University of Kansas - Jayhawker Yearbook (Lawrence, KS)

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OCTOBER 19 6 THIS THAT newly renovated hangout. The Mill, long popular with the coke snifflers, has been enlarged and redecorated during the summer. Charlie also boasts a new air cooling system to match that of Dick Wagstaff, owner of YViedemann ' s, and dean of the permanent student body. If you haven ' t already done so. drop into the new Sour Owl office in the Union basement, and hear the Owl s success story from Major Bob Corey, business mana- ger, and man about the campus. The Owl is expanding this year and boasts a section dedicated to our neigh- bors at Kansas State. Plans are under way to circulate the Owl all through Kansas this winter so it seems inevitable that the homefolks will know the worst. Dave Ham- lin, editor of the humor mag, promises a bigger and better Owl than ever had in the memory of living man, and less of the cheap sheet of the last few years. The funny paper was a few days late in its first appearance, and the boys used that prize of printer ' s alibis, the ink didn ' t dry. The first issue justified all predictions, and if the good work keeps up Owl and Co. will have a banner year. Vfi n itte herd receives its instructions The new crop of pledges was a bumper one in quantity and the Greeks say in quality as well. The boys fought it out in the good old-fashioned way, and it still hasn t been decided who won. Any possible violations of the rules were settled out of court to the mutual satisfaction of all concerned. The girls ' rush rules are a bit more complex and to my mind a bit medieval. Locking fair maidens in castles went out some six hundred years ago. But what sthe use? You can generally tell a Kansas coed, but you can ' t tell her much. Dropped in for a few minutes at the fresh- man convocations, which seemed to have more upperclassmen in attendance than fresh- men, and half of the former on the stage as speakers. Despite dire warning the yearlings Braving tfc rain to attend convocation always delight in start- ing the year out right. VhiIe their little pasteboards stated that attendance would be taken as evidence of cooperation with the Dean ' s office or words to that effect, it evidently hasn ' t taken them as long as it did some of us to discover that life at the U. consists of incessant cooperation with the Dean ' s office, while that office seldom cooperates with them. (ConlinueJ on Pag ' . 80)

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THE JAYHAWKER We present the initial installment oj an informal portfolio of campus events, gossip, and personalities C ROM that sticky night in May when proud and beaming parents heaved a sigh of relief as we left high school behind until that not-too-far-off proces- sion down the Hill to the stadium as we say goodbye to K. LJ., one unpleasant idea more than any other is K. U. version o the Mar. on the Street forced upon us. Beginning at home with Mother and Dad, big brother and the proprietor of the local drug- store, and continuing through the endless chain of Chancellor, dean, prof, fraternity upperclassman, and editorials in the Kansan, we are never allowed to forget that we are here for study primarily. Dismal thought, don ' t you think, George? As a rule, a few semesters on what the poet chooses to call Mount Oread s sunny slopes are sufficient to dispel any considerable faith in this popular super- stition, but occasionally on a dark night you may stumble over some firm believer asleep on the library i f aistrallon opnins , BEGINNING: By THE JAYWALKER steps. Through the year in these columns the Jay- walker will defend his firm conviction that, Phi Beta Kappas to the contrary notwithstanding, it ' s the little things in life that count at the U., as elsewhere. The friends, the parties, the embarrassing moments, the big shots, the jams, and the breaks that make the four college years the hub of our life history. One more word and we ' re off. In this little chronicle of the people and places that will make up the bits of the mosaic that will be the next year, I ' ll try not to infringe on the territory of the Social VheeI or Cam- pus Polylogia. My aim is to be neither a society reporter nor a scandalmonger. Rather, I ' d like to pick up the little ends that often pass as too commonplace for notice and preserve them here. And so, if you ' re ready, let s be off and see what ' s been doing and who s been doing it. Probably the most deserted place in Kansas about September 1 is the campus, and nothing brings more of a thrill than to be on hand as the students return. It brings back life like a pulmotor to a near-drowned man. I ' ve often had the feeling that the deserted campus had about as much personality as dead fish. George O. really ought to have a medal on hand for the first student to put in an appearance each fall. The first unmistakable sign of the imminence of school s opening is the glimmering of a few sorority house lights, and the scattered representation of the male element calling up indiscriminately and asking, Who ' s back? Does she want a date tonite? And the first break of the year by Mary Markham, Gamma Phi s blonde contender for honors as campus queen, who left home in such a flutter that she forgot the keys to her trunk. Charlie Long, Mr. Blue Mill to you, greeting old- comers and newcomers with a genial smile in his anJ ends some flours later

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JAYHAWKER THE INDUCTION CEREMONY In trie traditional and colorful ritual of initiation the new students are made members of the University student body By VIRGIL MITCHELL SANS caps for the first time in more than a decade, the 1936 freshmen gathered in a huge circle around the site of the first campfire, built over 100 years ago by the founders of Lawrence and the University of Kansas. But something was missing of the old fire and excitement of the now historical days when the paddles carried by the K-men meant something. Hence the first part of the new student induction was more like a funeral than an induction. With almost twice the normal number of freshmen present, and a sincere curiosity replacing the former fear of intimidation, the ceremony proved more impres- sive than ever before. However it reflected barbar- ism at times when routine turned to humor in the eyes of the novitiates. Just as twilight gave way to the artificial beams from the windows of Corbin Hall, a torch appeared from back of the speakers stand. Carried by a member of Sachem, it was handed to a member of Mortar Board, who lighted the fire in the University hearth. Members of the glee club gathered in the center of the circle and led the new students in singing the Crimson and the Blue, after which the firebasket part of the ceremony was explained by a member of the faculty. The symbolic torch, taken from the University seal, was lighted at the hearth and carried by a pursuent of A scene of tin student induction The Chancellor places the ceremonial cap the knowledge it represents around the top of Ml. Oread, behind the administration building, and down to the Rock Chalk Cairn, where the second fire was lighted. And then from across the valley, over the stadium, a bugle call signaled the marchers to start their trek down the hill into the stadium for the remainder of the ceremony. Marching a silent half-time and four abreast they came, around the dark east side and gradually into the light of the ceremonial altar. Led by the K-men swing- ing their useless leather paddles, the freshmen were directed into two sections facing the Greek altar in the north end of the stadium. There in the darkness K. U s. new generation heard the ideals and dreams of the founders of this their newly adopted home - presented by older members of the faculty, and saw them pictured on the enlarged illustration of the University seal. Something of the spirit of ancient Greece was reflected in the spirit of the crowd as the torch was relayed over the final lap from the Rock Chalk Cairn to the altar. There it was handed to an alumnus, who in turn handed it to a mem- ber of the senior class, thence down the line to the freshman who lighted the third and last fire of the ceremonial. A lasting impression was made with the repeating of the Athenian Oath. It was then the freshman became a member of his class, one of the University family. It was then that determination overshadowed every doubt and fear. He no longer saw the robes of the speakers as being made of broadcloth and velvet but rather as symbols of achievement. And his tribute to these intan- gible wonders of a new world a respectful silence.