Texas A and M University - Aggieland Yearbook (College Station, TX)

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Administration

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Texas A. and M.===Contiiined first meterologists ever trained by any government were given instruction in the Civil Engineer¬ ing Building. Numbers of mechanics and technicians were trained also. The epidemic of in¬ fluenza made the situation an ordeal for the College officials and the men who were stationed here. The fundamental mission of the Texas Agricultural and Mechanical College has been to give to its students a generous education fitting them to perform justly and skillfully all the offices of peace and war. The A. and M. men in the World War proved conclusively that our College had adequately fulfilled the latter part of this mission. A nation-wide investigation by the New York Times disclosed the fact that forty-nine per cent of all the men that A. and M. had ever graduated were engaged in the active defense of their country, a larger percentage than that of any other university or college in the land, with the sole exceptions of West Point and the Naval Academy. The Service Flag in Guion Hall, the trees around the parade ground, and the monu¬ ment dedicated to our war dead last year tell their significant story to all those willing to pause and think. If we have reason to be proud of what A. and M. does for the nation in time of peace, we have much more reason to be proud of what she did in time of war. Since the war there has been a very rapid development. The student body has increased from 1,758 in 1918 to 2,240 at the present time. The military organization, which before the war consisted of infantry only, was carried through the war in the form of the S. A. T. C. and now is known as the R. O. T. C., which includes infantry, field artillery, signal corps, cavalry, and air service units. All of these branches are thoroughly equipped. There wafe some confusion immediately after the war, but with the co-operation of the War Department the College was placed on the old plane of efficiency. The principal evidence of the growth of the College in the years since the war lies in the present good it does for the State. The measure of its worth is the opportunity it offers the farm¬ ers to better their position economically, socially, and educationally. The Extension Service parcels out useful information to the agriculturalist and his family. The many short courses given during the summer make it possible for men of small means to get valuable training in mechanical and agricultural subjects and take only a small part of their time in this training- The Texas Engineering Experiment Station which has been in existence since 1914 and which is composed of the entire teaching force of all the engineering departments and the department of architecture, physics and economics has contributed considerably to the engineering knowledge in the State. Because of the policy of advancing money to needy students the College offers a wonderful opportunity to ambitious men, many of whom are now getting their College education and paying for it by summer work and student labor. A striking feature of the College is the absence of the caste feeling which President John G. James so much feared. The future holds for this College a prospect of real success: the success of making a technical education a cultural education, and giving to the technical student enough of the recreation and sports due a college man to counterbalance the monotony of equations with which he is so in¬ timately associated. This purpose is accomplished in part by the new School of Arts and Sciences. Many students mourn the passing of the good old days and are utterly horrified by the thought of A. and M. being a co-educational College; custom has that powerful hold. However, advance¬ ment never comes through this conservative type of man; we will look to the men with ideas of originality for our expansion. The extension of athletic training proposed and put into effect this year is another great forward step. Certainly the prospect of actually building what the college has had the name of building, namely, men, is considerably better. It is our hope that this history will awaken in its readers a sense of respect and admiration for A. and M. We have presented here a record free from blemishes and marked by a singularly consistent progress toward an ideal. We must not falter because that ideal is far in the future. Each graduating class adds to the success of the College as does each generation in the world add to civilization. We desire our class and all succeeding classes to contribute their share. The past is secure, but the present and the more important future are in our hands. Page 20

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William Bennett Bizzell, Ph. D., D. C. L., LL. D. President Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas Page 22