Drake University - Quax Yearbook (Des Moines, IA)

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cording to a Cambridge, Mfass., board of reviewg and the absolute worst according to a local campus columnist. But it was free, and it used up the rest of the morning until the hot dogs could be dipped in warm Water and served and the rest of the afternoon activities could get under way. Elsewhere in campus football circles, a great debate sparked by the valiant Tinuvs-Deiplzic raged with the intensity of a forest fire. Delfvhic Editor lVIax Isaacson struck the match in an editorial on january S, when he correctly intimated that the university should face the facts about football, i. e., either resign itself to being in a minor football league or give up the sport completely and divert the monies to some other activity. The same issue carried a banner story about six foot- ball players who were considering dropping Drake for lack of sufficient scholarships. Immediately following this realistic stand, Drake President Henry Harmon gulped once, took an aspirin, and summoned four representatives of paper and Year- book into his private sanctum for a little chat. After a bit of preliminary banter, H. G. acknowledged the fact that 320,000 had gone down the football drain 4 PHOTOGRAPHS! J. K. BROTVN Parenfs of the year, Mr. and Mrs. Kenneth Shawhan, were fefed with a 'Foofball game and ligh+ opera: afe coffee and cookies served by Lighf Colonel Armstrong 3 l i l Mrs. Roosevelt of fhe UN and Mr. Bloom of fhe Yearbook ex- changed fhoughfs on campus Communism and the college gen- eration

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TOM KEETON President Harmon, compefing with fropic fall weather, enhanced fhe befrocked faculty, sfaid upperclassmen and srill-malleable 'fresh- men ai traditional opening convocation af University church. The only thing that could ruin the lVIonday-after was the weatherg the spirit behind the event was real and not tinged with that something-for-nothing thought that lurlced in back of the demonstrators' minds in l952. But the weather, though in the morning chilly and cloudy, was benign. The cheerleaders had an easy job evoking the proper responses and weren't needed at all when the ollicial okay was given. The rest of the day followed tradition. The usual dancing in the streets, stalling traflie, angering some mo- torists and amusing others, took place in defiance of one- way-street signs. The customary minor property damage occurred and was indulgently laughed off by merchants who perhaps welcomed a little relief to the blue-llflonday retail doldrunis. The generally bad movie was worse than ever: I, the Jury, one of the year's ten worst ac- ' x IU?

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Fall weather, beckoning students to pleasanter tasks, followed them to class . . . during the past year, lamented the fact that lack of schol- arships had driven many a player to greener pastures, but stoutly maintained that football at Drake exudes an in- tangible aura Quan indefinable something, to quote him exactlyl on the campusg then flatly pronounced that Drake would keep football. This was duly reported in the campus journal. Imme- diately under the banner Drake to Keep Football- Harmon was the headline Stalnaker Assails Intercol- legiate Athletics. ln the latter article, the wise liberal arts dean came out in favor of dropping football, and, for that matter, other campus sports as well. He opined that campus competition was degenerating to an entertainment medium, developing stars with an exaggerated sense of self-importance. In the following issue was printed a story quoting nine Drake ex-football players harshly rapping Coach Warreii Gaer and Drake's athletic policy. The ex-grid- ders claimed Gaer was full of promises but noticeably lacking in results, said that they were having the devil's own time trying to make ends meet on the miserly pit- tance doled out to them, and in general aired their beefs. y - sf 2 1 ::::::::::::::y::::::: rim kwin.. - it . . . and to the library . . . . . while the Administration sought an effective solution to absentee problem 13 1 LL NVAY This was followed in consecutive order by a mistake- studded, grammatically hideous letter from the sports department of local radio station KVVDIVI. This out- spoken group lambasted Drake for not subscribing to open subsidization of its athletes, like other schools, and pointed to Drake's record as the proof of the school's error. This was interpreted by the Delphicfr editors as meaning they fthe editorsl were opposed to Coach Gael' as such and were out for his head. This they refuted in another editorial. hleantime, the rebuffed staff of KWDIVI sought out one Leonard WllgCllbLlSl1, football player, who claimed he was misquoted in the Dellbhic story which told of his criticizing Coach Gaer, and put him on the air with said remark. The Deljwlzir, scarcely idle, loudly hollered mur- der, said it hadn't misquoted anyone, and furthermore, the whole sports staff of KVVDNI was a motley crew of ''takers-out-of-context. Undaunted, the mountain-bnild- ing radio boys sent several of their number out to Drake to investigate the situation, lengthy reports of which were aired nightly to the station's vast radio public Ctwo percent of the Des Nloines listeners according to a recent informal polll. I5