Page 2 THE BATTALION College Station, Texas Thursday, June 29, 1967 CADET SLOUCH by Jim Earle Psychology Lab To Help Eliminate Speech Defects Girl Watchers 9 Corner £A/?.o£ jt/M Ll “In. regular semester, there’s intramurals, outfit duties, and student activities, but in th’ summer there’s no single alibi for low grades!” Grackles Not Dumb s Wildlife Prof Say; are Boat-tailed grackles from being dumb bunnies, con tends Dr. Keith Arnold of Texas A&M’s Wildlife Science Depart ment. Dr. Arnold, who’s heading a research project on grackles, caught one female grackle in the same trap six times in two weeks. “She’s a smart old gal,” Arnold chuckled. “She has learned that she won’t be harmed. All she has to do is put up with the indignity of being handled briefly while I check her leg band.’ The "smart old gal,” perhaps better known as “017,” trades her freedom briefly for a free meal of milo maize. Male grackles are more wary of being caught. Arnold, an assistant professor of wildlife science, is seeking in formation which may eventually help control crop damage caused by boat-tailed grackles and other members of the blackbird family, including redwings, cowbirds and bobolinks. Observers estimate grackles cause a minimum of $6 million damage annually in Texas alone. Com, rice and other big grain crops suffer the brunt of the damage. Arnold is anxious to learn how the grackles go about forming flocks after the breeding season. And he’s interested in their mi gration patterns and ways these patterns can be applied to all social blackbirds. Research funds totaling $24,000 are being provided by a U. S. Hatch Fund grant and A&M Uni versity for the three-year study. Working alone for the past several months, Arnold has band ed 100 birds with metal govern ment bands which gives each grackle a number. He also has banded 65 other grackles with color bands, using- different color ed bands in each trapping area. Colored bands allow him to quick ly trace migration patterns. Early indications are that the birds don’t migrate much during breeding season. “I have only one bird to dispel this theory,” Arnold remarked. “A bird trapped in the System Building area was trapped two days later near the campus swim ming pool.” Adult female grackles are about the size of robins, while adult males are about twice as large and have massive tails. Arnold said the large tails cause the birds to be very slow flyers and easy prey for predators. Arnold claims grackles are very colonial. They flock in a specific area and other colonies are not found for several blocks. Flocks range from 15 to 50 birds. “These birds are highly individ ualistic concerning color bands,” Arnold noted. “Some of them work like crazy to peck them off, while others pay them no attention.” Another goal of Arnold’s is to determine if the insect consump tion of grackles balances the damage they cause to grain crops. “Grackles catch a lot of insects to feed their young,” he explained. “We don’t have any idea how many potential insects are de stroyed. The question is whether we should destroy them.” Arnold checks eight campus traps and three off-campus traps several times daily. The wire de vices have two funnel-like en trances. Grackles can enter easily, but are unable to retrace their steps to freedom. Three grackle traps stolen recently prompted Arnold to quip, “Somebody must like black bird pie.” A brown-eyed lad concentrated on a chart, giving names of ob jects pointed out by a young lady. The five-year-old occassionally bowed his head with the effort of pronouncing words starting with f, m, d and 1. “Mmmmmmm,” he repeated, “ma, ma, ma.” “Now with me. La, la, la, la, ladder,” the adult coached. “Not ya-ya, la-la.” “La, La, ladder,” the youth tri umphed with a brilliant smile. “That’s good, that’s very, very good,” she replied. The scene in a sound-proof cubicle of the Psychological serv ices Lab at Texas A&M is re peated seven times a day, with four-year-olds to 22-year-old col lege students. Mrs. Joann Bour geois conducts speech therapy sessions while in adjacent, two- way mirrored rooms, other spe cialists administer remedial read ing programs. “I did much better reading a book last night,” one youngster boasted proudly. “I didn’t have to re-read parts.” “I’m very enthusiastic about the results,” a mother com mented. I read and spell better and know all the sounds of the letters,” a young miss exclaimed. The summer remedial reading and speech therapy programs are offered in two six-week sessions by the Education and Psychology Department lab, directed by Dr. Edward J. Wylie. It has a two-pronged goal, notes Dr. Paul Hensarling, department head. While providing remedia tion service, the lab enriches training of A&M students study ing for certification as counselors or reading specialists. Reading programs conducted by Mrs. Naomi Shannon, Mrs. Elora Dale and Mrs. Wanda Bad- gett help students with learn ing problems. “Others just want to improve their skills in comprehension and speed reading,” Wylie pointed out. Clinicians and specialists help pre-school children and students from the surrounding area and as far away as Pasadena. Five- student groups are assigned on the basis of diagnosis of intelli gence and reading ability, the di rector explained. Lab personnel work on the skill in which each person is deficient. Different methods and mater ials are used in each case, depend ing on the deficiency,” he said. Speech therapy deals with problems of speech development, articulation and stuttering. Daily weekday reading sessions require Traditional at Slacks 3tm 5tnrnee ^ ^ mcn'e tucnr • IIHYAN. TKXAS 7 ST. THOMAS EPISCOPAL CHURCH 906 Jersey St. Worship Service Schedule Sunday: 8 a.m. & 9:15 a.m. Worship Wednesday: 5:30 p.m. Worship followed by discussion The Rev. Wm. R. Oxley, Rector 846-7834 The Rev. Wes. Seeliger, Associate Rector 846-4876 Church — 846-6133 THE BATTALION Opinions expressed in The Battalion are those of the student writers only. The Battalion is a non tax-suppoi'ted non profit, self-supporting educational enter prise edited and operated by students as a university and community newspaper. Represented nationally by National Educational Advertising: Servieea, Inc., New York City, Chicago, Los Angreles and San he As publication of all news dispatches erediti use credited in the pi published herein. R matter herein are also reserved. origin * credite iblished papei Righ The Associated Press is entitled exclusively to th spatehes credited to i r and local news of spontaneous its of republication of all other are also reser .id use for or not Second-Class postage paid at College Station, Texas. Members of the na C Cc ngf erinary Medicine; and ers Lindsey, chai Arts ; John D. (Joe A McDonald, Colie College of En Student Publications Board are: Jim Dr. David Bowers, College of Liberal ane. College of Geosciences : Dr. Frank College of Science; Charles A. Rodenberger, ineering; Dr. Robert S. Titus, College of Vet- sge W. Morgan, College of Agricul- rman D. C : r ;hra News contributions may be made by telephoning 846-S6I8 office. Room 4, YMCA Building. or 846-4910 or at the For advertising or d< may b * editorial elivery call 84 ce, [6-6 The Balt.,...,.., iblished in Coll jndaj’, and Mon lege day student newspaper Station, Texas daily except Saturd. , and holiday periods, Sei May, and once a week during summer school. at Texas A&M is 56 per school ject sales tax. Advertising rate furnished on request. Address: The Battalion, Room 4, YMCA Building, College Station, Texas yej sal Mail subscriptions ar; $6.50 per full per Adve are $3.50 per semester; year. All subscriptions subj ished to 2% eptember throug ay, igh MEMBER The Associated Press, Texas Press Association EDITOR WINSTON GREEN, JR. Publisher Texas A&M University Reporter Pat Hill Sports Editor Jerry Grisham 90 minutes. Individual speech therapy sessions take 30 minutes. Modern equipment is used in testing and teaching sessions. The lab utilizes three rooms screened from a control center by two-way mirrors. Via the mirrors, students may be observed by light manipulation and inter com without being disturbed. and observer while therapy can is The clinician communicate underway. The second six-week session be gins July 17. Interested parents should contact the lab, Wylie said. “Seeing students every day al lows for a more intensive pro gram,” Mrs. Bourgeois com mented. Webb Hospital Commander Joins A&M Hospital Staff Dr. Mount E. Frantz, com mander of the Webb Air Force Base Hospittal at Big Spring for the past five years, will join the Texas A&M Hospital staff Aug. 8. Dr. Kenneth Nelson, director of Student Health Services and uni versity hospital, made the an nouncement. Jayne Mansfield Killed In Accident Dr. Frantz retired from the Air Force June 1 as colonel, following 25 years service. He commanded the 50-bed hospital at Bryan Air Force Base from 1953 to 1958. Other tours of duty included assignments in Morocco, Vietnam and Korea. He served in China and Burma during World War II. Prior to entering the service, Dr. Frantz practiced 13 years in Indianapolis, Ind. Actress Jayne Mansfield was killed early today in an automo bile accident near New Orleans. At The Grove Her chauffeur and lawyer were also killed in the three-car smash- up. Her children, also riding in the automobile, were only slightly injured. Tonight: “Bye Bye Birdie” Friday: “Cyrano De Bergerac” Saturday: “All the Young Men” Sunday: “Second Time Around” Monday: “The Loved One” Tuesday: “The Grapes of Wrath” Wednesday: “Back Street” NACOGDOCHES COED Patty Sandifer, of Franklin, Texas, is a sophomore educaj tion major at A&M this summer. She is a student at Ste j phen F. Austin College at Nacogdoches during the regukj school year. FREE WITH PURCHASE OF $5.00 OR MORE EXCLUDING CIGARETTES. SJ ( 5 Lb. Bag Imperial SUGAR BISCUITS VEODOMNTiU^JQ UCE'^ ■’ 2 QitaUpy MCAiIgSjlli MU/r\ *>P4PsV BANANAS [tMHvrE AJA/D PRiSLEt 'ORAN6E J’UICE REDEEM THIS COUPON FOR U. S. 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