University of Kansas - Jayhawker Yearbook (Lawrence, KS)

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TTNTVEBSITY OF KANSAS JESSE HALL MISSOURI ' S AD BUILDING Intra-mural competition varies one- act plays, touch football, swimming meets, inter-fraternity sings, etc. After rush week winds up, relations among fraternities are on the most friendly plane. Rivalry is interesting but not bitter. The Farmers, Engineers, and Lawyers, have their customary scrim- mages; but nobody gets awfully excited about it, merely amused. So much for the campus in general. Now, to be more specific, what of the students themselves? What kind of per- sons are they? Any kind they want to be. Let ' s talk about our typical Joe Col- lege, the kind we want to forget, the kind all campuses, including Missouri, have, but of which they as a whole disapprove. Joe doesn ' t let his work interfere with his college life. Requirements of a high average for fraternity social privileges make him study enough to make fairly decent grades. Maybe this is the reason for the rather high scho- lastic average of the student body; al- though some themes can be written by professionals, and grades can be gotten in peculiar ways. Joe doesn ' t take athletics very seri- ously. It ' s been so long since he saw a winning football team that he rather frowns on athletes, although he admits that in a lot of respects some of them really get around. He envies their popularity. He wants to win but refuses to do anything other than cuss about his lost bets and criticize the coach, who really doesn ' t deserve it, and is rather universally liked. Joe would much rather jelly in one of the too many local joints than go to any mass meeting! And you can bet if a Missou beer bust is under way, Joe ' s seat at the stadium will be found vacant. What about drinking? Missouri is reported to be one of the wettest cam- puses west of Virginia, but that is hardly true. There is plenty of drinking, but no more than exists in any other college. Joe isn ' t a drunkard by a long shot, though he may see to it that local druggists keep their doors open. Before repeal, bootleggers found Missouri a fertile field: but now business is fall- ing off. Probably more individuals drink but real drunks are less notice- able. As in every school, sub-rosa drinking fraternities exist in abund- ance, but they are rather harmless. Girls are sometimes as guilty of infraction of the drinking sin as men. Joe doesn ' t care very much about campus activities. He supports them pretty well. But. one man in each fra- ternity does al! the work, and Joe lets him. Joe loves parties, roaring around in big cars, dancing with pretty girls. He usually thinks those that don ' t join him are prudes or butts. We are dis- gusted with him. In contrast, the unsung Missouri man. for whom we pray recognition, came to school to make something of himself. He has a good time. He probably dates, dances, maybe drinks, but he is not an extremist. His education is costing him something and he intends to get his money ' s worth. He does it by working some day to startle the medical world, to add law victories to his credit, to grow the right crops in the right season, or to thrill his readers by the output of his pen. The girls whose types correspond, perhaps come more for the fun of it; but they, too. num- ber many level-headed among them future school teachers, journalists, mu- sicians, wives. This student goes out for (Continued on page 60)

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82 THE JAYHAWKEB we ' re running a training school for po- tential Jim Parleys. The idea has pos- sibilities. For three weeks every spring the entire campus becomes politically minded. Every fraternity man and so- rority woman solicits votes for candi- dates for some really non-functioning office in a so-called student govern- ment. (They throw a dance once in a while). It all happens because the campus is divided into two groups. These combines of fraternities cut each other ' s throats, sling mud until they are blind, and tell themselves they are having a big time. It ' s truly politics for polities ' sake. The caucuses fight with each other and among themselves. Last year, a caucus split elected an inde- pendent Student Government Associa- tion president. This year nobody knows exactly how things will be lined up. Classes are neglected and in most cases not even considered during this period of turmoil. When it ' s all over and the caucus that could secure the most ghost votes is safely seated in office, the cam- pus settles down to study only to find that the school year is over. Elections are only a part of this po- litical panorama. Everything in school is tainted with campus politics. ' The politicians pick the beauty queens, run the publications, hold all the campus honors, and attempt to monopolize every activity no matter how great or small. The setup may be bad, but after all it is great sport, provides a lot of ex- perience, and so far it has done no drastic damage. Sixty per cent of the student body is unaffiliated. These barbs are ac- tive to a certain extent in social life, more in campus politics, but they are sadly in the minority when it comes to active leadership in either field. We ' ll have to plead guilty to the charge that social standing, acquired by member- ship to one of the twenty-eight fra- ternities, or eighteen sororities is usual- ly essential to campus success. Yet above all this sea of social whirl- pool, and political storms, Missouri can well boast of several unique and outstanding activities. You can easily see that what is described above could not satisfy the great variety of students found in Columbia: small town hicks, as well as big city sophisticates; pau- pers, as well as millionaires; the seri- ous-minded, as well as the frivolous. The hundreds working their way through school slinging hash, firing furnaces, mowing lawns, tutoring, bang- ing typewriters and other hundreds who come really to go to school are not interested in costly flippancy. They de- sire the worth-while, and they get it. Phi Beta Kappa, Blue Key, Mortar MEMORIAL TOWER Board, Mystical Seven, Alpha Delta Sigma, etc., are not sneered at. True worth is still recognized and praised. The most widely respected students are still the ones that do the most effi- ciently. An unusually successful activity sup- ported by the student body is the Mis- souri Workshop, which offers an excel- lent medium for the dramatic develop- ment of its members. Twenty to thirty one-act plays, student-directed, and four major productions under the direction of Workshop ' s talented leader. Dono- van Rhynsburger, are presented during the year. The organization provides real dramatic stimulus. Students of the drama can observe the technique of play production as well as get practical experience in the field. The large mem- bership is not limited to those enrolled in dramatic art courses. Both Your Houses, The Late Christopher Bean, and, this year, Yellow Jack have drawn the highest praise, along with many others. Famed for its journalism, the Mis- souri student body publishes the town daily, The Columbia Missourian, which is connected with the Journalism School, and the Missouri Student, an uncensored expression of student opin- ion. The latter originated when the Mis- sourian became more of a journalistic laboratory than a report of collegiate news. The student editor is chosen by the Student Government Association and is free to select his own staff. Many of his recruits come from fraternity pledge classes, who are compelled to go out for a definite number of activities their first year. The Savitar, the Missouri annual, is also purely an activity, and has always received high ranking. It is published by a large staff. Heads of both editor- ial and business divisions are selected from those who have been Savitar work- ers for several years. As an official humorous publication, we have the Showme, also under student manage- ment. Religious life on the campus can be summed up in Burrall Bible Class, the only thing of its kind in the world. At- tended by some nine hundred students of the University of Missouri, Christian, and Stephens colleges, this class is whole-heartedly supported and is very influential in campus life. A Student ' s Religious Council with its denomina- tional divisions also adds a spiritual seriousness. Religious Emphasis Week, sponsored annually by these organiza- tions, presents some outstanding lec- turers who make us stop to think. Despite recent attempts to break down compulsory military training, the R. 0. T. C. continues to flourish; and, no matter how much the anti-war group screams for its downfall, the stu- dent body as a whole is heartily in its favor. Honorary military groups are well supported, and R. 0. T. C. offices are among the most coveted. Athletics and the accompanying school spirit have been at a very low ebb, but, we hope, are now on the up- grade. An eastern flash of polo is run- ning up in popularity on the old favor- ites, football, basketball, and track. An extraordinarily active M Men ' s Club is doing a great deal toward rebuilding the old Missou fight.

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THE JAYHAWKER Charles Moreau Harger PROBABLY the best fitted man in the state for the position of chair- man of the Board of Regents is Charles Moreau Harger, the present holder of the office. Mr. Harger has been a mem- ber of the Board of Regents since the present system of governing the state schools was installed in 1925. He is ex- perienced in education, and in addition, is known as one of the finest journalists and business men in the state of Kansas. In 1888, Mr. Harger took over the Abilene Reflector, and since that time has built that paper into one of the finest dailies in the state. He is a con- tributor to Century, Scribners, Harpers, and the Saturday Evening Post. Mr. Harger served as principal of the schools at Hope, Kansas, for two years prior to his entering the newspaper business. From 1905 until 1910 he served as a director and lecturer in the department of journalism at K. U.