* 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
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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?
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Cbe Battalion
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MEMBER
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Editor
Assistant Editor
Managing Editor
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Roxie Hearn
Ste'e Coble
Ste> e Gra\
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