Drake University - Quax Yearbook (Des Moines, IA)

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The first noticeable sign of uniqueness came when the Drake Air Force Reserve Officers Train- ing Corps found their enrollment dropping. Drop- ees who were questioned brought one sterling fact to light which most motivated those who had en- rolled in the program for an elusive draft defer- ment: the ROTC simply didn't have enough to offer anymore. VVho needs a deferment? they grinned. The war's over. As the year progressed, 1110115 and more striking changes became apparent, especially when con- trasted to the three previous years. It is no great feat of memory to recall those days when the seniors writing this narrative were underclassmen . . . every time Selective Service Director Lewis Hershey announced an increase in the draft call for the :following month, the library was full to the brim for the next few days-until the scare wore off. Then it returned to its usual empty state. A draft deferment was the most sought-after thing existent, next to the legendary million dollars . . . which couldn't buy a deferment anyway. The draft board was the ogre, the night- mare, the bogeyman of every nndergraduate. The physically handicapped men, formerly pitied and silently scorned, were then envied, because they were classified 4-F . . . the days when the business manager, all deans and full professors used to bow twice each morning toward their local llflecca-in this case, Illinois hall. But during 'fifty-four, it was differentg 'fifty- four was The 'First Year After the Korean VVar. The draft ceased to hover like the Sword of Da- mocles over the campus. The possible far-reaching ramifications of his every act with regard to the draft board ceased to govern the Drake male's every move. Selective Service didn't close upg they were still sending men to Camp Crowder, but it was a far cry from the old days. And who cares about a Autumn, as always, saw the school year begin

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z B 2 2 : 2 : E H c I 11 -J ,-'I 42 Fif+y-+l1ree's end was Fifty-four's beginning year 11ineteen fi-ffjf-fOlll', if not unique in other ways, was unique unto itself-unique in many aspects as a matter of fact. Consequently, the Yearbook has adopted the widespread, if not commendable, practice of many of the nation's leading periodicals and newspapers, that of picking the three, or the five, or the what- have-you biggest or most important this or that. We have selected the six top news stories of the year at Drake university, well aware that the choices are to a large measure arbitrary. Critics would opine that we have no right to judge the im- portance of any news eventg and they are correct: we have no right. It is our duty, however, as editors of this publi- cation, to gauge the impact of the news events of the year on Drake's student body. Here, then, in order of decreasing importance, are the six top news stories of the year.

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W . ALL PIIIOTOGRAPIISZ J. K. BROWN' Co-registration for co-education two-year army hitch now, anyway? Some go so far as to say it's like a vacation with pay. No longer was the Drake undergrad faced with the horrendous situation which had confronted him in pre- vious years: should one get married and start producing offspring as a bulwark against General Hershey? Should one join the ROTC? Should one study l'lindustani in hopes of getting an Intelligence job? These questions were now academic. And the ranks of Drake's AFRQTC Wing, once an iron-clad sanctuary for potentially-susceptible draftees, were thinned in all but the compulsory first-two-years Basic program. During the summer of 1953, when newly- installed Republicans were cutting the budgets of all things governmental, the air force had stood like a giant oak, bravely but fruitlessly seeking to weather the woods- man's axe. But to little avail, until General Nate Twin- ing's no complaints order was passed down the line and things began to look progressively brighter. At Drake, as was the case in universities all over the country, key per- Will this keep me out of the draft? sonnel in influential jobs recognized that theirs was a house built on the sands of the Korean hills. Then too, the air force, groaning under the weight of surplus non-flying officers, envisioned with a shudder the hordes of newly-commissioned non-flight-rated oflicers soon to issue from the ROTC units, and adopted a fly- or-get-out policy. This served, as was its intention, to eliminate the chaff from the wheat, even though it lost a good bit of the wheat in the process. And during 'fifty-four, more immediate and proxi- mate topics of conversation replaced the draft. Returnees from a carefree summer vacation found, much to their dismay, that their beloved Kennel was gone. Bridge fa- natics moaned and wailed that it was the end of an era, some even threatened to write their Congressman, but such drastic recourse soon became unnecessary after the Kennel's post-Christmas restoration. But for most, the end of the Korean conflict meant nothing more than the cessation of routine newspaper headlines. Administrators, however, and those with a