Southern Illinois University - Obelisk Yearbook (Carbondale, IL)

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.- . .eos Io: , q, vats . .. $ Illustration by Greg Johannes 10

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MA RION WA BASH ED WA RDS GALLA TIN UNION JOHNSON POPE JDER Ls PULASKI MASSAC . 301v Illustrations by . Cairo Amy Ferguson and Craig Opfer A Saluki is a gazehound. That means it hunts by sight instead of by scent. I guess that means they donit smell much. ' That brings me to the OBelisk, the yearbook. tNo typing error, Aunt Vera-they spell it with a B3' Donlt ask me whyJ Anyway, an obelisk with a lib is a four-sided thing with a pyramid top. The Washington Monument is one, though I donlt think they are all that big. , ,VVYVNiHARDIN ' So why is the yearbook called that? Pm not sure. One encyclopedia I checked said obelisks were used as grave monuments in ancient Egypt. Thatls a nice thing to name a yearbook after, I guess. The same encyclopedia said some of them were used to commemorate jubilees. tA year here, a jubilee? Fat chance. And I should knowJ Somewhere else I read that they had something to do with worshipping the Egyptian sun god, Ra, and that the history of Egypt was written on them. A written history- maybe thatls the reason. Beats me. Well, thatls about all I know to say. I better stop now and put some money in the meter before they evict me. Your nephew,

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residential P0 W050 Al view of SI U leadmkw past zmdpresml Story by Mary Hogan Think back to the days when horse- drawn carriages tilled the cobblestone streets of the bustling cities in Amer- ica. It was a time when gun-slinging cowboys and hostile Indians dom- inated the still ttwildti west, and con- flicts between Indians and white men were fierce and frequent. Think about the days when it took months to travel a few hundred miles-when people traveling in cov- ered wagons left the urbanized, cul- tured lifestyle of the East and ventured out to tame and farm the open plains of the new frontier. It was during these times that what is now known as Southern Illinois University was being built. In 1869, just four years after the Civil War ended, a charter was signed to build a college in the southern Illi- nois region. After much furor and dispute, Carbondale was finally cho- sen for the site of this new endeavor. The elequently designed, one-build- ing school was not completed until 1874, when it first opened its doors under the name of Southern Illinois Normal University. Robert Allyn was appointed the first leader of SINU. He held the position from 1874 to 1892. Allyn preferred the title of principal rather than the more commonly used presidential title. hm Many faculty members and others affiliated with the University felt that this choice symbolized his attitude to exercise authority and control over others. Allyn's authority and efficent leadership proved to be a powerful asset that held the fledgling institu- h Just four years after the Civil War ended, a charter was signed to build a college in south- ern Illinois. h u'on together during times of hardship. His leadership qualities were tested one windy November day in 18 83, when the three-story building known as Normal burned to the ground. Despite heroic efforts of the faculty and students to save the building, only the library portion, many of the valu- able records and much of the luxurious furniture Principal Allyn indulged in buying were spared. Townspeople offered store rooms, ofiices and churches to accommodate the homeless school until a temporary wooden structure could be built. This prompt action by looal residents stalled attempts of rival communities that were trying to have the location of SINU changed. It wasn't until February, 1877, that a less beautiful, but more flmctional building was completed and dedicated. Ironically, this building-flrst known as ttMain and then later as Old Maintt-was to suffer a fiery fate many decades later in 1969. During Allynts incumbency a ttmodel school, created to prepare the ill-educated people Of rural Southern Illinois for college-level courses, was built. Also during his reign the organ- izational structure was designed and goals were established that were to continue for many years. These guide- lines helped to establish SINU as a teacher's college-its primary pur- pose-worthy of recognition. When Allyn retired after his 18-year reign, John Hull, a native of Salem, Illinois, was appointed Regent. HulPs one-year tenure as Regent 0892-18931 was too brief to accomp- lish much of significance. By follow- ing Allyn's goal of effectively training teachers, Hull did not change the broadly democratic structure of the university in any way. Hull was known to the faculty, continued