Louisiana State University - Gumbo Yearbook (Baton Rouge, LA)

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themselves into even the purest of minds, but which when not congealed into words often vanish and leave no impress upon the character ... The years after 1900 were ones of expansion. Gifts from people connected with the University provided the institu- tion with some of its most distinguished buildings. In 1899, a gift of $10,000 from William Garig, vice president of the Board of Supervisors, went toward the building of an assembly hall. In 1902, John Hill, an alumnus, donated $33,000 for the building of a library in memory of his son, John Hill, Jr. In 1906, the lab- oratories of the Irion building were built to house chemistry, engineering, and physical science. Other buildings like Foster Hall, a dorm and mess hall, were built making the Old Campus one of the leading colleges of that rime. One notable achievement of Thomas Boyd, the brother of David Boyd and now president, was the organization of the University into schools and colleges

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he year 1886 brought the Univer- sity into an era of stability when the United States Gov- ernment generously gave the use of the buildings and grounds of the military garrison at Baton Rouge to the school, though the full title to the property was not invested therein until 1920, when an Act of Congress approved the transac- tion. The site of the University is an his- toric one. Within the confines of the campus have been quartered in past years the soldiers of France, England, Spain, the United States, and the Confederate States. Here, in 1779, occurred the only battle fought in Louisiana during the Revolutionary War, when a British garri- son was attacked and captured by the Spanish governor, Bernardo de Galvez. Spanish soldiers remained here until 1810, when their feeble garrison was expelled by a band of American adventur- ers led by Philemon Thomas, and this portion of West Florida was wrested from the control of Spain. Upon receiving the land grant from the United States Government, the Uni- versity entered upon a program of expan- sion and advancement. Enrollment was increasing rapidly in these years, espe- cially after the liberalizing of the military system to admit young men residents of Baton Rouge as day students. In 1905 the University was made co-educational, which added still more to the growing enrollment. President Boyd commented on the co-educational program in 1910: The very presence of the opposite sex has a restraining influence, preventing the expression of coarse and unrefined thoughts which are too prone to obtrude Pentagon barracks in 1918 used as training facilities during World War I 8 Nostalgia

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(most of which have remained unchanged to the present time). The Col- lege of Arts and Sciences combined the former literary, Latin-Science, general sci- ence, commercial, and pre-medical courses. The College of Engineering offered courses in civil, mechanical, elec- trical, and chemical engineering. The Audubon Sugar School offered sugar cul- ture, sugar chemistry, and sugar engineer- ing. The Teachers ' College supplied training for the great numbers of young ladies who fl ocked to the campus follow- ing the Board of Supervisors ' approval of co-education in 1905. A Law School and a Graduate Department were added. The School of Agriculture was revitalized and an agricultural extension program for the state set up. A Medical School was estab- lished in New Orleans. In the year,s before World War I the University had a period of uninterrupted growth, especially in the area of new departments and academic standards. Many departments were created as the Department of Forestry in 1911, the Department of Journalism in 1913, the Department of Music in 1915, and the Department of Home Economics in 1915 to accommodate the women students seeking training in domestic arts. A standard requirement was set up for entrance into the Freshman class, and the Sub-Freshman department was abolished. In 1915, a regulation was established called the elimination rule by the fac- ulty and the hog rule by the students that would make the passage of certain scheduled courses necessary for gradua- tion or the alternative being automatic suspension from the university. This reg- Pcntagon Barracks ulation helped raise academic standards for the school. Before World War I, the University ' s enrollment numbered 888 students in the regular sessions with 610 during the sum- mer with instate students admitted free and out-of-state students paying $60 per year. After the outbreak of the war, the enrollment dropped noticably with many of the cadets and faculty entering military service. On the site of the new campus would be a memorial tower honoring all the war dead of Louisiana, who gave their lives for their country. The next section is taken from the 1915 Gumbo about life at the Old Campus. Just Plain Kaydets -- the backbone of the Ole War Skule! This sketch deals with phases of the student life, and certain customs, and scenes not familiar to those who have not worn Henderson and Ames clothing, nor carried a Krag several thousand miles. To the cold mechanical eye of the camera the Pentagon is merely a plot of ground enclosed on four sides with weather-beaten, two-story buildings, with the fourth side open to the Mississippi River, and a flag staff in the middle. That is all. But the Pentagon is more than that. At one time it was the University. So much so, that the official seal of the University is pentagon shaped, showing the four buildings and the fifth side open. Now, however, since the establishing of the Law School, the admission of Co-eds, and the addition of many new buildings, the center of student life as a whole has shifted. But the Pentagon is still the center of cadet life. The four buildings that form the principal barracks are for the students enrolled in the military department. Here 10 Nostalgia