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USA’s Moonmen Off On Truly ‘Fantastic Voyage’
Cbe Battalion
VOLUME 64 Number 127
COLLEGE STATION, TEXAS WEDNESDAY, JULY 16, 1969
Telephone 845-2226
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70-7/ calendar i A&M Selected To Design
Notes Big Change
Texas A&M’s 1960-71 academic calendar has been revealed by
Academic Vice President Horace R. Byers.
He noted it presents a radical departure from previous opening
and closing dates of semesters.
Most notable among calendar changes for the 1970-71 school
year will be completion of the fall semester before the Christmas
holidays.
To accomplish this and avoid the two-week class break imme
diately before semester final exams, classes will begin earlier and
conclude for the spring semester during mid-May, 1971.
Class dates for the fall, 1970, semester will be from August 31 to
December 11, Dr. Byers explained. Fall commencement will be on
December 12 and finals will be written December 16-22. In line with
the adjusted dates, delayed registration, 'adds and drops will be
completed August 24-28, 1970, and new students will be able to file
application for admittance up to August 15.
The spring semester, 1971, will run from January 11 to May 15,
registration, commencement and finals inclusive. Commencement and
final review will be moved up almost a month to May 8 and spring
finals will be May 10-15.
Byers stressed the change will not effect the 1969-70 school year
starting next September. Semesters of the upcoming term will run from
September 8 to January 24 and January 26, 1970 to May 30,
respectively.
‘Space Shuttle Bus’
40 Rainless Days
Mark Hot Summer
Despite a trace of precipitation
in the form of a thunderstorm
last night, the year 1969 is headed
toward a meteorological record
almost 180 degrees away from
1968, wettest on the books.
Prof. John F. Griffiths of Tex
as A&M University’s Meteorology
Department noted the current
string of 40 rainless days
(through Monday, July 14) is the
fifth longest since rainfall records
were started.
His survey of the records indi
cates only six such cases exist.
The longest spell without rain
was in 1916 when 53 days passed
between one shower and the next.
In 1899 there were 51 consecu
tive dry days. 1948 had 49; 1952
had 47, 1953 had 46 and 1940
had 40.
“This is an area in which com
pletely dry months are quite
rare,” Griffiths observed. “There
have been only five instances in
78 years of records, while monthly
totals of less than a tenth of an
inch occur about once every five
years.”
The A&M meteorology professor
who specializes in climates noted
1899 holds an unenviable record
"During 73 consecutive days
that year, only a hundredth of
an inch of rain was recorded,”
he said. Insignificance of that
amount can be understood when it
is realized that Weather Bureau
announcements of rainfall give
the term “trace” for any amount
less than one-tenth inch.
“The next driest spell in this
respect was in 1934 when only
.08 of an inch was recorded in
61 days,” Griffiths added.
“If we also consider the tem
perature then some of these
records that occurred in the
winter would not be so severe,”
he continued.
Considered outstanding due to
the droughts’ coinciding with
summer heat were 1899’s 73 days,
from July 28 to Oct. 9; 1948 (July
6 to Aug. 24) ; 1927 (only .02
inch from July 25 to Sept. 8),
1934 (May 25 to July 24) and the
present spell.
He reported that in only one
instance has the drought followed
(See Rainless Days, Page 2)
MSC Ballroom
Dance Thursday
Opening social event of Texas
A&M’s second summer session
will be a Thursday dance in the
Memorial Student Center Direc
torate series.
The 8 to 12 p.m. dance in the
MSC ballroom will have music
furnished by “The Soul Com
pany,” according to Richard Rau,
dance committee chairman of
Arlington.
He said first session dances
were attended by an average of
400 and that second term students
again will find most of their
friends at the MSC events.
Admission will be 75 cents stag
or $1.25 per couple, Rau said.
Part Of Study For
Manned Satellite
BRIEF RESPITE
The break between sessions gave library assistant Sue
Creech a much-needed opportunity to get her library
shelves ready for enthusiastic students anxious to get off
to a good start in the new session. (Photo by Monty Stan
ley)
NASA has selected Texas A&M
to help design a “space shuttle
bus” as part of a feasibility
study for a manned satellite, an
nounced A&M President Earl
Rudder.
The earth-orbital laboratory is
one of the future projects pro
posed by the National Aeronau
tics and Space Administration’s
Manned Spacecraft Center. Such
a laboratory would be used to
conduct earth-oriented studies,
rather than being geared for
space exploration.
A major consideration in the
preliminary study for such an
operation is the problem of get
ting men and supplies to and
from the satellite, noted Harry
Whitmore, director of Texas
A&M’s Space Technology Divi
sion.
“It will amount to sort of a
shuttle service,” Whitmore ex
plained, “using a vehicle which
is a combination of spacecraft
and airplane.”
He said such a space shuttle
craft must have the capability to
go to the manned platform, re
turn to earth and land at an air
base, rather than splash down in
the water.
The major problem, Whitmore
pointed out, will be construction
of a craft which will withstand
re-entry into the earth’s atmos
phere and still fly like an air
plane.
Texas A&M’s main effort in
the project will be devoted to
subsonic airplane problems. The
Ft. Sill Cadets
Set The Pace
Texas A&M Army ROTC ca
dets concluded six weeks of sum
mer training Tuesday at Fort
Sil 1 , Okla., and have been up
holding camp traditions estab
lished by previous classes, Col.
Jim H. McCoy revealed.
The A&M commandant visited
Fort Sill and Fort Benning, Ga.,
during the last two weeks, to
survey A&M cadets’ training.
“Our people at Sill are doing
as their predecessors did—setting
the pace,” McCoy observed. “Ev
eryone at summer camp knows
the Aggies are around.”
Individual weapons firing, small
unit tactics and common subjects
have been studied by more than
300 A&M cadets entrained at
Camp Eagle on the Oklahoma
military reservation. Most of
the cadets will be seniors in the
A&M Corps of Cadets in Sep
tember.
In addition to technical com
petence, the Aggies are gaining
maturity and becoming better
cadet leaders, the commandant
said.
McCoy observed 25 cadets in
training at Benning in the two-
year Army ROTC program. None
of them were in the corps pre
viously.
“They were real pleased to
see somebody who cared about
what they were doing,” the col
onel reported. “They are going
through the mill and it’s real hot
at Benning.”
Camps provided the comman
dant the last group meeting with
most of the cadets before they
report in September for the start
of the 1969-70 school year. A
commanders conference Sept. 8
will be the first official meeting,
he said.
FIRST BANK & TRUST—Home
of the Super C D - 5% interest
compounded daily.
study will involve aerodynamics
theory, design and construction
of a shuttle craft model and
testing in the university’s large
wind tunnel.
The program will be an inter
disciplinary effort joined by
Texas A&M’s Aerospace, Me
chanical and Civil Engineering
Departments. Stanley Lowy and
Dr. W. P. Jones of the Aerospace
Engineering Depai'tment will be
in charge of the theory and wind
tunnel aspects. The model will
be built in the Research and In
strument Shop headed by Joe
Brusse.
Whitmore noted Texas A&M
was awarded the project on the
basis of other research conducted
for NASA and the university’s
recent selection by the Depart
ment of Defense for establish
ment of a “center of excellence”
in subsonic flight dynamics.
Academic Men
Meet Leaders
College and university officials
investigating academic govern
ance principles at Texas A&M
will meet today with key univer
sity administrative personnel.
Dialogue of 32 assistant deans,
department heads and registrars
in the two week academic admin
istrators seminar will be with
A&M Graduate Dean George W.
Kunze, Agriculture Dean H. O.
Kunkel, assistant dean of science
John B. Beckham and Dr. John
C. Calhoun Jr., vice president for
programs.
The mid-week sessions will
serve as the “field trip” of the
third seminar sponsored by the
Texas Association of Colleges
and Universities and Ford Foun
dation.
Monday and Tuesday sessions
featured Dr. John J. Kamerick,
North Texas State president, on
the nature of academic govern
ance; Dr. John D. Millett, Ohio
Board of Regents chancellor on
the administration’s responsibility
in higher education, and seminar
associate director Jack W.
Hurhphries on the evolution of
academic governance.
Case study of a theoretical
university and discussion of ad
ministrative practicalities and
philosophies have also been pur
sued.
In looking into student, faculty,
administration and board roles
in academic govrnance, seminar
participants will hear a panel of
students and other key speakers
later this week.
Among the latter are Dr. John
R. Silber, arts and sciences dean
at the University of Texas at
Austin, and Baylor philosophy
chairman Dr. William J. Kilgore.
The Thursday student panel
will include coeds Kathy Seddon,
Austin College student, and
Nancy Timmins of Antioch Col
lege in Yellow Springs, Ohio.
Seminar participants will be
dismissed Friday at A&M and
reconvene at 4 p.m. Sunday in
Dallas for the second week, to
be conducted at Southern Meth
odist University.
THE SECOND TIME AROUND
Marilyn Melcher worked in the day student line Monday as A&M students went through
the paces for reigstration for the second summer session. (Photo by Monty Stanley)
Dr. Clarkson To Speak
At Yet Commencement
At The Grove
Tonight—Failsafe
Thursday—A Ravishing Idiot
Friday—From Here to Eternity
Saturday—Distant Drums
Sunday—Ocean’s 11
Monday—Cowboy
Tuesday—High Noon
Dr. M. R. Clarkson, executive
vice president of the American
Veterinary Medical Association,
will be commencement speaker
at the Aug. 8 graduation exer
cises for Texas A&M’s College of
Veterinary Medicine, announced
A&M President Earl Rudder.
The 8 p.m. ceremonies will be
conducted in Bryan Civic Audi
torium.
A former AVMA president,
Dr. Clarkson was named the top
staff official for the Chicago-
based organization in 1966.
He previously served as direc
tor of the Food and Drug Ad
ministration’s Bureau of Veter
inary Medicine. Earlier in his
Library Starts
New Door Policy
The Texas A&M library began
a new door policy Monday on a
trial basis.
The library’s south door, facing
onto Nagle Street between the
Plant Sciences and Biological
Sciences Buildings, will be closed
at 6 p.m. on weekdays and Sun
days, revealed John B. Smith,
acting director.
He emphasized it will be closed
on a trial basis.
“During the course of a year,
more than $2,500 can be saved
by closing this door and reducing
expense of maintaining two check
points,” Smith said. Funds saved
will be available for purchase of
library materials and other es
sential services.
The director pointed out that
during evening hours when the
library is open, patron parking
is handiest on the north side of
the building, for which the north
entrance will be most accessible.
“It is hoped the saving will
more than offset any inconveni
ence to our patrons,” Smith added.
The new trial policy is endorsed
by the university library com
mittee. Comments are invited.
University National Bank
“On the side of Texas A&M.”
—Adv.
career he was associate adminis
trator of the Agricultural Re
search Service and held various
positions with the U. S. Bureau
of Animal Industry.
Dr. Clarkson is vice chairman
of the Agricultural Board and
chairman of the Committee on
Animal Health of the National
Academy of Sciences-National
Research Council.
He also is a fellow of the
American Association for the
Advancement of Science and a
member of the New York Acad
emy of Sciences, the Illinois and
Chicago Veterinary Medical
Associations, the American Ani
mal Hospital Association and
the National Association of Fed
eral Veterifiirians.
Among many honors bestowed
on Dv, Clarkson are the USDA
Distinguished Service Award,
12 th International Veterinary
Congress Prize, 1964 Animal Ag
riculture Award and Membership
in the Order of the Golden Fleece.
Dr. Clarkson, a native of Fern-
dale, Wash., received his under
graduate and Doctor of Veter
inary Medicine degrees from
Washington State and a law de
gree from Georgetown Univer
sity.
DR. CLARKSON
MSC Displays
Old Pottery
The Contemporary Arts Com
mittee of Texas A&M announces
an exhibit of Indian pottery
scheduled to run through July 25.
The display, which covers
Pueblo areas I-III, is from a pri
vate collection and is in the
Memorial Student Center.
The following week, beginning
Monday (July 28) another dis
play will be presented in the
MSC. The theme this time will
be oriental prints from the Kiko
Galleries in Houston. These prints
will be on sale for approximately
$15 and up. It will run through
Aug. 5.
Fall Dorm Housing
Will Be Crowded
Texas AM’s housing manager
knows how Mother Goose must
have felt—he has a space prob
lem too.
“I feel sure we will not have
enough rooms for everyone that
requests one,” reports Allan Mad-
eley on the campus residence
housing situation this fall.
“It looks like we are real
tight,” he said.
campus housing noted that A&M’s
30 campus residence halls for
6,500 students are full at the
present time, counting anticipated
freshman enrollment.
Madeley said the office esti
mates housing until the Aug. 15
deadline for freshmen.
He pointed out the office keeps
an off-campus housing list avail
able for students who cannot be
placed in halls, with that list to
be brought Up-to-date in late
summer.
“We probably won’t know for
sure until we get them all in and
lock the gate,” Madeley observed.
Bryan Building & Loan
Association. Your Sav
ing Center, since 1919.
B B & L —Adv.