Lehigh University - Epitome Yearbook (Bethlehem, PA)

Page 15 text:

Less than two weeks later an epidemic of intestinal infection hit Lehigh, bedding five men in the new Health Center for a while and incapacitating scores of others. It might be said that for a few days, at least. Lehigh students were the most miserable in the coun- try. Hut it soon passed and life on the Mountain returned to normal until snow, wind, smog and the Lafayette Football Team descended from out of the East to bring misery all over again. The College of Arts and Science came out with a new Honors Program designed to provide tor compre- hensive, advanced study at the undergraduate level. Due to begin in hall L956 it consists of special seminars in the four basic areas of human knowledge. Arcadia elections were held in December instead of March for the first time. The platforms of the twenty- two candidates consisted of the issues of eating plans for the new University Center, twenty-four-hour health service, parking problems, and student-administration relations. December brought the announcement that Lehigh would receive S° 3T000 out of the Ford Foundation ' s half-billion-dollar grant to be used to help increase faculty salaries in the College of Arts and Science. Seniors shattered all records for the Insurance Gift Plan as hard working solicitors turned in an unprece- dented number of subscriptions. A strictly Non-University function which was pri- vately sponsored but attended by a large number of the student body, dates, and friends was the Stan Rubin- Wilbur deParis Dixieland Concert immediately before Christmas Vacation. Jazz, beer, and Lehigh students turned the affair into a blast ' ' that will live long in the memory of students and Deans alike. The issue of the Broun and While for January 10 read more like a New York tabloid than a college news- paper as it carried stories on two major campus fires, and three auto accidents which resulted in the death of one Lehigh student and serious injury for another. A spectacular early morning fire gutted a wing of Williams Hall causing an estimated S100.000 damage and the loss of much valuable research materials, books. and reports. Only the stupendous efforts of the firemen kept the entire building from being destroyed by the blaze which was visible for miles. Some thirty-eight hours later horseplay on the part of a few students resulted in tire which quickly trans- formed a room in Dravo into a charred shambles. The students involved were subsequently permitted to with- draw from the University. Basketball Manager Frank Witherineton was the The south side of Pucker Hall was tin scene of activity all through the year as the new addition sloul) rose from the ground. The inside of Packer Hall indeed looks different now than it did during the days when it housed classrooms, drawing rooms, and offices. Only the trails ttere left standing dur- ing the renovation. 11

Page 14 text:

The dedication of the addition to Fritz Lab, with its 5,000,- 000 pound testing machine, marked the opening of a new era of strengthened relations with industry and Lehigh. An early morning fire in Williams Hall completely destroyed the third floor of the Metallurgy wing of the building. Damage was estimated in excess of SI 00,000. An enthusiastic, jazz-loving crew of Le- high students had a wild afternoon when Wilbur deParis and bis baud conducted a dixie-land concert at the Frolics.

Page 16 text:

Although the Bach Festival is not a University junction, it has nevertheless made for itself a place in Lehigh tradition. first of three Lehigh men to be killed in auto accidents during the year as his car rammed a telephone pole when he apparently fell asleep at the wheel. The issuance by the Dean ' s Office of a list of rules for Spring Houseparty containing several significant implementations of University social policy precipi- tated an incident which will, no doubt, in years to come be described in terms ranging from a student gather- ing to a full-fledged riot . Whatever may be the judgment of time, the fact re- mains that on Friday the 13th of January 1956 over 500 chanting, sign-waving students marched from Sayre Park through campus to the President ' s house. Finding Dr. Whitaker not at home, the phalanx invaded Grace Hall minutes before a group of Irish singers was sched- uled to entertain an SCL audience and, cheering and demonstrating, they proceeded to do a bit of entertain- ing on their own before finally dispersing. Attempting to ascertain the causes of the apparent student dissatisfaction, the Deans held several meetings with student leaders and interested Faculty members after which a special committee was appointed to work out an acceptable set of social regulations, which was subsequently adopted. Upsetting what had become a Lehigh tradition, the Music Festival Executive Committee decided one month later to cancel the 1956 Music Festival because of a conflict with the Dean ' s Office over questions of policy. A Lehigh Sounds Weekend was substituted which consisted of two operettas, a joint Band-Glee Club Con- cert, a dance, and an organ recital. Special efforts were made to turn it into a Spring Parents ' Weekend. On Parents ' day, visiting mothers and fathers were treated to a tour of the campus, a free luncheon, and the Lehigh-Buckuell football game, which Lehigh won 27-20. 12