Miami University - Recensio Yearbook (Oxford, OH)

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IVIIAIVII'S ARTS AND SCIENCES HAS INTEQNATIDNAL FAME Miami has always produced significant scientists. Before the school's closing, John Witherspoon Scott taught here. He developed for his courses one of the earliest chemistry textbooks. Old Miami was also the proud owner of the second observatory ever built in the United States. The stone on which the telescope mount was placed still stands at its original location outside Bishop Hall. According to CK. Williamson, Dean of Arts and Science, Miami has always played an important role in basic research. The earliest important research Miami sponsored was research into the use of X-rays From there, Miami's research program has blossomed out. Even the following partial list of current research projects is enough to indicate that Miami is quite active in this field. Dr. Hal Mattox, Botany, algal research. Dr. Jerry McClure, Botany, phenolic compounds in plants. Dr. Jnanendra Bhattacharjee, Microbiology, lysine biosynthesis in yeasts. Dr. Ivan Kochan, Microbiology, tuberculosis immunity. Dr. Gilbert Gordon, Chemistry, rates of chemical reactions. While Miami has produced; no N oble laureates, it is interesting to 16 note that several professors at this school have international reputations. All of the scientists on the above list are known nationally. Dr. Gordon has over eighty publications to his credit, and Dr. McClure has won both Humboldt and Fulbright-Hays fellowships. In addition, Dr. Heimsch of Botany has served as the president of the American Society of Botany and has edited the JOURNAL OF BOTANY. There are, of course, many others, and each of them has helped to establish Miami's reputation in the sciences. ' -w Forrest Houlette The present Hall Auditorium was once the home of 1We Merrie Players - not a medieval minstrel show, but an early theatre group of Miami University. Founded on campus in 1910 by the Public Speaking Department, Ye Merrie Players performed two plays each school year. Among their repertoire were such classics as Shakespeare's MERCHANE OF VENICE, OTHELLO, and HAMLET: Henrik Ibsen's HEDDA GABBLER: George Bernard Shaw's CANDIDA: as well as contemporary shows by American playwrights. As outgrowth of Ye Merrie Players were the Freshman Players, a group of undergraduates who performed a number of one-act plays each year in the theater known as The Towers located in the old Harrison Hall. Beginning in 1935, Ye Merrie Players , under the direction of Professors Gates and Abegglen, performed their shows for area high school students. These free performances attracted audiences bussed in from a 40-50 mile radius. Hall Auditorium, then known as Benton Hall, was often filled with 400 to 500 students, the majority of whom were experiencing live theatre for the first time. Music and dance were also very much alive at Miami during the Depression. The Artists' Series, still in operation, was established in the 1930's. During these years, 9m of professional artists, musicains, dancers, and actors were unemployed and looking for engagements. This fact enabled Miami, which was relatively sound financially, to secure many talents for a price Which would not have been possible otherwise. One of the first performers to come to Miami under the auspices of the Artists' Series was Helen Jepson, Who sang to an enthusiastic audience in Withrow Court in 1932. Other world-renowned talents followed, including Isaac Stemes, Violinist Jascha Heifetz, and the Iosse Ballet Company from Europe. The latter performed The Green Table at Miami, an anti-war satiric ballet which is still being danced worldwide. - Pam Achter

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One of the first sidewalks in Ox- ford, this elm-shaded path was built of flagstones soon after the Civil War. Professor McGuffey's octagonal desk, which he used while he was a professor at Miami. It adorned the library in Old Main for several years. the Viet Nam War protests of 1969, there was a good deal of tension between the townspeople and the students, and the leaders of the conflict conducted themselves with considerable restraint. The only property damage was one broken window, and most of the trouble was caused by Oxford citizens who overracted to what they saw as a threat of uprising. The latest con- troversial issue has been the liberalization of the liquor and marijuana laws, which many feel certain was brought on by the stu- dent vote. When both proposals passed on November 4, 1975, Ox- ford made the news for hundreds of miles around. Once known as the 3.2 capital of the world, Oxford was named Pot City, U.S.A. and sprouted a healthy crop of wine venders. Most of the businessmen inter- viewed agreed that, if it weren't for Miami, Oxford would be just another College Corners. The cul- tural events, such as lectures and concerts, the sports competitions, and the summer conventions at- tracted by Miami's facilities are a part of the force that keeps Oxford from being nothing more than a large farm town. But mentioned most often as the main advantage of living in a college town was the youthful and active spirit the stu- dents lend to Oxford. The townspeople enjoy keeping up with the happenings on campus and guessing which fad the stu- dents will come up with next. The town endured the streaking of re- cent years with surpressed amusement and surprisingly few complaints. And, as one busi- nessman pointed out, the students kept their youthful humor even during the disorders of the spring of 1969 - in protest one evening, they played volleyball under the street lights uptown. Once the situation is surveyed, one is brought to the conclusion that what was suspected is true m Oxford would not exist in any form camparable to its present state without Miami University. But the dependence is not a one way affair. Miami could not hold the affection and loyalty of its students the way that it does if it weren't for the school's location in this backwards little town that we all ridicule but deep downl truly cherish. - Ann Marshall 15

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pha Phi statue: To help beautify 2 Hub, Alpha Phi donated this .ititled statue in 1974. Hughes: Raymond M. Hughes, honor graduate of 1893, professor of chemistry, president of the university, introduced the artist- in-residence program and in- tramural sports, and lent his name to Hughes Hall. Located at the entrance to South Quad, is the Armillary Sundial. Its axis casts a shadow on the belt of its equator which indicates the hour Stone in front of Bishop: This stone, which sits in front of Bishop Hall, is all that remains of the second observatory ever built in the United States. It was erected in 1838. 17