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

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ginning in the summer of that year. There were no incidents that summer, and none until the more militant events of the late 1960s. The late 1950s was also a time when UM began to attract national attention, not only for its incredible expansion academically and financially, but for its notorious Sun Tan U image. As Dr. Tebeau remembers, One thing the Univer- sity administration has always had to answer was, How can you operate a serious educational institution in an entertain- ment oriented community? Somebody once asked President Ashe how he could carry on an intellectual life in a climate like this. He said that he really didn ' t know since he wasn ' t an intellectual himself, which was far from being true. But he would point out that civilization was born in the tropics, not the temperate zones. We ' ve wrestled with this ever since Ashe ' s time. That ' s why the tag ' Sun Tan U ' hurts so much, because it ' s some- thing we ' ve been fighting ever since 1926. It stems from an association with an area where horse racing, polo playing, money, recreation, and Miami Beach compose the image rather than the reality. Other people just write the place off. That ' s why it ' s important to maintain areas like the Marine Science School with a national reputation. While Miami may never change its climate, its students themselves have changed immensely. The first students were victims of the Depression. Most of the students of the 30s were Miami people who wanted to go to school but couldn ' t afford to go anywhere else. After World War II, the GIs who came here did not have money because they came at Uncle Sam ' s ex- pense. There always have been those stu- dents who came here for its location and climate only. That proportion grew rapidly in the 1950s and 60s because UM ' s growth was a product of the growing afflu- ence of the entire country. All college students today have far more money than they ' ve ever had before. But there is too much of an attitude that all the students here are well-off. There are quite a few who wonder about their next meal. As to the type of student now attend- ing UM, this was and is a conservative community. It is conservative now in that the degree of student unrest active dis- sent is rather low. The only major unrest at this school occurred after the Kent State shootings in May, 1970. This was the only time UM encountered a threat of serious violence. The school was closed down from 2:30 Thursday afternoon until Monday morning. Some other schools never reopened for the rest of that semester. As an upshot of that period, students did begin to have much more say about what went on. Before the 60s, the students did not have any role in University decisions, but they didn ' t want that role either, so there was never any conflict. The area 24 truste dowi a brie sofre Theo loan) social St been

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...-. -- :ir;i n II Senator Edward Kennedy visits UM to present a grant to the Mailman Center for Child Development of a half-million dollars, 1967. Ferre Graduate Building, the MacArthur Engineering Building, the LC Building, the Medical Research Building at Jackson Mem- orial Hospital Center, four Marine Science Buildings on Virginia Key, the Volpe Music Building, the Pick Music Library, the Fill- more Band Hall, the Green Orchestra Re- hearsal Hall, the Panhellenic Building, the Health Center, additions to the Lowe Gallery and the Athletic Buildings, and the beginnings of fraternity houses and re- ligious centers on or near the campus cov- ered the former forest. Planned for the near future were a new and enlarged Student Union, a computer center, a science building, and a major medical center all of which were completed in the 1960s. Another of Dr. Pearson ' s projects was upgrading Miami ' s academic reputa- tion. Always very defensive about UM, Dr. Pearson sponsored the upgrading of the Law School. In 1954 the Law School began, for the first time, to require an undergraduate degree for admission. The honors program for undergraduates was initiated in 1957, and finally, in the last year of the decade, doctoral programs were instituted and offered for the first time. Desegregation finally became an issue at Miami in the late 1950s. Social cus- tom and municipal and state law imposed segregation. It had once been necessary to cancel a game with Penn State because the social courtesies offered to the white members of the visiting team could not also be afforded to the black members on the team. Dr. Tebeau writes: After the Supreme Court decision on this issue on May 17, 1954, more and more questions arose about integration. The University fell into line but nowhere led the parade. Pres- ident Pearson ' s position remained con- servative all along. In January, 1959, he stated it the opinion of the Board of Trustees and the administration that in- tegration at UM was inevitable. The only question was when and how. He refused, he said, to take the leadership to change Florida ' s educational policies ' just to prove we are leaders. ' Nor, he said, vould he seek the enrollment of an un- qualified student ' just because we should prove that w e will take one. At the proper time, this University can adopt a policy of integration with no internal problems whatever. ' Finally, on Febraury 10, 1961, the Board of Trustees voted to admit any qualified student be- 23

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:- in that at 5 was the in which they got most of their input con- sidered was in their own personal lives. Housing was first, then academic affairs later on. Insofar as any real role in univer- sity governance is concerned, the students don ' t have it. I don ' t think it has anything to do with the policies of the trustees or the administration. It has to do with the fact that student leadership is a brief and passing thing. Elections are so frequent that there is no continuity. The only thing that can give continuity to any effort is something that is as- sociated with the administration itself. Student body government has never been able to speak for the student body Graduation procession winds down Ponce de Leon Blvd. toward the Gables Theater, 1943. because it just isn ' t concerned. I guess they are concerned about their academic careers or other personal things. The expanded campus has brought other basic changes to the operation of UM. At first, the University was largely a com- muter school. Now that students live on campus in great numbers, UM has to provide a great many services residence, recrea- tion, as well as education creating prob- lems that the University has never had to deal with before. Housing is one of these problems. While on-campus housing remains the cheap- est living alternative, many students find the dorms an intolerable atmosphere for study or relaxation. Nobody ever appreciates living in dormitories until 10 years later when he can feel nostalgic about it. In the late 1970s, UM is facing an old problem for new reasons: lack of money. The huge physical plant that has been nurtured since 1946 is now getting ex- pensive to maintain, and the general state of the economy is poor. One of the problems lies in unrestricted donations, of which there are too few. Most donations are earmarked for the construction of build- ings, with no provisions for their main- tenance in the future. Dr. Tebeau: The last few years have not been a part of the continuing trend of expansion. There has been a reversal. It makes for a different attitude on the part of the people who work here. Every man becomes concerned about what ' s going to happen to his department, school, or the University as a whole. He becomes apprehensive rather than optimistic. This is a completely logical thing to do. The faculty had something to do with the development of this institution the policies that were made. We shared in authority here. By now, everything has been institutionalized to the point where, when things don ' t go right, all the blame falls directly on the administration. The President and his associates are expected to give all the answers. Any idea of a strong community of interests between faculty and administration, between whom there once were no very sharp lines, tends to disappear. It has gotten to the point where the faculty holds the administration responsible for what happens to the insti- tution and themselves. 25