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THE BATTALION Page 3
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 13, 1979
Formals
Military head says
}orps ‘prepared’
By M.W. MALLEY
Battalion Reporter
f , , Lt. Gen. Ormond R. Simpson has
j 0 1° '” tEr !n the Corps of Cadets go from
e “Brazos bottom bourbon”
nking and dancing with the popu-
, “Bryan 400” girls in 1932, to an
admitted j ^
he cons ders “better prepared
enignJevtli ^ several military acadamies.
By use of the term ‘better pre-
ed,’ I mean in terms of the Corps
ing its purpose of giving and
iching individual responsibility,”
pson, assistant vice president for
dent services and head of the
ool of military sciences, said,
impson said he had a great deal of
iration for the Corps during the
10s, and referred to Texas A&M
■ can prej
in theOyaji
added
ias notsolu
« is headdj
erald
the publii
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M
'id
“Graduates of the Corps today
\ve experienced leadership,
ve learned to accept responsi-
flity, have integrity and are mo
ire beyond their years," Lt.
pt. Ormond R. Simpson, assis-
vice president for student
■rices, said.
University as one of the best agricul-
eand mechanical schools around.
|Simpson said members of the
irps of Cadets today in positions of
jthority learn a great deal about
pie and how to handle them.
Graduates of the Corps today
experienced leadership, have
hrned to accept responsibility,
have integrity and are mature
:yond their years,” Simpson said.
Simpson said he considers the
irps graduates two years ahead of
e military academy graduates in
rms of how to get things done and
cepting responsibility.
During his years with the Corps of
idets from 1932 to 1936, Simpson
id there was really no chain of com-
and authority.
■ 'The commandant went directly
t|private so-and-so,” he said.
Today, Simpson refers to the com-
landant as “riding herd over the
rps, but with a light rein, ” he said.
During the 1930s, Simpson said,
mpany commanders were influen-
|al, but only within their own com-
ny. He said the Corps commander
id various company commanders
d no real authority.
Simpson said he came to Texas
because of the depth of the
lepression.
“A&M was the cheapest place to
tend college,” he said. He credits
is father for somehow rounding up
200 to get him started in school.
“My parents were determined to
ee that I got something better than
hey had,” he said.
When asked about his life as a
eshman in the Corps in 1932, Simp-
on paused and then said, “Brutal, it
n’t
already
ation
Departi
xady *
ion. Pfii
lat couU
luldstayi
; still«
robabiyi
ing him.
was actually brutal.”
On more than one occasion, Simp
son said, freshman would go to class
with round spots of blood on the back
of their trousers as a result of hazing
and class mass punishment.
“I learned mass punishment was
stupid,” Simpson said.
In comparison, Simpson said to
day there is no “hands on” abuse to
freshmen and almost no physical
punishment.
Some of the lighter moments
Simpson remembers were activities
like dancing with the girls from
Bryan in Sbisa dining hall, in which
freshmen were not allowed, and
shooting at Proxy’s moon.
Proxy’s moon, named after the
then Texas A&M president, was a
light pole on top of the Academic
Building. Seniors used to sit On top of
Walton Hall and fire their rifles at
the light, using rounds they saved
from the previous summer’s rifle
range activities.
After four or five shots, Simpson
said, the officer of the gendarmes
would hear them and come running.
In the meantime, the seniors would
lower their rifles by rope down to the
freshmen who would immediately
start to clean them.
Simpson said by the time the gen
darmes arrived, “you couldn’t tell
Simpson said a change he would
favor in the Corps today would
he “to see every member of the
Corps achieve his academic
potential. ”
the rifles had been fired.”
Simpson said a change he would
favor in the Corps today would be “to
see every member of the Corps
achieve his academic potential.”
He said members of Corps are
here to get an education first.
“Too many students major in
Corps and minor in engineering,” he
said.
Simpson said freshmen studies are
enhanced by the call to quarters in
which they have a controlled study
environment.
“Granted,” he said, “three hours a
night of studying is not enough, but
it’s a step in the right direction.”
Students making bad marks in
school tend to blame the Corps for
their failure, Simpson said.
“The Corps is an inanimate object
and is a very good whipping board for
these students.”
Simpson had high praise for gra
duating Corps seniors.
“Some recuiters for large business
firms coming to A&M only want to
interview senior Corps graduates,
not because of their grade point aver
age, but because of what they’ve
learned in handling people and re
sponsibility,” he said.
Now at
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Lt. Gen. Ormond Simpson, assistant vice pres
ident for student services and head of military
sciences, has watched the Corps of Cadets
Battalion photo by Doug Graham
grow since he was a member in the 1930s. He
says Corps graduates are better prepared to
day than several military academies.
Russell receives
Mayo award
The Texas A&M University En
glish department has awarded its
fourth annual Thomas F. Mayo Prize
to Johnny A. Russell.
The prize is awarded after an essay
contest to determine the best exposi
tory writer enrolled in English 103,
104 and 104H.
The marine science major won
over 77 other contestants for the
$100 prize. His essay, “Reflections of
a Summer Memory,” was done for an
English 103 class.
Russell is the son of Mr. and Mrs.
J. F. Russell of San Antonio.
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