University of Nebraska Kearney - Blue and Gold Yearbook (Kearney, NE)

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Sigma Tau Delta If students arc to write successfully, they need stimulation and encouragement. To provide these, Xi Beta chapter of Sigma Tau Delta, national honorary English fraternity, was organized with Mr. C. T. Ryan as sponsor. Since that time the chapter has sought to provide constant incentives for students interested in creative writing. Each year freshman writers are given an opportunity to submit essays to be judged by the local organization. It is indeed remarkable that so many freshmen take advantage of this opportunity and produce material of such high literary merit. This year there was an especially large amount of creditable material submitted. Willard Nyquist of Axtell won the first prize for his essay, The Unhandy Man,” and Charles Hanson of Loomis won second place with his essay, Cats.” At the beginning of this year there were only two active members in the fraternity, Genevieve Keenan, who was formerly the editor of The Antelope, and Ralph Fortna, the editor of last year’s Antler. Bryce Newman, Royal Henline, Stanley Johnson. Margaret Murray, Wanda Jeanne Baxter, Doris Wright, and Ardis Olsen become members at the first initiation ceremony. At the end of the second quarter the active membership was increased to eleven by the initiation of Miriam Freridis and Juanita Lang. Besides sponsoring the freshman essay contest. Sigma Tau Delta is this year publishing the second number of a campus literary magazine, The Antler,” for which any student may sub- mit his work, be it short stories, long stories, essays, poems, or just plain verse. All students are invited to do creative writing for this magazine. The outstanding event of the year was the customary Christmas dinner, which was attended by alumni as well as active members. The speaker of the evening was Mr. Ryan, who talked about The Creative Mind in a Mechanistic World,” a challenge to all young writers. At the last meeting of this school year, the members of Sigma Tau Delta were entertained at the Ryan home at a breakfast. Ralph Fortna -—--— President Doris Wright Viet President Stanley Johnson Treasurer K. Fort rut, Mary Crawford, George Martin. Calvin T. Ryan, JL Clark Weaver. G. Keenan. W, Baxter, R. Hcnline. S, Johnson, M Murray, S. Newman, A. Olsen, D. Wright. Page Twenty-eight

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English Department Mr. Calvin T. Ryan, the most sought-after” man in college! He is asked to speak at church, over the radio, at commencements, at book clubs, even at home economics con- ventions. (Although perhaps he does know something about cooking; at least, we know that he occasionally fries bacon and eggs for hitch-hikers who haven’t eaten for two days!) Seriously, however, Mr. Ryan’s little jokes and rules have given more students a feeling and a love for English chan all the books ever written in the field. Many of us feel, after com- mitting a grammatical blunder, as did the woman in one of bis classes; he said, Every time I say 'be back” I think of you!” Mr. Ryan has his A. B. and A. M. from Washington College, and his Ed. M. from Harvard; he attended George Washington University three years, doing graduate work. He has had many articles published; his hobby is health, and be writes articles on phases of that subject, as well as on phases of English. Mr. Ryan conducts The Sunday School of the Air” over KGFW each week. During National Book Week, he gave a series of broadcasts concerning children’s books. Perhaps one of the highest compliments ever paid Mr. Ryan is, He is an ideal teacher, an ideal friend, an ideal father!” Miss Mary Crawford is the confidante of all potential poets; her classes in creative writing are havens of delight for struggling student-authors. Her classes in Shakespeare, Browning, and the romantic poets are always large, which proves that students do like poetry, when Miss Crawford teaches it. She has her A. B. and A. M. from the University of Nebraska. Another teacher of literature, as well as of constructive English is Miss Cora O’Connell. Her ready smile and friendly How d’ you do,” have made her many friends. Miss O’Cotinell has her B. A. from the University of Nebraska. Mr. J. Clark Weaver has made our college and its students dramatic-conscious; he has directed and produced three Shakespearean dramas, as well as many modern plays during the last three or four years. He took his B. A, from Washington and his Ph. M. from the University of Wisconsin. Incidentally, Mr, Weaver can make excellent coffee; his only abomination is h:s first name. Kearney’s debate coach, Mr. J. D, Hansen, also supervises the classes in speech at the laboratory school. Mr, Hansen has his A. B. and his A, M. from the University of Iowa, and he has taken graduate work at the Universities of Wisconsin and Southern California. C. T. Ryan Mary M. Crawford J. D, Hansen Cora O’Connell J. Clark Weaver Page Twenty -seven

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Donald Smith Glen Borden C, T. Ryan Charles Gass J. Clark Weaver George Henigan J. D. Hansen Carl Frame» Pi Kappa Delta Dedicated to the advancement of forensics, the Nebraska Zeca chapter of Pi Kappa Delta completed its most active season this spring when it entertained representatives of seven colleges at the provincial tour name nr and convention of Nebraska and Colorado. The local chapter of the National Honorary Forensic fraternity, America’s largest honorary group, introduced two inovations to forensica at Kearney this year, when it sponsored both an international debate and a high school invitational debate tournament. In December, the speech group brought two British debaters to Kearney and sponsored a meeting between the University of London men, David Scholes and JL Hirshfield, who were the leading debaters of Great Britain’s student union, and the Kearney team, George Henigan and Don Smith. More than seven hundred students and townspeople came to the inter- national argument which concerned the nationalization of munitions. Nearly fifty students from high schools within a radius of one hundred miles from Kearney, attended the Pi Kappa Delta invitational meet on February 9. The success of this first tournament has encouraged the forensic group to lay plans for making such a competition am annual event at Kearney. While sponsoring such meetings, members of the local chapter were also active in inter-collegiate forensics, participating in the practice tournament of the Nebraska forensics association, the Hutchinson, Kansas College tournament and a meeting with Oregon’s Pacific University debaters. Kearney’s “A” debate team placed forth among eleven colleges in the competition. Ending the season, the forensic fraternity sponsored rhe first major debate tournament ever held at Kearney, when the Pi Kappa Delta provincial meet was conducted here. With the national Pi Kappa Delta president, George McCarty, in attendance, this tournament, considered one of the strongest in America on a basis of the records of the colleges competing proceeded with a maximum of smoothness. Hastings College won the sweepstakes award. Kearney men’s A debate team losr a chance to oppose Hastings in the finals when it was eliminated by the Nebraska Wesleyan A” team in a semi-final encounter. Socially, the forensic group was also active, holding two dinners during the course of the year’s work and sponsoring two all-college dances. Don Smith Glen Borden George Henigan Pag» Twenty-nine ... President Vice President Executive Secretary