The Rice Thresher (Houston, Tex.), Vol. 36, No. 45, Ed. 1 Saturday, March 26, 1949 Page: 2 of 8
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Two
THE THRESHER
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Guidance" HasNo Place,
But Orentation Program
Would Show Progress
Candidates for Sophomore offices spoke strongly in favor of
an enlarged "Guidance" program for next year's freshmen at the
political rally 1 uesday. They all promised that these expanded
"Guidance" or "Orientation" actjyities would apply to all freshmen
and would be executed by the sophomores.
"Sophomoric" is perhaps the best term to apply to hypocritical
♦
candidates who run on implication of more hazing at Rice, but who
shy from use of the actual term in public. True, they perhaps will
admit among their friends that they feel "a little hazing never hurt
anyone." But still they persist in their efforts to expand it by
resorting to innuendo and half-truths to mask the desire for more
of that "good old frat spirit" at Rice.
Rice should have no place for any sort of hazing, or flimsy
and petty discipline based on class or seniority. This should be a
school of equals, a place where an individual is judged on his merits
and character alone. 1 he Rice Student Association should not be
allowed to become one "great big fraternity," bound together by
a loyalty to "something bigger than all of us."
Presentation of a detailed plan, enlarging the presently in-
adequate Orientation program, would indeed be a sign of true pro-
gress on this campus. Orientation can be helpful education for new
students, designed to acquaint all Rice students with one another,
and teach them the best of Rice's traditions. Orientation should
and could be the job of the whole Student Association, and not just
a few of the Sophomore class. "Guidance," or hazing has no place
on this campus and candidates would do well to strive to improve
rather than to perpetuate and enlarge freshman activities.
0
One Must Ask - How Is It
That We Have No Guts?
Upon reading the campaign platforms and promises in this issue,
one is according to his temperment, amused, amazed, or enraged at
the lack of disagreement. After a very close scrutinity, one still
finds not one case where a candidate takes a controversial stand.
Can it be possible that the Rice campus is pervaded with such a
stereotyped unanimity that there is no difference of opinion? Perhaps
a more plausible explanation would be to say that the office seekers,
for the most part, are timorous diletantes, too vote conscious to stand
for election on their convictions.
I T>e political rallies are dominated by the same deadening
platitudes and cliches which say nothing, mean nothing, and are not
meant to mean anything. Candidates may decry the poorly attended
meetings and the apathy of their fellow students, but how can they
expect interest when they, as leaders, do nothing but engage in
pusilanimous dodging of controversial issues?
If Rice is to have a vibrant and healthy student government,
it must have leaders who are not politicians, but who are men and
women with convictions and ideas and who are not afraid to stand for
election on the basis of these convictions.
Writer Proposes Practical
Secret Ballot For Future
o by Robert Mcllhenny
Monday an election will be held—each ballot will have a number on
it, and that number will be placed on a roster beside each voter's name.
Everyone knows these things, but few have stopped to ask themselves
three questions: Is this a secret ballot? Is it fair and democratic
not to have a secret ballot? Is this type of ballot necessary?
To all three questions the answer -— *
is no! But it is not the purpose of
this article to make a decision which
the entire school should vote on,
rather it is to show that such a
system of numbered ballots is not
necessary, and that a practical al-
ternate could be instituted.
Because some individuals cannot
accept their place in society with-
out encroaching upon the privileges
extended them and using dishonest
means to a dishonest end, some
method of checking the number of
times a person votes has to be
included in our balloting system.
For this reason the pi*esent method
of checking was constituted. Un-
fortunately, in the past history of
the Student Association violations
of the voting regulations have been
found.
The present method of pi-eventing
such violations is cumbersome and
typical governmental red-tape meas-
ures. It involves a great amount of
page turning, writing, ind cross-
checking that slows the voting, ir-
ritating both the Council member on
the table and the voter. When the
votes are counted the lists from the
various polls have to be cross-check-
ed again. If a violation is found the
ballots have to be searched through
until the duplication has been found
and discarded. Also, the cost of
printing is increased with numbered
ballots. And the secrecy of a voter's
selection is not left to his discre-
tion.
Considering these objections to
t^e present situation leads one to
question its merits. But more im-
portant, could some system be con-
stituted which would eliminate these
objections and still achieve the pur-
pose? Such a system should include
three objectives: elimination of the
drugery of the paper work involved
and its accompanying possible er-
rors, assurance of a voter's right to
secrecy, and prevention of multiple
voting.
Several ideas present themselves,
but the most expedient and by far
the simplest is the use of blanket
taxes and rubber stamps initialed
by the Council members at the polls.
To vote, a student would present his
Blanket Tax, have it stamped and
initialed, receive his ballot, and cast
his vote. No student could vote
again once his Blanket Tax had been
stamped for a given election—as-
suming, of course, the honesty of
Student Council members—and the
tedious list-thumbing would be a
thing of the past. But most import-
ant, each person would be free to-
disclose his choices to only whom
he wanted.
Two objections might be raised:
the initial cost of the rubber stamps;
and distinguishing class members.
The first is valid on immediate in-
spection, but the relatively few dol-
lars spent for the stamps would be
spent anyway for printing and mi-
meographing over a more extended
period. The second objection could
be cancelled in several ways—either
by including a space on the blanket
tax for class membership, or print-
ing the cards for each class in dif-
ferent colors. Or the class might
even be written in the slate used
in the photograph.
Though some may term the issue
involved in this discussion trivial,
any steps toward a more efficient,
democratic government certainly
warrants consideration.
SATURDAY EDITION
Managing Editor Finis Cowan
Assistants . Emmett McGeever, Werner Grunbaum, Clark Foster
Editor Brady Tyson
Assistant Editor Robert Mcllhenny
Business Manager Nancy Hood
Assistant Business Manager Tom Smith '
Published every Wednesday and every Dorm News Ted Comella
Saturday of the regular school year * _ , ,
except during holiday and examination Sports David Miller
periods by 'the students of the Rice Assistant Howard Martin
institute. Editorial and advertising of- T , , _ ,.
fices are in the Fondren Library on Intramurals Dewey Gonsoulin
the campus. Society Eleanor Sticelber
Entered as second class mailing mav . Assistants—Marty Gibson,
ter, October 17, 1916, at the Post Bev Hawkins
Office, Houston, under tke act of
March 8, 1879. Fanfare Betty Faye Grosse
Represented by Na^al Advertising Photographer Nelson Miller
Service, Inc., 420 Madison Ave., New Salesman W. Ern^t VoS8
York City.
Humble Oil Features Exhibit
Of Oil Field Drilling Methods •
by Georgia Hink
Featured at the Abercrombie Laboratory this week is an
exhibition on geophysical methods for locating oil sponsored
by Humble Oil & Refining Co., Mr. William Dix, Head of
the Library, is supervising the exhibit.
The foremost demonstrations included in the exhibit are
displays of the methods used ;
in finding oil deposits. The first
method is the seismic^method.
During this display, slides light up
to show the surveying of the land,
drilling of shot holes, "laying of
cables, and the loading of the shot
holes with dynamite which is used
to break up the earth formation. On
a tiny stage is designed the land
where oil is usually found, and below
is a chart of the earth's formation.
By use of a recording camera, lights
show the firing of the explosion at
the shot hole, and the subsequent
travelling of sound waves through
the earth's formation until it reach-
es a layer where oil might be lo-
cated. .Some of the waves then re-
bound to the surface of the earth
where they are shown being picked
up by geophones, which transmit the
sound by radio to the testers. To the
right of the stage is a graph which
records the explosion and reflection
of the sound waves. By finding the
time for the stfund to travel this
distance, it is quite easv to find
how far beneath the surface is the
oil deposit.
Another display shows the mag-
netometer method. This demonstra-
tion shows the magnetometer mov-
ing over a drv plain. Under the pic-
ture of the land is a chart of the
earth's layers, with deposits of ser-
pentine and oil. As the magnetom-
feter passes over these deposits, a
chart plots a curve which shows
how many miles below the surface
is the oil. Featured on the same
principle, is the gravity meter meth-
od, except salt domes appear in the
earth instead of serpentine.
With these demonstrations are
also two cases filled with precision
instruments needed to do testing.
Such parts are the geophone, grav-
ity rheter, Ramberg Magnetometer,
recording camera and radio trans-
mitters. • ,
A survey map of the Salt Dome
deposits in the Gulf Coastal States
has also been set up showing the
great deposits of oil in the south.
Of more interests are rocks found
in the various earth fdrmations. On
display are rocks which have been
drilled from various layers of the
earth. There are others which are
estimated to be one hundred million
years old. There's even an oyster
which is 37.000.000 years old. These
rocks are all practically cylindrical
in "bane because of the precision
drill upert to cut them.
As an interesting sideline, there
pre fortv-ei«rht slides showing dif-
•fofprit Flails and two paintintrs of
tho Fumble Co. One nainting shows
h derrick in the middle of the Gulf
of Mexico.
The Editor Says —
Is It Necessary
That Elections Be
Popularity Polls?
Student elections at Rice have
been characterized as nothing more
than popularity polls, designed to
find out who has the most friends.
This is generally true, unfortunate-
ly.
There are those, of course, who
say that student government is of
no real consequence, and that notie
of the elected officers decide any-
thing of importance anyway. There-
fore, it is a little game, played for
fun, and it's not necessary to take the
trouble to do it well after all. Again,
this is partially true—not much a
student officer can do will be very
important.
But the significance of student go-
vernment is missed entirely if it is
dismissed here. No one, has ever
supposed that the details of plan-
ning and running the various af-
fairs of the Rice Student Association
to be of any lasting significance in
the general order of things. How-
ever, student government does not
have the very important task of of-
fering students a vital and necessary
type of education, and because of
this it definitely has its place on
any campus.
Participation in public affairs,
whether they be campus, precinct,
state, national, or international, is
an accepted duty of every citizen.
Observing the form of elections,
choosing candidates, judging issues,
are all a very necessary part of the
life of any citizen. This does not
mean that a citizen has done his
duty by his country when he con-
cerns himself with the portentious
national or international" questions
of the day. It is a part of his duty
as well to consider carefully the
affairs of all political units of which
he is a part.
But it is not fulfillment of duty
as a citizaffl to sit back and await
elections or issues to come along,
and then exercise Solomon-like wis-
dom, voting "yes" or "no." This ap-
parently is what most members of
this Student Association would like
to do, and what many members of
the present Student Council do man-
age to do.
Running a student government
well necessitates some work, as well
as the joy contest fcflMBuin voting
and electing and campaigning. This
work should not be delegated to a
. very few students,, ^expecting them
to carry the entire load. Instead
every student should, and how far
short this Student Association fails
of this, -feel it his duty to accept
part of the burden, furnish part of
the energy, and use some personal
initiative for the benefit of all. By
spreading the work among more it
will, enable those who necessarily
must be delegated to do the largest
part of their part better. The added
imagination and support of many
students could enable Rice to have
a student government that will do
its tasks both efficiently and demo-
cratically.
There are plenty of odd jobs
around, even after elections. They
will be small jobs that will add up in
the end to a better Student Associa-
tion and a better school for all. For
instance, the Thresher has a few
positions (about 25), open to the
earliest who apply.
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The Rice Thresher (Houston, Tex.), Vol. 36, No. 45, Ed. 1 Saturday, March 26, 1949, newspaper, March 26, 1949; Houston, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth230800/m1/2/: accessed May 5, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Rice University Woodson Research Center.