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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 11, 1966)
■ Columns • Editorials • News Briefs Cbe Battalion Page 2 College Station, Texa Friday, February 11, 1966 • Opinions • Cartoons Features What Others Say Kiss Vs. Tooth Decay From the University of Miami comes news which may revolutionize the dating habits in America. Dental researchers there have discovered that tooth decay is a highly contagious disease rather than a hereditary defect. At first, this may seem insignificant. How ever, upon closer examination, who would know ingly destroy his ivory smile or earn himself a premature set of false teeth simply because he had been kissing the wrong girl? Dr. Doran D. Zinner, one of the researchers, confirmed that tooth decay was caused by certain types of mouth bacteria. The dentist-microbiologist asserts that these bacteria are transmitted by di rect contact, using case histories of rats, hamsters and humans to prove it. A person will now need to check a prospective date’s dental history as well as other vital statis tics. The question arises of how this may be done without arousing suspicion. Zinner announced that the best tooth decay protection comes from the use of flourides. Here is a positive area for discrimination. Once a person knows where his date is fi^om, he need merely check his pocket guide of flouridated water supplies in the United States. If the local supply is flourid ated, then he can be sure by subtly plying her with water. With this social problem exposed, one can with proper precaution be sure before saying “Pucker up.” — The Louisiana State University Daily Reveille. Lost Freedom For all practical purposes, the members of the U. S. population under 21 have lost their free dom. Freedom is defined as Salado De Madariage defined it: “He is free who knows how to keep in his own hands the power to decide at each step, the course of his life and who lives in a society which does not block the exercise of that power.” Are the U. S. government and the mass media, inspired by the chauvinistic tensions of the Ameri can people, sacrificing the freedom of a huge por tion of the younger generation? We think so. Last year the Berkeley protestors (Free Speech Movement) were given fines and sentences for exercising civil disobedience. The peace march on Washington in December, made up mostly of students, was labeled by the mass media, carte blanche, as “fringe radicals” and “pinkos.’ That burning of draft cards, a symbolic ges ture of disagreement with the administration’s policy in Viet Nam, can now be punished by five years in prison and a $10,000 fine. A young Texas airman was sentenced to two years at hard labor by a military tribunal for participating in a peace march, even though he was off duty and in civilian clothes. Reader’s Digest, Look and Life magazines have efficiently assured the American patriot that the whole Viet Nam protest movement is controlled by Communist agents. The whole American ideal confirmed the right of the individual to speak his mind and pursue his own reality, as long as he was not threatening someone else’s right to do the same. What has happened to the ideal ? We are free as long as we keep our mouths shut, stay in step and join a few clubs.—Colorado State College Mirror. Value Of Grades The times is at hand when the high school graduate in the lower half of his class will en counter great difficulty in finding a major college that will accept him. Most colleges want to help the youngsters who want to be helped, and they know that some low grades among high school graduates are due to laziness and unconcern which are inexcusable. Then, too, it is reasonable to expect that those who made the best grades in the secondary school will be most able to receive higher education. Further than that, it is believed by many that students who make high grades will be the bene factors of society throughout life, but this is not always the case, and the Standard raises a ques tion about the wisdom of allowing grades to be the primary determinant in selecting students for college work Evidently the native intelligence of a student does not always show up during his school days, and it is even more evident that demonstrated in telligence and high I.Q.’s are often over-rated in modern education circles. The young man who has intelligence and nothing else is frequently a danger to society. The world has suffered too often from undisciplined intellectual ability. The current idea that an education for everyone will cure the ail ments of this generation is absurd. Learning the what, the why and the how of material matters makes mean people more danger ous and good people more helpful. The value of educating the masses, then depends on two things: What they are before the education and what kind of an education they receive The Baptist Standard. - grab bag By Glenn Dromgoole It’s sometimes quite amusing to read the pub licity releases sent by organizations ignorant of A&M’s nearly all-male status. The latest chuckle came from the typewriters and mimeograph machines of Cypress Gardens, Fla., where the fourth annual Miss Cheerleader USA contest — scheduled April 10 — was ad vertising for entries. A $200 scholarship will be awarded the winner and she will receive a trip to Cypress Gardens during Easter vacation along with the four other finalists. Too bad, Joe. Last year’s winner, according to the realease, “was judged on both her ability to lead cheers and enthuse a crowd.” If those were the only requirements, you’d have a chance. But you weren’t blessed with the right qualifications required of entrants. The way things are going, A&M will have to wait ’till next year or not long thereafter. ★ ★ ★ With air travel soaring to popular heights (no pun intended), American Airlines has devel oped a special plan for youth. The program offers half-fare travel for anyone age 12-22 that purchases an identification card from the airlines for $3. This is how the plan works: 1. Students must purchase Youth Plan Cards from an American Airlines ticket office or write the airlines’ Youth Plan Headquarters at 644 Third Avenue in New York. Legal proof of age must be validated before the cards may be used. 2. Card holders may purchase a ticket, at half the jet coach fare, for travel anywhere on the airlines’ nationwide route on a standby basis — in other words, they may board after regular revenue passengers and military standbys. 3. Youth Fare plan will not be in effect on a few days of the year when heavy passenger loads cut the availability of seats for standbys, includ ing April 7 (Thursday before Easter); Nov. 23 and 27 (Wednesday before and Sunday after Thanksgiving Day), and Dec. 15-21. The plan is a good one, both for the airlines and the student. It offers students a cheaper, faster means of transportation, and provides the airlines with potential adult customers. Other airlines have possibly arranged similar programs. One that has been in effect for several years on a smaller scale is offered by Trans-Texas Airlines for in-state travel. ★ ★ ★ In case you’re interested in a law enforcement career, the Texas Department of Public Safety is looking for young men between 21-35 for the Highway Patrol, License and Weight Division, Motor Vehicle Inspection and Driver Licensing branches. Trainees attend a 16-week program at the Law Enforcement Academy in Austin and receive a salary while training. June 6 is the deadline for receipt of applications for the June 11 examination. The next training school opens August 9. Further information can be obtained from: Personnel and Training, Texas Department of Pub lic Safety, Box 4087, North Austin Station, Austin. ★ ★ ★ The draft, one of today’s hottest campus con versation pieces, receives special notice Saturday when CBS Radio carries a national telephone call up program, “Ask CBS News About The Draft.” The program, scheduled from 3:05-4 p.m., will host Lt. Gen. Lewis B. Hershey, director of the Selective Service System, and Douglas Edwards, CBS News Correspondent. College students will be invited to telephone CBS in New York collect during the program and question Gen. Hershey about any aspect of con scription. Students of the University of California at Berkeley will assemble in the Student Union building there, and two student leaders — one representing the anti-draft faction and one sup porting the system — will speak for the group. Draftees in Viet Nam will also question Her shey and the Berkeley student leaders. ★ ★ ★ Sen. Ralph Yarborough says Texas has re ceived more than $41 million in funds for the War on Poverty. Included in this total are: —$14 1/3 million for 147 Neighborhood Youth Corps Projects. More than 28,000 Texas youth have been given training through the projects. —$1,600,000 for Adult Basic Education Pro grams which provide reading and writing lessons for low-income adults. More than 43,000 Texans have participated in the program. —Almost $2 million for 1,100 loans to low- income farm families. —Almost $20 million for Community Action Programs including 170 Head Start Programs for low income children entering the first grade. According to Yarborough, Texas is not receiv ing its share of poverty funds. “Texas ranks number one in the nation in the number of poor, but we rank only fifth in the amount of funds we have received,” the Texas senator said. THE BATTALION Opinions expressed in The Battalion are those of the student writers only. The Battalion is a non tax-supported non profit, self-supporting educational enter prise edited and operated by students as a university and community neivspaper. Members of the Student Publications Board are: Joe Buser, chairman; Dr. David Bowers, Collegre of Liberal Arts; Dr. Robert A. Clark, College of Geosciences; Dr. Frank A. Mc Donald, College of Science; Dr. J. G. McGuire, College of Engineering: Dr. Robert S. Titus, College of Veterinary Medicine; and Dr. A. B. Wooten, College of Agriculture. The Battalion, a student newspa iblished in College Statio inday, and Monday, and houaay penoos, oe ay, and once a week during summer school ?nt newspaper at Texas A&M is ion, Texas daily except Saturday, holiday periods, September through MEMBER The Associated Press, Texas Press Association The Associated Press is entitled exclusively to the use for republication of all news dispatches credited to it or not otherwise credited in the paper and local news of spontaneous origin published herein. Rights of republication of all other matter herein are also reserved. Second-Class postage paid at College Station, Texas. Represented nationally by National Advertising Service, Inc., New York City, Chicago, Los Angeles and San Francisco. News contributions may be made by telephoning 846-6618 or 846-4910 or at the editorial office. Room 4, YMCA Building. For advertising or delivery call 846-6416. Mail subscriptions are S3.50 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. EDITOR GLENN DROMGOOLE Associate Editor Larry Jerden Managing Editor : Tommy DeFrank Sports Editor — Gerald Garcia News Editor Dani Presswood Lani Presstvood Tech Incident Distasteful CADET SLOUCH by Jim Earle “Surprise! When I’m through you’ll have th’ only room on th’ campus decorated for Valentine’s Day!” State Capitol Roundup By VERN SANFORD Texas Press Association AUSTIN — Flotorial districts! You’ll hear these two words used often between now and the No vember election. And probably a long time thereafter. What are flotorial districts ? They are voting areas created by combining counties, or parts thereof, to comply with the Su preme C o u r t’s edict that all states must have districts of equal population. In Texas, this has resulted in rural counties sharing represent atives with metropolitan coun ties, or vice versa. A three-judge federal court at Houston has just upheld the 1965 Reapportionment Act of the House of Representatives, with the exception of 11 flotorial dis tricts. These flotorial districts are areas around Austin, Browns ville, Corpus Christi, Tyler, Wa co, Sherman-Denison, Lubbock, Abilene, Temple, Odessa and An- gleton. So this November, voters will select representatives on the bas is of the original reapportion ment draft. Texas A&M has more enemies than Napoleon Bonaparte in his heyday and the incident at the Tech basketball game Tuesday night played right into their hands. I walked away from that game, on the surface a tremendous vic tory for A&M, with a lousy taste in my mouth. When you think of the gallant legions of honorable fighting men A&M has produced, the sight of that mob trying to steal a bell from a handful of visiting stu dents has to make you a little sick. Some of the state’s top sports- writers witnessed that fine scene, as did other visitors to the cam pus. It chalked up a big black mark both on the A&M Image and on our page in the SWC Sportsmanship Committee record book. Actually , to me the word ‘image’ has become one of the shabbiest in our language and for all I personally care the “sportsmanship committee” can award their shiny trophy to the Folsom Pheasants. No, it’s not how the episode ‘looked” that really bothers me, but instead, why the thing hap pened at all. The word ‘sportsmanship’ has been kicking around for some time now but maybe that sounds corny to some of our super-so- phistocates. To them I’d like to say one thing: When we get to the point where sportsmanship becomes a secondary consideration, then it’s time to hang up our uniforms and get out of competition. All through football season, the A&M student body symbol ized genuine spirit, and not poor sportsmanship, better than at any other time since I’ve been here. Then basketball season rolled around and with it the old routine of yelling during enemy free throws and blasting the horse laugh into the referee’s ears whenever one of his decisions against us appears obviously mis taken. You think of creating a roar of noise and distraction during free throws is an Aggie tradi tion? Talk to some of the local people who have followed basket ball here over the years. It’s a comparatively recent innova tion, and a regrettable one. It’s no excuse to point to other schools and say “look how we're treated over there.” When the conduct of other schools determ ines A&M’s actions then our claims of individuality and lead ership ought to be summarily tucked away in moth balls. Ironically, this year’s Aggie basketball team is very likely the cleanest in the league, yet that doesn’t keep them from being a scrappy, hustling ball club which comes to play and play hard. We’re fortunate to have a squad like this representing us and we ought to try to keep our standards as high as theirs. Admitting these things is a bitter dose for some but not for anybody who geneuinely care for the school and its future. There is also most definitely another side of the coin and II be the first to admit it. Unfavor able incidents involving Aggies over the years have been exager- rated, distorted and some haw even been outright fabrications, In the last couple of years we’ve been falsely accused it print of killing Baylor’s bear, TCU’s horned frog, and SMU'i pony. The instances of shoddy treatment we’ve received at tli hands of other schools forms s mighty long list, but one whicl most outsiders like to ignors when they indignantly rail aboii A&M’s behavior. So be it. Their continuing and irrationi hostility toward A&M in itsel shows that there is something ( substance here, something whirl has endured and which is t« stong to be ignored. That intangible something called the Spirit of Aggielani It can’t be precisely defined u described, but it’s real, very real And it’s far too great a thing fo us to ever allow the blight i poor sportsmanship to tarnish it For the guy whil’d rather drive than fly: Chevelle SS396 FDTfflf THE CHEVROLET WAY This is about a Chevelle—a very special one—with a bulging hood, a black grille and red stripe nylon tires. Start it up and you’ve tuned in on 396 cubic inches of Turbo-Jet V8. Get it moving and suddenly you’re a driver again. With gears to shift. A clutch to work. Even a set of gauges to read, if specified. Now take a curve, surrounded by a machine that delights in crooked roads. This, you see, is an SS 396. A Chevelle, yes. But what a Chevelle. All kinds of cars all in one place... at your Chevrolet dealer’s CHEVROLET • CHEVELLE • CHEVY n • C0RVAIR • CORVETTE PEANUTS Charles M. Schul