Purdue University - Debris Yearbook (West Lafayette, IN)

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In the old days the Dormitory suppUed this want in a simple and primitive way, and it is for this reason that the Old Dorm occupies a large place in the affections of the older Alumni. The fra- ternity men, it is true, are more fortunate in this par- ticular respect than other students. They don ' t need, perhaps, the recreational facilities which would be offered, but they do need to merge themselves more fully into the life of the University. One function of the Union should be to break down the spirit of segregation and to modify the feeling of provincialism and to emphasize the fact that the University should be the one great consideration in the minds of Purdue men and women. The Union movement is a democratic one. It aims to take the individual out of the eddies and bring him into the main current of the life of the University. It has also been decided that the Union building, while serving stu- dent needs, shall also be a memorial to the Purdue men and women who served their country in the World War. Fifty-four men gave their lives and four thousand others offered theirs in defense of their country and humanity. The Union building will stand for all time as a recognition of this unselfish sacrifice and noble purpose, and at the same time an object lesson to countless generations of students as they come and go upon the campus. This influence will be significant. In a word, then, the pro- posed Union building will be a patriotic memorial, a recreational center, and a clearing-house for general University activities. The Union organization itself will regulate and direct University activities into the channels in which they will be most effective and efficient. 3 ix: Page Fourteen

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h: E;I3T TvS- m k Mtmorial Cfremonj-, XovcmbiT 11, 10-0 is an attempt to gain efficiency through organization. It aims to broaden and otherwise improve the individual and at the same time to fit him into an organization whose purpose is the promotion of the general welfare and the efficiency of the University along all lines. There is an important element in college education not found in text-books or class rooms. One important human element is found in social intercourse with other members of the University community. Incidental contact, observation and exchange of views have a modifying, broadening, and humanizing effect. The educational value of whole- some recreation is not to be ignored. An organization of this kind is necessary to bring about and to main- tain an effective solidarity in the University. The institution now has 3,000 students and will undoubtedly be larger in the near future. The natural tendency is to divide up into schools, classes and other minor subdivisions. It is a scattering process. When 450 students met in the old Chapel or about the Dormitory there was a more intense and effec- tive college spirit than now exists with a larger student body. Purdue sentiment should be concentrated in order to become effective, and should be focalized on those things which are most worth while. The Purdue family now has a membership of more than 17,000. We need an esprit de corps. Our forces should be mobilized. It is high time that we developed a Purdue consciousness. There is no place provided at the present time, either on or off the campus, for wholesome recreation and University activities. I V . - tkV= ' Page Thirteen

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-c Dd Essential Facts of the Union Campaign S. S. Green, Executive Secretary AT the date of this writing $780,000 has been raised from all sources. One hundred twenty-five Alumni Associations in Indiana and all parts of the United States have been organized. Addresses of ninety per cent of all graduates and former students have been found. An average of nine people have been employed continuously by the Union. The most modern office equipment and up-to-date bookkeeping and tabulation have been used to do the campaign work successfully. An average of one thousand letters a day have been written for the past year in the interest of the Purdue Union. Scores of speakers and field workers have been sent from the Union office, establishing personal con- tact with the Alumni. A service bureau for all kinds of Alumni organization activities has been maintained. Organization by geographical districts for the Alumni has been supplemented and strengthened by corresponding clubs, formed by the students to correspond with their home localities. Lafayette and Tippecanoe County successfully initiated a one-hundred-thousand-dollar drive for the Union and have promised a quarter of a million as their final quota. xA Building and Organization Committee, representing Alumni, Trustees, Students and Faculty is efficiently working on final plans. A Student ' s View of the Union F. L. CoFFiNG, Chairman Student Committee THE Purdue Memorial Union is and will be just what each student does toward entering into the life and activity of all its enterprises. The formation of the County and Out-of-State Clubs during the latter part of last spring and this fall has been the first move to accom- plish that something, other than a Memorial building, which means A GREATER PURDUE. The Union is the gathering of all that spirit and interest for Purdue and crystalizing it in a definite and organized way for the betterment of our school and ourselves. The response shown on November 1 1 is a conclusive argument that there is a force and purpose present on the campus which, when applied to the Cause of A Greater Purdue, cannot be defeated. Page Fijteen