VMI Cadet. March 6, 1950

              g f c f r 31131 flafret THE V.M.I. CIA DET, LEXINGTON, VIRGINIA, MARCH 6, 1950 First Class Approves Revisions in VMI System
Conference
To Be Held
March 24
BY J. W. CLAWSON
The third annual Virginia In-dustrial
Management Conference,
sponsored jointly by the Civil En-gineering
Department of the Vir-ginia
Military Institute and the
Virginia Manufacturers Association,
will open on the morning of Fri-day,
the twenty-fourth of March
at VMI. Registration will begin In
the lobby of Jackson Memorial
Hall at eight o'clock. The wel-coming
address will be delivered
by Maj. Gen. Richard J. Marshall,
Superintendent of the Virginia
Military Institute.
The conference ls designed to
enable representatives of Virginia's
industries to share their ideas and
plan new methods of Improving
production, diminishing manufac-turing
costs, and bolstering per-sonal
and public relatons as well
as to promote friendship between
members of Old Dominion con-cerns
and to provide for more
congenial business relations.
Among the well known disting-uished
speakers will be Senator
A. Willis Robertson of Virginia;
Brigadier General Donald Arm-strong,
USA, Retired, President of
the U.S. Pipe and Foundry Com-pany
of Burlington, New Jersey;
Mr. Carl M. Lynge, Manager of
Employee, Community, and Union
Relations, General Electric Com-pany,
Bridgeport, Connecticut; and
Mr. Leo Teplow, Associate Director
of the Industrial Relations Division
of the National Association of Man-ufacturers.
The invocation will be
delivered by the Rev. Randolph
Gregory of Franklin, Virginia.
In addition to the major ad-dresses,
the conference, with Mr.
E. J. Robertson, Secretary of the
Virginia Association of Manufac-turers
presiding, will include panel
discussions as well as discussions
from the floor on topics brought
out by the speakers. Subjects to
be presented will include plans for
the mobilization of companies; the
control of wastage in man hours,
materials, and machines; suggest
Colonel Marr9s
Work Continues
Here With VMI
In 1918, the man who is now the
head of the Civil Engineering De-partment
of VMI was graduated
with a BS. degree in that course.
He is Col. Robert A. Marr, better
known to the Cadets as 'Buzz.'
During the years of his cadet-ship,
he worked with his father
on the research in wood preserva-tion
and fiber and pulp production.
On May 11, 1918—right after his
gradaution, he was called into the
army from the ROTC and in Aug-ust
a year later received an hon-orable
discharge as a flrst sergeant
in the Infantry. The next month
he returned to VMI to teach, and
for two years taught third-class
math. While teaching math he was
Post Adjutant in charge of aca-demic
records and secretary to the
Academic Board.
Transferring to the Civil Engi-neering
Department he was an in-structor,
then assistant professor
Proposals Now Go To Institute
Acceptance Is Expected Soon
The committee of thirteen flrst Alumni Association; Gen. William i committee is of permanent im-classmen
elected by the flrst class M. Stokes, Jr., '21, president; Mr. portance to every man In the
at the recommendation of president Wert Fulkner. '24, first vice presi- corps. It is the responsibility x>t
Norris Thompson to make a study of dent; and Mr. Saul Rawles, '40, every cadet to see that these pro-existing
conditions in the function- second vice president. I posals are carried out. Every mem-
Ing of the class system and the These men presented their points! her of the committee has the
administration of the rat line ha*, of view on the situation at the first I welfare of the Institute at heart,
after a week of careful delibera- meeting of their committee held j a n d the s t ePs taken by the group
tion, formulated a well-integrated Monday, February 27, and joined' w i l 1 b e of b e n e f l t to all. VMI is
plan for removing the defects of the committee members in a round o u r school—the future of the In-the
present system. j table discussion on the problems.1 s t l t u t e l i e s in t h e h a n d s of the
This committee includes Albert The three features of the existing
Green, chairman, Norris Thompson,1 system which the alumni empha-
William Buchanan, Ashton Harri- j sized that they believed should
son. Rawles Fulgham. Frank Cos- be changed were the physical haz-tello,
Robert A. White, Kenneth ing of new cadets, the interference that members of my class will take
Taft, Richard Coupland. Tommy with study time of new cadets,1
a profound interest in the proceed-
Harwood, Peyton Robertson, Harold, and the use of abusive language to in g s 0f this committee. Nothing has
Logsdon, and Samuel Brown. Serv- new cadets. It was emphasized been passed over. Every chain of
ing as alternates during the inter-' that these existing conditions re- thought in barracks is represented
mittent abscence of some members ceive unfavorable public criticism, o n this committee, and I can truth-were
Thomas Wilber, Johnny Sh'ef- particularly in Virginia. | f uny s t a t e that every member is
fleld, and Allen Volk. j whole Plan Must be Accepted | in full accord with the results.
These men recognized the fact After hearing the opinions of the Some of us may not' agree with
that this is the first time since alumni and the representative of certain changes or details, but, as
and " later associate "professor""of b e f o r e the war that the flrst class the Institute and considering fully j chairman of this committee, I can
has made a unified and far-sighted existing conditions, the committee assure every member of the corps
attempt to assert its self-governing has decided that certain conces- t h a t this is all for the best interest
effort to improve existing condi- sions by the Institute allowing of t h e Corps of Cadets. It will pul!
tions by formulating an overall cadets, especially in the lower us o u t the doldrums and place
plan. This committee is composed classes, more study time and leaves us a t the head of military colleges
of representatives of every shade must be made in order to effectively i n t h i s country. We cannot expect
New Cadets To Arrive
At Institute Sept. 6 th*
Policy Change;
Corps of Cadets."
Chairman Gives View
Al Green, chairman of the com-mittee
states: '.I sincerely hope
the department. For three yeais he
served as acting head of the de-partment,
while General James
Anderson, the former head was in
charge of the Public Works Ad-ministration
for the state. When
General Anderson became High-way
Commissioner for Virginia,
Col. Marr became the Professor
of Civil Engineering.
In 1925, a next door neighbor
of long standing, Miss Mary Ethel
Nottingham, became his wife. They
now have a daughter, Frances, at-tending
Sweet Briar College.
Col. Marr's varied works include
one summer as a highway con- rat line, this group called in a
tractor, two summers with the j representative of the Institute, Col.
State Highway Department, and Bucher, and three officers of the
eighteen summers with the Con-crete
Section of the U.S. Bureau
of Public Roads. He has worked
on many of the major concrete
research projects of the country,
and his work has ranged from
common labor to electronics, with
many free contributions to local
and state community projects. Dur-ing
the depression he organized
the National Youth Administra-
Hop Committee
Makes Plans
For April Hop
George Mason, President of the
Hop Committee, has announced
that plans are going ahead for
Easter Hops with additional energy
now that no First Class Hop will
be allowed this year. Particularly
effective decorations are planned
to be appropriate to the season and
the importance of the occasion. Re-conditioning
of the bandstand and
chaperon stand has been promised
by the Institute sometime this
Spring and it is hoped that the
task will be completed by Easter
Hops.
One of the big features of Easter
Hops this year will be a ceremony
to recognize "Miss Easter" winner
of opinion in barracks, and every
member is in full accord with the
plan as an individual, unified whole
j and whole-heartedly urges its com-plete
acceptance by the corps.
Others Called In
Realizing that other points of view
should be considered in attempting
to remedy certain detrimental as-pects
of the administration of the
put this plan into operation and to
secure its maximum benefits. This
plan is presented with the stipula-tion
that no part of the plan shall
be put into effect until the nec-
Corps Arrives
Five Days Later
Beginning with the Fall term in
1950, the new cadets will report to
the Institute prior to the old cadets,
in direct contrast to the policy that
has been In effect in the past,
Colonel Barksdale announced last
week. All new rats will register
at the Institute on Wednesday 6
September, 1950, and old cadets
will return the following Monday,
11 September.
In order to process the rats and
to indoctrinate them in the period
before the old cadets come in. a
special detail of cadre will be
assigned to return on the same day
as the rats register. These cadre
are to be selected by the Com-mandant,
probably before the
Corps is released in June.
of the Turn-Out Magazine's beauty old Cadets Get Four Extra Da>s
contest which ended March 1. Cadets
in barracks have submitted pictures
which have been mailed off to be
judged by the winner of a similar
contest last fall. Miss Jacque
Mercer. "Miss America, 1949" has
consented to act as judge in The
Turn-Out Contest. Her decision is
expected in a few weeks and pic-tures
of the winners and runners-to
make it work as it should if
we continue to keep a passive atti-tude.
Let's all go to work.
At a meeting Sunday night, the
first class voted to approve the
essary approval of hnen all portions has entire plan as a unit. Further action s o m l r ^ „ ,u„ „_t:_„l , . up will be published in the Easters
been secured so that the entire necessary before the plan can be | ,„„„ nf t h o T „ _ 0 „ ,
plan shall be put into operat.on p u t intQ a c U o n m u s t be ^
simultaneously. j
Norris Thompson, president of! b y t h e Superintendent. The first
the first class, has made the fol- c l a s s is united behind the proposal,
lowing statement: "I feel that the a n d its fate is now in the hands of
action taken by the first class the Institute authorities.
ions for ideal public relations in | tion's student part time work unit
small plants; and the improvement
of communications. The meeting
will be summarized and concluded
at four o'clock.
During the conference, rbfre.-.h-ments
will be served in a tempor-ary
lounge set up in the wrestling
gymnasium and lunch will be pro-vided
in the VMI Mess Hall. There
will be a review of the Corps of
Cadets by members of the Vir-ginia
Manufacturers Association at
four o'clock in the afternoon.
Supplementing the daytime busi-ness
meeting at the Institute will
be the activities at Natural Bridge
Hotel, Natural Bridge, Virginia
beginning with a 'social hour' at
five-thirty in the evening. A din-ner
will Be served with a musicile
provided by a quartette composed
of John Taylor, Tom Eva, Rawles
Fulgham, and Dwight Reynolds,
all members of the VMI Glee Club.
The program will be concluded
with an address by the Hon. A.
Willis Robertson, Senator from
Virginia, entitled 'The Influence of
European Recovery on American
Business.'
Glee Club to Record
Again This Week
The VMI Glee Club, in preparn-tion
for the approaching Spring
tour to Roanoke and vicinity, plans
to make one recording every eve-ning
during the coming week of
March 6th. The selections will be
those which are to be sung at the
spring concerts.
The recordings will be broad-cast
to the radio audience in
Roanoke on fifteen-minute pro-grams
over stations WDBJ and
WDBJ, FM. The stations will
sponsor the programs every Sun-day
afternoon until the 20th of
April, when the Glee Club sings
at the State contest at VPI.
Through the recordings, the Glee
Club hopes to attract the populace
in Roanoke to attend the concert
at the Roanoke High School on the
evening of April 21.
at VMI. This involved setting up
a work program, finding campus
jobs, handling personnel records,
and investigating the needs for
(Continued on Page 4)
Resolutions
In order to alleviate certain ex- , 8. That First classmen assist the
Isting conditions and to promote i special assistant to the Superinten-a
stronger class system we, the dent for admissions, the number
undersigned, a committee elected and designation to be left to the
by the First Class and composed Commandant and thc First Class
of ten members of the First Class members uf the General Commit-and
the class officers, do hereby tee.
resolve the following as being for
the best interests of the VIRGINIA
MILITARY INSTITUTE.
'A9 Company Is
Leading Corps
For This Term
Now that spring is practically
here, the competition for the cov-eted
flrst place on the Garnett
Andrews Award is really great.
All companies are striving to ob-tain
the blue ribbon now held by
"B" Company. More emphasis is
being placed on lines at parades,
appearance while marching to
meals, and efficiency of the gut>rd
teams.
"A" Company, under the lead ;r-ship
of Cadet Captain Fulgham, is
ahead in the total number of points
earned this year; however, it is
closely followed by "B" Company
which is led by Cadet Captain
Burwell. The other Companies in
order of their rank are "F" Com-pany,
led by Cadet Captain Phil-lips,
"C" Company, under Cadet
Captain Bolvig, "E" Company, un-der
Cadet Captain Robertson.
Garnett Andrews Award is based
on what the company does and
how it acts at all times. The dif-ferent
categories under which they
are graded are appearance and
discipline, best lines at parades,
guard mounts, guard teams, In-tramural
sports, and competitive
drill.
At the end of each month the
points of each company are added,
and the winner for the month is
announced. "D" Company, much to
the surprise ol everybody, won for
the month of February and was
followed by A, F, C, B, and E, in
their ranking order. Even though
the year is running out, there il
still time for first place to change
hands several times.
RECOMMENDED CHANGES IN
VMI REGULATIONS
1. That the following non-aca- i
demic weekends be instituted ir-respective
of demerits' and grades
with the provision that the uni-form
be worn within a sixty (60)
mile radius of the Post:
Fourth Class—1—term
Third Class—2—term
Second Class—3—term
First Class—1—month
(In addition to regular weeK-ends)
2. That class drinking pledges
be limited to Rockbridge County
with the provision that no Cadet
on pledge will drink later than
six (6) hours before returning to! classman in any room of barracks
the Post. | between BRC and First Call for
3. That Taps be extended to 2330 I First CP, DRC and First Call for
for all Cadets. I s i x t h CP, 1600 and SRC and First
4. That Saturday-night-privileges Call for Evening CCQ except for
CHANGES IN G.C. RULES
9. That thc administration of thc
Rat System be a responsibility oi
the Third Class, its supervision
being a responsibility of thc First
Class assisted by ihe Second Class.
10. That the limit of personal
physical correction of a New Cadel
by an Old Cadet shall be the
"Brace," i.e., an exaggerated posi-tion
of attention: and any Old
Cadet who shall punish and or
correct any New Cadet by causing
said New Cadet to perform any
physical act other than defined by
the "Brace" shall be guilty of haz-ing
which is strictly and absolutely
forbidden by the Corps of Cadets
and answerable to the General
committee.
11. That Cadets of any class be
authorized to "Brace" a Fourth
be extended to the Fourth Class.
5. That First Classmen be author-ized
to have "Hay Down" at SRC.
6. That Company Room be held
between SRC and Evening CCQ.
7. That there be instituted a com-pulsory
study hall conducted by
the Academic Department for all
Fourth classman deficient in three
(3) or more subjects.
the First Class who shall be auth-orized
to "Brace" a Fourth class-man
at any time.
12. That the training and dis-ciplining
of the Fourth Class be
administered in an impersonal
manner, i.e., abusive, obscene, or
profane language shall not be used
towards Fourth classmen.
13. That General Committee reg-ulation
No. Twenty-seven (27) con-cerning
degrading work be de-fined
as:
1. Cleaning and or arranging
rooms
2. Care, cleaning, or repair of
clothing anil or equipment
3. Giving "rubdowns"
4. Playing records
5. Extending errands (except
laundry) beyond the limits of
barracks.
14. That General Committee reg-ulation
No. four (4) concerning
disrespect be defined as "any ac-tion.
statement, or gesture which
belittles thc dignity of an upper
class or a member of an upper
class, and any derogatory criti-cism
of members of an upper class
acting for the good of their clas-and
or VMI.
15. That all "New Cadet Cus
toms" and New Cadet restrictions
concerning memorization be de-fined
as:
1. All songs and yells and per-
(Continued On Page 4)
issue of the Turn-Out. The cadet
whose date is selected as winner
of the contest will receive tickets
to the Easter Hops from The Turn-
Out and a corsage for the winner.
Added information on the contest
and the Hops comes from Ralston
Brooke, Business Manager of The
Turn-Out and the Hop Committ-e.
who has revealed that a nationally
known celebrity has tentatively ac-
C o l o n e l Barksdale also an-nounced
that the re-exam period
will be from the thirty-first of
August to the fifth of September,
and that all classes, including the
new Fourth Class, will begin aca-demic
work on Tuesday September
12. The new ruling will give four
extra days to old cadets as an
extension on the normal summer
furlough. In the past, old cadets
have been required to register on
the first Thursday after Labor Dpy,
whereas this year they will not
return until the Monday following
the first Thursday after the eaily
September holiday.
Many Factors Involved
The reasons given by VMI head-quarters
for this reversal in policy
ijivolve several factors. In the first
place, it is thought that a mere
cepted an invitation to attend Easter, orderly orientation of the rats can
Hops. He says that he believes "it be carried out if there is not the
will be somebody whom the Corps perennial howling, interferemre,
can appreciate greatly." Full par-ticulars
are expected by next week.
National Symphony Orchestra
Has Concert Here March 13
The fifth and last event of the
c u r r e n t Rockbridge Concert-
Series will be a concert by the
National Symphony Orchestra,
Howard Mitchell conducting, on
Mon., March 13th at 8 p.m. in
the W<VL gym. This concert is
open to subscribers only, but
since a number of cadets who
aae not members of. the Series
have expressed a desire to at-tend,
the Board of Managers
makes the following announce-ment:
Aay cadet who Is not a
member of the current Series
may attend the Symphony Con- I
cert on March 13th by subscrib-ing
to the 1950-51 Scries. In
other words, this symphony is a
bonus to those who subscribe ;
Dr. Stroup Will Lead
Religious Week Here
Lent is the time for religious
meditation and self-sacrifice. It is
for this reason that Religious Em-phasis
week will take place during
the last week of March, the week of
the 26-31, this year.
For the benefit of those who are
not familiar with Religious Empha-sis
Week, it is a period during which
the VMI authorities place particu-lar
stress on the religious life and
interests of the cadets. It is a
time when the cadets have a chance
to think about the church and to
have any questions answered for
them.
The Rev. Dr. Stroup of Lynch-burg
will lead the discussion. He
has attended many conferences of
this nature and is an experienced
leader. He will be assisted by the
various rectors of Lexington.
Members of the various clubs
will attend a meeting which is to
be held on Wednesday and decide
upon one of several subjects.
All men are urged to attend as
many meetings as possible, as the
of the concert and it will be group leaders feel that this will j The editorial cage carried third
credited to you as payment of be the best of the discussions to' place with the remaining 25. 6 per
your membership for next year. ; have been held so far. (Continued on Page 4)
for 1950-51. No tickets will be
sold at the door, but to ha ad-mitted
you can give a chock for
14.00 (this may be post-dated to
May 1st) at the door the night
Corps Favors
Larger Paper,
Headline News
The conclusion reached as a re-sult
of this week's "VMI Cadet
Concensus" proved both entertain-ing
and enlightening as far as the
expressive ability of the Corps in
such matters is concerned.
Of the 250 concensus sheets that
were distributed, one hundred and
thirty-five were filled out in one
form or another. The majority of
these were answered seriously and
in a helpful manner, providing
many suggestions and criticisms,
some of which will be used, and
others of which are a little too
drastic to be of practical value. The
number of sheets filled out in re-lation
to the number distributed
indicated a little better than 50
per cent participation in the con-census,
and probably interest as
well, by the men given the option.
Out of these men, 76.3 per cent
were subscribers to the Cadet,
while the others were non-sub-scribing
readers of the publication.
Of the 135 men, 74.2 per cent
were in favor of a larger paper
(with news) whiley the remaining
25.8 per cent preferred the present
4 page edition. Many suggested
that the paper be published bi- or
tri-weekly to get more interest.
In spite of the apparent advantages
of more frequent publication, the
difficulty of scrapping up sufficient
interesting news and the additional
time required of the Cadet staff
eliminates this possibility.
The front-page news of the Cadet
seems to be the most popular with
the Corps. Thirty-nine per cent
were most interested in tljis page,
while the sports page ran a close
second with its thirty-five point
four per cent preferred following
and disturbance from the new third
class to contend with. Also, it was
stated that this move was an effort
to try to avoid the dissatisfacti'm
which sometimes takes hold on
new rats before they can fu'ly
adjust themselves to the VMI sys-tem.
The men are to be given an
opportunity to get their feet on
the ground early, and to give them
a fair break.
The processing of these new m«n
is to be along the same general
lines as the old system, but mere
attention is to be paid to tho
academic aspect of Cadet life. The
military, of course, will come in
for its usual stress. The faculty
advisors of each of the rats will
meet with them at some time dur-ing
the indoctrination period, and
will go into some detail on the
problems which can arise in the
academic line.
Cadre to get Furlough
In compensation for having to
come back to the Institute before
the rest of the Corps, the cadre
will be granted a special long
weekend sometime during the fall
session. Colonel Barksdale a'.so
stated that rat barracks is to be
placed off limits to all men who
might be in barracks during the
indoctrination p e r i o d (football
players returning early, men tak-ing
re-exams, and the like), the
only exception, of course, being
the cadre.
At one time in the history of
the Institute, the rats returned be-fore
the old cadets, but the present
policy of having the Corps return
first has been in effect for more*
than 20 years. This new measure,
then, marks something of an about
face in traditional policy and pro-cedure.
However, VMI headquarters
feels that it will be for the better-ment
of the corps and will im-prove
the methods by which new
men are introduced to the VMI.
system.
Before buliding a Are scrape away
all inflammable material from a
spot Ave feet in diameter. Dig a
hole in the center and in it build
your campflre. Keep your Ore
small. Never build it against trees
or logs or near brush