Image provided by: Texas A&M University
About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (June 19, 1980)
THE BATTALION THURSDAY, JUNE 19, 1980 Page 3 Ben stops traveling, starts school Ben Robertson is attending Texas A&M University on two scholarships despite having virtually no formal education. Staff photo by Lee Roy Leschper Jr. Technically brilliant’B-grade movie by CATHY SAATHOFF Battalion Staff For most students, the road to Texas A&M Uni versity includes 12 years of sitting in a classroom. For freshman Ben Robertson, however, the road held only 12 weeks of classroom sitting and 17 years of traveling across the United States and Canada. “I’ve had to grow up a little quicker,” Robertson said of his nomadic life. When he was eight, his father told him he was on his own, although he traveled with one or both of his parents until he was 13 years old, when both were killed. Robertson is reluctant to talk about the inci dent, but is willing to talk about what happened afterwards to bring him to Texas A&M. His life was lonely, he said, and he never stayed anywhere long enough to form any permanent re lationships. He also got to see things other people never see, but Robertson said he missed having a home life. In December, 1978, a radio report of Austin’s 74-degree weather brought him there from Irving. After a day and a half, he decided he’d had enough of Austin. Robertson said he picked Burnet, in the Texas Hill Country, off of a map and headed in that direction. He made a wise choice. The bus he boarded took him to Lampasas; while waiting for the bus to Burnet he was picked up by Johnny Curoo of the Buckner Boys Ranch. Curbo took him to Burnet and left him in the care of Leroy Eliot and his wife. After that, he stayed with Wanda and Jim Legg. The town just sort of adopted him, Robertson said. “It hit kind of quick,” he said. “I kind of like it.” While in Burnet, he worked for veterinarian Dr. Dan McBride. He seemed interested in getting his high school diploma, and went to Burnet high school to see a counselor. He started attending classes as a sopho more, but had a lot of freedom in the level of classes he could attend. After 12 weeks, he decided he’d had enough, and took his Graduate Equivalency Diploma test. “Some people suggested that I should go to col lege,” Robertson said. But as with most college-bound students, money was a problem. Not to mention being accepted at Texas A&M with no school records. Actually, with no records at all, since Robertson’s father delivered him and he had no birth certificate. Robertson was basically a non-person as far as the government was concerned. It was about this time that Kyle Crews of the Texas For freshman Ben Robertson, the road to Texas A&M held only 12 weeks of classroom sitting and 17 years of traveling across the United States and Canada. A&M school relations office found out about Robertson. “It is a very unusual circumstance to find someone in this day and age who is this articulate and has never had any formal education,” Crews said. “My mother taught me how to read when I was 10,” Robertson said. After that, he kept up by read ing on his own. “Ben is not someone we have been set up to work with, but I ran across him while I was recruiting in the Hill Country and felt he was worth the special effort,” Crews said. Although Robertson has had basically no formal education, Crews said, he was admitted to Texas A&M on the basis of his GED and his Scholastic Aptitude Test score of 1100. Robertson said he has “no earthly idea” how he scored 200 points above the national average for that test, but said his English and math teacher helped him cram the week before the test. Robertson hopes to one day return to Burnet and work not for McBride but with him. He has a standing job offer from McBride, he said. He is taking English 103 and Mathematics 102 right now. “I had to take a tutor for math,” Robertson said. “I am having to play catch-up. For now, two scholarships, one from the Texas A&M College of Agriculture and one from the High land Lakes A&M club, are helping him meet college costs. ihe^fvouncl <Sfasli ions ^L^iviiion. of < J~ > zof-Eiiionaf (3na. '\hjlL ^cxuiae. fox -M cn and ^Womsn $5.00 oft on any service with this coupon Coupon expires July 15 846-3785 3801 0exas (A, ryan, venue exas 77801 Open Monday thru Saturday Evenings by Appointment Empire’ great, but unsatisfying by DILLARD STONE Battalion Editor Even before you go brave the lines Sir The Empire Strikes Back you’ve mixed anticipations about the You know it’s got a lot to live up to the reputation of its parent film, Star Wars, so you expect lots of ae on, great effects and a good two- bur trip into fantasyland. But you’ve also heard that Empire ionly Episode V (Star Wars has pen retitled Episode IV) in what feator-producer George Lucas pans as a nine-part series stretching to the next century. So you anticipate a great film, but )u also know that plot resolution ill be weak — after all, how can ucas resolve the conflicts or iy characters when he’s got seven lore flicks to make? Does the film’s merit nonetheless rerride this drawback? You bet it does. The Empire Strikes Back is just hat you (and George Lucas) want it , be—a technically brilliant, break- he was' eck-speed film that leaves you wait- . roofnefl igforthe sequel-to-the-sequel just . 2a j n pri;i is breathlessly as you awaited d “I halt 1 , , r u n 1» It s a classic example ot that all- , ' |! )o-rare Hollywood genre — a se- a f? ain 1 uel which is as good as, and in some „ ases better than, the original, banks k And, like Star Wars, it’s nothing jurtkW'bore than a lavishly made B-grade ill Movie Review nt, worl ingtoW iber, ih she likes Han Solo more than a little; to hear the beeps from R2-D2 and the whines of C3-PO and to boo and hiss Darth Vader, the galaxy’s Public Enemy No. 1. And you’re going to see if the effects are as you hope, the best you’ve ever seen. You’re not going to be dis appointed if that’s all you want. But I’m a real pain. I expected more. I should’ve been content to merely be seized by the action from the outset, to be held captive for two hours, to be dazzled by the effects. I should have put the acting and dialogue out of my mind and used them only as mental threads con necting visual sequences. That’s what Lucas wanted me to do, and who am I to quarrel with him? Lucas has given more depth to the storyline by adding new characters. At the insistence of Obi-Wan Keno- bi’s ghost, Hamill as Luke Skywalker sets off to find Yoda, the Jedi master 1 who instructed Ben Kenobi in- the ways of the Force. Although the training sequences tend to drag (the only time in the show), Yoda’s presence makes it worthwhile, for Yoda is an ingenious little green muppet-like robot oper ated by Frank Oz. Speak he although in dialect warped most of the time, Yoda is an excellent creation, a cau tious character that plays well off Luke’s impulsiveness. Frustratingly, he also drops to Luke and the audience a million lit tle hints about Luke’s past and fu ture. In the end, your initial apprehen sions become a fulfilled prophecy. After Empire is over, you’re satisfied at having seen a good flick. But the satisfaction fades as you begin realiz ing that the story uncovered more holes than it filled in. What happens to Han Solo? Who is the Rebellion’s ‘other hope’? What does the front of Darth Vader’s head look like? The most unsatisfying thought of all is that we’ve got to wait tljree years for the sequel-to-the-sequel, the answers ... and even more ques tions. si s si S S Si Si S s; S 5 SJ si si It's Rodeo Time... and Aggies Get In I Friday Night Aggies with Texas A&M Student ID Card Get In Free! EVENTS START 8 P.M. FRIDAY Brazos County Rodeo Arena On Tabor Road Sponsored by Circle Five Rodeo Co. s ■> ?> s ■s S vent) p 3m which depends more on action tod effects to carry it than on acting the bility and crafty dialogue. " But who cares? After all you’re not [oing to see Empire to see an .cademy Award-type performance rom Mark Hamill. — You’re going so you can see the tside'®] food guys, in the face of tremendous Iversity, whup up on the bad guys; see if Princess Leia finally admits ' s: ('our tea Sebring Hair Designs for Men and Women Perms — Frost Color High Lift Tints 8 designers Open 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. Located behind the Ramada Inn 846-2924 846-3877 How A Does $80,000 Year Grab Your Assets? Accountant $29,788/yr.’ Attorney $56,477/yr.* Chemist $51,492/yr.* Engineer $45,101/yr.* LUBY’S ROMANA $80,000/yr. MANAGER Seem hard to believe? The average Cafeterias, Inc. manager did earn over $80,000 last year. The average training period to become a manager is 6 to 8 years. Managers attain these earnings by collecting a share of the net profits from their own cafeteria. The average associate manager last year earned $45,000. This earning level is attainable in 3 to 5 years. To become a manager of one of our cafeterias is a very special business opportunity. You'll be joining an ambitious and progressive company that requires more of its managers than any food chain in the Sunbelt. Local managers are decision making businessmen who are responsible for all purchasing, menu planning, and hiring of per sonnel. We grant our managers a great deal of autonomy, and treat them as business partners. Cafeterias, Inc. is a firm believer in promoting from within; hence, most Corporate Officers are former unit managers. Cafeterias, Inc. is not restricting interviews to only Business majors; we're open to all degrees. We're looking tor people who are interested in becoming dynamic, ag gressive, and well paid businessmen. If that's your goal, then we're looking for you! # Average Salaries; highest level of experience, difficulty, and responsibility, from the National Survey ot Professional, Administrative, Technical, and Clerical Pay, March 1978-U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics. Bulletin 2004. Interviewing Placement Office Tuesday, July 1 Cafeterias, Inc. CENTURY BLDG SUITE 200E • 84 N E LOOP 410 • SAN ANTONIO. TEXAS 78286