, to theii ir plans. ituation, !, whirl ie sanii dger.” 1 due tkt J. abast ; of thi is, skip- (whirl rob) or of tin e in rt' e abuse t I am do not college' >e fret fending an stu- . atteni ity anl m from egatios dor, re- n” (or an ele- agrees a cred- e state r coun- if your against school, r let a iber of n your we still uch as it then is long decide read, eak to nk. Owens nd da ng the row, I tter to ebuttal print- ct. 13' 3 well ,resent obably is any jerson, ms as mi the .llenge about it, ac- .essive mood, I be lls re- yes, wear class- re the arga e ake » i stu- yhitl 2 ...More Pro-Civilian Letters... NON-REGS POLISH SULLY Three civilian students display a sign reading “Who Sez Non-Regs Are Bad Guys?” as they apply the spitshine to the Lawrence Sullivan Ross statue Monday in front of the Academic Building. Ray Roland, Ralph Robertson and Joe Hoyler do the honors. dent body and find that most dress nicely. I have never walked on the MSC grass. I have never seen “two or three or twenty on the grass.” I wish Mr. DeFrank would meet me “any day you care to look” and show them to me. I find that I whip out to fresh men walking past me just about as often as the converse occurs. Upperclassmen are generally more conventional. It is delightful to antagonize someone who is affected so ad versely and react so childishly as do members of the Corps on oc casions. One occasion involved a Confederate Flag and a large group of civilians who intended to follow the Corps formation to chow. Yes indeed, this was the wrong thing to do. They should have led the Corps. Good clean fun, but someone lacks the neces sary sense of humor. I live in the north area with a good view of retreat formation. I have seen very few persons, on as many separate occasions, doing anything except standing with due respect as the flag is lowered. Actions before or after that period involve no disrespect to our flag. “. . . while the brave draft dodgers of Texas A&M . . .” Get serious, Mr. DeFrank. Take a poll. What percentage of the Corps are veterans as compared with the percentage of civilian veterans ? Like most other civilians at A&M, I began my military ea rned in the Corps, and from my own experience in the U.S. Army cannot believe that any mature, responsible individual would re main a member of the Corps aft er having had any actual mili tary experience. I have met just as many Corps men as civilians looking for draft-deferred posi tions upon graduation. It is gratifying to know that you know of two fine civilians, the chairman of SCON A XI and the editor of The Battalion. If you will just remove the chip from your shoulder you will un doubtedly get to meet and know them and many others like them. “So long as the civilians taunt the Corps, the Corps will give it right back until a large-scale riot develops on the north side where both parties will be at fault.” Tsk, tsk, Mr. DeFrank. Very immaturely spoken. Since when does teasing merit violence ? Is there some reason that the Corps is so sensitive about its chosen way of life that it is fearful of criticism ? If Texas A&M Board Presi dent H. C. Meldenfels actually said that the “Corps is A&M . . . (and his) primary concern is for the welfare of the corps,” I am very disappointed in my board president. I cannot believe that a man in such a responsible posi tion could speak from such a narrow view. Mr. DeFrank, I hope that this letter will demonstrate to you that otherwise apathetic persons have a great deal of spirit when a worthy cause presents itself. We need more men like Joe Bush who recognize petty dis agreements and try to rectify the situation. We don’t need men who com plain without offering a solution to the problem. We are all Aggies, but by no stretch of the imagination are we all alike. Bob Ford, ’66 ★ ★ ★ Editor, The Battalion: Although I’m sure Tommy De- Frank’s “editorial” in the Oct. 13 Battalion was written for the purpose of getting people to write letters, it still makes me a little sad that this type of atti tude exists at such a fine institu tion as Texas A&M University. I think that everyone on cam pus is concerned with one thing: projecting a good image to the people of Bryan-College Station, the State of Texas and the entire United States. When remarks such as De- Frank made are heard and read outside the campus, it not only hurts Texas A&M, but it also hurts thousands of people who believe in this school. It is ridiculous to label an en tire student body or a segment of that body with such gross gen eralities. Indeed, the so - called “Mon-Regs” are almost entirely eomposed of ex-Corps members, since only this year has the Corps become non-compulsory. As for the “Non-Regs” descra- tion of Taps, and other things held dear, I would like to say that when I attended my first Silver Taps this September, I saw hundreds of boys dressed in civilian clothes walk very rever ently to the Academic Building. These could not have all been Corps members. I have also seen Corps mem bers in various stages of drunk enness and engaged in disorderly conduct at various functions in several cities of this state. If the Corps members are the “true” Aggies, then to follow DeFrank’s example of generalizing, are all Aggies drunk and disorderly? Of course not! ! Aggies will not be able to erase the poor image they have in the minds of many people un til they all join forces and work together to improve that image. They are attending one of the finest schools in the entire coun try. It is a fine school because of the efforts of both kinds of stu dents: Corps and non - Corps members. And it will not con tinue to be fine if people with the misguided thinking and the obvious prejudices such as De- Frank has continue to go here. Mrs. Patsy Barr (An Aggie Wife) ★ ★ ★ Editor, The Battalion: In reference to Mr. DeFrank’s article of Oct. 13, 1965, page two of the Battalion. Let us sum up his derrogatory inferences directed to the civilian student body. Lack of participa tion in yell practices, irreverence at Taps, irreverence at retreat and the seating arrangements in Kyle Field. The only group responsible for these breaches of conduct is a minority of civilian students. The majority of civilian students at Texas A&M have, and show, as much a feeling of spirit and reverence for our school and her ideals as any member of the Cadet Corps, bar none. At this point may I pose a question ? The answer is given daily in any part of the quad. The question is this: “How many Corps members would regularly attend bi-weekly yell practice, morning formation, daily retreat and observe nightly C.Q. were they not under the influence of ‘rams’ and other means of forc ing conformity?” Take away the word compulsory and how many “True Aggies”, by your stand ards, do you have? My main disagreement with your article is the subtle and half-sighted way your descrip tion catagorizes the entire civ ilian body. This, let me again stress, is not the case at all. The definite minority is the only group responsible for these ir reverences. I do not deny the ex istence of these irreverences; I only question their origin. I am sure, since the Board of Directors deemed the Corps non- compulsory, that Mr. Heldenfels’ statements do not represent their united opinion, as they should. The position of board c'hairman should necessitate a little self-restraint and diploma cy regarding matters that affect such a large portion of the stu dent body. Furthermore, the pri mary concern of the board chair man should be the welfare of, the upholding of the ideals and standards of and the good name of the great unversity he repre sents, not the welfare of one particular organization of the University. I don’t think he ap preciated your use of his com ments. In short, I think you spoke very much out of turn and would do well to whip out to one and all. A. R. Boyle, ’67 ★ ★ ★ Editor, The Battalion: I’m one of those groady Non- Regs. This is my third year at Texas A&M. Wednesday an arti cle in The Battalion questioned, even denied my being an Aggie, and I’m ready to challenge the guy that wrote that article right now. He didn’t just say me; he said every Non-Red except two. I would like to know just what right he has. “Very little good can be said for the civilian group at A&M.” Just what can be said for the Corps group. I’ve always heard bad. “Civilians wear blue jeans and T-shirts to classes in direct vio lation of University Regula tions.” If Mr. DeFrank had read his regulations carefully before spouting off, he would have no ticed that it said “tattered trous ers” (p. 23). And I have never seen a plaip^T-shirt in class since coming to A&M except through the unbuttoned shirt of a Corps boy. Civilians “delight in antagon izing the Corps of Cadets during formations.” In my two years in the Corps, there was hardly a formation when we didn’t give ’some jody about civilians going to hell. Morning formations were especially noisy, brought about, more than anything else, by 'jealous cadets who wished they were in bed too. ’ Something else I haven’t seen is a civilian on MSC grass. May be one at the back or side, but I can’t remember it. At any rate, 20 a day ? ? I have yet to see a civilian fail to take off his hat at retreat, but I have seen sen iors salute late or drop their sa lute early several times. ’ “Civilians are their worst at 11 each night.” Last year, when I lived in Dorm 5 with no civil ians around, the shouting bravo etc. was just as loud as when I lived in Dorm 17. ' Some civilians do wear Beatle cuts, holey sweatshirts, and have sockless feet. Some are draft dodgers. Maybe some civilians do everything Mr. DeFrank says, but the per cent is certainly less than 10 percent and probably less than 5 per cent. That would mean that Mr. DeFrank owes about 5,000 civilians an apology. ' The way I see it we’re all Ag gies, and one guy is as much a man as the next, and no one is going to start a “large - scale war” unless it’s men like Mr. De- Frank who writes articles that have already brought about a water fight and who is too nar row-minded to see both sides of the picture. My main point is that no one is going to deny me the privilege of saying that “I’m an Aggie and damn proud of it.” That’s what I said when I was a fresh man and it what I’ll be saying for the rest of my life. Charles Michie, ’67 ★ ★ ★ Editor, The Battalion: In regard to Mr. DeFrank’s article entitled “Non-Regs: True Aggies?”, I was truly disappoint ed to find these particular senti ments voiced in The Battalion in exactly that manner. Granted, the author does have the right to any opinion he may hold no matter how erroneous, it is disappointing that this letter found its way into the columns of The Battalion. Mr. Editor, doesn’t the paper have some responsibility to the student body to promote good will as well as report the news? Though the statement appearing on the second page disclaims ownership of any opinions ex pressed and therefore negates responsibility, by allowing such a column to appear, the paper apparently condones, even ap proves, such an opinion unless equal space is granted for the voicing of an opposite opinion. Though I hesitate to suggest it, perhaps no one had the in testinal fortitude to edit or cut entirely such a biased and in flammatory article. The only al ternative that occurs to me is that this article was not read at all before printing. As I say, this is the only alternative because I am sure The Battalion is not trying to increase what Mr. De- Frank so aptly calls the “. . . eternal conflict peculiar to Texas A&M . . .” Rod Adkinson, ’68 The article was read before it was printed. Although it was not in agreement with The Bat talion’s general feeling on the subject, Mr. DeFrank’s column was, and is, intended to express his own beliefs, not those of his editor—Editor. ★ ★ ★ Editor, The Battalion: In the wake of the recent arti cle, “Non-Regs: True Aggies?” There is mixed emotion. But I think it might be said of logic with regard to the Battalion staff, what has been said of the English language with regard to the people of America: “They haven’t used it for years”! I, and I’m sure many others, will agree that there is some truth in the accusations made by Mr. DeFrank in his article. How ever, though I agree in part, I cannot accept his statements in full because there is barely a shred of conclusive evidence to support any of his claims. Even though some of these claims may be true of a number of civilian students, they hardly permit such severe censure and indictment of the entire civilian student body. Probably, under a more ob jective appraisal, the percentage of “draft dodgers,” walkers-on- MSC-grass, and taps desecrators would be found to be extremely small. James C. Patton ★ ★ ★ Editor, The Battalion: Mr. DeFrank, I can, in all sin cerity, say that as a journalist you did a magnificent job of get ting the attention of your read ers, but as an Aggie, you tore down the very thought on which Texas A&M stands: “We are the Aggies, the Aggies are we. True to each other as Aggies can be.” Have you ever heard these words before ? The civilians wanted to know why the Corps students weren’t speaking to them and you an swered this question with the word “sob.” This tells us noth ing. You could say “read be tween the lines” — how many lines are there between a three- lettered answer? Joe Bush is interested in keep ing Corps-civilian relationship in some semblance of cordiality; exidently you are not! Please al low me to add the second page in this “episode.” Civilians wear blue jeans and T-shirts to class — yes, and so do the Fighting Texas Aggie athletes. Should Coach Stallings be hung in effigy for this viola tion of University regulations? Civilians reflect discredit on this university by their haircuts and sloppy dress. What per cent? Could this statement have been a generalization ? Mr. DeFrank, as you progress ed in your article you really started spinning your wheels! First, let me commend you on your eyesight. Even when I squint, I just can’t seem to see those 20 civilian students wan dering around on the grass of the Memorial Student Center lawn. Name the day, Mr. De- Frank, and we’ll start counting. Second, civilian students aren’t willing to return a handshake?— come now! Taps is perhaps the best known American tribute to its war dead, but somehow it seems to interfere with “tatoo” around the A&M campus. Many fresh men don’t even know that taps are blown every night because there is so much “cain-raising” going on at that time. Can you truthfully say that when taps are being played that every Corps student observes a mo ment of silence in honor of the dead ? At this point in your article you really hit home. By classify ing A&M civilian students as draft dodgers, you have classed every non-ROTC student in the United States as a draft dodger. At this very moment there are brothers, and fathers, and uncles and friends of civilian students fighting in Viet Nam. Tell them that they are draft dodgers and see what kind of look you get. Mr. DeFrank, you have kept the flame going in the age-old problem of civilian versus Corps. You said that it took just three short weeks for the civilians to justify all the bitterness and ani mosity felt for them by the Corps and yet in just one short article you have justified all the bitter ness and animosity felt for the Corps by the civilian students. Tear down your wall, Mr. De- Frank. We’re Aggies, too — and damn proud of it! Ronald Mumford, ’68 ★ ★ ★ Editor, The Battalion: Upon reading the editorial of Mr. DeFrank, I wish to take the time to answer his comments about some of my fellow Aggies, the Non-Regs. I do not wish to state that Mr. DeFrank is wrong in his article berating the civilian Aggies, only to speak out for my side in rebuttal. For a start, let’s take up the issue of campus clothing. To me, and to many fellow Non-Regs, it is a mark of personal pride in not wearing worn-out dirty or sloppy clothing to class. I feel the same about shoes without socks. I never went to high school looking like a vagrant, and see no reason for starting to now. I don’t imagine it is too pleasant to be a professor who has spent years in preparation for his de gree to look out at a group of bumbs while he himself wears a suit or at least a shirt and tie. Oh, by the way, have you ever been by the steam table at the Campus Cleaners where the shirts have to be “de-goated” — steamed around the armpits and collars — before the cleaning fluid can clean the material? It takes many days of sweating and ironing the sweat in to reach the state of most of the shirts that pass through this establishment. I don’t like the sockless shoes, either; but if Mr. DeFrank would take a good look, he could see that he has exaggerated some what, and the ones without socks are a decided minority. If this is a school rule, the requirement of socks and shoes, how about a lit tle sand-raising from school of ficials and even fellow students? I feel I can speak for my Non- Reg buddies about the difference in the grass growing in front of the Center, and grass elsewhere. The Memorial Student Center is to me a memorial as it is to the Corps members, and we don’t walk on the grass any more than we would walk upon a grave. I have personally been on and around this campus since I was born, having lived here for a time and spent many summers here, and I can only remember three cases of people walking on the grass at the MSC, one being a senior, complete with boots and saber hustling to class, the oth ers, I don’t know. Either unin formed visitors, students here, or who knows ? But it seems to me that Mr. DeFrank must sit in front of the Center all day to count as many grasswalkers as he implies he sees, and even if he did sit there that long, I real ly doubt he would see as many people on the grass as his exag gerations tell. I have never met an Aggie yet, whether Corps or civilian who did not return the handshake, whether his hands were full or not. I know of few civilians here who find it a chore to whip out or be whipped out to. Very few. Mr. DeFrank also has let his exaggerations run away in re gard to the ceremonies of our Flag and Taps. There are many people elsewhere than here who aren’t aware of the symbols of respect for our Flag, and I be lieve that if Mr. DeFrank would take a closer look, he would see that the majority of the civilians who are out of doors at the time do take the time to stop and hon or the flag as it is being raised or lowered. Has Mr. DeFrank ever been around the Dorm 15-16 area between Tattoo and Taps, and past then? I confess, I am the one who has complained out the door here about the yelling and hollering and general sand raising going on. As this is being written, about 11:15 p.m., I am listening to more noise than the freshmen wildcatting upon leav ing the dorm, and they’re sup posed to be asleep or studying. I must also confess I don’t have a perfect record for attend ing yell-practice. I wish I could go to them more regularly, but sometimes my schedule doesn’t pei-mit it. It’s nice in the Corps, though, since the schedule is tail ored to fit in with yell practice. I think more of the civilians should go to them, we are weak on this point. I am ignorant of the situation regarding Kyle Field seating, I was working with the Ed.TV De partment during the game, but I was there, nevertheless, along with the very great percentage of the civilians who went to the game. Therefore I will make no comment about the problem in seating. Allow me to close with this final thought: Mr. DeFrank does not regard the civilian students of Texas A&M University as Ag gies, as he regards himself his “uniformed counterparts,” but does he know that the vast ma jority of the civilians were at one time in the Corps of Cadets, and are now either graduate stu dents, 5th year men, Aggies who have left the Corps because of jobs, marriage, or both? Does he realize that some of these civil ians served their compulsory time in the Corps and have left to devote their time more fully to their studies, or have left the Corps since they do not care for a military career and feel that they can use the time spent pol ishing shoes and brass and press ing uniforms, etc. better by studying? Wm.E. Freiberger, ’68 ★ ★ ★ Editor, The Battalion: After the spring semester 1962 I was informed that I was schol astically deficient and would not be able to return to A&M the following year. Rather than sit around for a semester I joined the Army and eventually I was assigned to the 101st Airborne Division, Fort Campbell;, Ken tucky. During those three years I never missed a Muster, in fact I spent a great deal of time and money to attend the Aggie Mus ter on campus in 1965. Now I am back at A&M and somebody with a case of righteousness lighting his path has said I am not an Aggie because I am not in the Corps, or better yet, I am a draft dodger. I think I should inform this person that he or anyone else in the Corps, unless on a contract, can be considered in the same class. Let me backtrack a little; dur ing my three years in the serv ice several unpleasant things happened to me. I was informed that I was creating a war by be ing in the Army by a lady in Dallas. My unit warned us to stay out of Little Rock, Arkan sas, and Oxford, Mississippi, while in uniform due to the role our Division had played in riot control in these two cities. I had hoped that when I returned to A&M I would be looked at as an equal and without scorn as had happened so many times in the past. Such is not the case, the average look I get on campus from the Corps is one of scorn because I am a Non-Reg. This is ridiculous, I’ve got more experi ence than most people in the Corps, I even spent a year in Spider “D” but now that I am a Non-Reg I am not equal to those in the Corps. I will admit that most of the Non-Regs have not been in the service but the ma jority have been in the Corps and many of them feel as I do. When I returned to campus this fall I said “Howdy” to those I passed and whipped out when I walked by someone. Many times I did not get an answer and many times I got a look of scorn by a person having to low er himself to shake the hand of a Non-Reg. I stopped, can you blame me ? I speak when I’m spoken to and return a hand shake when offered with enthu siasm but unless things change I won’t speak or whip out first anymore. Incidently, it is defi nitely below a fish’s level to whip out or talk to a Non-Reg even if he is with a group of peo ple the fish knows; is that being an Aggie? I think not. As for civilians milling around the flag as it is lowered, I will admit that you have a point but I will mention that this consti tutes a minority of the civilians. By the way, students from other nations are not required to pay homage to our flag, it is expect ed but not required. The person leaning on the sign the other night was from another nation. One other point, you might look around at some of the Corps someday as the flag comes down, their conduct needs some im provement also. I don’t believe that there has been an excessive amount of abuse heaped on the formations. You will find that this happens everywhere you go in a uniform. If you don’t believe it talk to someone who happened to be in or saw the inauguration parade this year. It makes a person won der if anyone really cares about a soldier other than someone to abuse and laugh at. You hit a pretty sour note on Taps; however, as the Corps is just as bad about Taps as are the Non-Regs. They really tear the bugler apart if he makes a mistake or have you noticed. Both sides are at fault here and it should be remedied but it won’t be at least not as long as a man has a mouth and knows how to use it. I will have to apologize for wearing blue jeans to class though I am not guilty on the other counts on clothing or per sonal appearance. I simply can’t afford anything else, you see Non-Regs don’t receive a cloth ing issue so they wear what they can afford. I could wear some of the fatigues that I have but that would be frowned on by the Corps also I’m afraid. I will say this, my blue jeans look a lot better than some of these uni forms I have seen. The long hair part of the campus is in the min ority and does not constitute a big problem at the moment. As long as I am on the appearance and the effect it has on the school’s image, I might mention those signs that keep appearing every week. True they are good for spirit but some of them are enough to make a prostitute turn her head. That is really great for our image, especially when parents and dates arrive on cam pus for the weekend. Some of those signs ai’e not even funny, they are, as my date said: “Pure dirt.” You have a good point about the grass around the MSC but in every large group you have some who refuse to abide by the rules. It is not right but you can’t do much about it. As far as the rope boundaries at the game go, I will admit that it sure was a shame for those Non-Regs to give that guy with a Deputy Badge on his arm a helping hand; he could have done it alone, it would have taken long er but he could have managed. This school is a great one, one of the best in the nation and one reason it is that way stems from the fact that Aggies always stick together. History has proven many times that Aggies stay to gether no matter what the case may be. You and people like you can only cause a division of the student body of this school; ad mittedly we are already divided but the main effort should be to bring the school back together, not to further separate it. Your article has done a remarkable job of further dividing the school, if you don’t believe it look around, the general attitude changed almost as soon as The Battalion was out. This letter may be radical but not nearly as much as your arti cle was. You used far too many generalizations and put the blame on one party where both are at fault. I might have dis regarded your article if it had not been for one thing; you told an Aggies that he was not an Aggie merely because he is a Non-Reg. Tom Glaser