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,
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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would not be published.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.