Indiana University - Arbutus Yearbook (Bloomington, IN)

Page 11 text:

STUDENT WAR COUNCIL THE ANSWER Maybe we had imagined that when we read the headlines with these three life-shaking words, War Is Declared, we would scream and cry frantically. But no one does. Everyone is numb and somewhat sense- less. For the moment our world seems to be rocking and we do not know where to turn next. For some it is a moment filled with fear, despair, or a feeling of utter helplessness. Almost instantly the Commons is cleared. The Li- brary too is deserted. When we feel that our life foun- dations are beginning to totter, how can we study? How can we play? College is forgotten and lessons are ADMINISTRATIVE WAR COUNCIL neglected. The paramount thought is, Where do we go from here? On the campus tonight there is no an- swer and so we turn to radios and telephones in a futile effort to learn what path lies ahead of us now. In every organization house, in dormitories, and in boarding houses out in town, students group around radios listening to latest war bulletins. They crowd around the telephones to call home or to talk to friends in the Army. The entire atmosphere reflects our atti- tude. It is dark, melancholy, and pensive. There is no sleep or rest on the campus tonight. We are in war.

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1 0£5sam THE CHALLENGE- • SL- e,e S £ ' ' « » v,0,5 ' am V-VJVV fc 0 xNtWS December 7 — War has been declared against the United States. Not by words nor legal documents, but by bombs has war come to America. No longer is it undeclared war with all-out aid for everything short of man power. Now it is actual declared war calling for increased man power trained in the Army, Navy, and Marines. Many times have we lived through this moment in our imaginations — this moment when we would read glaring newspaper headlines telling us that our country was in war. But now it is real and we have read the screaming headlines. The campus has changed almost instantly. No longer is it the gay and jovial place it ordinarily is during the Sunday night supper hour. In- stead it has taken on a face of somber grey and a look of dread, coupled with extreme bewilderment and worry. The news is received with a quietness that is grim in its intensity. There are no demonstrations of any sort. Everywhere groups talk excitedly about the sudden turn of events and great is the speculation as to what effect it will have on the University. Almost unanimous is the idea that Japan is in for a sound whipping, and at times there is an air of fatalism or optimism.

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Bi EftflW P MEjw ; r! $ 3 V The bombs that rocked Pearl Harbor rocked Indiana University as well and plunged it into another period of wartime turmoil. To prevent an educational black-out at the University, the quickly- formed Administrative War Council worked hard and rapidly to meet the challenge confronting Indiana University by setting a time minimum for an education maximum. The War Service Plan, providing an accelerated, flexible, and exten- sive program for meeting the present known emergencies as well as the unknown emergencies that inevitably will arise, was the direct result of the administrative efforts. To set the elaborate machine of the program into well-regulated op- eration, a Student War Council and an Alumni War Council were or- ganized to help the Administrative War Council guide the affairs of the University into the smoothest possible channels. Beginning with the second semester of the 1941-42 school year, the University went on a three-semester basis. Using Saturdays for class days, the normal number of lecture days was maintained, but only six were allotted for examinations, instead of the usual eight. Vacation periods, too, were cut to a minimum. Under this speeded up system, freshmen can complete a four-year college course in two and two-thirds years by attending school for all three terms, and upper classmen can receive their degrees much sooner than they would have under the old regime. The new demands of the nation for more trained men and women in an all-out effort against the aggressor countries, therefore, are being met in a shorter length of time. Of equal importance, however, in this accelerated program is the direct effect on the student. Class work nec- essarily is more difficult because course limits are condensed. Longer hours in the Library and less free time is curbing the number of extra- curricular activities in which the student can participate, and each is do- ing his part to make the most of the opportunities presented. Realizing that physical fitness is an absolute necessity in wartime, the new plan carries with it provisions for every undergraduate male student to pursue physical education courses each semester. This requirement, in answer to requests from Navy and Army officials who are aware that healthy and physically well-trained specimens are essential, was inaugu- rated several weeks after the beginning of the spring term. In addition, undergraduate women are required to enroll in a physical education class every semester, with the option of substituting approved defense courses during their junior and senior years. auy