Northeastern University - Cauldron Yearbook (Boston, MA)

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The Education Division sponsored various monthly so- cials and entertainments for the exclusive enjoyment of its students, including an outdoor field meet, held an- nually in May. The Huntington Schools offered a wide variety of stu- dent activities in conjunction with the YMCA including an array of athletic teams, a school newspaper, a Glee Club, and an Orchestra. Some of the more unique activities included a Con- gress, similar in composition to the national body, with each student representing a state. The purpose of the club was to debate proposed bills and gain public speaking ex- periences. Another oddity was the moving pictures series held in Bates Hall, one of the subsidiary sections of the YMCA complex. The educational films shown in the series were evaluated in the 1914 catalog as a means by which much informa- tion can be received . . . in a short time with little effort (nascent McLuhanism!). In the Business School the directors were busy looking out for the physical well- being of students: Business duties are so exacting that only those who have strong physiques can meet the re- quirements. Thus, pro- grams of regular exercise in the gym and pool were required. The overall atmosphere of the pre-war schools more re- sembles a junior high school of today. The school day went from 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., with a 30 minute break for a light luncheon . Stu- dents were not permitted to leave the building without permission except at lunch time. The 1914 Catalog explained, The pupil ' s time be- longs to the school and is at the disposal of the teacher in the same way as it would be at the command of an employer. The popularity, variety, and ever-increasing formal- ization of Education Division programs led in March 1916, to the incorporation of Northeastern College. The 1916 Catalog declares, The College is not a new in- stitution, but the realization of an ideal carefully worked out and persistently followed for a period of twenty years. A thorough investigation of all the Association Schools was conducted in 1914 by George H. Martin, former secretary of the State Board of Education, prior to CARL STEPHENS ELL application for incorporation. This investigation con- cluded that all the technical and professional schools were of college or graduate grade. The 1916 Catalog capsulizes the development of the College: The Association system starting with evening courses only, elementray in character, brief and uncon- clusive, and with no endowment, adequate space or equipment, and no criteria to guide them, have passed successively through the realm of elementary education and of secondary education, into the professional and technical school realm, retaining and developing nearly every feature ever undertaken, and finally emerging as a fully organized college with both day and evening courses, splendidly housed and equipped. Upon incorporation, the Education Division ' s pro- grams were divided in two groups: the college level schools fell into Northeast- ern College; the secondary grade courses continued un- der the old title of Depart- ment of Education. The Northeastern College group consisted of the School of Law, in its 19th year; the School of Commerce and Fi- nance, in its tenth year; the School of Co-operative En- gineering, in its seventh year; and the School of Lib- eral Arts, which was estab- lished in the Fall, 1916. Since its beginnings in 1898, the student enrollment had increased by 768 per cent, from 419 to 3,620 stu- dents. The number of teach- ers had risen from 12 to 214; the number of courses had increased from 20 to 336; and the budget had gone from $2,800 to $185,418. In their preliminary statement, in 1916, the Trustees glorified the low operation costs of Northeastern, since it didn ' t need to pay for its own buildings and facilities. However, the statement stresses the urgent need of an endowment to be spent on a new building containing lecture halls, laboratories, ampitheatres and drafting rooms; additional scientific equipment; and the creation of more liberal scholarship funds . The School of Liberal Arts, announced in the 1916 Trustees ' statement, opened in September of that year. The purpose of the school was to offer the advantages of a bachelor ' s degree in a re- duced number of years, requiring only two years of study at night to obtain a certificate of advanced standing quali- fying the student for day study at a regular liberal arts school. This plan allowed the student to work during the

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23 iff 33 aa miHii ' THE VOCATIONAL BUILDING THE POOL In describing its new facilities, the Catalog emphasized the importance of the location, surroundings, and physi- cal appointments of a school: The location ought to be healthful, accessible and attractive. Its build- ings ought to be properly heated, lighted and venti- lated and above all con- ducive to the health and progress of students at all seasons of the years. Having sweltered for an hour in a room in Robin- son Hall, in the middle of January, incapable of opening the windows, one can see that the above is one of the ideals towards which Northeastern con- tinues to strive even now. PROF. JOSEPH SPEAR THE HUNTINGTON BLOCK The new YMCA Facilities also boasted one of the coun- try ' s largest indoor salt water swimming pools, heated to a comfortable warmth by an elaborate pipe system. The Education Division sponsored various monthly so- cials and entertainments for the exclusive enjoyment of its students, including an outdoor field meet, held an- nually in May. While educating a good lawyer or engineer, the Educa- tion Division retained its desire to concurrently build men of good character. The 1913 Catalog thus exhorts students to avoid excessive social and athletic activities. Furthermore it is assumed that ... Students come to the school for a serious purpose, and that they will cheer- fully conform to such regulations as may from time to time be made . . . Students are expected to behave with decorum . . . and to pay due respect to (the School ' s) officers. For students commuting to school, the Catalog points out that the facilities are easily accessible by various rail- roads and electric trolley cars.

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day for two years while studying at night at Northeastern. Non-paying day studies at liberal arts college would then only require two years from a person ' s productive life in- stead of four. At this stage, the co-op plan operated in bi-weekly seg- ments, with A students working two weeks while B students studied, and then the roles reversed the follow- ing two weeks. The school year went from the second week in September to the second week in June. The wages detailed in the 1916 Catalog of the Co-oper- ative Engineering School ranged from $5 per week for first year students, to $10 per week for seniors. In March 1920, Northeastern College, consisting mainly of the Co- operative Engineering School, was empowered by the Massachusetts General Court to grant bachelors degrees in civil, mechanical, chemical, and electrical engineering. A fifth degree in administrative engineering was added in 1921, and changed to industrial engineering in 1928. The students celebrated the granting of degree powers with a Degree Jubilee. This was one of the efl ' orts of Pro- fessor Joseph Spear, the prime mover in the estab- lishment of a regular program of student activities. In his position as the head of the Department of Student Activi- ties between 1921 and 1926, Spear was responsible for the establishment of Field Day, a long-standing tradition; and for the direction of the musical activities of the school, Including a band and an orchestra. In 1921, the Department of Student Activities was offi- cially established, including the following divisions: pub- lications, athletics, and miscellaneous. Under Spear ' s ad- ministration, the activities were funded through a $10 DANCE ORCHESTRA Student Activities Fee which was later increased with student approval to $15. j The publications division included the newspaper, the yearbook, and the newly devised student handbook. The newspaper, established in 1916 as The Co-op, and pub- lished sluggishly until Spear took over, changed its name to the Northeastern Tech. Its circulation increased from 600 to 1800, and its pages grew from three columns to five. The Cauldron, which made its initial appearance in 1917 with pictures of 20 seniors and 19 faculty was re-es- tablished in 1921 and has been published annually since then. The Student Handbook, called the Freshman Bible , was published by the students at this time. Later the task of compiling a guide for freshman was taken over by the Dean of Students Office. ORCHES TRA