Michigan State University - Red Cedar Log Yearbook (East Lansing, MI)

Page 11 text:

biniGHTS AND FULLBACKS: THE biggest thing that happened in ' 49 was MSC ' s new status as a member of the Big Ten. Regis- tration headaches were hardly over when the im- portant Michigan game filled the NEW Macklin Field beyond capacity. Much depended on State ' s showing that day. Remember? Never had s o many done so much in three months. Never had spirit run higher. An all-college dance, complete with fall trappings. set the social wheels to rolling. About mid-October MSC ' s nostalgic grads arrived en masse for Home- coming. They stood in cafeteria lines laughing and talking about their year, promising to look up friends present and past. They sat huddled together in the stadium to cheer a second Homecoming Queen and another victory for Alma Mater. The IFC-Pan Hellenic dance was seasonally spook and pumpkin for Halloween. Crossed sabers and military polish installed pretty coed corps- sponsors at ROTC ' S Coronation Ball. You ' ll remember the big college functions. But Fall Quarter ' 49 meant more. House parties, coffee sessions, a last minute date now and then, the lost tux stud, the late-minute deadline, a trip to your ad- visor, the late arrival of a check, and yesterday ' s State News. While all these occupied your time and effort, the leaves fell and the campus colored to bright reds, seared amber. If you hadn ' t been aware of State ' s beauty until then, you probably cut a ten o ' clock be- cause kicking up the leaves and breathing a bit of fresh fall air was more inspiring than Econ History. It was a touch of the ivy that would stay with you, come war or high prices. When the Big Ten news broke, the Sunday before final week, you left typewriter, term paper, and Tol- stoy, to celebrate. President Hannah ' s message, the ovation, a record-breaking rally, and Fall quarter was history.

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A Efii WEREN ' T MANY WEEKS IN THE WINTER term of your year but there was enough time to allow Paul Banyan ' s beard to grow for the annual Foresters ' Shindig. AAU held its national meet and the Spartans took first place on their own ground. The campus, you ' ll remember, was white as cake icing. Coeds trotted hurriedly from class to class bundled up in powder blue ski suits. They looked impractical and attractive, their faces fresh and red. You got into spirited snowball fights in front of South Campbell. You felt like a twelve year old skipping school. At night, if the moon was full and you were leaving the library for home, campus land- marks were as distinct as turn-of-the-century silhou- ettes, only crystal bright and blue. You knocked the snow from your boots, undressed, hopped into bed, and looked out of the window until you fell asleep. Winter at State gave you the chance to be an individual star in your own right. Equipment was no trouble if you could bum a pair of skates from your roommate, and the ice when it did come, was free of charge. If you could forsake the exhilarating activity out- of-doors, the concert and lecture stage presented the best. The Minneapolis Symphony, Licia Albanese, and Vladimir Horowitz brought you to the Audito- rium. Jussi Bjoerling brought you to your feet. The eloquent lectures of Max Eastman and Lowell Thomas brought you to your senses. Theta Alpha Phi produced the sell-out play Dark of the Moon. Burl Ives sang about Venezuela and Aunt Rhody, the real articles of American balladry. Gene Krupa played his danceable rhythms for two nights of J-Hop festivities, and played them As You Like It. The extra-late permission was hard to believe. Breakfast in the wee hours found Lansing restaurants in a turmoil of tuxedos and formals. It was the big event of Winter ' 49.