Georgia Southern University - Reflector Yearbook (Statesboro, GA)

Page 11 text:

UNIFORMS . . . The three buildings which were con- structed on the 300 acres just South of Statesboro cost their builders approximately $45,000. The boys ' dormitory, West Hall, contained 42 rooms and was furnished with hot and cold water. The girls ' dormitory, East Hall, had, besides 36 rooms, domestic science departments where the young ladies could learn the arts of homemaking. An academic building stood in the exact center marking a dividing line which neither sex could cross. The required girls ' dress was purchased at the time of their entrance at the First District School and was to be worn at all times— to and from school as well. For casual there was a blue serge skirt, cut along unflattering lines. This standard was aug- mented by a white poplin waist, black hose, and black oxford shoes with a Cuban or military type heel. A white cotton gabardine skirt, worn with white Windsor tie, completed the costume for Sundays and dress occasions. Boys were not restricted as to dress until 1917 when the military department came into existence. Then they wore the khaki military uniform on all days except Sunday. Students failing to comply with the rules were issued demerits, and a system was set up whereby the unfortunate ones could work off their demerits with hours of hard work. For example, the smoking penalty was digging stumps by hand for five hours. CONE HALL-Erected 1954 Junior and Senior Men ' s Dormitory LEWIS HALL-Erected 1937 Junior and Senior Women ' s Dormitory 7

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ADMINISTRATION BUILDING— Erected 1908 50 YEARS OF PROGRESS . . . In November of 1957, the Board of Regents of the State of Georgia granted Georgia Teachers College the right to confer the Master of Education degree in seven fields. The college, with an enrollment of 914 students, and with a faculty numbering 93, had crowned fifty years of growth by obtaining a long-sought-for privilege. January of 1958 brought the opening of bids for the new Student Center-Dining Hall to add to the 18 buildings already constructed in Collegeboro, Georgia, a suburb of Statesboro. The GTC students govern themselves, under the leadership of the Student Council and the Interdormitory Council. Girls who make their homes on campus are allowed to date every night in the week if they so desire. They are expected to be back in the dormitory at 11 p.m. Sunday through Thursday, and 12 p.m. Friday and Saturday. The GTC Physical Education Department sponsors teams in two intercollegiate sports— basketball and baseball— with a great deal of success in each. The George-Anne, The Reflector, and the Miscellany, the T-Book, and the GTC Agenda comprise the school ' s pub- lications. The newspaper, the annual, the literary quarterly, and the student manual are published by and for the students; the Agenda is a faculty bulletin. It wasn ' t always this way. These facts are the end results of the fifty years of progress since 1908 when the First District Agricultural and Mechanical School was established. In order to supply the needs of the First District, and in conjunction with an act passed by Congress to establish vocational schools throughout the United States, Statesboro and Bulloch County citizens contributed the land on which to build the First District A M High School in 1908. Fifteen students were enrolled that first year— taught by four faculty members. The school was operated by a Board of Trustees, made up of one member from each of the counties in the first District. 6

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CURRICULUM . . SANFORD HALL-Erected 1937 Freshman and Sophomore Men ' s Dormitory WEST HALL-Erected 1907 Sophomore Women ' s Dormitory Besides the program for which the school had been founded, the curriculum included such electives as Latin, solid geometry, music, psychology, and at least two courses in teacher training. J. W. Hendricks, who was the first prin- cip al, resigned at the end of the first year and was succeeded by E. C. J. Dickens, a member of the Board of Trustees. The year following its beginning the school had quite an increase in enrollment as well as in the number of faculty mem- bers. In 1915 the curriculum was enlarged by adding a course in expression, special work in English composition, and an extensive farm improvement program. Training in domestic duties continued until 1920. Closely following the election of E. V. Hollis as principal in 1914, the A AA School attendance disclosed the alarming fact that education here was coming to a standstill. Since more and more vocational education was being taught in hometown high schools, there was no longer the need for a boarding school of this type. The grounds and buildings began to lose prestige. The merchants of Statesboro and nearby Savannah swung into action— appropriating money and rehabilitating the camous. The Board of Trustees, the General Assembly converted the First District A AA School into the Georgia Normal School. This bill, passed in August of 1924, provided for the educa- tion of public school teachers for south Georgia. Changes in the administration of the Col- lege occurred soon after the change in op- eration. Guy H. Wells, who had become dean in 1926, succeeded Hollis as president the next year. At the same time, Zach S. Henderson, a native of Eastman, Georgia, took over the dean ' s office.