◆ SpookStack

“Memorandum of February 25, 1956 a fi by - The University cf Tezae is a lerge state university eitusted in a rather snall, H ‘provincial southern town. The higher echelona of the adrinistration appear to be rela@- tively conservative and careful not to offend the interests and predilecticns of an even more a conservative Board of Regents which is under the watchful eye of a yet nore conrervative state ! leginlatuse. With all of this, the Ustversity as ea whole has tended tocerate with a con- i siderable amozunt of autoncay end the grovth of a rather liberal attitude toward students and | student organizations in moet fields has been unique throughout. the south, Much of this e@rour has been spear-heeded, as in the cage of other universities, by an effective and arti- | culate group of young professore vho are keenly aware of the necessity for the University to H excand intellectually as well as tc move away from the rather atultifying social and politi- ‘ eal orthodoxy which characterices a number of scuthern iretitutions. In one significant area, the administraticn still appears to be dound by its traditioal conservatisr and parochial outlook < and this is in the field of foreign student programing. ‘The Univer~ sity of Tezas is, I an sure, unique or almost unique in the fact that there are almost oixz . hundred foreign students at the University, one cf the largeet groups in the country, whose programzing, counselling and other Kinds of sesistance are handled by a staff of two and : three-quarters pecple which includes the Foreign Student Adviser who tends to spend more , time away from bke syecific duties as Foreign Student Adviser to the students at the Univer- ' aity of Tezaa than he does at the University. This in effect leaves about one and three- ; Quarters cersons to handle the programming, counselling and other problems for al-ost six ; “undred forelen students. The foreign student pcpulation at the Univeraity of Texas has - gtown tremendcusly in the paet four or five rears. The aduinistration has deen fally evare ‘: ef this growth in fo-eign student pcpulation and hee ¢one nothing whatsoever to discourage [40 and there are infiications that the prestige facto> which coves wit: having a large ' foreign etudent group cn cawzus has indeed probably encoureze. the atzinistrat‘or to ine ' wite greater foreign student enrollment at least, if not indfrectiy, through its adpissions policies. Unfortunately, tere the interests snd the resconmibilities of the sdministrati on toward the foreign student eeezme to end. (1 will go into t::‘* netter in a sore detailed ‘ ganner jn a separate sezorandun. ) . With respect to the student body at the University of Texas — although there are - etrong and articulate exceptions, they seem to represent ae a group the sore liberal and . Tegpcneible elemente of the new Scuth. I feel rearonably certain that this is the caly ; Major southern university abous which such a generalization conld be sade. This, hovever, + does not alter the fact thatthe majority of students at the University ae eleewhere are , Pelatively apathetic, certicularly in terns of internaticnal relations or internati cnal . affairs, 4 I attended a necting of the Student Association during whioh there were discuseicns, eo? at least presentations, cf resolut‘one concerning desegregation end also concerning a@ question of censorship of the etudent newspsper at the University << f Texas. I was tremendously impressed with the quality of discussion at least in the unofficial dis- cuseions thet I had with sembers of the Association on both subjects. I wae also im | Pressed with the maturity and clarity of the sore imortant resolutions which vere pre sented én beth issues. After addressing this nesting of the Student Associaticn con- | cerning the Poreie Student Lesdership Project, I was also very such encouraged by the ae 3 ! : —_ we See ag eee nines ayeecep cee crates qe en weno . ” . : ye i t a ¥ ; f