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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 30, 1993)
1977- dp first appears in The Battalion. Drawn by Dr. Donald Powell (director of business services), dp is a sports editorial cartoon still running today. Summer, 1978 — Debby Krenek becomes the first I female editor in chief c if The I Battalion. ■ Krenek 1980 1990 s w x xtmszm ■■ ■> , mmm - ■ 1985- “Cadet Slouch” stops running. It is the longest-running Battalion cartoon. Thursday, September 30, 1993 1893 ‘The Battalion • 1993 Page 11 September 31, :sen it of Texas Ah black! t (1,220) it sreent (3 Kincing now In ally wanting :ElroyJr.,as» aurces andCi; 1966—The Battalion vs. The administration Vvh Batt editor cries censorship as administration takes control of paper By Jennifer Smith The Ba ttalion As the editor in chief of The Battalion re turned to work in the fall of 1966, he was greeted with a warning: Write anything criti cal of Texas A&M and it won’t be published. Thomas DeFrank, Class of ‘67, was the new editor of The Battalion. In the Oct. 14, 1966 issue of The Texas Observer, a bi weekly state magazine, DeFrank said Jim Lindsey, director of information and publi cations at A&M, told him at the beginning of the year any story that was controversial or critical of the A&M administration would not be published. Censorship was not new to newspaper. When University President Earl Rudder came to A&M in 1958, The Battalion had existed for 79 years without supervision from administrators. Soon after coming to A&M, Rudder fired The Battalion’s faculty supervisor and created a publication board to oversee all student publications. Rudder had “taken on the University’s public image as one of his central concerns” and did not want A&M portrayed in a bad light, The Texas Observer said. DeFrank knew of these rules when he accepted the position of editor, but he de cided to see now far he could bend them, The Texas Observer said. An article that was critical of the admin istration and University was to run in the Sept. 22, 1966 issue of The Battalion. De- Frank wrote an article about the establish ment of a political forum, which would present speakers on public affairs. DeFrank’s article on the forum focused on the delay that would occur before the forum could be set up. DeFrank wrote it would probably be spring before speakers could come to A&M. But, as the Sept. 22, 1966 issue of The Battalion was going to press, Lindsey insist ed the article be removed calling it ‘prema ture and not fair to the administration.” A&M students never read this story. Rudder then announced individual pub lications at A&M were to be supervised by the publications board of which no stu dents were members. Lindsey was the administrator responsi ble for the newspaper, and his name was in serted in The Battalion’s masthead as editor in chief. Lindsey’s assistant, Lane Stephen son, was added to the staff, and inserted in the masthead as second in command. DeFrank’s name was now third, and his title was changed to student editor. It was de cided The Bat- “Ever since I have been on The Battalion, we have had censorship problems of one kind or another.” DeFrank added that he could not agree with A&M not allowing him to have con trol of editorial content. “That is not the way a student newspa per should be run,” DeFrank said. Dani Presswood, the managing editor and Class of ‘68, and Gerald Garcia, the sports editor and Class of ‘66, two other staff members, also spoke out against the administration’s handling of these events. Nothing about this incident was ever re- DeFrank “Ever since I have been on The Battal ion, we have had censorship prob lems of one kind or another.” vs. Rudder “No one is trying to take freedom of speech away from you, but no one should try to tear down the im age of Texas A&M.” academic, atmosphere of a university and the administration’s action has smeared the im age of the school in the eyes of outsiders and of its students and prospective students.” The TCU student government also chastised A&M administrators for calling the paper a “student publication” instead of an ‘administrative bulletin.” The incident gradually began to circu late around the campus, and students were outraged that censorship had hit A&M’s campus. A petition was started to return The Battalion back to the students. Blank signs were huhg around campus, and a mi- crophone with a severed cord was erected at the MSC. A sign near the micro phone quoted william Shake speare: “Igno rance Is The Curse of God; Knowledge the Wing A with v7e Heaven.” ere- Fly To talion would cease publishing the Letters to the Editors column. On Sept. 27, 1966, the University Sys tem Board of Directors approved a resolu tion that said “policies pertaining to stu dent publications are matters to be handled within the structure of the University ad ministration.” Staff members were outraged, and in an effort to avoid criticism to A&M, Lindsey advised the staff not to discuss the incident. The Texas Observer reported DeFrank ignored the order not to speak about the incident, and told the Associated Press, ported in The Battalion. But once the Associated Press reported the incident, almost every college newspa per and many daily newspapers in Texas' took notice. The University of Houston newspaper called the incident the “death of The Bat talion,.’’-And said that while it was Lindsey’s '■ make the University look good, taBMp’riot always possible for an editor. a letter written to the A&M adminis tration, the House of Student Representa tives T at Texas Christian University said the firings “stifle the entire intellectual, if not In trying to justify the censorship, Rudder told the Student Senate on Oct. 6, 1966, “No one is trying to take freedom of speech away from you, but no one should try to tear down the image of Texas A&M.” During this speech, Rudder was ridiculed and asked by a Corps of Cadets member if he realized the student body was opposed to this censorship. Rudder answered this comment by telling members of the Student Senate they should come to him when they have a gripe and not write to The Battalion. Rudder also told the audience through out the meeting the Letters to the Editors column was no place to air A&M’s prob lems, The Texas Observer said. After this Senate meeting, Lindsey in formed DeFrank, Presswood and Garcia they were no longer staff members of The Battalion after a unanimous decision by the Board of Directors. On Oct. 7, 1966, The Battalioh an nounced in a banner headline that the stu dents publications board had selected Win ston Green Jr., Class of‘68, as the new edi tor in chief. Green was a transfer student who had only been on campus four weeks before he was appointed editor, despite a University regulation that states student editors must have at least one year of experience to be come editor. Lindsey told The Battalion the firings paved the way for a better atmosphere for the paper to operate. ‘A continuing policy question can only serve to damage The Battalion further and hamper a capable student-run newspaper in its presentation of fair, objective news and editorials,” he said. Lindsey also said the publications board had the full support of the A&M System. “The Board of Directors and the Ad ministration desire a newspaper which will afford professional training for our stu dents,” Lindsey said. “Such a newspaper requires objective reporting and editing and this has been missing on The Battalion.” In another article that ran in the Oct. 7, 1966, issue of The Battalion, Rudder an nounced the school newspaper must be run in a responsible and professional manner. DeFrank is now senior White House cor respondent for Newsweek Magazine, and Garcia is editor in chief of The Houston Post. Battalion Continued from Page 7 At this time, The Battalion of fices were located in the basement of the Administration Building. By 1945, The Battalion was I forced to return to weekly publica tion because of war restrictions on materials. By the spring of 1947, The Battalion had returned to twice-a-week publication and later to three-times-a-week publication. Although The Battalion operated under the Student Activities Com mittee, its preparation, editing, cen- 1 sorship and management were left r~\ entirely to the students in charge. vJ-wllLi on ]y known extra edition of The Battalion was run in the spring of 1947. A student-administration fracas produced so much news that The Battalion was swamped, accord- s math ^progri j n g t0 Lindley s book. Tne extra edi tion was run off on a mimeograph one Saturday afternoon to cover events that had happened after the regular edition had gone to press. 3y 1947, enrollment had dras tically increased at A&M. It also was the beginning of non-military on campus. This was a result of World war II veterans returning to campus who did not want to be in the Corps. The Battalion covered issues such as the increasing enrollment and the purchase of Fish Field, said Richard Alterman, summer 1947 managing editor of The Battalion. Alterman said he remembers The Battalion newsroom as a place for Prior to girls to high sc nd wanted to r at the Univeti ferred to A&M : said she did I :atment from: s. icing a studem reated,” shesai' he class were« e feel part of :rberger, profess : full professor i( l&M, came tol ember 1968 en in my classes t time, the Coi| of class, 1 tlii* /as the secret: m their class.” las never facet n in her years ; A&M ands: • always been re rctful on theoiii many of the® kM had a dif as women in nale citadel,” Jf s in The Band a little shockedi fessor,” shesai the staff to spend their extra time. “The Battalion was strictly volun tary,” he said. “We had no journal ism classes. It was extra curriculum.” The summer of 1947 was filled with preparations for eventual daily Publication. An Associated Press Wre-service teletype was installed )n the new offices of The Battalion in Goodwin Hall. “When Aggies returned from their summer vacations, a daily Bat talion was waiting for them in Batt Boxes in dormitory halls,” accord- mg to Lindley’s book. The Battalion also became an as sociate member of the Associated hess and was rated “All-American’ By the Associated Collegiate Press of which it was a member. Although the journalism depart ment had oeen established at A&M 1950, The Battalion still operated independently of the department. “Student publications were quite parate from journalism,” said john Whitmore, editor of The Bat talion in the school year of 1951- 52. “Those on the staff were not necessarily journalism majors. Althougn they might have found themselves at odds with the adminis tration, Battalion editors were al lowed the freedom to direct the pa per and its policies. “Part of our editorial philosophy was to raise hell and stay this side of being burned up, and not in effi gy,” Whitmore said. One of the difficulties at The Battalion at the time was that it was “PG” — prior to girls, Whit more said. To alleviate this difficulty, The Battalion staff and the Lass-O staff at the Texas State College for Women in Denton would have reciprocal parties, Whitmore said. The editors of the daily Lass-O would come down to College Station for a weekend and try their hands at the editorial desk of The Battalion. This visit was later returned by the staff of The Battalion to Denton. Although women still had not been admitted to A&M, The Bat talion did have a women’s editor on its staff. “A society editor had been intro duced two or three years prior to my editorship,” Whitmore said. “The wife of a student was our society edi tor. She went on to become a society editor for The Dallas Times Herald. ’ The Battalion made the news it self in 1954 with the mass resigna tion of the staff. On Feb. 23, 1954, co-editors Jerry Bennett and Ed Holder resignea after the Student Life Committee established an edito rial board for The Battalion, “argu ing that the student editorial staff needed assistance and guidance,” ac cording to Dethloff’s book. “Censorship is hidden with ad vise and assistance,” said Bennett and Holder in a statement to the press following their resignation. ‘To us, it still means the same thing. This committee has been set up to stop The Battalion from printing the truth about things at A&M which are embarrassing to some individuals.” The following day, the entire news staff, with the exception of a few staff writers, resigned on the grounds the administration was at tempting to censor the newspaper because it had been critical of past administrations. On March 23, 1954, a new staff was named. Several of the staff who had resigned in February assumed new staff positions in March. One of those was Harri Baker, a former campus editor who took over the po sition of co-editor with Bob Boriskie, a former sports editor. “The resignation was an effective device,” Baker said. “I and Bob Boriskie, with the agreement of the entire staff, assumed editorial posi tions. There was no hint of censor ship after that.” During Baker’s time at The Battalion, discussions already were under way about ideas that even tually would become significant changes on the A&M campus. The role of the Corps and the ad mittance of women to the College were two of the issues being dis cussed at the time. “The Battalion, in those days, was on the side of change, which created controversy,” Baker said. “It was a collective group on the staff. We felt we should maintain and respect the traditions but also encourage change.” In 1954, The Battalion was being published four times a week during the fall and spring terms and two times a week during examination, vacation periods and summer terms. By 1955, the Student Publica tions Board had become responsible for establishing the general policies concerning student publications. The board also was responsible for choosing the editor of thepaper. “Being the editor of The Battal ion was a highly prized campus job,” said Joe Buser, editor of The Battalion in the school year of 1958-59. “The editor was just as well known as the Corps Comman der. The editor was known by most students and faculty.” At the time, the University was preparing itself for the 21st centu ry, Buser said. J. Earl Rudder, who was to become the A&M president in 1959, had just come to A&M in 1958 and took over the duties of vice president. Rudder envisioned that A&M would become a great place to train leaders, Buser said. “Some of those plans were re vealed to The Battalion because I was fortunate enough to be in his presence when those plans were re vealed,” he said. While The Battalion staff was busy following up leads and writ ing stories, they still maintained their normal load of school work and activities. The editorial staff, comprised mainly of members of the Corps, had to be commended for staying up late to put out the paper and still making formation before 8 a.m. the next morning, Buser said. The newsroom became known as the “Batt Cave” and the staff as the “Battmen” because The Battalion offices were located in the basement of the YMCA Building and the staff only operated at night. As the 1960s rocked their way into College Station, The Battalion covered major changes beginning to affect the A&M campus. Reporters pounded out stories on their type writers as the College was about to achieve university status, a name change was being proposed, and a movement began to admit women. Bill Hicklin, editor of The Bat talion in the 1960-61 school year, said his selection as editor marked a personal achievement. He had otner goals for The Battalion. “I hoped the paper would become more involved in reporting politics,” he said. “I also wanted to get more active with an editorial voice.” Tumultuous times Tumultuous times continued on the campus and in the world as the 1960s progressed. The College be came a University. The all-male A&M went co-ed, and the Corps became non-compulsory. The Vietnam War exploded on the in ternational scene, and President Kennedy was assassinated. “The Battalion was trying to cov er all that,” said Glenn Dromgoole, editor of The Battalion in the school year of 1965-66. “It was a great time to be editor of the paper.” The Battalion and the adminis tration often clashed over coverage of some of the issues. Dromgoole said one of the biggest issues that stands out in his mind is an incident concerning Johnny Gash and Bonfire. The administration canceled a Cash performance at Bonfire after Cash had been arrested in El Paso and charged with smuggling and concealing drugs. The Battalion staff editorialized that the administration was con victing Cash without a trial, Drom goole said. “That issue really got to the ad ministration and put us at odds for the rest of the year,” he said. “We were not under the journalism de partment. We thought we reported directly to God. Tne administra tion thought they were the publish er of the paper.” Dromgoole said The Battalion on the paper by the A&M Student Publications Board. Jim Lindsey, chairman of the board, said he felt the action was necessary because continued policy disagreement could only result in further harm to The Battalion, ac cording to a Battalion article on Oct. 7, 1966. DeFrank said the stated cause for tkfe dismissal was an unsigned letter that appeared in “Sound Off,” The Battalion's letters-to-the- editor column. “The point is it was an innocu ous letter,” DeFrank said. “They claimed we were irresponsible be cause we published it without a source. That was just an excuse they used. They were determined to get rid of me and my staff.” One situation that caused prob lems was the organization of the The Battalion staff even brought in did not have tnucl? anti-war senti ment to cover qri campus. The biggest concern was over the admit tance of women to’ the University. “Where other campuses were burning, we were concerned over women and the Corps,” he said. When Dromgoole left the paper, he and other members of his staff presented a 17-page “State-of The Battalion” report to J. Earl Rudder, then president of A&M. “We knew no bounds to our audacity,” he said. A tense situation The tense situation between the administration and The Battalion did not improve the following year. Tom DeFrank who had worked as Dromgoole’s managing editor took over the position of editor in the school year of 1966-67. “There was conflict all year long over what should and should not be allowed in the paper,” DeFrank said. “Stories were often pulled at the press because the publications adviser who was taking orders from the ad ministration didn’t like them.” On Sept. 30, 1966, DeFrank and two of his assistants were offi cially removed from their positions the first ,log for the 1964 Bonfire. - ‘ W' i Student Publications Office. Public Inforrrtation was included in stu dent publications. “It could create conflict,” said Lane Stephenson, then assistant di rector of University Information and Publications. “It wasn’t the best arrangement.” As the 1960s gave way to the 1970s, The Battalion moved to new offices in the Reed McDonald Build ing. Changes continued to catch up with the University, and The Battal ion continued reporting on these changes in spite of opposition from the administration. “We covered the war and what was going on other campuses,” said Dave Mayes, editor of The Battal ion during the school year of 1969- 1970. “PJere the students gathered in front of the Academic Building and had debates among themselves in groups. The administration then didn’t like to see those kinds of things going cyi. “As a student journalist, you learn some things about the power of the press. You learq -more about journalism there (in The Battalion newsroom) than anywhere else.” Dissension struck The Battalion newsroom in the school year of 1975-76. James Breedlove, a jour nalism student who had never worked for The Battalion, was ap- E ointed to editor. This went against Iniversity Regulations, which speci fied that candidates for Battalion edi tor must have worked on the paper for a year. The staff considered Breedlove an outsider. In the fall semester, several editors quit and others were fired. At one point, Breedlove fired his staff, retaining only the editors. The firing was reviewed, and three reporters were re-hired. Before his tenure was completed, Breedlove resigned. In the spring of 1976, The Bat talion and the journalism depart ment began to work together. The paper used journalism students as reporters, editors and photogra phers to supplement the paper’s paid -staff. Bob Rogers, chairman of the Student Publications Board, was instrumental in this change. Jerry Needham, editor of The Battalion from the summer 1976 to the spring of 1977, also worked to integrate the journalism classes into The Battalion. “It gave us a broader range of eyes out there, and it gave stu dents some particular experience,” Needham said. New issues As the 1970s wound down, new issues surfaced on the horizon. “The Gay Student Services Or ganization generated a lot of heat,” said Lee Leschper, summer 1977 editor of The Battalion. Working for The Battalion pro vided Leschper with invaluable expe rience. “It was an opportunity you don’t get to do in many places,’ he said. You can teach people to write, but you can’t teach them to report.” The 1970s also saw Debby Krenek become The Battalion’s first woman editor in the summer of 1978. She was followed by Kim Tyson as editor in the school year of 1978-79. Karen Rogers served as editor in the summer of 1979 and Liz Newlin followed in the fall of 1979. “It was an equal opportunity thing, if you had the desire and ability to work,” Rogers said. “It didn t occur to me it was not a woman’s world at A&M.” By 1984, a new, up-to-date computer system was installed and The Battalion editorial board began writing daily editorials. As the 1990s began, The Battal ion continued to report on issues that affected A&M and its students. “As a newspaper, we have to de tach ourselves from A&M,” said Todd Stone, editor of The Battal- , ion in the summer of 1991. “Al though we still embrace the tradi tions and are proud of that, we still must seek the truth for the commu nity even if that puts us against ele ments of A&M.’ From literary magazine to the longest continuous college publica tion in Texas, the Battalion will continue to face new issues and challenges as it starts on the road to its next 100 years.