The Memorial Student Center: A Look Back At The Texas A&M Landmark

“In humble reverence, this building is dedicated to”¦” reads the original dedication plaque of Texas A&M’s Memorial Student Center. More than a building, the MSC is a memorial, living room, dining room, meeting space, dining center and bookstore. It remembers fallen Aggies and serves the current needs of Aggieland.

“Our MSC has two kinds of components to it,” MSC Director Luke Altendorf said. “First of all, it is a memorial for Aggies who gave their lives in World Wars I and II, which brings reverence and respect. Secondly, it is a student union full of a celebratory aspect.”

The dual aspects of memorial and student union are intertwined into the history of the MSC. According to Jane Bailey, development relations coordinator for MSC Student Programs, the need for a student union dates to the 1930s.

Amy Bacon, author of the A&M history work, “Building Leaders, Living Traditions,” wrote that until the opening of the MSC in 1951, the YMCA building (built in 1914) and the Aggieland Inn (formerly across Houston St. from Sbisa) met the needs of students on campus.

Bacon wrote that although some college needs were met by existing structures, University President William B. Bizzell proposed the MSC as a way to memorialize the sacrifices of the 53 Aggies who died in WWI.

Following the efforts of students, editorials in The Battalion, donations from the classes of 1936 and 1937 and an effort by the Bell County A&M Mother’s Club, the Association of Former Students assumed the role of raising funds for a “Student Activities Center” in 1942 with the establishment of the A&M Development Fund, Bacon wrote.

With funds established by the mid-1940s, A&M’s University architect joined J. Wayne Stark, first Director of the MSC, traveling around the country to bring the best features of the best student unions in the nation to A&M.

Altendorf touted Stark’s work in the development of the MSC as visionary. He said many student unions at the time were memorials due to an influx of students after WWII because of the GI Bill.

MSC President Elizabeth Andrasi said two other suggested names for the MSC were “Gold Star Hall” or “The Memorial.” During World War II, families with sons or husbands at war would hang blue stars in their windows, one for each service member. If the family member was killed, the family replaced the blue star with a gold star.

Vicki Deuel, former MSC employee, worked at the MSC hotel for two years in the 1960s while her husband studied at A&M.

“We sold candy bars and things at the snack counter and worked shifts from 3 to 7 or 7 to 11,” Deuel said. “We also operated a telephone switch board. We had to plug in calls for people in rooms and for the students using the phone booths. They were mainly used by guys in the Corps calling their girlfriends or parents.”

Of her time working at the MSC, Deuel remembered seeing the cadets coming and going in their uniforms, because almost all were in the Corps at the time. Deuel added she doesn’t remember many girls being around except children of the faculty.

“It was a place you could go to relax, and back in those days, nobody put their feet on the furniture,” said Lloyd Deuel, Vicki’s husband. “It was also the coffee shop. We would go have coffee and all study around the tables there in the MSC coffee shop.”

He remembered the reverence shown to the Flag Room and Hall of Honor, where the Medal of Honor of a personal friend, Eli Whiteley, was housed.

“It was a place of deep respect,” Lloyd said. “We honored it. We cherished it.”

With its understated elegance, Bacon wrote, the MSC was the most contemporary building on campus. And from 1950 to 1970, the MSC livened a drab, structured military college and exposed its students to a variety of amenities and programs that would impact their lives.

When Stark retired in 1980, Jim Reynolds took over as the MSC’s second director. In the 1980s, he continued on the same path that Stark had started, bringing high-level speakers, enhancing existing programs and developing new ones. He guided the MSC as A&M reached a population of more than 40,000 students by 1990.

Through decades of change and improvement, the reverence and memorial aspects have remained.

The memorial recognition of former students who perished in armed conflict was extended beyond World War I and II to include Aggies who fought and died in all conflicts.

According to Bailey, the most important aspect of the MSC will continue be the people who inhabit it.

“Some services will be gone but others will take their place,” Bailey said. “The life of the building is the students, so it will continue as it always has. The passage of time changes some things, but the spirit of the students is unchanging.”