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Che Battalion
Page 2
College Station, Texas
Tuesday, January 4, 1966
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CADET SLOUCH
by Jim Earle
Coeds, Corps Rated Top Issues
’65 Campus News Review
JL i i ■
rff'^srP-
“ . . . th’ guys tell me that you didn’t miss a single game on
TV!”
Draft Revision:
Fairness Needed
Escalation of the war in Viet Nam and its subsequent
criticisms from a minority of college youth have brought
a highly controversial topic to the national limelight once
again: The Universal Military Training and Service Act.
Student critics have publicly burned draft cards, openly
protested the military draft and unintentionally aroused
support for the United States activity in Southeast Asia.
They have also encouraged many responsible citizens
to question the inequalities of present conscription pro
cedures.
Ever since Irish Democrats in New York opposed
President Lincoln’s compulsory military service measures
prior to the Civil War, critics of the draft have been with
us.
Basically, they are in two camps: One that favors
abolishment of any military conscription, the other advocat
ing a truly compulsory system without exception.
Both groups decry the inequalities of our present setup
that requires induction of less than 60 per cent of the eligible
male youth under age 26.
Proponents of a strictly voluntary armed forces claim:
1. The draft is militarily ineffective because 97 per
cent of the draftees leave after their hitch is up.
2. Adequate training cannot be provided during the
time alloted for draftees.
3. Today’s modem warfare requires fewer and more
specialized soldiers.
4. A more professional and adept military force could
be maintained by voluntary personnel, attracted by higher
salaries and fringe benefits.
5. The draft removes useful youth from the general
employment market.
Ross Wilhelm, associate professor of business adminis
tration at the University of Michigan and strong advocate
of the voluntary system, has suggested a $300 monthly
across-the-board pay hike for all military personnel—a pro
gram which he says would cost the federal government an
extra $9 billion annually. Reduction of government expendi
tures in other areas would finance the raise, he claims.
Recruits are presently paid $78 a month, as compared
with West Germany’s $110 and Canada's $112 for enlistees.
Opponents of the voluntary plan, however, say costs
of the program would be excessive and question the feasi
bility of having professionals shoulder the sacrifices and
responsibilities for the entire nation.
The second plan—strictly compulsory conscripition—
calls for an actual universal draft which would eliminate the
deferments and rejections that have made the present pro
gram quite unfair.
According to figures in U. S. News and World Report,
less than 60 per cent of American males age 26 are serving
or have served their military obiligation. About 30 per
cent are rejected for physical, mental or moral reasons and
the other 10 per cent are deferred because of parenthood or
other cause.
A recent Gallup Poll indicated that 83 per cent of the
people interviewed favored some form of compulsory duty
for rejected draft-eligible males. A special program for
these youth would, proponents claim, cut unemployment,
reduce juvenile deliquency and encourage reenlistments.
Also, the compulsory program would distribute respon
sibility for national defense more evenly.
Both plans have merit—something the present system
is sadly lacking. If the inequalities of our present draft
laws are to be eliminated, either military careers must be
made more attractive or universal conscription enforced.
The pseudo-universal program will continue to be
attacked and will lack necessary support as long as it re
mains unfair.
By GLENN DROMGOOLE
Battalion Editor
Coeducation and non-compulsory military train
ing — Texas A&M’s age-old hot topics — reigned
as the top campus news stories of 1965, Battalion
editors voted Monday night.
The developments in the coeducation question
made it the number one event of the year, just
slightly ahead of the Board of Directors decision
to revert A&M to the voluntary Corps it knew
for four years during the 1950’s.
The top 10 also included:
3. Randy Matson’s accomplishments with the
shot put and his decision this fall to play basket
ball.
4. Reorganization of the Texas A&M Uni
versity System that resulted in the A&M-Arlington
State feud last spring and climaxed with the
Arlington school’s divorce from the A&M net
work.
5. Gene Stallings' first year as head football
coach and his accomplishments in student sports
manship, recruitment, and state press accolades.
6. The Johnny Cash Bonfire Night performance
at Town Hall that was canceled by the A&M
administration after Cash was arrested in El Paso
on a narcotics charge.
7. Southwest Conference action against A&M
for alleged violations of spring practice and scholar
ship rules which resulted in one-year probation and
a severe reprimand for the Aggies and Stallings.
8. Three-way tie for places 8, 9 and 10.
Ranger’s death after he had been considered in some
quarters to replace Reveille when she retired as
Aggie mascot; the telegram to President Johnson
endorsed by more than 2,000 Aggies supporting the
United States involvement in Viet Nam after stu
dent protests had rocked the nation this fall;
Rodney Dockery’s expulsion from the Corps of
Cadets last spring for alleged abusive language
in the presence of two married coeds.
Participating in the balloting were Glenn Drom-
goole, editor; Gerald Garcia, managing editor;
Tommy DeFrank, news editor; Larry Jerden, sports
editor; Lani Presswood, summer editor and present
amusements editor, and Mike Reynolds, Battalion
columnist and editor of The Review .
Other campus stories receiving votes were the
Baylor and Rice painting incidents, acquisition of
the James Connally Technical Institute in Waco,
campus construction projects, the political clubs
controversy and Corps-civilian relations.
Also mentioned were the eleventh Student
Conference on National Affairs, last May’s over
flow of the Brazos River, local highway construction
and selection of the 1965-66 Aggie Sweetheart,
Cheri Holland.
As 1965 ended advocates of coeducation at this
traditionally all-male school were confident of a
victory early in 1966, although various proponents
of the men-only policy still vowed to fight to the
last moment.
Included in the all-male camp are about three
A&M directors (according to a quite reliable
source), not the least of whom is Board President
H. C. Heldenfels.
However, coeducation backers could count six
directors on their side as the year closed, and
the signs point to a decision one way or another
before school adjourns in May. Some observers
believe the vote will come at the board’s February
meeting, others think it may be April. Still others
hope—though faintly—that it will never come.
Among the major developments in coeducation in
1965 were:
—Senator Andy Rogers’ bill in the Texas Senate
to prohibit the board from expanding its present
limited coeducation policy. The bill finally died
after Bryan Sen. Bill Moore waged an all-out
campaign against it, but the legislature did pass
a resolution asking the board to not tamper further
with the question.
—A question of whether or not the limited coed
setup violated the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The
board asked Attorney General Waggoner Carr for
a ruling, and Carr replied that the present policy
is discriminatory and would be difficult to defend
in court. Carr said the board could adopt either
an all-mall or full coeducation policy without feai
of violationg the federal statute.
—The board's directive (concealed from the state
press) to President Rudder authorizing him to
personally examine applications from any females
desiring to attend A&M. This move was hailed
by coed proponents as another step toward un
limited coeducation early in 1966.
The Corps of Cadets became a voluntary or
ganization for the second time in a decade when
the Board of Directors eliminated compulsory mili
tary training at its April 24 meeting.
President Earl Rudder reaffirmed his confi
dence in the ROTC program and the Corps two
days later, and Col. Denzil Baker, Corps com
mandant, predicted the non-compulsory military
students would either adopt the philosophy that
cadets are in the Corps because they want to
be, therefore subjecting them to extracurricular
discipline, or would make the organization attractive
to prospective students by creating an elite military
unit.
Contrary to predictions of cadet opponents
(particularly the faculty), Corps enrollment didn’t
suffer under the voluntary plan this fall. Nearly
three-fourths of incoming freshmen signed up for
the military program and were committed to at
least one semester in the organization.
The Viet Nam war and an overall enrollment in
crease were credited with keeping the Corps mem
bership intact, although its percentage of total
registration dwindled.
Corps skeptics were pointing to the spring regis
tration as 1965 ended, predicting a mass exodus
by fish from the military ranks, and Corps pro
ponents were hopefully denying any such move.
So the old year ended as it had begun—full of
speculation—as 1966 is expected to be the year of
decision.
STALLINGS REVIEWS PERFORMANCE
. . Aggie coach was a top newsmaker for 1965.
GRAVE MARKS A LEGEND
Ranger’s death ended campus year on sad note.
Mike Reynolds
Ring Out The Old, Bring In The New...
This columnist is still trying
to recover from the New Year’s
partying while wondering:
—Who will go down in history
as the first Dean of Women at
Texas A&M University? Febru
ary is getting closer all the time
and some people would tell you
that coeducation is, also.
- -Just how many people are
reading the attendance figures at
Texas A&M ? If the school con
tinues to boom as it has this year
and if more women come, it can’t
help but mean more money for
everyone. Several new eating
establishments have opened their
doors and more are on the way.
Watch that new building next to
Coach Norton’s. Could Highway
6 turn into the “drag” of College
Station ?
—Is it really true or just a
New Year’s hangover? I am re
ferring to the construction equip
ment gathered around the circle
on Sulphur Springs Road. What
will the married students do for
amusement if they can’t play
Russian Roulette going home for
dinner ?
—Just where the Head Yell
Leader will lead the procession at
next year’s Midnight Yell Prac
tice ? The libarians might be very
fussy about holding the doors
open for the band to march
through the new Temple of
1,000,000 Unread Volumes.
—By the way, what ever hap
pened to AH-SO ? For the unin
formed, those letters stand for
the Ad Hoc committee for Stu
dent Opinion.
—What ever happened to the
molemen ?
—What happened to the basket
ball team during Christmas ?
—What happened to Michigan
State, Texas Tech, Texas Chris
tian, Arkansas and Nebraska over
the holidays?
—Whatever happened to the
holidays ?
—If our Dean of Students is
really going to start reposses
sion overtures against the Baylor
Student body’s new sportsman
ship trophy? That hunk of gold
ought to about pay for the dam
age done to our campus.
—What would REALLY happen
if the son of one of our board
members was caught with paint
brush in hand?
—If G. Rollie White will be
ready with the new air condition
ing system by the time I’m ready
to graduate?
—If I will be ready to graduate
by the time G. Rollie White gets
the new air conditioning.
—If there will be an April
Fool’s Edition of the Battalion
printed ?
—If there will ever be an Ag-
gieland that doesn’t look like last
year’s
—Who the Athletic Department
thinks they are going to put in
the new seats in Kyle Field ?
Have they looked at our atten
dance records lately? Could it
be that we will see a day come
when we will play more than
three or four games at home?
—If the day will ever come
when the A&M student body has
room to put its seniors on the
fifty yeard line like they told us
they did before we came here.
I have taken down my crystal
ball and jotted down a few things
that the glass reveals in the
future parts of this year. I can
not be held responsible for what
comes forth and any complaints
can be mailed to Father Time
c/o Greenwich, England.
Old diehards will again get
some state official to say that
coeds cannot come to A&M. A&M
will promptly secede from the
state.
Dean James P. Hannigan will
step up to the position of head
of the YMCA.
The Board of Directors will hire
a public relations man to better
their image with people of the
state. A 40 minute color movie
of the board’s meetings will be
made to show to the student body.
One person will show up at the
premiere. A fish, no doubt, late
for registration in the fall.
The Battalion will hire a public
relations man to better their
image with the administration. A
40 minute color movie of a staff
meeting at East Gate will be
made to show to the school's
fathers.
A North Gate Merchant will
begin producing color movies at
33 1/3 to 50 per cent savings.
Goodness Gracious will become
a household word this fall.
Attendance at A&M will fall
because of the drop in popularity
of Aggie jokes. Everybody will
rush to attend Beminji State.
A document will be found by
the University of Texas proving
that not Columbus, not Lief the
Lucky, but Darrell Royal dis
covered America.
A document will be found prov
ing that Oklahoma and not Texas
discovered Darrel Royal.
—The Student Senate will
finally accomplish something.
They will move to abolish them
selves by a unanimous decision.
I may get fired.
THE BATTALION
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The Battalion, Room 4. YMCA Building, College Station, Texas.
The Battalion, a student newspaper at Texas A&M Is
published in College Station, Texas daily except Saturday. EDITOR GLENN DROMGOOLE
Managing Editor Gerald Garni.
Sports Editor Larry Jerden
MEMBER News Editor Tommy DeFrank
The Associated Press, Texas Press Association Photographer Herky Killingsworth
PEANUTS
By Charles M. Schuh
PEANUTS
EVERYONE SAID THIN6S WOULD
BE BETTER, Birr THEY'ftE NOTi
f I DON'T THINK THIS 16 A
. NEW YEAR AT ALL...
I THINK hJEVE BEEN STUCK
WITH A USED VEAR."