Lehigh University - Epitome Yearbook (Bethlehem, PA)

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Following this welcome news, was the annual Interfraternity Ball in Grace Hall. Johnny Warrington and Bobby Sherwood were the orchestras for the gala occa- sion, but a great change was evident in that the Office of Price Administration had ordered, a few days before, a ban on all pleasure driving; so the couples were forced to walk or to ride the trolley, but almost all took this without com- plaint. Some even enjoyed the novelty of being jostled on Lehigh Valley Transit Company ' s vehicles. Tradition was again violated as Arcadia decided to do away with the time- worn custom of the Freshmen wearing brow T n and white caps and oversized but- tons. The scarcity of materials was the reason for this change. Then came the biggest news of the year. On April 5 the Army was definitely going to send some 600 ASTP men to Lehigh to study as engineers. The dormi- tories w r ould have to be vacated almost immediately to make room for these boys — the now half-vacant fraternity houses taking up those forced to leave their rooms. With the arrival of these men, some 250 advance ROTC men, already in the E.R.C., would be activated and moved into the dormitories with the new- comers. But when the fateful April 5 came around no Army men were to be found and, indeed, none was even on the way; so things moved on as usual, the ROTC boys keeping out of uniform for a while longer. Nevertheless, Army officers toured the campus on an inspection of Lehigh ' s facilities, and it appeared that some day the soldiers would arrive en masse. In spite of the war and of the low r ered enrollment, it was announced that for the fall semester 200 students made the coveted Dean ' s list for superior scholar- ship, by proportion the highest number in the history of Lehigh. The faculty agreed that this was not a sign that Lehigh ' s standards were dropping, but that Lehigh men were taking their work much more seriously than in peace time, and that many of the poorer students had been called by their draft boards. Fifty-six faculty men were reported to have left the campus since Pearl Harbor, over half of whom were in the armed services, many of the remainder taking better posi- tions in other schools left vacant by men called to the colors, and in industrial work. The class of ' 44, consisting now of second-semester Juniors and first-semester Seniors, gave the next social event with a banquet at the Hotel Bethlehem, where an oft-decorated R.A.F. Wing Commander, Mi chael Judd, veteran of the North African campaign, was the guest speaker. His tales of the thrilling Eng- lish offense which drove Rommel ' s Nazi Army back across the Mediterranean stirred the 124 men present. In early April, two hundred and forty-four more men received notice, this time from the Navy, that they would be called at the end of the semester. The social fraternities at the same time received glad news that, unlike the last war, when all fraternities w T ere ordered inactive as being an unnecessary luxury, the service men, both Army and Navy, residing on the various campuses through- out the country would be permitted to pledge the houses of their choice. On April 16, just 10 days after the Army ' s never materializing arrival, Spring • 18 •

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Enlisted Reserve Corps were not eligible automatically for commissions; in fact, it was said, their chances of staying in school were slim. Naturally this did not encourage heavy studying for finals — and many talked of not registering for the spring term, but the Dean ' s advice was to stay in school as long as possible, and this most students did. After finals had passed, and the usual fruitless talk about a 3-day pre-exam study period was to no avail, the first accelerated class of the war was graduated — the class of ' 43x. Joseph Grew, former United States Ambassador to Japan and author of the revealing, much-read book entitled Report from Tokio, was the speaker, warning the American public against underestimating the resourceful- ness of Japan. Dame Rumor then overtook the Lehigh campus, as she does in any nation at war. In fact, things got so far out of hand that Dean Congdon issued an official statement denying that ( 1 ) the University would be taken over, lock, stock, and barrel by any branch of the military service, and that (2) neither the arts nor business college would be discontinued. On February 2, all of Lehigh and, indeed, the whole football world was shocked by the sudden death of George W. Hoban, beloved coach of Lehigh championship team. Friends, students, townspeople, faculty and alumni paid tribute to him at impressive funeral services two days later in Packard Chapel. Coach Hoban died as a result of a heart-attack suffered while driving; his car home during his lunch hour. The Army finally came through as anticipated and the orders for 28 E.R.C. men to report for immediate active duty followed. No sooner had they been given a noisy sendoff at the station than orders for 95 more E.R.C. men to report were received. The orders for 11 of these were almost immediately rescinded, however, since they were advanced ROTC boys and senior engineers. The Air Corps then issued orders for 83 more of their reserves to report. In all, 240 stu- dents left the University for the armed services in February, and the enrollment dropped from 1430 to 1190. It was then announced by the Army that Lehigh had been selected to train Army Student Training Program (ASTP) men, starting sometime in the near future. To make matters more complicated, the Army, unlike the Navy, decided that its boys would not be allowed to participate in college athletics, thus throwing a shadow of doubt on Lehigh ' s future in the sport world, since Lehigh was to be an all Army college. In spite of the loss of several good men to the armed services, Lehigh ' s cham- pionship wrestling team went undefeated in this, the thirty-second year of the Billy Sheridan regime. The climax came when the Brown and White grapplers stopped the University of Pennsylvania ' s string of 22 consecutive victories by a 17-14 win. For the third straight time, the faculty reversed its war-policy and agreed to allow a spring houseparty — this one to be positively the last for the duration. Chemistry Building 17

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Houseparty began, this one being absolutely the last, since the lack of students in the semesters to come would certainly mean a cessation of these events for the duration. The traditional Friday night dance was changed to Saturday, but it was well worth the wait, for Jimmy Lunceford, leader of one of the top-ranking negro dance bands in the country, put on one of the finest performances ever seen at a Lehigh Houseparty. The highlight of the evening was a half hour jam session immediately following the intermission, during which time Lunceford and his orchestra held even the most confirmed jive haters spellbound. The weekend went off smoothly, but the average student went out of his way to have a good time, since this would probably be his last houseparty for all times. Mustard and Cheese later in the month presented its spring production, this time a merry madness entitled Bottoms Up, a combination Hellzapoppin and musical comedy written, produced, and staged by all-male students cast. The next attraction on the campus was presented in a more military-like fashion, with the ROTC giving a field day and review at Taylor Stadium. An added attraction was a sham battle by advanced ROTC men, with blank-firing machine guns, bayonets and all the rest. At the same time the Army again promised to send the long-lost ASTP men, this time on June 5, and arrangements were again made for their arrival. A truly amazing event occurred next in the class elections late in April. Over 50 per cent of the students voted as against the usual 10 per cent of past years. The new system of balloting within the various living groups was given credit for the improvement in spirit. The semester closed with the honorary society elections and final examinations. One hundred and ninety-nine seniors, in the last normal graduation at Lehigh until three or four years after the present war, were graduated at com- mencement exercises — as compared to 335 the year before. Dr. Harold W. Dodds was the speaker for the occasion, and all of those receiving degrees agreed that they were fortunate indeed to have been permitted to conclude their studies before taking up arms for Uncle Sam.