Kansas State University - Royal Purple Yearbook (Manhattan, KS)

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Manhattan joins in celebrating K-S rate ' s Semi-centennial in 1913. Poyntz Avenue stands destitute of cars with only trolley car lines and tracks filling the streets between the fashionable lightposts. Three-inch collars, tasseled lamps, school pennants, and the singing of songs around a piano denote a day gone by. Students of the early 1900 ' s required little in outside enter tainment or proper conditions to aid them in studying III II Illl I II II II II II III II M M II II II II MM 25

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Special recognition was extended to the 291 graduates of 1913-1914 as members of the semi-centennial class. Each year throughout this era the graduates benefited from the growing name and prestige associated with Kansas State. Kansas State Marks 50 Years of Progress The first widely celebrated birthday of Kansas State was on Oct. 28-29-30, 1913, when the semi- centennial celebration was observed. This was a sig- nificant occurrence and was recognized by the dismissal of all classes those three days. The observ- ance provided an opportunity to reflect on the history of this still young and growing institution and to realize its accomplishments of fifty years. An account of the commemoration in the 1914 Royal Purple ends with the question, What will the College be in fifty more years, if it keeps the pace that it has set in the half-century that it has fin- ished? That question was answered this year and the pace has been stepped-up considerably. The mood of the time was one of jubilation, but also of constant introspection. In addition to constant revision in the curricula, there was a continuous implementation of new ideas in instruction. An example of this was the change from three terms to semesters in 1917. One of the most significant changes was the replacement of the Kansas State Board of Regents by the State Board of Administra- tion in 1913 by the Legislature. New areas of study were rapidly opening and one of these receiving great emphasis was engineer- ing. As early as 1909 this expansion was aided by the construction of the east wing of Engineering Hall, later named Seaton Hall. An evaluation of the school by the Bureau of Education of the Department of the Interior in 1922 was very favorable. It dismissed the pressing question of duplication in engineering at K-State and KU by saying both needed a program. In addition to the changes taking place in the undergraduate programs, a switch in the adminis- tration of graduate study in 1919 indicates the new maturity of the College. The enrollment reflected the trend toward growth. In 1913 the number of students surpassed 3,000 for the first time, although it was to fall below this mark again due to the war. 24

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Lest We Forget that many of our fellow students with- drew from school to offer their lives for their beliefs. Lest We Forget that more than 50 of these Kansas State men died for our country in World War I. Lest We Forget. Let Us Remember the Students Who Died A tribute to those K-Staters who died for their country, the memorial plaque of World War I now stands in Anderson Hall. The 16-foot plaque was completed just before Memorial Day, 1923. The following quotations vividly express the feel- ings of the great leaders during this war the great- est of all wars up to that time. It is a fearful thing to lead this great peaceful people to war, into the most terrible and disastrous of all wars, civilization itself seeming to be in the balance. But the right is more precious than peace, and we shall fight for the things which we have always carried nearest our hearts for democracy, for the right of those who submit to authority to have a voice in their own governments, for the rights and liberties of small nations, for a universal dominion of peoples as shall bring peace and safety to all nations and make the world itself at last free. Woodrow Wilson. War! that mad game the world so loves to play. Swift. It is a shallow victory which leaves a prostrate people. Charles A. Lindbergh. The following is the dedication of the 1918 Royal Purple: Sixty-five khaki clad men, some in France, some in Hawaii, and others scattered throughout the United States, training, waiting, and waiting im- patiently at that, These are the men of the senior class who have answered the call of the flag. These men we honor and love, and to them, for their sacrifice, their patriotism, and their devotion, we dedicate this tenth volume of the Royal Purple. 26