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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 2, 1971)
3 Dog Night contracted; Cooler, more clouds College Station, Texas Tuesday, Feburary 2, 1971 Wednesday — Cloudy, intermit tent light drizzle. Southeasterly winds 10-15 mph. Low 46°, high 58°. Thursday — Partly cloudy to cloudy. Southeasterly winds 15-20 mph. Low 52°, high 67°. 845-2226 Dacus ’71 6 C’ president lliliili Diane Wakoski reads poetry Monday night at the Me morial Student Center. Miss Wakoski was presented by the Contemporary Arts Committee. Anger, free life appear in poems By STEVE DUNKELBERG Battalion Staff Writer “Avant-garde,” “offbeat,” “con troversial” poet Diane Wakoski provided the first presentation of the Contemporary Arts Commit tee for this spring Monday night with a reading of her poetry in rooms 3B and 3C of the M.S.C. Though billed as unconvention al, the soft-spoken poetess likes to think of herself as “tradition al,” even though, she claims, her "traditional” peers don’t think of her as being “one of them.” “AH my poems have a blood relationship to each other,” the poet said as she introduced her first poem. “You can find many of the same objects and ideas in almost all of them. “Apparaitions Are Not Singular Occurences” was her first read ing. Of this poem Miss Wakoski said she was amazed at the fact that things which this society believes have asthetic value and richness really have not beauty at all, things such as diamonds. “I think a diamond is one of the most vulgar things I’ve ever seen,” she comented. “An Apology”, she explained was prompted by a visit from a young male poet who asked her to read his work and comment. She told him it was a very good copy of the poet he was studying under, Robert Greeley, which was not what he wanted to hear. “We all want to be known for our originality,” the mini-skirted poet explained,” but we want to leam a craft and trade. By doing so, we don’t sound like ourselves.” Her poem, she further ex plained, said what the young man wanted to hear, as well as what she, as a woman who is supposed to comfort and soothe, should have said. From the note of a soft spoken apology Miss Wakoski changed keys to a poem written out of anger and frustration. The poem, “Cerise,” was writ ten after a fight she had with her husband over a color of paint cerise, of which he had bought a spray can. At the height of his anger, she explained, he be gan to spray her and everything in the house with the paint. The poem was written to get back at him. “It’s really about my wide spread anger at the culture we live in,” Miss Wakoski explained. “The people on the right and the people on the left each feel that they have the way to live, and they won’t listen to each other or to anyone. “In Gratitude to Beethoven” followed the same angered lines as “Cerise.” To the female poet, Beethoven is a symbol of the an ger which is necessary to express dissatisfaction with the evil things that exist on this world, she said. Jumping to a lighter mood, the auburn-haired poet said that she believes we lived in a world where people say poetry all the time in everyday conversation. “I was walking along a street in New York one day,” she relat ed, “when a man walked up to me and said, ‘Your knees are University National Bank “On the side of Texas A&M.” —Adv. smiling.’ I thought it was differ ent, and wrote this poem, “Some times Even My Knees Smile.’ ” Miss Wakoski was advertised by the Contemporary Arts Com mittee as the author of “The La dy Bank Dick.” Therefore, she said, she felt it only fair to read that poem. She introduced the poem by explaining the American public’s idolization of the gangsters of the thirties. In her interpretation, she felt that these gangsters pre sented the idea of the straight forward and square attitude, where if a person wants some thing he just takes it. Our society says “the male must always be in the aggressor role,” she explained. “Sometimes ~ the roles are reversed; the man doesn’t want to play his role and I have to.” In reading what she considered her only politically-oriented poem, “Rock,” Miss Wakoski said she felt that poetry and politics do not mix. She stated that when they are mixed “things tend to get murky and blurred.” This poem, she explained, held her “fatalistic” idea of life. Her idea of life is that one makes his life by taking what he is born with and overcoming his handicaps and eventually “comes to terms with whatever it is that troubles us in our existence.” “I was afflicted by not think ing I had a beautiful face,” she explained, “but then I figured that there were a lot of people with faces uglier than mine that wished they had my face.” As the evening wore on, Miss Wakoski answered questions and read poems requested by the au dience. “Rescue Poem” was introduced by its author as being about the inability to communicate and alienation. She said in differentiating modern poetry from modern prose that it is mainly a definition on the part of the author. She adedd that she often combines the two, prose and poetry, in her works. Her last reading, “The Moon Has a Complicated Geography,” was an example of her combina tion of the two forms. By FRAN ZUPAN The Memorial Student Center Council voted Monday night to authorize an additional budget which will enable Town Hall to bring top recording group Three Dog Night here April 24. The contract with Three Dog Night was signed two weeks ago after the measure to authorize a greater budget was passed by the council’s executive committee. Ex penses for the concert run ap proximately $25,000. The special budget also pro vides for the Fred Waring Show Feb. 16 and musical “1776” March 7. The council also elected a 1971- 72 president and chairmen for four top committees Monday. President will be junior electri cal engineering major John Dacus who served as this year’s vice president—operations. Committee chairmen are as fol lows: Town Hall Chairman — Kirk Hawkins, a political science jun ior; Great Issues Chairman—Sam Drugan, a physics junior; and Political Forum Chairman, Paul E. Turner, a psychology sopho more. Council President Tom Fitz- hugh said that selection of a Con temporary Arts Committee Chair man would be postponed because the council’s nominating commit tee had not yet submitted a name. David Dacus, environmental de sign sophomore, has filed for the position. The council will vote on five vice presidential positions at its next meeting Feb. 15. Applications are now available at the Student Program Office for executive vice president, vice president—operations, vice presi dent—issues, vice president—pro gram, and vice president—recre ation. Interviews for these will be Feb. 10. Applicants must have a 2.40 grade average overall and last semester and not be on con duct probation. The council defeated a motion to lower the grade requirements for council offices. A motion which would “make grades a fac tor to be considered by the nomi nating committee” but “would not eliminate anyone as long as he or she was not on scholastic pro bation (2.0 minimum)” failed 7-6. The requirement is now 2.40 over all and last semester for chair men and vice presidents and 2.50 for president. Dacus announced that the coun cil would have a booth in the Serpentine Lounge at the MSC Open House Thursday from 7 un til 10. The Open House will feature free entertainment, free refresh ments and exhibits by 16 commit tees. The awards committee for the Awards Banquet will be the ex ecutive committee, Fitzhugh an nounced. The banquet has been changed from April 15 to April 16 because of President Dr. Jack K. Williams’ inauguration April 16, he added. In other council business: —Dave Mayfield, chairman of the sixteenth Student Conference on National Affairs (SCONA), announced round table co-chair men. There will be 10 tables and 20 co-chairmen. They include for- representatives from the Japan ese and Pakistani embassies, and A&M Dean of Liberal Arts David W. Maxwell. Other co-chairmen from A&M include Dr.* Clinton Phillips, finance department head; Dr. Douglas Stone, management department head; Dr. Thomas Saville, psychology; and Dr. Bar bara Coe, marketing. Mayfield said SCONA is at tempting to present a politically balanced program. Friday night of the conference there will be an “organized, moderated ses* sion” which will give anyone, who feels they have a view that has been expressed only to a minor degree, a chance to speak. The conference will also feature a panel composed of Vanderbilt study body president who worked on the President’s Commission on Student Unrest, a leader in the National Student Association and A&M student Senate Presi dent Kent Caperton. “All efforts have been made to cut corners financially,” May- field said. But because of “tight money,” SCONA is still lacking about $1,000 to meet its budget. Mayfield said with the confer ence only two and a half weeks away, a fund drive to Houston has been planned. —Jim Summers said The Ski the Alps ’71 trip to France has a $400 deficit. (See 3 Dog Night, page 3) Chicano goals better whole society: Cortes By LAURA BLUNK Battalion Staff Writer Think this is Texas? According to Dr. Carlos E. Cortes you are really living in Atzlan, the an cient native Mexican word for this region. Dr. Cortes spoke at the first of the Ethnic Studies Seminars last night in the Memorial Stu dent Center ballroom on the Chi cano movement and its history. “Chicanes are not out to over throw the government, but desire certain basic changes that not only will benefit them, but the society as a whole by making America a better place to live in, the kind we all would like,” said Cortes. Economic equality is one of the goals through which the Chicano works to improve his lot and make Soviet Christian to talk about Russia’s culture Dr. Nicholas T. Goncharoff of the National YMCA Council will speak on the Soviet Union Wednesday and Thursday at Tex as A&M University. The Russian native is director of international education and cultural affairs for the national council. His A&M lectures are sponsored by the Student “Y” Association. Dr. Goncharoff will speak on “Current Political and Military Strategy in the Soviet Union” at 8 p. m. Wednesday in All Faiths Chapel. Noon Thursday he speaks to Changing World Events in the Memorial Student Center Social Room on “Social and Economic Problems of Russia.” Goncharoff will speak Thurs day at 6:30 p. m. in Lounge C between Schumacher and Walton Halls. The talk is sponsored by the two dorms. The public is invited to all lectures, noted Daniel McQueen of the Student “Y” Publicity Com mittee. Dr. Goncharoff is a specialist in international affairs. He came to the YMCA move ment by way of a German refugee camp after World War II. Later he headed the Russian YMCA student groups in West Germany and was a leader of the Russian Student Christian Movement. In 1952 he came to the United States where he is now a citizen. He attended the University of Odessa, Russia, UNRRA Univer sity and received his Ph.D. at Munich University. His post-doctoral work was at Columbia University, the Univer sity of Maine and the New School for Social Research. He has given thousands of lec tures, seminars and workshops throughout the world. himself, eventually, an integral part of American society while retaining his identity as a Chi cano. Educational equality means bi lingual education when necessary, in order to prevent children from becoming drop-out candidates, he said. Cortes commented that this means teaching regular lessons in Spanish while the pupils catch up in English, not a Spanish lan guage course. Educational courses in Chicano history help restore value to a largely forgotten heritage and give the people a sense of pride in themselves and their culture, Cortes said. He stated that the sense of pride in themselves is due to the larger American so ciety which would never let the Chicanos become an integral por tion of it. Cortes explained that the Chi cano in public service is no long er willing to forsake the people in the Bario (slum) or his rude beginnings. “He goes back to work with his people even though it may mean endangering his career,” he said. “The Chicanos have become analytical, an organized, unified group, recognizing the power of the group in lobbying for what they want,” said Cortes. This last quality will make the Chicano movement a successful one and will work towards the eventual bettering of the whole American society by further ridding it of some of its prejudices, Cortes said. Dr. Carlos E. Cortes . A&M girls, Tessies both OK for sweetheart, group says The Student Senate Sweet heart Selection Committee will recommend to the Senate Thurs day night that the present prac tice of allowing both Texas A&M coeds and Texas Woman’s Uni versity students to seek the hon or of Aggie Sweetheart be con tinued. The committee, meeting Mon day night, also voted to recom mend major changes in the selec tion process and accept financial help from TWU. The group last Thursday rec ommended that only A&M coeds be allowed to try for the position of Aggie Sweetheart, but sena tors referred the proposal back to the committee for further study. The new method proposed would involve screening appli cants from both schools through photographs. The Friday of se lection weekend interviews would be held. Following a mixer and luncheon Saturday, the winner would be announced. Acting on an offer by TWU President Dr. John A. Guinn to pay all costs incurred by TWU contestants, the committee will recommend that the Senate pay for half the TWU entrants’ gas and room costs, if any. Other than the luncheon Saturday, the women would be on their own as far as meals. Under the present system, a team of Aggies travels to t h e TWU campus in Denton to inter view applicants. Those selected as finalists, along with any A&M coeds selected finalists, are treat ed to a weekend of activities, all paid for by the Senate. Former director of system interred TROUBLED WATERS no problem to small boat as it carves an area of clear water while passing- through a field of fissured ice that made Marblehead (Mass.) Harbor impassable during a recent cold wave. (AP Wirephoto) DALLAS—F u n e r a 1 services were held here Monday for Tyree Lewis Bell, 79, prominent engi neer-businessman and a former Texas A&M University System director. He died here Friday. Services were conducted at 4 p.m. in the Sparkman - Hillcrest Northwest Highway Chapel with interment in Hillcrest Memorial Park. Bell is survived by one daugh ter, Mrs. John T. Miller of Dal las, and four grandchildren. He built a legend while a stu dent at Texas A&M and another as a Texas contractor. His var sity sports accomplishments in cluded four letters in football and a track letter as a freshman in 1910. He played halfback from 1910 to 1912, serving as captain of the Southwestern Champions in 1912. He graduated with a civil engi neering degree in 1913, but re turned to Texas A&M in the fall of 1914 for postgraduate work. Bell captained the 1914 foot ball team and was the star of the season. He was named All-Texas in 1912 and 1914. Also while at Texas A&M he was a member of the Student Council, Ross Volunteers, YMCA, “T” Association, junior class president and Cadet Maj. on 3rd Battalion Staff. Bell was involved in a variety of engineering work, including the construction of highways, dams, air fields, irrigation proj ects and underground utilities in the Southwest. His firms built thousands of miles of Texas highways, includ ing the Triple Underpass and Central Expressway in Dallas and freeways in Fort Worth, Houston, San Antonio and Gal veston. He was formerly a board di rector and president of the Cot ton Bowl Athletic Association, a board director of the State Fair of Texas and an accomplished big game hunter and sports fisher man. Bell served as president of the Texas A&M Association of For mer Students in 1941-42 and was honored in 1964 as a Distin guished Alumni of Texas A&M. He served on the Texas A&M System Board of Directors for six years and was vice president the last two years in 1951 and 1952. He was named “Man of the Year” by the American Society of Civil Engineers in 1949 and 1963, and was the only South west contractor to receive the Army-Navy “E” Award during World War II. The award was given for the construction of Galveston Field. Bell was a former president of Austin Road Co., Austin Paving Co., vice president and trustee of Worth Construction Co., di rector of Austin Bridge Co., Aus tin Building Co., Servis Equip ment Co., Lakewood State Bank, Austin Road Co., Austin Paving Co. and Worth Construction Co. His companies did an average of $20 million construction a year.