University of Miami - Ibis Yearbook (Coral Gables, FL)

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little later, Florida Power and Light had been ordered to make a refund to all cus- tomers on a light bill, so students went from house to house asking people to donate their F.P.L. refunds to the University. The drive was successful. President Bowman Foster Ashe, the leader of the University through its most perilous times, was just the type of person needed to keep the unstable University from toppling to the ground. As a veteran fac- ulty member put it some years ago, the Uni- versity always seemed on the verge of bank- ruptcy and greatness. Dr. Tebeau: Bowman Foster Ashe was a realist because of his experiences. I suppose that it even would be correct to say that he was an opportunist in the sense that he had a great capacity to recognize possibility and potential when he saw it. He exhibited enormous confidence, realizing that this area was destined to eventually grow and become a center for study in tropical fields and inter- American relations. Dr. Rosborough: If Dr. Ashe hadn ' t had so much vision and energy the kind of man who couldn ' t see defeat this school would not be here to- day. Applying his confidence and abilities toward insuring the growth and stability of UM, Dr. Ashe is credited with many of the actions which saved the school from disaster on numerous occasions, notably during that first decade. But Dr. Ashe was not only expert at putting out the fires of financial and administrative difficulties, he was an innovator who could spot a trend and capita- ' We ' ve wrestled with this ever since Ashe ' s time. That ' s why the tag ' Sun Tan U ' hurts so much, be- cause it ' s something we ' ve been fighting ever since 1926. The UM Symphony, under the baton of director Arnold Volpe, prepares for a performance at Miami Senior High, c. 1938. 17

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little ' been towei from their TJied Pre thele perilo neede toppli ultyfl versit; ruptcj Foster experi be cor in the torea hesav conh ' d Leo Portnoff and his violin collection. He taught violin at UM from 1934-38. peated their performance at the country club. On another occasion in 1929, they irked the Coral Gables police and firemen by their antics, which included setting four false alarms, throwing eggs, dunking individuals in the water at the fountains, giving free haircuts, and staging a fight between freshmen and sophomores at a local theatre. Always sensitive about the community attitude toward the University, President Ashe, in 1938, writing to Clarence Turner, the head cheerleader, wondered if the Give ' em hell, Hurricanes yell would not offend the sensibilities of some people! The students, however, never lost sight of what it was that brought them together, so they had a great deal of con- cern for the school. This attitude was demonstrated in May, 1936, when, as Dr. Rosborough recounts, the students decided that the Anastasia Building had gotten sort of crummy looking and that it needed a paint job. The father of a student offered half the paint needed from his store, while students solicited the rest of the paint money and other supplies. The students com- pleted most of the project themselves. A a cent inters If Dr. energ) defeat day. App towart ofUM (head disasti during But purlin] admin innova 16

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lize on it. With the war just around the corner in the early 1940 ' s, planning was underway in the United States for the war effort. There was a debate at the time Should the armed forces utilize existing facilities or build new ones for the training of service personnel? Offering the University of Miami as a testing ground and a perfect place for service training, Dr. Ashe man- aged to get the U.S. government to agree to use the existing facilities of UM in the training of RAF pilots from Britain. The program proved successful and the govern- ment was convinced that existing facilities would be in the best interests of the armed forces. Thereafter, the Miami area became one of the main training centers in the nation for all branches of the services. Dr. Melanie Rosborough remembers: First the British cadets of the Royal Air Force came here to train. They lived at the San Sebastian Building with American aviation cadets. Then the war broke out and Miami obtained the Navy V-12 and V-5 programs, and the Army Civilian Defense Training Program. Over 3 4 of our men students were in uniform and it was really amazing how much this school could do for them. Thousands and thousands of armed forces personnel were sent to Miami Beach to get officer ' s training, so they became acquainted with this area and they liked it. This is one of the main reasons for the sudden growth of the Miami area im- mediately after the war. Boys then were just eager to sign up and get into the war. The attitudes of the boys were totally different from the other recent wars. They were extremely idealistic and felt that they were working to save the world for democracy. They were all absolutely sincere. I taught a class in Air Navigation with 42 students. In the third month of 18 The halftime activity at the UM-Stetson basketball game in 1953 was a football free-for-all.