Mississippi State University - Reveille Yearbook (Starkville, MS)

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1920 ' s Science class. Girls from the W lend a helping hand. on Greek letters and fraternalism was back to stay. Meanwhile, student government, which had existed in several quasi forms in early years, was formally recog- nized in 1916 by President Smith in setting up a student council. In 1923 the Student Association, as it was then called, joined the Southern Federation of Student Bod- ies. Another name for the twenties was the Jazz Age, and it was hard to have a Jazz Age without dancing. Yet in the past, limitations on or even bans on campus dances had been imposed, such as in 1887, when the board abolished the annual commencement dance and ordered hereafter no Ball of any character on the col- lege grounds. Of course, that merely sent the dancing students off campus. In 1892 campus dances were resumed, but in 1924, after an incident in the gymna- sium, the faculty voted an end to campus dancing. This end lasted until 1930, when the faculty voted to restore dancing on campus to the tune of 22 to 7. End of story. Financially the twenties were hard times for Missis- sippians and their colleges. Retrenchment was inevita- ble. The School of Industrial Education had already died in World War I. In 1924 the School of Business was abolished. In some cases there was simply reorganiza- !5

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heritage . . . were sent to the campus for training. In the midst of these hectic endeavors came the 1918 influenza epi- demic with around 1200 cases and, fortunately, only 38 deaths. The war over, came the veterans, many of them under a veterans training program which lasted until 1926. Also came one more political crisis. Governor Lee Russell, who went into office in 1920, succeeded in forc- ing Smith to resign in the midst of a financial crisis gen- erated by the war, bad management and, of course, pol- itics. The twenties brought a series of outstanding educa- tors to the presidency. First, as Smith ' s successor came A. M. graduate and prominent educator, David C. Hull, former president of Millsaps College and later superintendent of schools in Meridian. When he resigned in 1925 to become president of Kentucky Wesleyan College, his successor, chosen under the benign governorship of an educator, Henry L. Whit- field, was an A. M. graduate, Dr. Buz M. Walker, a world-famed mathematician. The twenties were the days of flaming youth, and the postwar generation of students saw to it that they lived up to the billing. First of all, student sentiment for the restoration of fraternities forced legislative action in 1926 to allow Greek letter groups and other social organizations to organize. Forthwith a number of fra- ternal groups that had existed for years as clubs, took Being a Land Grant College, WW I and WW II had a great effect on campus. 14

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S. D. Lee stately remains the same as people. heritage . . . 16 tion. In 1920, the liberal arts including mathematics were organized as the Academic School, and the sci- ences were left in the School of Science. Meanwhile, there were valiant efforts to improve educational qual- ity. These resulted in admission to membership in the Southern Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools in 1926. It was to be out again in again with the Southe Association. In 1928 Theodore Bilbo returned as gove nor and two years later his purge of college administr tors and faculty was unleashed. At A. M., Hugh Cri who had taught at the college in the mid-twenties, w picked to replace Walker at a board meeting aft which Bilbo boasted, We ' ve bounced three colle presidents and made three new ones in the record tir of two hours. And, that ' s just the beginning . . . Ci himself was shocked and paralyzed when the folio