University of Arkansas Fayetteville - Razorback Yearbook (Fayetteville, AR)

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t Political Mess Scjuabb e Oaeu SocLa£ CkalTinaan And Committee M ctdiincd H ke T leu 4 nfke a££ Seme ten GUS THOMPSON . Gus Thompson Andy Ponder R. A. Martin Jane Buxton Hilluard Rogers Talbert Bowman Norman Smith . Chairman Nola Hardin Lloyd Gibson Arnold Adams Donald Beaman T. H. Lynn Bill Scales Headlines in the news I More notice than ever before was taken of the social chairman this year. Why? Because the campus politicians were all afraid every one else was going to cut their throats. Every man had a grudge to set¬ tle, and the Independent controlled student sen¬ ate, chapped at President Bob StouPs victory in the Spring election, seemed to take particular pleasure in fighting everything that he tried to do. So when Stout came up in the Fall and sug¬ gested that the senate appoint Russell Hughes, AGR and political colleague of StouPs, as chair¬ man of the Social Committee, the answer was NO! Emphatically No! But finally after suc¬ cessive senate meetings. Stout got his way. That is he got it on the chairmanship, because he prac¬ tically had to give away his frat pin not to men¬ tion half the other appointments to get Hughes appointed. That was ' way back in September when things were fairly quite along the political front. Aside from the little scrap over the appointments things were going pretty well. Stout got the man he wanted for the political plum job, social chair¬ man, and the politicians of both parties divided up the rest of the pits. But why all the fight over these jobs? Well, the chairman not only gets a little feather in his cap for holding the position, but there ' s a little remunerative consideration, too. Five bucks per student dance, it is most reliably reported. Look it up in the records. That ' s why the fellows are sometimes a bit reluctant to list dates for dances for every jerk-water organization, on the campus. It just cuts them out of a little revenue. Them? Why, the President of the Associated Students gets the same amount. One reason why he ' s so careful about who he appoints (or who the senate will appoint). The rest of the social committee doesn ' t do much for what it gets. Just adds a wee bit of prestige to the fraternity, sorority, or organiza¬ tion that committeemen belong to; they get their picture in the yearbook gratis (see cut if you don ' t believe us) ; and they all get in the dances, the student dances, free. There are about, say, 35 student dances a year, and at fifty cents a throw, social committee members save about $17.50, that is if they go to all of them. Of course the usual gang of ‘‘sweaters that seep into the dances take a little of the pleasure out of the knowledge that a fellow is getting in for noth¬ ing legally. No, the girls on the committee don ' t get gipped; when they have a date for a student dance, the date doesn ' t have to pay. That makes it easier to get dates, they say. JfucjkeiL tAjppolnted! Well, Russell Hughes got the first appoint¬ ment. But campus politics regained the public eye just before homecoming when ‘‘Governor Alston popped up in a senate meeting and accused him of graft. Charges were that Hughes had at¬ tempted to extort money from campus social or¬ ganizations in return for his permission for them to hold dances on certain dates. But it seems Mr. Alston didn ' t get up and make his charges until after Hughes had left school to take a job. And it also seemed that his reason for making the charges was just as an argument against the ap¬ pointment of Frank Rogers to the post. Rogers was Hughes ' roommate when he was in school. The senate refused outright to approve Rogers. Then Alston started on an investigation of the Hughes matter, the Traveler characteristic¬ ally stuck its neck in, and old grads came back to the campus to find the Homecoming issue splashed with stories of football and suggestions that dirty work had been going on at their old school. ( 28 )

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Whereupon President Stout would offer more ap¬ pointments and the procedure was repeated. Well, they not only refused Stout’s choices for the appointive posts, but they even pushed through a set of rules ‘ ' of parliamentary proce¬ dure,” which among other things provided that the senate could confirm its own selections for committee appointments without the consent of the president. These rules were drawn up and submitted by none other than the old “Governor” himself. After setting out the methods of procedure lor voting upon the president’s appointments on bloc, the new rules said:“.... any member of the senate may make a motion to consider for con¬ firmation the appointment of any individual offi¬ cer separate and apart from the complete list submitted by the president, and if the motion be seconded and carried, a further motion shall be entertained to confirm that appointment, and if that motion be seconded and carried, then that of¬ ficer shall be considered having been confirmed in his office and shall immediately proceed in the execution of the duties thereof.” Sounds like the “Governor,” doesn’t it? They were liberal enough that first day in and Wilfred Thorpe were appointed to the Ath¬ letic Council to replace Art Withers and Harold Brady. But that was all they did that first day in the senate, and “El Bosso” was irked no end. “Stormy” Lynch suggested he be appointed ser- geant-at-arms with the idea in mind that every time Alston opened his mouth he, “Stormy,” could smack it shut. Later in the year that same Lynch was at Alston’s side gunning for the New Dealers’ hides. The battle waxed hot in and out of the sen¬ ate meetings and finally Stout and Alston reached a compromise which gave Stout’s choice the cov¬ eted chairmanship of the social committee and split the rest of the appointments about evenly between the two parties. Russell Hughes, AGR and ardent New Deal¬ er, was confirmed as social chairman. He had been acting as temporary chairman all the time the senate fight was being carried on. The “rules of parliamentary procedure” were repealed and ‘‘El Bosso” again had a little power in his grasp. Gene Farmer, editor of the directory, assistant editor of the Traveler and sports editor of the Razorback, was deemed well enough versed in TOP ROW—Alston, Berry, Campbell, Chapman, DuBard, Henry, Holmes, Howell, Hudson. ROW TWO—Little, Mills, Rainey, Roebuck, Smith, Trimble, Tuck, Wilmuth. the senate to approve the election committee, and three appointments to fill vacancies. On the elec¬ tion committee, which supervises all student elec¬ tions, went Ernie Wright, FFA bigwig and a po¬ litical mate of Stout’s last year, Henry Wood, one f the Independent party’s inner circle, Jimmy Byrd, former editor of the Razorback and an In¬ dependent of long standing, Claud “Stormy” Lynch, an unaffiliated agri, Harold Kent, a Fay- tteville business student, and “Hank” Ford, Lambda Chi law student. Elsijane Trimble, a Ohi Omega, was appointed treasurer of the As¬ sociated Students to fill the term of Bernice Bar¬ nett, who did not return to school. Lloyd Woodell journalism to hold a position on the Publications board. Appointed with him were: John Ed Chambers, Kappa Sig, Nathan Gordon, Sigma Nu, and Jack Townsend, Sig Alph. A. B. Chapman was appointed to the senate to fill the term of Sam DuBose, junior represen¬ tative, who did not return last fall; and Otis McGraw was made sophomore representative to fill the place of Billy Joe Denton. Included on the social committee along with Chairman Hughes were Andy Ponder, R. T. Martin, Hilluard “Pete” Rogers, Talbert Bowman, Norman Smith, Lloyd Gibson, Arnold Adams, Jane Buxton, Donald Bea¬ man, T. H. Lynn, Nola Hardin, and Bill Scales. ( 27 )

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Well the investigation revealed, so the poli¬ ticians carrying it on maintained, that Hughes 3 d demanded money from Sigma Chi, Doug’s sorority. Pi Beta Phi, bitter enemies of Hughes,’ appa Kappa Gamma, the Commerce Guild, and the Varsity Club. Allegedly in return for cash g’roups were to receive dance dates they de¬ sired and the orchestra was asked to pay for the privilege of playing for certain dances. They even pulled a few witnesses into the senate meeting, but didn’t ask them to testify. A a nau arie El Bosso” Stout strongly denied any knowl- of Hughes’ activities, and defended his ap¬ pointment of Rogers, charging that Alston and IS supporters were attempting to judge a man ey knew nothing about other than he was a I ' oommate of Hughes’. I assure the senate and the students of the mversity that nothing of this sort will take place ogers is confirmed for social chairman,” Stout said. A1 t sorry to say, Mr. President,” replied ® on, that that assurance is not sufficient for to the campus one week-end and conferred with Personnel Director Allan S. Humphreys regard¬ ing the charges made against him in the senate. He told Editor Smith that the Traveler had made false charges against him in saying he had “de¬ manded” money from certain social organizations in return for choice dance dates. Hughes said he had never received any money for dates, and that he had made no demands on any organiza¬ tion. It is understood that he obtained a signed statement from the president of one of the or¬ ganizations concerned in proof of this assertion. Meanwhile the fight went on in the senate. Finally at long last they agreed on one Gus Thompson, a senior engineer and non-frat man. Closer restrictions were put on the office and dance dates are checked more carefully by the personnel office before they are listed. Neverthe¬ less Gus has his worries, one frat will be most in¬ dignant because the Greeks next door or across the campus were given a date that those frat members thought they ought to have. Whether they deserve it or not, is another matter. Then, too, some people still maintain that organizations such as Tail Beta Pi and the Commerce Guild should not be given dates at all, while other con- the ROW 1—Hughes, F. Rogers, Gibson, Adams, Smith, Beaman, Scales. ROW 2—Martin, H. Rogers, Hardin, Lynn, Ponder, Buxton, Bowman. senate, except for two people heads 7 P rty, obediently nodded their 1 Alston were pulling so many strings on so ny puppets. trary ones say the Greeks take such a haughty attitude about the whole thing that they should be deprived of a little now and then. P ent Rogers didn’t get the appoint- te on defended the action of the sen- with a f f ounds that Rogers was affiliated New D known to be connected with the out thnf Piii’ty (that was then), and pointed ive rP‘ omber of the senate is required to uson or his vote on an appointment. oase wp rT I ' oally happened in the Hughes know half Traveler never did hought it did. Hughes came back Sometimes things just can’t be helped when they happen the way they do. Gus will tell you that. When the student affairs committee slates a symphony orchestra for a certain night, well, the social chairman gets his dates messed up again. No one ever seems satisfied with the date they get, but it’s just another thorn in the side of the social chairman, who is a thorn in the side of the senate, who in turn is a thorn in the side of the student body, who are . . . ah, me. ( 29 )