QM
Cbe Battalion
m
Partly
cloudy,
cool
Saturday — Cloudy to partly
cloudy. Light and variable winds.
High 71°, low 38°.
Sunday — Mostly cloudy, rain
late afternoon. Southerly winds
8-10 mph. High 67°, low 44°.
leric ‘»| Vol. 67 No. 48
ascoa
College Station, Texas
Friday, November 19, 1971
845-2226
agleit,
shbonj
Cambodian situation
udson,
nears critical point
ackles.
and is I
n was
; a "4 SAIGON — With the mili-
" Hilary situation becoming critical
.'[“'iiiiCambodia, U.S. warplanes have
^jiteppcd up their support of Cam-
Mian troops, official American
years Sources reported Thursday.
Reports circulated in Saigon
say that the South Vietnamese
jovemment was considering a
pMi '|tanbodian request for infantry
or tiie l®l heavy weapons for the de-
* r ^ I [rase of Phnom Penh. Hand-to-
nsoil |laiid fighting was reported near
^ I to western outskirts of the Cam-
^■llodian capital.
^I Dispatches from Phnom Penh
5 - vear I reported U.S. Cobra helicopter
eM |{iinships have been thrown into
ac k‘ s I the battle raging from 10 to 12
n e( ^'I miles west of the capital.
The U.S. sources said the Cam-
itionallledians have been getting sub-
nsboralstantially more American air sup-
High.j[«rt in the last 10 days.
Is’topi The increased support has been
:h was I mainly U.S. fighter-bombers, fly-
n the Iitg from bases in South Vietnam
omore,lead Thailand, the informants re-
before I ported. The planes have been ac-
otlateltire on Cambodia’s northeastern
rge la I front.
named | A Cambodian officer on the
front west of Phnom Penh said
to rockets of the Cobras were
unable to penetrate the jungle
(over of enemy bunkers and added
that heavy weapons are needed.
This would account for the re
quest for South Vietnamese heavy
guns.
A dispatch from Phnom Penh
said Cambodian and enemy troops
fought with knives and rifle butts
in flooded rice fields 12 miles from
the downtown section of the cap
ital.
A high command spokesman
in Phnom Penh said 11 Cambo
dian soldiers were killed, 88
wounded, and 80 enemy bodies
were found on the battlefields
Wednesday. He had no estimate of
Thursday’s casualties.
Little new action was report
ed from Cambodia’s northeastern
front, where the enemy has cut
the main highway supplying 20,-
000 Cambodian troops.
In another development in Cam
bodia, sources said police had
prevented a second attempt to
assassinate U.S. Ambassador Em
ory C. Swank. They reported a
man was arrested while stringing
a detonator-type wire near where
a bomb-laden bicycle narrowly
Arson and vandalism hit
O. L ., reasons are racial
Communist China
sets off primitive
mclear explosion
WASHINGTON UP) — The
Ignited States announced Thurs-
that Communist China had
Moff a nuclear explosion in the
litmosphere at 1 a.m. EST—the
I first nuclear test by that country
|since Oct. 14, 1970.
The Atomic Energy Commission
|said the test—conducted in the
Ncinity of Lop Nur, in western
pina, had an explosive yield
Iequivalent to about 20,000 tons
Jof TNT, the same size as the
I Primitive atomic bomb dropped on
|Hiroshima by the United States.
The latest test brought to 12
I Hie number of Chinese tests an
nounced by the United States, in
cluding 11 in the atmosphere and
one underground.
NORMAN, Okla. — A wave
or arson and vandalism swept
across the racially tense campus
of Oklahoma University early
Thursday, leaving 27 persons
hurt, $200,000 in damages and
law enforcement officers stream
ing toward the campus.
University President Dr. Paul
F. Sharp said “all law enforce
ment personnel” has been called
in to pursue “criminal acts of
arson and vandalism.”
“We have been attacked by
people under cover of darkness
intent on injuring, damaging and
destroying. We will not condone
incidents that endanger the lives
of our students or staff or facul
ty,” Dr. Sharp said.
A total of four fires were set
during the night, including one at
Walker Tower, a dormitory hous
ing an estimated 700 persons. All
the injured, most of them out-of-
state bankers attending a short
course on campus, were from that
fire.
There were no critical injuries
reported but at least one of those
remaining in the hospital was
scheduled to undergo surgery to
repair a severe arm cut. He suf
fered the injuries when he broke
a window in Walker Tower to
get air.
Police discovered two sets of
incendiary devices that had not
been set off.
Dr. Sharp warned, however,
against assuming the destruction
was attributable to recent racial
tension on the campus.
“There is inevitably in the
minds of some people an equation
of these criminal acts with the
discussions we have been having
with the black students concern
ing their needs on the campus.
I should like to emphasize that
there is presently no evidence to
support this equation, and we
should not in the absence of evi
dence jump to that conclusion,”
he said.
missed Swank’s car in Septem
ber.
Fighting in Vietnam was light
and scattered.
The U.S. Command announced
that last week five Americans
were reported killed in action—
the sixth consecutive week of
fewer than eight combat deaths.
The weekly casualty summaries
listed relatively low numbers of
U.S. wounded. Twenty-one Amer
icans were reported wounded,
compared to 13 the previous week
—the only two weeks this year
when fewer than 25 U.S. troops
were wounded. Ten Americans
were killed by nonhostile action
such as accidents and disease.
South Vietnamese battle fatalities
were put at 219, compared to 198
the week before. The Saigon com
mand listed enemy dead for last
week as 1,063.
THE DRIVER OF THIS AUTO used his imagination in combating the critical parking
situation in Pittsburg, Pa. He apparently drove up on a closed sidewalk where parkway
lanes merge in the downtown area. All four wheels perfectly straddled the walkway and
the car then rested its weight on the frame. (AP Wirephoto)
Tradition and transition
Bonfire boasts colorful history
Black students last week sub
mitted a list of “racial atrocities”
they said were being committed
on campus. The protest, presented
to the Board of Regents, said,
“This racist institution, which is
flourishing here at the University
^ of Oklahoma, has espoused the
abolishment and total extermina
tion of all people, places, things
and ideas which are black.”
Marathon run
set up Monday
to show spirit
A&M students will run a mara
thon Monday from Austin to Col
lege Station to highlight “the
burning desire of Aggies to beat
TU.”
The relay marathon is a project
of Walton Hall, a civilian resi
dence hall at A&M.
Walton Warriors will begin the
100-mile run at 5:30 a.m. Monday
from the eastern city limit of
Austin. Walton President Richard
Peavey of Richai'dson said 25 stu
dents will take legs of the run, to
follow US 290 south to the State
Hwy. 21 intersection, then to
College Station.
They will carry a torch to be
used in lighting the bonfire for
the traditional Wednesday yell
practice preceding the A&M-Tex-
as football clash.
Walton counselor Rusty Blevins
said the project planners figure
the run will be completed by 6
p.m. Monday. Other residence hall
members will man vehicles to
warn motorists.
Sixty-two years ago two A&M
students gathered some trash into
a pile, struck a match and started
a tradition.
What started as a joke in 1909
has become the world’s largest
bonfire—an emotional engineer
ing feat involving thousands and
fueling emotions for the annual
Thanksgiving Day football game
between the Aggies and Texas
Longhorns.
Aggies explain the bonfire in
simple language: It represents
their love for the school and the
burning desire to beat Texas.
The 90-foot log structure began
taking shape this week. Head
Yell Leader Jimmy Ferguson of
Garland estimates over 3,500 stu
dents will work on the project
Saturday through Monday, with
the burning set for 7:30 p.m. Wed
nesday.
University administrators also
are caught up in the tradition,
with undergi-aduate classes dis
missed Monday to insure the bon
fire is ready.
What takes place has been de
scribed as a cross between a
county fair, army field maneu
vers and a major disaster area.
And Wednesday it becomes a
massive, flaming testimonial to
frayed nerves, aching muscles,
lost sleep, 24-hour operations, cuts
and splinters, fantastic coordina
tion and sheer raw guts.
Ferguson admits this year’s
bonfire has the added emotion of
the Aggies 4-2 Southwest Confer
ence record and their outside
chance for a trip to the Cotton
Bowl if they defeat the Long
horns.
The 90-foot centerpole, donated
by International Paper Co. in
Navasota, was spliced and set by
Company C-l behind Duncan Din
ing Hall late Tuesday. Interna
tional Paper also donated two
light poles.
Contractors working on major
campus building programs also
got into the act. Boswell Con
struction Co. donated a communi
cations van, Milstead Foundation
Drilling Co. of Bryan drilled holes
for the centerpole and light sys
tem and Temple Associates do
nated a cherry picker to assist in
laying the logs.
Ferguson said bonfire workers
will be up at 5 a.m. and working
by 6 a.m. each of the three days.
The work progresses into the
night and the project is well
guarded.
There are two cutting areas,
Ferguson reported. One is on
Easterwood Airport, university-
owned land, and the other is 15
miles from the campus on Sandy
Point Road, proposed site of
Bryan Lake.
Ferguson stressed only select
ed trees are cut and old, sprawl
ing trees are left standing.
The history of the A&M bon
fire began in 1909 when two stu
dents felt there needed to be some
action to interest the other Aggies
in the upcoming A&M-UT grid
battle. Classmates piled out of
their rooms to watch it burn and
it became the talk of the campus.
Over the years the trash spread
out over the drill field, with local
residents saving old boxes and
paper for months.
In the 1930s the Missouri Paci
fic Railroad made cars available
and brought in boards and. boxes
from throughout the state, some
from as far away as the Texas
Panhandle.
Outhouses became popular ma
terials, much to the dissatisfaction
of homeowners. An outhouse, built
by students, is the crowning orna
ment each year.
By 1948 the bonfire covered the
drill field. It was a fire hazard
and something had to be done to
contain the blaze. The first center
pole was erected in 1949, an old
telegraph pole donated by Missou
ri Pacific.
Prior to 1949, the bonfire sel
dom exceeded 25 feet in height.
The center pole brought the stack
to 65 feet, and the world’s biggest
bonfire was born.
The first all-log bonfire was
built in .1952 and it was similar to
today’s structure. Completion of
the Memorial Student Center in
1950 forced the bonfire to a safer
place, at the present location on
the south side of the campus.
The bonfire was cancelled only
once, in 1963 due to the assassina
tion of President John F. Kenne
dy.
Ferguson said approximately
35,000 people come to the campus
to witness the burning.
Association
in Coliseum
will perform
after bonfire
The Association, pop music
group that unseated the Beatles
and put its music in gold six
times, will keep bonfire excite
ment going Wednesday at A&M
with a TAMU Special Attraction
performance.
Part of the Thanksgiving foot
ball classic at A&M, the Associa
tion will perform at G. Rollie
White Coliseum following the an
nual bonfire yell practice.
Showtime is 8:45 p.m. announc
ed Town Hall chairman Kirk
Hawkins.
He reminded that all admissions
to the Association will be separate
from Town Hall season ticket and
student activity cards. Tickets are
on sale at the Student Program
Office in the Memorial Student
Center.
Referring to themselves as “The
Seven Man Band,” the group con
sists of Jules Alexander, Terry
Kirkman, Brian Cole, Ted Blue-
chel, Jim Yester, Larry Ramos
and Richard Thompson.
From “Along Comes Mary” in
1966 to their latest single, “It’s
Going to Be Real,” and tenth
album, “Stop Your Motor,” the
Association has been a seller in
concerts, recording and television.
“Cherish,” “Windy,” “Never
My Love” and “Requiem for the
Masses” from the Association al
bum “Insight Out” were chart
toppers and million-record sell
ers.
The Academy of Recording
Arts and Sciences tagged the
group for three more Grammy
nominations in 1967 and the Bill
Gavin Radio-Record Congress vot
ed the Association No. 1 among
the nation’s pop groups, unseating
the Beatles for the first time in
four years.
They shattered attendance rec
ords, were the first rock group to
star at the prestigious Cocoanut
Grove, turned in Smothers Broth
ers, Ed Sullivan and John Carson
TV appearances and made a suc
cessful European tour in 1968.
Campus blacks - administration’s view
fHlS FIREMAN, IN HIS HASTE, appears to have forgot-
e n that it is necessary to plug’ the hose in f- - n
\n f ,?r e "the water will come out. Actually, the ^ ^
Viliam sport, Pa. is too close to the hydrant for safety ai
Pamper trucks were used instead. (AP Wirep o
By LINDA ZEHL
Staff Writer
How the administration sees the
black and how the black sees the
administration are often two very
different things.
In the past week there has been
presented the views, thoughts
and, hopefully, the blackness of
blacks. We now turn to the ad
ministration and how it views
blacks.
“We have run into a few blacks
for example, who say that fitting
into what was formerly an all-
white college, has a tendency to
make blacks white—or act like
whites. Blacks want to be black,
act black and have respect for
black culture and the black’s way
of life,” said Dean of Students
James P. Hannigan.
“The administration has been
University National Bank
“On the side of Texas A&M.”
—Adv.
quite sympathetic toward this
point of view,” he said. “We def
initely respect the blacks and en
courage them to be themselves.
At the same time, we try to keep
the whites from giving the im
pression that they think that
blacks ought to act more white.”
“In the corps, this situation is
handled by their policy, which is
more or less color blind. By pay
ing no attention to the person’s
color, they treat everyone basical
ly the same,” he added.
According to Hannigan, the ad
ministration has tried to mix
blacks with whites in housing.
“With housing we have urged
blacks to scatter out and not to
cluster in one dorm. At the same
time, we have tried to get them
into various activities such as
those at the MSC and intramural
sports. On the whole, we have
had luck with this endeavor.”
Besides trying to combine
blacks and whites activities, the
administration says it has encour
aged blacks to have projects as a
group. “The administration is
thoroughly in favor of the Black
Awareness Committee for giving
blacks a vehicle to get their ideas
across and for carrying out group
projects. We hope that BAG will
become more and more active in
helping the blacks to adjust to
campus life. We hope that their
position as one of the main groups
in the MSC will aid both
whites and blacks to further this
adjustment,” said Hannigan.
“A&M departments are trying
to get black professors, Hannigan
said, but that it isn’t easy to get
them.
“A&M would still like to hire
the most expert individual in the
field when they have a vacancy.
Invariably, they do this by inter
viewing candidates of all races.
Frankly, the supply of top notch
qualified blacks with Ph.D.’s is
horribly limited. All of the
schools are trying to add a few
to their staffs, but there aren’t
that many around the United
States.
“Personally, I see the situation
as one that will iron itself out
as times goes on, because Prairie
View is grinding out an ever-in
creasing number of qualified in
dividuals to the point where we
won’t be accused of robbing the
cream of their crop by hiring a
few profs from them. Incidental
ly, we do have a program of ex
change profs with Prairie View
that allows them to teach inter
changeably from Prairie View to
A&M.”
As for blacks questioning the
funding of Prairie View, Hanni
gan said that the school is ade
quately funded by the Board of
Directors.
“If they need more, our Board
of Directors is in a position to
funnel more towards them. Both
colleges receive most of their
funds on a formula from state
sources. Our income depends on
enrollment in each individual
course.
Black studies came up as well
during the interview with Hanni
gan. “By and large,” he said,
“the various departments and
their heads associated with black
studies have been a bit reluctant
in adding courses that they felt
wasn’t going to be a quality pro
gram into the curriculum. In
other words, just to have a black
studies, in order to say we have
the course, seemed a poor reason.
If they acquire black studies,
they want it to be really worth
while. In essence, that program
should influence individuals to
come to A&M, make the school
proud, and make the black studies
a worthwhile endeavor. Up until
now, the departments have tried
to incorporate adequate coverage
for blacks in the present history
material,”