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

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“Good students want to come to good universities that are tough to get into.” —Frank Vandiver A M President Above: To the dismay of students, increases in enrollment meant longer lines and more waiting. Above right: A larger student population means more bikes and less room. Left: Aggies diligently wait for the opportunity to pick up loans and grants at the Coke Building. Features 23

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The lines were longer, the crowds were bigger, and there were more fish than ever. Call it frustrating, maddening or just plain confusing: you simply can’t avoid it when Enrollment It was obvious even before classes began in the fall that Texas A M would have more students than in the past. Crowds at the Pavilion, MSC and G. Rollie White Coliseum were bigger than ever and traffic was maddening as students paid fees, bought books, and picked up ticket books and parking stickers. By the second week of school, Aggies sported T-shirts boasting “the biggest school of fish in the nation.” Below: The sidewalk bv Blocker and Reed McDonald The fina! Count of A M ’ S enrollment fills With students between classes. was up about 2,400 from the 1986-1987 Rises academic year — the largest increase of students at any university in the nation. A survey conducted in October by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board showed enrollment at A M had in¬ creased more than 20 percent in less than 10 years. A record enrollment of 39,079 made A M the eighth-largest single-cam- pus university in the nation. •Billy G. Lay, director of admissions, say enrollment for the Fall 1987 semester in¬ cluded 7,433 new freshmen — a significant increase from the 5,966 freshmen enrolled in 1986. Growth of the student population also included almost 200 new members of the Corps of Cadets, said Maj. Gen. Thomas Darling, commandant of the Corps. About 3,000 of the new students transferred from other colleges and universities, Lay said. John White, housing services supervisor, said even though A M has more campus housing than any university in a five-state region, only 4,423 of the new dorm appli¬ cants were able to get dorm rooms during the fall semester. He said there are plans to add more University housing. To control the growth of the student body, the Board of Regents voted Sept. 21 to cap freshman enrollment at 6,600 for the Fall 1988 semester. Lay said the plan to control freshman enrollment includes raising admissions re¬ quirements for incoming freshmen, includ¬ ing requiring higher scores on the Scholas¬ tic Aptitute Test and the American College Test. He called the enrollment cap “a man¬ agement procedure designed to stabilize growth.” Lay attributed enrollment growth to the flux of the Texas economy and recent pub¬ licity of the University. “The way the economy is now and the trips to the Cotton Bowl gave us good pub¬ licity,” he said. In addition, he said, the University offers promising programs, and the tuition in Texas is not as expensive as in other states. But the most promising reason for growth was given by A M President Frank E. Vandiver, who in October told the Battalion that higher enrollment standards bring in more students. “Good students want to come to good universities that are tough to get into,” Van¬ diver said. By Cindy Milton 22 Features

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Right: Senior Robert Jamieson gives poit-ters to the contender from Sig¬ ma Nu. Middle: Cooperation. Senior Andy Hopper and his partner work together to win the 3-legged race at Derby Daze. Top right: Greek spirit fl. ' vs high at A M. Fraternity and sorority membership continues to rise More Aggies are going Greek By Sam B. Myers Spirited Aggies for years have bought shorts, shirts, hats, sweats, socks, cups, etc. emblazoned with “Texas A M” in maroon and white. But those items — and many others — started bearing Greek letters, legacy of the growing Greek sys¬ tem at A M. The Greeks arrived in 1976, when a Sigma Phi Epsilon chap¬ ter was founded. Twelve years later, the system included 25 fraternities and 11 sororities. With 3,000 members, the Greeks were A M’s largest student group. The change in numbers reflected a change in attitudes. “No frats” shirts could still be found on campus, and “no frats” was 24 Features