The Rice Thresher (Houston, Tex.), Vol. 41, No. 12, Ed. 1 Friday, December 11, 1953 Page: 4 of 8
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Tour
THE THRESHER
% FRIDAY, DECEMBER II, IMS
It's Your Team And It's A Good
One . . . Let's Support Them
Campus Close-Ups
by Aleorn
1 here was a basketball game last Tuesday night
in the Rice Fieldhouse. To a casual observer it
might have seemed that the fact that there was to be
a game had been kept a deep secret until just prior
to the opening buzzer. In short, where ^were the
students?
It is general knowledge that Rice has a good
team this year. The Owls finished in a tie for second
last year in a close Southwest Conference race that
lound them in contention down to the final game.
Last year's team is back this year almost intact, and
in some circles the Owls are favored to take the
co nference crown this year.
But they will go nowhere without the support
•■>1 the student body. In basketball, as in no other
•-port, the home crowd is a tremendous psychological
tactor in determining the victor. Are we going to
put our team at a disadvantage by not giving them
the support that they need and deserve?
However, just to appear at the game is not
enough. In Tuesday's game, the students that were
present did not begin to cheer enthusiastically until
the Owls had begun to pull away to a twenty point
lead. When the support was needed the most, it
was denied them.
The conference games will commence soon after
our return from the Christmas vacation, and, if the
league competition turns out to be as rough as it has
been predicted, the Owl basketball squad is going to
need all the student support that we can muster.
So glance at the remainder of the Owl schedule
that appears in today's paper. Tear it out even,
and post it in a conspicuous spot as a reminder. There's
a long rugged road ahead.
Ebb Tide In A Dead Sea
It has been our policy this \)ear lo print editorials
horn other college newspapers that rve think have
particular merit. Here is one from the Daily Tar Heel
of the University of North Carolina,
Consider it and see if this not only applies to
ihis campus in part, but also to every college and
■miversity in this country.
<• ! here is an academic pallor around here which
xrvat'ies everything. Nothing seems to pulsate with
'he vitality we always associated with education. We
-v\im in a dead sea. We eat stale bread.
Every word from the north ;tells us of experi-
mentation in education; from the west we hear of
expansion; from the south we hear of revolution; but
here, we hear nothing except "Move over for the BA
school."
Are we sitting here, a calm eye of an academic
storm raging elsewhere? Probably so. But it is the
calmness not of serenity, but of absolute sterility.
If we consider the spectrum of thought to proceed
(from left to right) from red to blue, we must admit,
sadly, that there is nothing on this campus to the left
of yellow. The late Bob Taft's political ideas set
the campus pace, with the average half way between
Sen. McCarthy and Bertie McCormick. In fact,
there's not a self-respecting liberal left, and those who
'make the pretense (and few bother even to pretend)
clear their thoughts and say, "I know you'll think me
a Communist for saying this," and then give birth to
a mouse.
We wretch.
Our cup runneth over with tepid tea; our lemon
slice is molded.
Magazines Still 'Sizing Up' College
Students And Campus Thinking
i A CP)—Early this month News-
( i magazine (Nov. 2) joined the
-anl:s of those who have undertak-
t'i "size up" the younger genera-
f:oi;. Yfter making "an intensive
study of seven institutions of high-
;■ learning." Newsweek found the
'■.ampus kids of 1953" to be "un-
iidcJable and unbeatable," but with
"'jitlL'urge ... to set the world on
' ] p \
The "morals and mores of today's
: .liegions" were studied at the Uni-
versity of California at Los Ange-
..'5, Northwestern University, Geor-
gia Institute of Technology, George-
y>wj! University, Howard Univer-
sity, Princeton University and Vas-
college. Ilere are some of the
findings:
Today's college students were
'"shrewder, more mature than theii;
i andfathers, more cautious than
'heir fathers; they worked harder
snd were more likely to think things
through."
They underwent a big change
when the World War II veteran
came on campus. The vet killed off
much of the traditional rah-rah col-
lege spirit, so that today it's "noth-
ing like it used to be." The veteran
did, away with Hell week and haz-
ing, taught students to drink to
relieve tension and boredom instead
of just to get drunk, and changed
the attitude toward dating and
marriege. Today — although "stu-
dents keep this information strictly
to themselves" — Newsweek said,
"There is probably more talk about
a wild sex life than the actual facts
warrant."
Although on the whole they were
better students than those of the
20's and 80's, Newsweek found to-
day's generation to give "little
thought to politics o rinternational
troubles." Generally, "they accepted
McCarthyism, although a goodly
number in all institutions questioned
its methods." Students were "no
longer misled into phony Commu-
nist-fronts as they were in the
30's;" they were "wary of. anything
with a Red tinge."
Today's students were religious
(tf Religious courses on most cam-
puses were well-sulsscribed, and re-
ligious-emphasis weeks were a big
hit"), and most of all wanted "to
be contented, to have a home and a
family, and to make a success of
their chosen field."
"Sizing up the collegian of 1953,"
ended the report, "they might seem
dull in comparison with their prede-
cessors of less-troubled eras. But,
though they wanted to conforip,
they were thoroughly and solidly
American. . . . Most of all they were
young and wanted to make a mil-
lion dollars. Some of them would.
And you couldn't beat most of them
anywhere else in the world."
TTwl
THRE
The Ilico Thresher, written and edited by students of
"he Rice Institute, ia published weekly in Houston, Texas,
txcept during the summer. It is not published during holidays
«nd examination weeks. The views presented are those of the
staff and do not necessarily reflect administrative policies of
The Rice Institute.
Entered as second class matter, October 17. 1916, at the
I'ont Office, Houston, Texas, under the act of March 3,11879.
Subscription Rate $2.00 Per Year.
Represented for national advertising by National Advertis-
ing Service, Inc., college publishers representative, 420 Madison
Ave,, New York, N.Y., Chicago, Boston, Los Angeles, San
Francisco.
News contributions may be made by telephone (JU-4141,
•Ext. 220) or at the Publications Office (B-46) located off the
Student Lounge in the basenjent of the Fondren Library on
:be campus. News deadline is 12 noon on Wednesday.
MEMBER
±v>ociale<i Collegiate Press Intercollegiate Press
'4
ffl
News Item: Giant Rally At Rice
Twas The Night
Of The Riot..."
The Night of the Riot (parody
on The Night Before Christmas)
EDNA RUSK AND
JONCE JOHNSON
'Twas the fourth of December
And all through the dorms
Not a creature was stirring,
Save some gung-ho forms.
The boys were nestled
All snug in their beds
While visions of beer cans
Clanked in their heads.
Dick in his pajamas
And -John in the raw
Had just settled down
For a few logs to saw;
When out on the campus
There arose such a clatter
They sprang from their beds
To see what was the matter.
Away to the windows
They flew like a flash,
Rammed their heads through" the
panes,
And leaned over the sash.
The night air was balmy,
The singing was fine;
The Lamar girls were having
A glorious time.
With cries of delight
The boys hastened to run
From out of their rooms,
Just to join in the fun;
Till out on the grounds
They poured in a throng
Of panting masculinity,
Seven - hundred strong.
More rapid than eagles
These warriors they came
And they whistled and shouted,
And called the girls names.
They surrounded the girls,
Who cried out in alarm,
For suddenly they feared
Severe bodily harm.
Sirs Lancelot and Galahad—
Brave lawmen of mettle—
In their iron steed charged up,
This rumpus to settle.
Sir Galahad got soaked;
In fright ran o'er the sod,
"Oh, help us," he called,
"Send the whole riot squad."
With sirens a-wailing
And. search-lights so bright,
Fifteen car-loads of cops
Roared out of the night.
With riot guns ready;
Tear gas bombs in hand;
With do-or-die spirit
Came this intrepid band.
They surrounded the boys,
Who were having such fun,
And with billys a-flailing
Came in on the run.
They spoke not a word,
But rescued the lasses
And captured some guys
Who were acting like donkeys.
Down to the station-house,
Protesting, they took 'em.
Gave them a lecture
And threatened to book 'em.
With, "Don't do it again,
Or in jail you'll be thrown."
The cops showed them the door
And sent them all home.
The guys climbed in a car,
Gave a derisive whistle,
And then they dug out
Like a jet-propelled missile.
The cops heard them exclaim,
Ere they drove out of sight,
"Let's go back and sack out;
— Been one. HELL of a night."
Views From Other Schools
BR
EDITORIAL STAFF
editor Dick Karlg
Assistant Editor Bill Gordon
Managing Editor Joe T. Watt
Associate Editor Mary Anne Mewhinney
Snorts Editor «... J. Fred Dackett
Society Editor Dorothyle Nicholl
Feature Editor Jonce Johnson
Editorial Assistants Henry Johnson, Jane Warner
Cartoonist John Alcorn
Staff Writers: A1 Beerman, Scott Clark, Joel Erdwinn, Bill
Feurer, Freddie Frederick, Jayne Heyke, Jo-Anne Hick-
man, Charles Langford, Cheryl Madison, Mark Morris,
Dick Prets, Forest Ralph, Huble Rawlins, Bobby Sheridan,
Barbara Veyon, Kenneth Vinson.
BUSINESS STAFF
BUSINESS MANAGER Gloria Shatto
Advertising Manager Tom Olcott
Circulation Manager Irwin Groner
Downtown Tulsa felt the blast of
TU spirit when the "walkout band-
wagon" surged into Fourth Street
and Main Avenue blocking traffic
for over one hour.
Tulsa police heard of the disturb-
ance and tried to break up the dem-
onstration.
"But, the cops kept piling us into
the police car on top of each other,
so many just climbed out the door
on the other side," said Porter.
Over a half dozen TUers were es-
corted to the local police station
where according to Porter "we
were grilled."
A call to President ^Pontius by
Porter released the students from a
possible "night in the jug."
Tulsa Collegian
At the University of Arkansas, a
gleeful bandit snitched the keys to
the Chi 0 house and sent a ransom
note demanding "three fuzzy hoot
owls, five pieces of bubble gum, and
two looney dogs."
The keysnapper threatened that if
the ransom were not paid in 10 days
the keys would be distributed to
every agricultural school in the
Arkansas Traveler
A student at New York Univer-
sity has discovered a new way to
work his way through school. Stand-
ing about in Washington Square, ho
realized he was averaging 80 cents
an hour—panhandling.
The average girl would rather
have beauty than brains because
the average male can see better
than he can think.
ETSC Collegian
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The Rice Thresher (Houston, Tex.), Vol. 41, No. 12, Ed. 1 Friday, December 11, 1953, newspaper, December 11, 1953; Houston, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth230955/m1/4/?rotate=270: accessed June 24, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Rice University Woodson Research Center.