University of Kansas - Jayhawker Yearbook (Lawrence, KS)

Page 21 text:

their first college quiz: the placement exam by BILL CATLIN orientation The PEACEPaiL summer placidity of KU was shat- lereill It was September 1956 and 2,500 new stu- dents appeared from everywhere and nowhere in searcli of an education flavored by a little fun. Most of the new students were entering freshmen, shy and hesitant amonj? their new surroundings. Fear of a new place, strange people, and that rare- ly escaped feeling of homesickness were accom- panied by heavily loaded suitcases. But the whirlwind of Oiientation matle quick work of these feelings. One morning there was a placement test, that afternoon the freshmen attend- ed the dean ' s meeting and listened to somebody try to tell their confused minds what they should do and what was expected of them. That evening tliere was the date with a new acquaintance. By the time one got to bed, it was time to go take an- other placement test. The whirling dervish of Freshmen meet their church Sue Suran and Denny Lee labor through the moth phase of placement.

Page 20 text:

as you were then, ' uav liack in Septenilier and October of 1956. It was slill summer — by all indica- tions of the weather and the bee and butterfly-attended flowers over by Lilac Lane. The weatherman kept |)romising a little drop in the tem- jierature. but we could only feel it early in the mornings. Perhaps this was because we had winter most of last spring. At any rate, the singular manifestation of real Fall seemed to be the gold, red, and rust of the leaves on the trees all over the Hill and their lardy, but ine ilable. de- scent to the ground. It didn ' t really rain during the en- tire two months. Even so, cars always seemed to bear the waterspots seen after such an occurrence and the ground was always wet. This was at- tributed to the fact that we were liv- ing in the Sprinkler Era. to indirectly quote the editor of the UDK. Build- ings and Grounds seemingly had no respect lor the student as they regu- larly blocked the convenient entrances to classes or thoroughly doused the seat of a car through an 0|)en window with these whirling propagators of water. We began to wonder if they were pre])aring the ground for a pre- mature spring crop of grass. One of the first big events of the year was made possible by the Stu- dent Ihiion Activities when they brought Jfiz: at the Philharmonic into Hoch Auditorium. A full-house of students sat spellbound for more than two hours while such notables as Oscar Peterson, Dizzy Gilles)iie. Stan Oetz. Gene Krupa. and the great Ella Fitzgerald gave forth with the best in Jazz. The Concert Series was opened by Pilar Lorengar, a Spanish soprano, and the second feature of the series was an event long to be remembered by the lovers of Haydn, Wagner, and Brahms. Hoch Auditorium was filled to capacity as members of the Berlin Philharmonic, under the direction of Herbert von Karajan. honored KU during its second tour of the L nited States. Progress was on display both at KL and in Kansas. Our football team had at last emerged from its slump of the three years past and gave posi- tive signs of a steady recovery as games were won. tied, and lost by respectable margins. The reconstruc- tion of Bailey Hall was finally com- pleted and the one-time chemistry building was dedicated October 5. as the home of the School of Education. Slate-wide publicity was given to the 6()-p()und cake in the image of the building, served to those who attend- ed the dedication. Construction was begun on the Married Students ' Dorm which, upon its completion, will do much to alleviate KU ' s housing prob- lem. State-wise, the long awaited Kansas Turnpike was opened October 24, much to the elation of students from down El Dorado, Wichita, and Wellington way. It also makes plausi- ble the ])rediction that next year ' s mi- gration will be to Oklahoma. Perha|)s its most outstanding asset is the fact that Kansas City is now only 20 to 30 minutes away, depending on your nerve and providing that your pocket contains 45 cents. A new women ' s rush system was tried early in Septenilier with un- ascertained results. The rushees just couldn ' t cooperate number-wise, for the number of girls going through rush was, for the first time, insuffi- cient. Scarcely a sorority on the Hill filled its house to ca])acity — a bad turn for future expansion. The total number of students jjledging both fra- ternities and sororities was 797. Signs of a general metamorphosis were visible in the picture of the L ni- versity. Enrollment was way up. with some 8,890 students having matricu- lated. Five departments changed the location of their offices as the School of Education left vacancies in Eraser and Blake. Language sound labs moved to Blake anne. es. the Political Science Department to a Strong An- nex, and there were various other exchanges. The Union Cafeteria ac- quired a new face when decorators went to work and added such things as wood and glass paneling, metal screening with modernistic designs upon it. and added seating facilities in the way of cozy room-for-two seats and tables. Two important men chose to resign their positions as Deans of Schools. T. DeWitt Carr. Dean of the School of Engineering and Archi- tecture, who had developed his school into the second largest on the campus during a ten-year sojourn as Dean, saw fit to turn his attentions to re- search. The other retiring notable was Frederick J. Moreau. Dean of the Law School since 1937. His plans were to take one year ' s leave of ab- sence for research, and then to con- tinue in the capacity of instructor. On campus, as well as nationally, students were humming Love Me Tender — made famous by that man with the guitar, Elvis Presley, who had the teen-agers of the country swooning during these Rock and Roll days, and the rest of the Hit Parade had a noticeable green tinge with everything from Green Door to Forty-nine Shades of Green. The most popular movies were High So- ciety ' starring Grace Kelly. Bing Crosby, and Frank Sinatra. War and Peace. and The Eddv Duchin Story. On Broadway, My Fair Lady was still raging with the pre- diction prevailing that it would con- tinue to do so for years to come. Politics was the principal topic of discussion in this fall of election year as the Stevenson-Kefauver team lam- basted Eisenhower and Nixon and vice versa. As we went to press, the outcome of this very important mile- stone in history remained to be seen. The world situation could hardly be judged as anything but chaotic with a revolution in Hungary — the rebels versus the Communist govern- ment, and everyone where they shouldn ' t be over in the Far East, the Gaza Strip in particular. Israelis, Arabs. Egyptians, Britons, French, and who knows who else, were having a wild jamboree, complete with i)Ianes, bombs, and guns. cc

Page 22 text:

Students at the Y-retreat learn about Hill activities. Orientation is just another way for saying follow the signs. DEAR STUDENT: you ARE Lost BACK AND a LOu sicNs OR SOMEONE 1 1 The climax of orientation: the street dance. deans ' meetings, convocations, jiicnics, and get-to- know-each-other itarties had begun. The fiosh were always on the go from then on, with very little time of their own. It was all a dizzy race to get there on time. But soon, the actual school year really got un- derway, and Orientation ' 56 became only a happy memory to a couple thousand wizened boys and girls.