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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 4, 1975)
* I Page 2 THE BATTALION THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 4, 1975 Slouch Jim Earle »'.v - 4 ■ V ■ * Growth, hassles go hand-in-hand Texas A&M is the fastest growing university in the nation. But it’s time to slow the growth down. When registration ends on Friday, university officials antici pate 25,000 students will be enrolled here. And, while they main tain that A&M is capable of educating even more than that, all of us will have to suffer from overcrowding. Our streets and parking lots are congested. Bicycles and pedes trians jam campus sidewalks. There are lines of people waiting to eat, lines of people trying to cross makeshift walkways around construc tion areas and even lines of people trying to enter and exit class room buildings. Overcrowding has caused a housing shortage that has pushed rent prices to absurd levels. Even textbooks are in shorter supply this year. In spite of the current problems however, some hope for next year does lie in two proposals that will be presented to the Academic Council this fall. The first of these proposes a July 31 early cut-off date for new applicants. This would at least give university officials and students more planning time. The Academic Council will also consider changing the admis sion requirements for non-resident applicants. After all, the first obligation of A&M is to tbe people of Texas. While these two measures are praiseworthy, it is time for more stringent ones. In addition to the early cut-off date for new applicants and re vised requirements for out-of-state applicants, we need a definite ceiling on overall admissions. The Texas Legislature has just recently granted the Texas College and University System Coordinating Board the power to limit enrollment at state supported schools. It is now up to the Coordinating Board to responsibly use this new power. The line must be drawn. If not, the quality of all our lives will continue to deteriorate. Aggietoons r 5 rTT * T admit, it’s a lot of trouble, but I always know where my bicycle is!’ THE GREAT THlfOCb ABOUT A and fA 15 YOU) CAM 6€T IfWOLVEB 1(0 A HuJfTSeR. OF REALLY GJORTHOHIL6 Research PRooecrs. Those first six students. inPORTAOT RROOECTS UI\JD6RC0AY (UOU).... iVe Dcwoe it!! i've bevecopeb TH6 FlRePROOF rwcHl! wHeRes the ADDRESS TO "SoewTiFic A/’ieRiCAN"? IS- By DON MIDDLETON and JOHN ADAMS As you fight your way through herds of bicycles to class this fall — as you bite and claw for a chair in classrooms designed to hold the single traditional class — as you compete with 24,000 other Aggies for a place in every conceivable type of line — pause for a moment to let your thoughts drift back to an Oc tober morning 99 years ago when the doors of the A&M College were opened for the first time. If you were one of those original six students you would have arrived at the entrance to the campus by way of railroad and walked down the dirt trail that led straight to Old Main, past what is now the Grove and through what woidd eventually become the Coke Building. After presenting yourself to College Pres ident Thomas Gathright for mat riculation, you would have been shown to your lodgings on the third floor of the same building. As en rollment increased, reaching 48 by mid-November, you would be lodged in Gathright Hall. Try to forget that as you drove to campus in 1975, many of the roads are still dirt trails, and that you had to carry a dozen loads of pot ted plants, stereo records and cin der blocks from a parking lot miles from your fourth floor dorm room. Upon registration in 1876 each student was issued textbooks to be used in courses that were all elec tive. A fixed college curriculum was not established until 1880. If you’re concentrating hard enough on this illusion you will forget that monstrous check you wrote for that book required for the course you didn’t want to take but your advisor said you had to in or der to graduate. In those early days rabbits, deer, wild cattle, mustangs and other wildlife freely roamed the Brazos valley.One faculty member re ported that, “It was no uncommon sight at that time to see a pack of wolves leap out in front of us, at the sound of footsteps from among the tall rank weeds that encompassed the campus grounds. One prospec tive student — a fish — who had arrived to enroll was attacked by wolves during the day “in full sight of the main building. ” View of Gathright Hall, on loan from the University Archives, as it appeared in 1876. Of course, the wild bicyclists leaping out from between buildings and maverick salesmen peddling newspapers and insurance policies pose no less of a threat in this day and time. Of the six faculty members pre sent on opening day, 22-year-old R. P. W. Morris was chosen as acting Instructor of Military Tactics and Commandant until a regular officer of the U.S. Army could be detailed for duty. Morris organized the cadets into companies A and B. Since most of the professors had fought in the war for the South, the traditional gray uniform with two rows of brass buttons was chosen as the cadet attire. The environment of the new col lege was raw and rugged. The stu dents were equally tough and row dy. A former state senator wrote that he “had rather give his boy a pony, six-shooter, bottle of whisky and deck of cards and start him out to get his education than send him to A&MC. Equipped in that man ner, the senator’s son or anyone else’s son would have made friends quickly. Life was simpler in October, 1876 and the cost of living was definitely lower. There were no lines and no insurance salesmen. Walking to class meant a leisurely stroll across the grass to the main building. Doesn’t it sound nice? PEANUTS lAjfuM cdrvut Crunch xxk. to c^o track. Xo OuAs $utcfl JJJTOAJ j/yu / qSo. m GOING SOMEPLACE...TOGETHER? GO GREYHOUND CHARTER AND LEAVE THE PLANNING TO US! Greyhound Charter takes a char ter trip out of the ordinary ... for any group. There's air-conditioning, rest rooms, roomy reclining seats, tinted picture windows . . . the works! All atan easy-on-the-budget price. Just tell us where you want to go ... and where to pick you up. We’ll do the rest. For information and price schedule, call 823-8071 GREYHOUND BUS STATION 1300 TEXAS AVE. CHARTER US THE BUS. “'vS'-Y /V Greyhound A change for the better. law Sask i j J curt ^ iTjS j§f ^ CANDLES ¥pT^5T^' DRIED ^Jj floYehs zon sandals Eclst 29th St. WareLoTJ.se 37I 5 E 2.9th. Street Town & Country Center Bryan,Texas -g1(,~b77l Cbe Battalion Opinions expressed in The Battalion are those of the editor or of the writer of the article and are not necessarily those of the university administration or the Board of Directors. The Battalion is a non-profit, self-supporting enterprise operated by students as a university and community newspaper. Editorial policy is determined by the editor. LETTERS POLICY Letters to the editor should not exceed 300 words and are subject to being cut to that length or less if longer. The editorial staff reserves the right to edit such letters and does not guarantee to publish any letter. Each letter must be signed, show the address of the writer arid list a telephone number for verification. Address correspondence to Listen Up, The Battalion, Room 217, Services Building, College Station, Texas 77843. Members of tbe Student Publications Board are: Bob G. Rogers, Chairman: Dr. Gary Halter: Dr. John Hanna: Roger P. Miller; Dr. Clinton A. Phillips, Jeff Dunn, Tom Dawsey, and Jerri Ward. Director of Student Publications: Gael L. Cooper. Represented nationally by National Educational Advertising Services, Inc., New York City, Chicago and Los Angeles. The Battalion, a student newspaper at Texas A&M, is published in College Station, Texas, daily except Saturday, Sunday, Monday, and holiday periods, September through May, and once a week during summer school. Mail subscriptions are $5.00 per semester; $9.50 per school year; $10.50 per full year. All subscriptions subject to 5% sales tax. advertising rate furnished on request. Address: The Battalion, Room 217, Services Building, College Station, Texas 77843. The Associated Press is entitled exclusively to the use for reproduction of all news dispatches credited to it or not otherwise credited in the paper and local news of spontaneous origin published herein. Right of reproduction of all other matter herein are also reserved. © Second-Class postage paid at College Station, Texas. MEMBER , The Associated Press, Texas Press Association Editor Assistant Editor Managing Editor Cit\ Editor Campus Editor Special Section Editor Sports Editor Photography Director . .James Breedlo\ e Roxie Hearn Ste'e Coble Ste> e Gra\ . Karla Monritsen Sandy Russo . . . .Tony Gallucci Jack Holm Phil Gibson, CLU can take the uncertainty out of your financial planning. Phil Gibson is a Chartered Life Underwriter offering financial services in the areas of tax-shelters, retirement programs, personal estate planning, business and employee plans. The proper coordination of life insurance, fixed and variable annuitiesi and mutual fundsi can take the uncertainty out of your financial planning. i(Through Jefferson-Pilot Equity Sales, Inc.) 3200 S. 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