Indiana University - Arbutus Yearbook (Bloomington, IN)

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W®$0 $!!% r Although most men feel that their physical well-being is much more important in wartime than the health of the female of the species, since they will be doing the actual fighting, the numerous jobs on the home front which women are required to do are not for powder puff ladies. Only the strong are well qualified. A permanent part of the organization of the University which was in- troduced in connection with the War Service Plan, is the Junior Division, an innovation in university education, headed by Dean Wendell W. Wright. It is a division concerned primarily with the problems of first year students, their courses of study, and their guidance during the period when they are making the transition from high school to the Uni- versity. It will be the aim of this Division to provide for each student an educational program that will fit his own particular needs instead of attempting to fit him into one of a few definite courses of study. Its aim is to deal more adequately with old and new problems intensi- fied by war. Under its plan of operation, high school seniors have the best possible guidance for fitting themselves for a place in the world both during and after the war. Their capabilities are being discovered and developed in a college course mapped out for them which will achieve the maximum benefits. For students who find it necessary to go into Service before complet- ing college careers, the plan provides that a student ordered to report for military service after the completion of at least six and not more than ten weeks of a semester will receive credit to the extent of one-half of the hours for which he is enrolled, subject to his standing in each class at the time of leaving. If withdrawal for the same reason occurs after the completion of at least ten weeks of a semester, the student will receive full credit for his courses. Perhaps taking one ' s philosophy, ethics, or French grammar course in an accelerated manner may seem foolish to some students. They may feel that such things should be cut out and that only subjects vital to the actual guidance of the war effort itself should be included in a speeded up academic program. Army and Navy officials, as well as educators, agree, however, that this man ' s war needs mental fitness as well as strong bodies to carry it to its successful completion. A college man has a much better chance of coming back. Statistics prove that; so the skeptics had better think twice before doubting it. Mental fitness may sound rather vague, but the university man can think faster, adjust himself to new situations more rapidly, and has a sounder background upon which to base his decisions. i t iiaa

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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

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