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CADET SLOUCH
by Jim Earle
CAHjCG jau
“Th’ guys in th’ outfit appreciate your support of the
basketball team, but couldn’t you display your enthusiasm
in some other way than letting your hair grow until they
lose a conference game?”
Course Critique:
Professors Rated
Che Battalion
Page 2
College Station, Texas
Tuesday, January 11, 1966
It’s that time of the semester again, when every pro
fessor is looked upon by his charges as a smirking, inhumane
wretch who dedicates his entire spirit for the next few
weeks to the unrelentless torture and methodical destruc
tion of the student’s will to live.
But even as we all prepare to gird ourselves for
the miserable days of agony that inevitably appear twice
a year, there is a tiny speck of hope for us downtrodden
fellows faintly gleaming in the distance of Washington
State.
The University of Washington student body must have
decided they were tired of being trodden upon by pro
fessors so they devised a clever means of retaliation: a
mammoth edition which literally tears the guts from the
faculty.
The book is called Course Critique, and as the title
implies it systematically reviews the best and the worst
of the university’s course offerings. It is lavish in its
praise and merciless in its contempt for what the student
consensus feels to be inferior offerings.
But Course Critique goes further than just offer
ing opinions on courses. It also includes a section rating
the faculty.
Professors are rated from A to E, the latter signify
ing a deplorable ranking. The book pulls no punches;
names are printed and more than one poor prof has his
hide torn off by caustic commentary.
All 25,000 students at Washington were allowed to
participate through distribution of questionnaires. The
results were screened and analyzed by a select group of
doctoral level individuals and the findings were publish
ed in book form a year ago.
Needless to say, the book is a roaring success.
Harvard has published a Confidential Guide which
details both the best and worst of the academic offer
ings. That effort is compiled by the editors of the uni
versity student newspaper.
Other campuses in the North — only a handful,
actually — have shown interest in a similar endeavor
whereby students can be allowed to express sincere opin
ions on the quality of courses and the men who teach
them.
Such an ambitious venture would cause a more than
mild reaction among the faculty on this campus and any
campus, and understandably so. Nobody likes to be
panned by an unequal.
Yet a Course Critique could work here. Perhaps
it would not be wise to have all students render judg
ments on courses and profs, although that would be the
ideal situation.
But what harm would there be in permitting gradu
ating seniors who are Distinguished Students or honor
graduates to critique the past four years of instruction?
Can you imagine some professor opening his new
Aggie Course Critique and finding this statement entered
under his name:
“He tries to dress as if he were one of the boys and
his lectures sound like a broken record.”
Or “he’s the best reader to hit the campus in years.”
Or “he can cram more tripe and fewer pertinent facts
into 50 minutes than the next 10 profs.”
Or “he hasn’t updated his notes in 12 years and the
only constructive thing he does is throw sleepers out of
class.”
Such a project would result in a mass outcry of in
dignation from the faculty and there would be hell to
pay for somebody — probably the students.
But if a Course Critique could be handled responsibly
it might well prove beneficial to a department head at
tempting to upgrade his curricula and staff.
It’s not so far out as it seems, and what harm could
come from it if it were done properly?
Well, Happy New Year! I know
it’s a little late, but this is my
first chance to wish you the best
for ’66
I got back to school yesterday
and discovered that 1 was a week
late Could have sworn we
were supposed to start classes
Jan. 10
Oh, well, I just missed two
major quizzes, was dismissed
from another class for too many
absences, had my grade lowered
a letter in another and had one
helluva time explaining my stupi
dity
But, anyway, I’m back and
should have plenty of time now to
record my observations of cam
pus life in the metropolitan area.
And speaking of metropolitan
areas, I was in Dallas a couple
days after the Cotton Bowl and
the city was still trying to re
cover They told me down
town was a madhouse New
Year’s Eve With both the
Cajuns and Porkers in town, I
could see why
While I was in the city, though,
I tried to see “Thunderball”—
the latest James Bond flick . . . .
But the line was too long (they
were selling tickets for the next
day’s matinee), so I went down
the street and watched “Battle
of the Bulge” It’s a great
Tiger Flick for all you war
mongers Battalion movie
expert Lani Presswood said he
saw it, too, and even HE liked
it And that’s pretty good,
coming from a non-reg . . . . .
Well, back to campus
I’m never going to miss a whole
week again So much hap
pened
Like four issues of the Daily
Jerden, with all of the sports
writer’s exploits on page one . . .
Well, not ALL of his exploits,
but the ones of his hitchhiking
episode anyhow
And then I noticed that the
Student Senate is going to study
operations of Student Publica-
cations Maybe the Student
Publications Board should ini
tiate a study of the Student
Senate How can the stu
dents be sure they are adequately
represented by their senators ?
Also, I was relieved to hear
that there were no Silver Taps
last Tuesday
And was I ever shocked! The
circle is being demolished
A pat on the back for the City
Council who had been plugging
away for years and finally got
some action
A New Year’s toast to the
basketball team after winning
their first two conference games
They go after a third one
tonight when they take on Ark
ansas We’re Number One,
We’re Number One That’s
the cry here now
I heard a story about the Mag
gie last Saturday night who had
a date with one of her male
friends (one of many)
They were casually driving down
Highway 6 (which runs both
ways) and the Maggie spotted
a car in the bushes in Hensel
Park “That guy must
be lost out there in the bushes,”
she remarked to her date
It took her a moment to realize
that perhaps he wasn’t lost at
all, that maybe he had some rea
son to be parked in the bushes
She blushed
Speaking of stories, I heard a
rumor — just a rumor, mind
you — that not everyone is so
displeased with all the Aggie
jokes floating about Even
some Aggies think they’re kinda
funny Some I heard over
the holidays were, some weren’t
But everywhere I went,
I was greeted with, “Did you
hear the one about the Aggie
that ”
Most of them I had heard, but
not as Aggie jokes See
Ya ’Round—Mortimer.
THE BATTALION
Opinions expressed in The Battalion The Associated Press is entitled exclusively to the use for
j , 7 . , , . _ _ republication of all news dispatches credited to it or not
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News contributions may be made by telephoning 846-6618
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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
th " > “' h Manasing Editor Gerald Garcia
Sports Editor Larry Jerden
MEMBER News Editor Tommy DeFrank
The Associated Press, Texas Press Association Photographer Herky Killingsworth
Mike Reynolds
Outside Activity
Makes School Fun
Ever now and again, college
gets to be a pain in the neck
to some people. The day in and
day out attendance of classes,
the monotony of studying and do
ing homework and endless rhy
thm of menial tasks begin to
drag them down.
know it, you are on your way.
The positions can take you
around the social whirl, the state,
the U. S. and even follow you
through life. The people you meet
and make friends now can make
and conceivably break you in
later life .
Others seem to breeze through
the week without a care in the
world and stand waiting to take
on any and all situations.
Now that I have had my say
on that topic, I will come down
off my pulpit and talk to the
masses.
What seems to make the dif
ference?.. Whether it is at A&M
or on some other campus, the
monotony-breaker of college life
is extra-curricular activities.
What do upperclassmen do for
fun?.. Where do they make new
friends ? How do they seem to
get more out of school ? To the
first or second year college stu
dent these questions may be a
puzzle. To the upperclassmen,
they may cound like the begin
ning of some more fatherly ad
vice. They might as well stop
reading right now. If they
haven’t discovered the secret by
the time graduation is becoming
more than a dream, then they
never will discover it.
Some students seem to fit right
in with the pattern of life in
college. Usually they discovered
the secret of extra-curricular
activities in high school. Look
into their histories and you will
see class presidents and the like.
It was natural for them to fit
in when they got to college. It
was already second nature to
them.
I don’t have to tell you what
the extra-curricular activities are.
All you have to do is look in
the yearbook and take your pick
of the groups you find there.
Publications, government, social
organizations and many others
fill the list. Start little at first.
Everyone has to be a fish for one
year. There has to be someone
in the club for the president to
tell what to do.
Then try for a secondary post
in the organization. Before you
There is such a thing as going
to the extreme. Some people
join everything they can lay their
signatures to. The results of
this can be seen by taking a look
at the seniors around you. If
they complain of day in and day
out attendance of classes, the
monotony of club meetings and
endless rhythm of menial tasks
for a mob of different organiza-
tons, they have what may be
known as Who’s Whoitis. The
name is derived from juniors that
run madly about the campus try
ing desperately to find some
more points for their rating in
some organization.
First thing you know the sec
ond semester of the senior year
is rolling around and the old
Grade Point Ratio comes rolling
downhill and buries them under
a hill of disappointment when
their buddies walk off with that
diploma.
That is, if they are still on
their feet, they feel disappoint
ment. That little building over
their in the trees fondly known
as the Student Health Service
is just full of the ones that crack.
If you go home, they’ll crack
you over the head. The circle
gets tighter and tighter, just
because someone told you to join
an organization on campus.
Where is the happy medium.
I can’t say for you. Everyone
has a different one. It is up to
you to find it. College will no
longer seem a drudge, that is
for sure. It may become one
madhouse of a scramble.
Have fun. Try joining. Don’t
leave at semester.
NATIONAL EDUCATORS LIFE
Estate &; Financial Planning
For Seniors and Graduate Students
Office: 3803 Old College Rd.
846-5654
You May THINK
You’re Getting The Most
For Your USED BOOKS-
—But You’ll Never
Know Until You Try Ol’ Lou!
Friends, we buy all used books whether in use
here or not — we buy for over 200 college book stores,
including Loupot’s.
Whether buying or selling, you know LOU aims
to please — his business was built that way.
LOUPOT’S
‘Where Aggies Trade’
• Opinions
Cartoons
cr
JAf*
Features
Criminal Code Analysis
Part 1
BY GLENN DROMGOOLE
Battalion Editor
Civili
portn
land ’
ule. '
the 1
and ti
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J
J
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Criminal law in Texas has been overhauled with the adopt#
of a new Texas Code of Criminal Procedure which went into effe
Jan. 1
Praised by some, criticized by others, the revised guide It
criminal trials updates and in general liberalizes the old 1925 code,
Defendants, always protected under the American constitutii
system, now have much more protection. Texas criminal pn
has been placed more in line with federal court thought. The
has been a sweeping change in the handling of criminal cases in
state .
Atten
corps
their
gielar
make-
10 - 1
NOTI
shook
made
disreg
schedi
Among the most widely discussed and debated changes in
code are provisions dealing with bail bond, confessions, right
counsel, pre-trial news coverage, jury rules, punishment and probatii
The revision has received platitudes from defense attorneys a:
some prosecutors, while other prosecutors and police chiefs ha;
claimed the new code will make it harder to obtain convictions,
The code touches far more people than those in the legal aa
enforcement professions. A new chronicle of personal rights
been written, which more definitely defines the guaranteed individa
rights to a fair trial.
n“S()}
Engineered by the State Bar of Texas, the code was adopted 11
the state legislature during its 1965 session. Various federal cot:
rulings precipitated the revision.
The Supreme Court in 1961 tossed out previous definitions i
“due process of law” and launched into case after case redefinit
the clause.
Mapp vs. Ohio that year started the trend which has since be
expanded in such landmark cases as Gideon vs. Wainright in Florid
and Escobedo vs. Illinois.
But it was the Mapp case which set the precedent. An illegil
search uncovered pornographic literature in Mapp’s possession ft ‘
which he was convicted. In reversing the decision, the Supreme Coni OJ
also threw out previous rulings that evidence uncovered in an illegt f
search could not be considered a violation of individual rights, ]
In Gideon vs. Wainwright the previous requirement for couns I
(state-appointed if necessary) was expanded to include felony cast
The Escobedo case further expanded the right to counsel t
include suspects when police investigation shifts to accusation. ^
Texas criminal law observers were not disturbed by the Ma:
and Gideon cases particularly, since both matters under fire way- ^
already adequately covered by the existing state code. However,!
the court began to expand its interpretations—in cases such as Esctjj £
bedo—Texas lawmakers saw it was time to change. Also, varioE
weaknesses in the old code (such as limitations placed on judgel
contributed to the revision campaign. f|
In these articles we will consider how the code:
1. Has altered provisions for confessions and right of counst J errv
2. Further protects individual rights.
3. Saves time and expense in trial procedures and still provide|
for punishment and rehabilitation of society’s wrong-doers.
ALL FAITH CHAPEL
7:30 p. m.
WEDNESDAY January 12, 1966
The Bishop’s Company
In
‘•STEP DOWN TO GLORY”
by
Gary Heilsberg
A Play
On The Life Of President
Woodrow Wilson
Sponsored By
Campus Religious Workers
Association
PEANUTS
By Charles M. Schub
PEANUTS
m LIFE HAS NO DIRECTION
NO AIM...NO MEANIN6....
AND ^ET l‘M HAPPY... I
CAN'T FK3URE IT OUT..
WHAT AM I D0IN6 RIGHT?
7HERE WAS A DAY JUST LIKE
TODAY BACK IN 1935'THIS
ISN'T A NEW YEAR AT ALL...
THIS IS A USED H'EAR/
IM S0INST0 WRITE A STRONG
LETTER OF PROTEST...
a