Kent State University - Chestnut Burr Yearbook (Kent, OH)

Page 6 text:

' ¥fe . s KlM Legislature Halts Physical Expansion

Page 5 text:

An experiment in yearbook design published in two volumes at Kent State University, Kent, Ohio. Operating as a voluntary, noncredit workshop for journalists and photographers, the 1962 CHESTNUT BURR was edited by Laird Brown. Adda Bogun and Judy Bryan were associate editors; Bob Farrell, business manager; Henry Beck and Richard Goodrick, advisers. 7,000 copies were printed.

Page 7 text:

The pounding gavel signaling the close of the Ohio Legislature ' s 104th General Assembly dealt the final crushing blow to Kent State ' s waning hopes for money for capital improvements. Kent State will receive no money for classroom buildings or other improvements for the next two years. President George A. Bowman had previ- ously pointed out it would take between $5 and $6 million just to catch up with present needs. He estimated that Kent State university should have $25 million over the next decade for class- rooms, office and laboratory space. Now present facilities, including four World War II barracks, must suffice for two more years. With Kent State ' s present 9,651 full-time stu- dents on campus, competition for some courses is keen and many are closed out of required classes time after time. More classes cannot be scheduled because of lack of space. With the avalanche of would-be students com- ing in the immediate years ahead, it ' s difficult to imagine how a body of educated men could de- cide we do not need immediate classroom space and other capital improvements. President Bowman and representatives of other state universities caught in the same pinch were available to the various legislative committees and eager to make the needs of their institutions known, but few legislators were willing to listen. When the Senate Finance Committee held its hearing on university budgets, the only questions asked were petty queries such as how much is being spent for postage and telephone service. Indisputable statistics show that Ohio ranks a poor 40th among the states in the per capita amount of public money it spends on higher edu- cation. Compare this with the fact that Ohio ranks 1 1th among the states in per capita income. But we can ' t honestly blame our loss entirely on the legislature. Shouldn ' t we have been ex- plaining our needs all along without waiting to be asked or until a crisis arose? Not just to the legis- lature but to the public, the people of Ohio, who will ultimately be taxed for their son ' s and daugh- ter ' s educational needs. The university must pro- vide part of the leadership in order to raise public support to meet its needs. Let ' s hope the day is soon approaching when we will be receiving our fair share of these talked about state funds to keep Kent and the other state universities of Ohio growing educationally in the increasingly vital years ahead.