The Redbird (Beaumont, Tex.), Vol. 20, No. 1, Ed. 1 Friday, September 26, 1969 Page: 2 of 12
twelve pages : ill. ; page 16 x 12 in.View a full description of this newspaper.
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THE REDBffiD Sept. 26,1969-Page 2
Challenges await College
MMMi^^MBMMaMMMHHHKMMMMMMMMMMMM-
With a record enrollment, a new pres-
ident, and a long-sought goal within sight,
Lamar Tech has now plunged into another
year of operation.
Dr. Frank Thomas, now officially named
president, faces the challenge of keeping this
institution in tune with the demands of today’s
perplexed often explosive society.
As he assumes the responsibilities of
the presidency, Dr. Thomas finds himself ad-
ministering to more students than any of his
predecessors.
The college has also branched out with the
addition of an extension center in Orange and
enrollment there was just over 300. Construc-
tion is booming, too, with many of the fac-
ilities scheduled for opening shortly.
These signs of progress have helped move
Lamar closer to university status than at any
time in the college’s history. With the uni-
versity status will come even greater tasks
and the label of community college will be
removed for a more far-reaching title.
But a college is made great not by the
buildings it constructs or the number of stu-
dents it enrolls, rather by the products it
produces. Never before have colleges been
under the axe as is the case today.
Students are no longer willing to sit back
and accept the workings of an educational
institution as a fact of life. With changes in
the society must come changes in the society s
institutions and many of the non-heeding col-
leges have been faced with violent some-
times tragic realizations of this fact.
Lamar is no different from most colleges
in that it too must keep pace with these
changes. And when it fails in this role it is
the duty of its members, whether faculty or
student, to see that it is put back on the right
track.
This can only be done by students be-
coming involved. Though it is a much-used,
perhaps worn-out label, Lamar students in
the past have suffered from a case of indif-
ference.
To become more than a university in
name, a cure must be found for this dreaded
disease. It must be remembered that dis
sention is as much a part of a democratic
society as any flag or constitution.
We urge the student body of Lamar to
involve themselves in the activities of the
college. Such an opportunity is available
through the student government and its lead-
ers.
Make student government aware of exis-
ting problems at Lamar and work diligently
with them in order that these problems
might be eliminated.
The Redbird will strive to present these
problems to the student body in an objec-
tive manner and we urge readers to take
advantage of this channel of communication.
We encourage letters to the editor and news
tips which might help us in our endeavor.
Total involvement by all students will en-
able the college truly to warrant the title
university. I _
Reader's
Response
Like It Is
By Ken Lewis
Dear Editor:
Nine score and thirteen years
ago our great WHITE fathers
brought forth on this continent,
a new nation, conceived in pre-
judice and firmly dedicated to
the proposition that only WHITE-
MEN are created equal.
Now we are engaged in great
civil strife, testing whether the
WHITEMAN, or any other race,
so conceived, and so dedicated in
prejudice can long endure.
We find that our great WHITE
fathers founded this nation on a
false principle that still exists
today. Our Constitution SUPPO-
SEDLY guarantees Freedom?
Justice? For All?; (The Seperate
But! Equal).
But most of all, we see that
the WHITEMAN of today cannot
perpetuate, exonerate or differ-
entiate his actions from those of
his forefathers. We find that the
brave BLACKMEN living and
dead, (who endured pains, hard- ■gral^>
ships, and misgivings, in a stru-
ggle to bring dignity and honor
to their people) have consecrated
the land of this great nation far
above anyone’s poor-powers to
add or detract.
The battle now lies before US.
It is the responsibility of every
BLACK and WHITE—man, wo-
man and child—to erase the bar-
riers of racial prejudice, so that
this will truly be a Government,
of the People, by the People,
and for the People,
Until then, Let us have peace
together!
Peter the Great tried to en-
courage soberity among the
18th-century Russians by insist-
ing that men jailed for drunken-
ness had to wear a “medal for
hard drinking* around their necks
all the time they were incarcer-
ated. The medal weighed 18
pounds.
In the form of two mailed state-
ments, each student recently re-
ceived documentation of the La-
mar Tech administration’s plans
for regression rathe r than pro-
gress. The first statement can
be taken as little more than an
ultimatum against dissent in the
so-called “academic commun-
ity”, ignoring the fact that our
country was built on revolution
and has survived only by con-
stant, progressive change.
While it is true that violent
revolution can no longer be tol-
erated in our complex society,
nor should it be needed, contro-
versy, confrontation, dissent,
change, and resolution of exist-
in g problems are essential if
any nation or institution in a
nation is to be progressive; and,
progress is essential to growth;
when growth ends, regression
begins, with death close behind.
Progress cannot be measured
by materir ''•‘tty, increase
in is tn.. Je in
vi students.
Donald Z. Pumphrey
El Salvador is the smallest
.and the most densely populated
country in Central America.
Some 3,151,000 people, or 380
persons per square mile, crowd
an area about the size of Mass-
achusetts. ___
Italy is mountainous.
Dear Editor:
We, as members of the Stu-
dent Union Boad, have under-
taken a huge obligation this year.
To serve as the main co-
ordinating unit for all student
activities is quite a task. This
is our job for the upcoming
semester. It is our goal to pro-
vide the Lamar Tech student
the opportunity to further him-
self in college life by partici-
pating in a variety of extra
activities. The Student Union
Board has been divided into seven
committees of operation so that
all the aspects of Lamar’s func-
tions will progress in an orderly
and efficient manner.
Not only does the S.U.B, pro-
vide social entertainment such
as after game dances, thecoffee
house circuit and top name en-
tertainment, it also has cultural
and educational offerings.
S.U.B.’s Fine Arts Committee
wiU work closely with the Fine
Arts Department to bring out-
standing artists to Lamar’s,
campus. The Leadership and
Issues and Ideas Committees
wiU sponsor additional resources
of inteUect to assist the Forum
Committee in providing contro-
versial and informative speakers
for the student’s benefit. The
Publicity Committee of the Stu-
dent Union Board wUl be the
central information center for
all activities under S.U.B. and
B S.G.A. This committee has the
responsibility of letting the stu-
dent know what’s happening on
campus and in the community.
It will also provide a source
of information concerning what
student leaders are proposing
and what accomplishments they
have made.
Continued on Page 10.
Rather, progress must be based
on the quality of students and
faculty attracted and the quality
of humans—not mechanized ani-
mals—produced.
While it is true that Beau-
mont and Southeast Texas as a
whole are sociaUy conservative
and reactionary, an academic
community must reflect the best
of the community (in this case,
industrial, material, and scien-
tific progress) and lead the way
in other areas. Our community
porely lacks in freedom of
thought, open-mindedness, equ-
ality, culture and civilization;
these very things are supposedly
the very essence of an academic
community.
Yet Lamar is being so influ-
enced by the surrounding comm-
unity that in less than one year’s
time it is about to destroy these
essentials. With their destruction
will come the loss of true scho-
lars and leaders (both faculty
and studenO or open defiance.
While the easiest course open
to a citizen or student who finds
the laws or rules of his country
or university untenable is to va-
cate said country or school, it
is the concerned who seek to
bring about change through such
means as are necessitated.
Entering
Lamar
By Belinda Schexnayder
Blistered feet, a bewildered
expression, damp clothing, and
lopsided beanie—telltale signs of
a Lamar Tech freshman after
the first day of classes—and
all those signs are mine.
We hardy individuals who sur-
vive the confusion of checking
in dorms, arranging car pools,
the drilling of jackhammers dur-
ing orientation, and the horrors
of registration thought we had
withstood all the adverse con-
ditions.
Then came the discoveries.
While the rest of Jefferson
County remains dry, the frosh
finds that Lamar has its own
private rain cloud deluging stu-
dents at regular intervals—the
intervals between classes.
Being late for the first day of
class was a common occurrence
for many of us enroUed in the
100 number courses. Torn down
classrooms, construction work,
and poor map reading accounted
for our unsuccessful searches
Continued on Page 10.
The Redbird Staff
Editor...........................................................Mike Ramsey
News Editor..............................................Kathy WUliams
Business Manager...........................................Linda Reeves
Sports Writers..............................................Ronald Scales
Julian Galiano
Photographers...........................................Bobby Dickinson
Harry Kingston
Faculty Advisor.......................................R. H. Wilkerson
Staff Writers Judy Hammond, Phyllis Lewis, Carole MareeUa.
Reporters (Journalism 231) Johnnie Mae Akin, Jeri Lynne Ashley,
Wanda D. Beter, Betty Brink, James Rodney Callas, Terry C.
Clotiaux, Karen Donley, Stephen S. Essig, Charles Fontenot Jr.,
Paul N. Fortney Jr., Lonzo Fregia, Christine Kreisher, Charles
McCraine Jr., H. O. Overstreet Jr., Donald Z. Pumphrey,
Beverly J. Rodgers, Belinda Schexnayder, Beryl Diane Smith,
Albert Melvin Thompson Jr.
The Redbird, an official student publication of the college,
is published weekly on Fridays except during holidays, dead
week and final examination periods during the regular school
term. Subscription price is $1.25 a semester. Publication
office and newsroom are located in Offices 113 and 115, Student
Affairs Building, campus Lamar State College of Technology,
Lamar Tech Station, Post Office Box 10055, Beaumont, Texas
77705. Opinions expressed are those of the student staff and do
not necessarily reflect those of the faculty and administration.
Call Ext. 313 for news and advertising matters. Letters to the
editor should be typewritten and should not exceed 250 words.
They should pertain to campus policies and activities. The
editorial staff reserves the right to edit letters and does not
guarantee to publish any letter. Each letter must be signed
with the name, address and telephone number of the writer.
Represented nationally by National Education Advertising Ser-
vices. Advertising rates available upon request.
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Ramsey, Mike. The Redbird (Beaumont, Tex.), Vol. 20, No. 1, Ed. 1 Friday, September 26, 1969, newspaper, September 26, 1969; Beaumont, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth499265/m1/2/?q=Lamar+University: accessed June 11, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Lamar University.