grab bag
By Glenn Dromgoole
Student unrest: Part 3.
The growing size and impersonality of today’s college
and universities have been blamed for much of the unrest
present on campus.
Students feel, or so it is said, that they are being ‘lost
in the shuffle.” With professors and administrators facing
larger classes and enrollments, students have been forced to
accept a lack of direct relations between themselves and
their educators.
As demands for higher education increase and uni
versities encounter skyrocketing enrollments, there is not
likely to be any reversal in the trend toward impersonality.
Impersonality was a primary cause of the Berkeley
revolt, often considered synonymous with student unrest.
Berkeley students complained that “just to have a pro
fessor nod at you in the hall is a big deal.”
And while size might be contributing to student unrest,
it is something upcoming college generations will have to
accept. Colleges are getting larger, and there is nothing
presently that appears to contradict this direction.
“The university,” writes Cornell president James A.
Perkins, “with its three fundamental missions of research,
teaching and public service, has become the pump that feeds
fresh ideas and manpower into the bloodstream of American
life. This vital role has caused much of the formidable
growth of the university, which in turn has created many
problems.”
But size alone is not the entire problem, for many small
colleges are reporting unrest.
Rumbling on these campuses are not as often heard,
but they are nevertheless just as present according to
many leading educators — both on the multiversity and small
colleges scales.
Buell G. Gallagher, president of the City College of
New York, told U. S. News and World Report, “I’ve been
president of a college of 320 students, and now I’m pres
ident of a college at the other extreme, with more than
33,000 students. The same kind of problems emerge in
both situations.”
At tiny Amherst College, a committee to study student
life reported last summer : “The false hopes generated
by this stereotype (of college as a large, happy family)
begin to do their damage as soon as the incoming freshman
discovers how little of the intimate small college atmos
phere actually exists. Of course he is disappointed and
frustrated. He feels cheated, and if he consoles himself
with the thought that he and his teachers will become
closer friends later on when he is an upperclassman, he will
feel even more cheated as a senior when he discovers how
few (if any) faculty members know him well enough to
write a convincing letter of recommendation.”
“Size in numbers of enrollment is not a factor,” writes
William R. Mathews, editor and publisher of the Arizona
Daily Star in Tucson. “Student restlessness goes on in big
and small institutions.”
Tommorow: Contributing factors.
Wanderin'—
By Larry R. Jerden
Happy tidings and great joy! Spread the word to the
anxious juniors, the senior rings are in!
While this glad occasion is traditionally a time for
celebration among those who have finally earned that most
sacred symbol of Aggieland, some strange comments have
been heard lately.
“Frankly, I’m not proud to wear this,” one new senior
commented in the MSC yesterday afternoon.
“I’m glad to get it, and 10 years from now it won’t
make any difference, but I think the students should have
been notified of the change. This seems like the administra
tion is trying to pull the wool over our eyes again,” another
said.
The cause of all the complaints, and bitter feelings in
some cases, is an altered appearance in the new rings
that some simply describe as “cheap-looking.”
The same design is present on the rings: the flags,
crossed weapons, eagle, shield, stars, etc. But even a
glance uncovers some not-so-subtle changes.
In comparing a new ring even a size larger than an
old one, it is apparent that the crest is smaller, and the
crown rim is both thinner and not as high. The lettering
is smaller, as is the shield and the numbers are flat looking.
On some rings the black completely hides the eagle wings,
and the centers of the figure “8” are decidedly smaller.
Whoever initiated this change probably thought it would
not be noticed, but when an Aggie works mentally and
physically for three years to earn his ring, gaining a place
among that sacred group known as the Fightin’ Texas
Aggies, he deserves a ring of which he can be proud.
No matter what the reason, when the ring is placed
on the Aggie’s finger and all he can say is he honestly
can’t be proud of it, then something should be done quickly.
As a friend of mine told me who will order his ring
this semester, “I don’t know what can be done, but I hope
they do it soon; I sure don’t want to get stuck with one
of those things.”
Not to let anyone think all the world is lost, an improve
ment in the matter of choosing a date has been found by
our brethren in the Northeast. It seems a group at Harvard
and another at MIT have adapted the computer-dating
idea to a regular date-finding service.
The theory, of course, is to dispense with the old long
and inefficient trial-and-error process by assuring compata-
bility from the first meeting. Then, college men and women
being what they are, things should, and so far do, work
out well.
One interesting note from an article in Look Magazine
about the craze was the plight of the Ivy League male
students. They all commented on how they were “Monk-
scholars,” and tried to cram a whole week’s lovin’ into a
weekend. They also said their weekends developed into
a sex hunt, and that it was all a terribly money-wasting
affair.
Their problem? Non-coed schools.
Maybe we could give them some hints on how to solve
the dilemna. On the other hand, since we boast long and
loud about our tremendous data-processing facilities; maybe
this is the time to turn to Date Processing.
TU, always trying to stay a bit ahead of the Aggies,
has come up with something of a solution to the dating
problem, or so it appeared during a recent visit to the
Austin campus.
What was in more evidence than a lot of people would
like to admit was a group of somethings that tend to
resemble what a national magazine recently called “Unisex.”
Our guide to the TU Zoo said some of them had been
around three or four years and no one was really sui'e yet
what they were, and he said he certainly wasn’t going to
hazard a guess.
I wonder if they know, themselves.
Governor T alks
Here Friday
LESTER FLATT AND EARL SCRUGGS
. . . popular duo to head Hayride show.
Flatt, Scruggs To
Louisiana Hayride
New Exes Head
Praises Conduct
Of Student Body
Headline
March 19
By DANI PRESSWOOD
Country and western recording
stars Lester Flatt, Earl Scruggs
and Little Jimmy Dickens will
highlight the 1966 Louisiana
Hayride March 19 in G. Rollie
White Coliseum.
The Hayride, presented for the
second straight year by Sigma
Delta Chi, professional journal
istic society, will also feature
Nat Stuckey, Debbie Day, Wilma
Burgess and Archie Campbell.
Flatt and Scruggs have gained
national prominence with their
unique style of banjo playing.
They are long-time stars of The
Grand Ole Opry and The Beverly
Hillbillies. The Foggy Mountain
Boys will accompany the duo.
Flatt’s career as a professional
Spring ID Cards
Ready Monday
Identification cards may be pick
ed up Monday and Tuesday by
students who had ID pictures
taken at registration for the
spring semester.
Cards may be picked up in
room 7 of the Richard Coke
Building.
By TOMMY DeFRANK
Battalion Managing Editor
The A&M College Board of
Directors passed a ruling perma
nently prohibiting women from
attending classes in 1926, the
same year Mary Evelyn Craw
ford received the first diploma
granted to a woman.
But in 1933, in the strangle
hold of the Depression, the college
was forced to severely reduce sal
aries of faculty members.
As a compensation to those who
had received cutbacks, the Board
passed an emergency resolution
permitting daughters of em
ployes living in Brazos County
to attend classes on a regular,
day student basis.
Several girls ineligible for ad
mission under the terms of the
Board ruling also applied but
were refused permission to en
roll. Some of the group contacted
an attorney to consider legal
action against the college on
grounds of discrimination.
The ensuing civil lawsuit, first
of its kind to be brought against
the college, was filed in late
September in Bryan’s 85th Dis
trict Court on behalf of Mrs.
W. E. Neely, Mrs. O. A. Fox,
Mrs. Louise B. Jones and fathers
of five girls who had been refused
admission.
The group’s attorney, Col. C. C.
Todd, filed a writ of mandamus
against the Board of Directors
and President T. O. Walton ask
ing the Board to show cause why
girls should not be permitted to
attend regular sessions.
musician dates back to 1939,
while Scruggs has been display
ing his hard driving three-finger
ed banjo playing style before
audiences since 1945.
Since teaming up, the two have
performed in concert halls, col
leges, and radio and television.
Appearances include The Ten
nessee Ernie Ford Show, Tonight
JIMMY DICKENS
The Board was represented by
Judge Nelson Phillips of Dallas
and his son, both of whom were
assisted by Assistant State Attor
ney General Homer DeWolfe.
Counsel for the relators, or
plaintiffs, Todd based his case on
contentions that the Board’s re
fusal to admit his clients was
“unlawful, arbitrary and capri
cious” in the following ways:
—Statutes of the State of
Texas held that the University
of Texas was open to both sexes
and that A&M College was a
branch of the University for in
struction in the agricultural and
mechanical arts as well as the
natural sciences.
Thus, as a branch of the Uni-
verstiy, statute law held A&M
should be open to both sexes.
—The Legislature had created
two junior colleges under the
jurisdiction of A&M in 1917 and
had provided for the education
of both sexes in them (John
Tarleton Agricultural College and
the North Texas Junior Agricul
tural College).
“Placing same under the man
agement and control of the Agri
cultural and Mechanical College
of Texas . . . clearly shows the
intent that the parent institution
should continue the education of
the pupils in the said junior col
leges in the parent institution
. . . including both sexes,” Todd
argued.
—The Legislature had also
passed in 1909 an act directing
the A&M Board to provide a
Newly-elected President of the
Association of Former Students
Royce E. Wisenbaker said Wed
nesday night recent resolutions
passed by the Association Coun
cil expressed the organization’s
pride in both the present student
body and the former students in
the armed forces.
“The resolutions we passed
were intended to express our ap
preciation for the fine behavior of
these Aggies,” he noted.
The first resolution states in
brief:
Show and Hootenanny.
Dickens, whose latest hit “May
the Bird of Paradise Fly Up Your
Nose” hit the best-seller list in
both the country and pop music
charts, has circled the globe on
his musical tours.
Acclaimed “Mr. Personality” of
country music, Dickens is one of
the top attractions in country-
western halls.
He has appeared on Hullabaloo,
The Jimmy Dean Show, The
Lloyd Thaxton Show, The Johnny
Carson Show and Hollywood A
Go Go.
Another Grand Ole Opry star,
Campbell has been tagged the
crown prince of humor in western
circles.
His recordings of “Trouble in
the Amen Corner” and “Beeping
Sleauty” are country music fav
orites, and his album “Bedtime
Stories For Adults” became the
number one country comedy al
bum in sales.
Miss Burgess brings to the
Louisiana Hayride a singing
style greatly influenced by the
late Jim Reeves and pop artist
Jo Stafford.
special summer school each year
for training of special students
to be admitted without entrance
examinations. (More than 1800
women had attended these ses
sions the previous summer.)
“The Board of Directors and
president ... by authorizing and
permitting short courses for both
men and women in the summer
time in the industrial courses
taught in said institution have
construed said laws of this State
and of the United States as in
cluding women as well as men
as eligible to enroll,” Todd con
tended.
Attorneys for the Board and
Walton submitted an elaborate
66-page brief plus a supplement
ary brief from the Attorney Gen
eral’s office. Both cited page
upon page of court cases to prove
the Board of Directors had abso
lute authority over the matter of
admission policy.
“If . . . the Legislature intended
that the female sex should be
eligible, as a matter of plain and
positive law we would naturally
expect to find ... an express
provision to that effect. In none
of them, nor anywhere else be
tween the lids of the statute book,
is there any such provision,” the
brief pointed out.
Phillips, chief counsel for the
respondents, or defendants, ham
mered away at the plaintiffs’
allegation that A&M should be
coeducational since it was a
branch of the University of
Texas. He argued instead the
sole reason for making A&M a
“Whereas the students of Tex
as A&M have kept closed ranks
in time of emergency such as
this country is now facing in
Southeast Asia, since the pres
ent-day student body has dis
tinguished itself from the dem
onstrators and objectors who
have brought ridicule to some
other campuses and since 2,148
A&M students showed their pa
triotism by sending a telegram
to President Johnson supporting
U. S. policy,
“Therefore, be it resolved that
the Executive Board of the As
sociation of Former Students . . .
extends its deepest thanks and
appreciation to A&M’s students
. . . for continuing in the fine
tradition of the institution and
giving all of us cause for addi
tional pride in them by their fine
conduct in patriotic support of
their country.”
The second resolution reads:
“Whereas A&M men have al
ways inscribed the name of Tex
as A&M large on the records of
history by serving with distinc
tion in the armed forces, since
Aggies are serving presently in
Viet Nam and other places in the
world and since these Aggies are
showing the valor, loyalty and
willingness to make every sacri
fice that they and their predeces
sors have made famous,
“Therefore, be it resolved that
the Executive Board of the Asso
ciation of Former Students . . .
expresses to these many individ
ual Former Students of Texas
A&M the admiration of all of us
for their patriotism, our grati
tude to them for continuing
A&M’s finest traditions and our
prayers for their well-being.”
The resolutions, proposed by
Frank Pool of San Angelo, were
passed unanimously Saturday by
the Association Council, the
group’s governing body.
branch of the University was to
enable it to share in the land en
dowment provided for the Uni
versity by Constitutional law.
He completed his summation
with this passage:
“This college has existed to the
end that a splendid and useful
plan of education for the boys of
this state might be brought for
the public good into being. It has
played a great part in the de
velopment of sturdy Texas boys
into valued citizens. Because of
its character as a school for the
training of boys, and the train
ing of them in military science
... its fame has spread over the
land and in every educational
circle it commands admiration
and respect.
“If it is to be changed into a
coeducational institution by a
judicial decree, its character will
have ended. Through no legisla
tion have the people of the State
ever intimated that such was
their will. No court, we respect
fully submit, can rightfully
assume the province of writing
such a chapter in its history.”
After 12 days of testimony and
arguments court was recessed
until Judge W. C. Davis ruled in
favor of the College Jan. 5, 1934.
Davis found that Congress, in
passing the Morrill Land Grant
Act, did not intend to prescribe
who should or should not attend
the schools established by the act.
He also dismissed the plaintiffs’
proposals linking A&M with the
University of Texas.
(See 1933, Page 3)
Gov. John Connally will be met
by the traditional Ross Volun
teer honor guard when he arrives
Friday to speak at the eighth an
nual County Judges and Commis
sioners Conference, Dean of Stu
dents James P. Hannigan an
nounced Wednesday.
Connally will speak at the last
general session of the conference
at 10 a.m. in the Memorial Stu
dent Ballroom.
The governor will speak on
“Blueprint for Progress”. He is
also expected to touch on topics
that will be of vital interest to
county officials.
Registration, which concluded
Wednesday afternoon, included
representatives from over 100
counties.
The keynote speaker Thursday
was J. C. Davis, assistant attor
ney general for state and county
affairs, who spoke on “Acts of
the 59th Legislature That Af
fect County Officials”.
His address was followed by a
panel discussion with Jack Sloan
and C. E. Heaton of the Agri
cultural Extension Service, Gus
Herzik of the Texas State De
partment of Health and W. Rich
ter of the Office of Economic Op
portunity.
After conference participants
ate lunch with the Corps of
Cadets in Sbisa Dining Hall, the
conference resumed with a panel
discussion on “Precinct Opera
tions” or commissioners and talks
on the “New Criminal Code of
Procedures” and “Problems Af
fecting County Justice Offices”
for judges.
Activities will begin at 8:30
a.m. Friday with a talk on “Is
Your County Organized For an
Emergency ?”
A coffee will be given at 9:30
in Connally’s honor in the Social
Room of the MSC and will be at
tended by Texas A&M President
Earl Rudder and the Executive
Committee.
Connally will leave immediate
ly following his address for Aus
tin.
Aggie Players
Present ‘Shrew’
An adaptation of Shakespeare’s
“Taming of the Shrew” will be
presented at 8 p.m. Thursday and
Friday in the Fallout Theater.
This adaptation of the original
play consists of the best part of
the play. It is the story of Kate
and her energetic suitor, Petru-
chio, who is determined to curb
her proud and headstrong ways.
The play has witty dialogue and
delightful characters and the ten
derness of Kate’s final speech are
such that they have endeared this
play to countless thousands.
Kipp Blair is directing the
play. His cast consists of Paul
Bleau as Petruchio, S. A. What
ley as Grumio, Randall Bubb as
Hortensio, George Long as Bap-
tista, Richard Weathers as Tra-
nio, Frances Flynn as Kather
ine and Mike Ryan as Curtis.
The Aggie Players will provide
the technical crew, and the pro
duction is under the sponsorship
of the Aggie Players, C. K. Esten,
producer.
Admission is 50 cents.
Danforth Lecturer
To Speak Friday
Dr. Jose Maria Chaves, a Dan
forth visiting lecturer, will dis
cuss “Latin America, the New
Frontier” in an 8 p.m. Friday
lecture in the Chemistry Building
lecture room.
Academic Vice President
Wayne C. Hall said the talk is
a comprehensive survey of Latin
America with particular empha
sis on the close relationship with
the United States and the need
for continental solidarity.
Chaves has earned wide recog
nition for his achievements as an
educator, lawyer, diplomat, and
authority on Cervantes.
History Of Coeducation —3
Women Lose 1933 Lawsuit