University of Kansas - Jayhawker Yearbook (Lawrence, KS)

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10 THE JAYHAWKER Our national chancellor BY VERNON FRENCH An article that pays the respects of 75,000 college students to Ernest H. Lindley for his help in securing C. W. A. aid for them ON SUNDAY, January 14 of this year, President Franklin D. Roosevelt had as luncheon guests Chan- cellor and Mrs. E. H. Lindley and Ernest K. Lindley, their son. That the president of the United states, the chancellor of a university, his wife, and their son, a staff correspondent of a New York paper, should have lunch together, should not be regarded as any particularly momentous occasion in itself. But when the results, due in part to such a meeting affect the lives of some 75,000 college students in the United States, it is another matter. And that is what happened. It was then that Chancellor Lindley called the attention of President Roosevelt to the great need for help for a near-lost generation, and offered a plan that might help that group. Chancellor Lind- ley, a spokesman for many mid-western educators who had shown interest in this project and had collaborated on its de- velopment, had made a s-pecial trip to Washington for the occasion. Soon after the Lindleys ' trip to Wash- ington, announcement was made by Harry L. Hopkins, Federal Relief Ad- CHANCELLOR E. H. LINDLEY RAYMOND NICHOLS ministrator, that the federal government was making available a grant giving as- sistance to college students whose finan- cial difficulties prevented their contin- uing their school work. This assistance, given in the form of part-time employ- ment, permitted all institutions of col- lege grade (with the exception of those conducted for profit) to aid 10 per cent of their enrollments of the preceding October. The CSEP (College Student Employ- ment Project), as it was called, did not propose to give a dole; the work pro- vided was bona fide work, the results of which would be of great social value. It did not allow for replacement of em- ployees whose services were already provided for; rather, it added to the ranks of the employed. One might point to many things which have influenced Chancellor Lindley in his working toward the goal of obtain- ing government aid for needy students. Almost three years have passed since the idea was first born. It was when the chancellor was driving to the Pacific coast to attend the Olympic Games in Los Angeles. His party had stopped for the night at Limon, Colorado, when two young men, one of them they had known as a student, greeted them, inquiring as to the possibilities of a lift to Califor- nia. A conversation followed, during which the two men revealed that they had come from Texas on a freight train, and that nearly 200 others had travelled on the same freight. Who are these boys and young men? Why are they on the road? and, what will become of them? thought the chancellor and his party. And that be- gan a long series of carefully planned

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UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS begin what will be the four happiest years ever, and mournful seniors pre- pare to conclude that all too brief in- terval called college. All is not rosy for long, however, for not many days after the pledge but- ton is securely fastened, probationary days, to use a nice term, begin. The rush week, I ' m so glad to - know you, is changed to Aw right, freshman, as- sume the position and the gushy My, that ' s a lovely ensemble you have on is replaced by a sterner, They really just don ' t wear a dress like that to the mid-weeks, and the Oh, must you go so soon? is now a hardboiled active muttering, You know you mustn ' t leave the house until you finish your two hours on the ' phone and door. Pledges find they must seat actives at the table, keep study hall in what they had intended to be their spare time, have dates only at certain hours unless they can slicker the actives, wax floors, persuade grass to grow on lawns long before dead, attend all the activities that upperclassmen feel be- low their station, try out for Tau Sigma when their attempts at terpsicho- rean art more resemble the antics of Jumbo, the elephant, and for the Dra- matic Club when their speaking voice isn ' t even up to the standard of a good hog-caller, together with a few menial duties. This can ' t go on, they say. Let ' s rebel is the cry, and rebel they do. Secret meetings are held in kitchens after study hall to plot their course in this great crisis. Mysterious ' phone calls to the pledges increase in great numbers. The day dawns soon though when unsuspecting actives coming down to dinner are surprised to find that their charges have disappeared. On September 24 a general walkout was staged by the pledges of Pi Beta Phi, Gamma Phi Beta, Alpha Delta Pi, Alpha Chi Omega, Sigma Alpha Ep- silon. Delta Tau Delta, Sigma Nu, Kap- pa Sigma, and a few others. The more timid neophytes waited until later. Some of the frat pledges were either too bash- ful to ask a sorority to go with them or decided that women were a big nuisance anyway and walked out by them- selves. Regardless of what mode was used, however, they all did it. and for one night the actives were forced to lower their status by answering ' phones and THE CHI OMEGAS POSE WITH THEIR RUSHEES. THE PHI PSIS TAKE TIME OUT FOR FOR A PICTURE. CLEANING THE BETA TROPHIES. doorbells while their freshmen were out enjoying themselves with the young gallants of the campus. Little did said pledges know that the price for their one night of forbidden pleasure would come very very high. Little did they know how long the ac- tives had been practicing and waiting for a good chance to exhibit their good old swing on the paddle. Little did they know how it would feel to have a paddle broken over them. Little did they know then that it ' s the poor fresh- man who pays and pays and pays. : It ' s all in fun though, and ere long even the mistreated pledges are a part of this famed Jayhawker atmosphere. They too are experiencing the many many thrills which come with life at the University. ' In conclusion, it seems as though, somehow or other, a brief bit of one of the modern poets seems to fit in as being symbolic of all the glamorous mad gaiety of the Hill. It is: My candle burns at both ends It will not last the night. But ah, my friends, and oh, my foes. It gives me a lovely light.

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UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS investigations and important interviews on the part of the chancellor. That this so-called lost generation was and is of vital importance to the United States cannot be too strongly emphasized. National progress depends on trained leadership, said Dr. Fred- erick J. Kelly, chief of the division of colleges and professional schools of the U. S. Bureau of Education. Present conditions show a decrease of 15 per cent in college enrollments, in spite of the fact that high school graduates have increased 40 per cent. A student needs only part-time work to keep him going, while if he were out of school, he would be in the market for full-time work. Dr. Kelly was formerly dean of the School of Education, and later dean of administration at the University of Kansas. Other men have given their support to the plan Chancellor Lindley had in mind. George F. Zook. U. S. Commis- sioner of the Bureau of Education, a K. U. man, having received degrees in 1906 and 1907; John G. Stutz, head of the Kansas Public Works Administra- tion, and Governor Alf M. Landon, all had important parts in the development of the college students ' aid plan. What has happened as a result of the efforts of Chancellor Lindley? Take Kansas as an example. Last spring, 1,483 men and women, who otherwise would not have been in school, attended Kansas colleges and universities. This meant that in Kansas, 1,483 persons were not job-hunting; rather they were gaining the benefits of a semester ' s ad- vance in their college work. It meant that work which had been put off indef- initely because of the lack of funds, could now be done. It meant that a part of the lost generation was coming back to its own. Has it been an expensive proposi- tion? Who would say so when he must see that an average of $135 pro- vides the means of keeping a student in college a full year, and when he real- izes that important work has been done in each case! Coming to the working of the plan at K. U., one sees that the full quota of the University ' s allotment (now 12 per cent of the enrollment), 420 students, half of whom were not in school a year ago, are enabled to attend college. They are paid rates between thirty and fifty cents an hour, and they may not work more than thirty hours a week. Their earnings range between $10 and $20 a month. Students in the CSEP are doing work of all kinds. Files in the journalism building, long neglected, have been brought up to date and kept so; con- struction and repairs are being done: laboratories are being improved by the addition of specimen cases and mount- ings; books in the libraries have re- ceived long-needed repairs. The jobs are of all types, including research, cler- ical, cafeteria, stenographic, and hos- pital work. Raymond Nichols heads the commit- tee in charge of distributing the CSEP jobs on the Kansas campus. Miss Mary Olsen, ' 29, is the executive secretary of the CSEP at K. U. Miss Olsen, who later received her MA de- gree at Columbia University, at one time served as manager of the New York of- fice of the American Education Press. Through Mrs. Ethel M. Evans, cafe- teria director, a plan in connection with the CSEP has been worked out whereby students may obtain meals at the cafe- teria for a nominal rate. Those taking part in this plan need not necessarily be on CSEP work, but they must demon- strate that they would not be able to attend college without this help. The (Continued on page 68) HARRY L. HOPKINS. FEDERAL RELIEF ADMINISTRATOR.