University of North Texas - Yucca Yearbook (Denton, TX)

Page 9 text:

COLLEGE I TO by many as second in excellence in the nation. Five Weeks after Bill 645' was first introduced, it passed the House of Representatives. When it reached the Senate, however, the bill was amended slightly and sent back to the House for a routine final approval. On May 8, 1961, HB 645 passed its final hurdle when Gov. Price Daniel signed it in Austin. North Texans saluted its passage with a University Day. Classes were dismissed at noon, May 10, for uthe biggest celebration everf, At the all-college assembly, students stood and cheered the persons who engineered the change. Following this assembly, there were separate assemblies for members of Creek organizations and for independent students. After the formal assemblies, collegians yelled and sang UNIVERSITY . . . at an all-college pep rally on Chestnut Street in front of the UB. A trailer truck driven by the Kappa Sigmas made a mobile platform for the cheerleaders who at- tempted to organize enthusiasm. The Concert Band sta- tioned itself in front of the Library to play before, after, and during the pep rally. Following the pep rally, students moved to the UB slab, where they were able to dance to music provided by a combo. The celebration ended with another dance in the Wom- enis Gymnasium and an opera, uLucia di Lammer- moor,', luckily scheduled for the day, in the Main Audi- torium. Full of activity and happy anticipation', the day was a good omen for NTSU. hh CHEERLEADERS DIRECT CLASS-FREED STUDENTS IN CELEBRATION YELLS. THE NOMADS PROVIDED MUSIC FOR THOSE WISHINC TO DANCE . . . OR LISTEN.

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LEGISLATIVE BILL TRANSFGRIVIS GOV. Daniel approves the document before Sen. Tom Creighton, sponsor of the hill in the Senate, Jack Wheeler, past USNT president, NTSC Pres. J. C. Matthews, Rep. Alonzo Jamison and Rep. Ratcliff. REP. Joe Ratcliff, author of the bill, addresses hundreds of stu- dents at the all-college assembly. He received standing ovations. f x The repeated word at North Texas for ten weeks last spring was uuniversityf, The name-changing measure, House Bill 6445, was in- troduced in the Texas Legislature during the first week of March by an ex-student, Rep. ,Ioe Ratcliff of Dallas, and co-signed by eight other representatives, also NTSC ex-students. This was all the NT campus needed. Immediately the student government body urged all students to send per- sonal Ietters to their legislative representatives. Under the guidance of Jack Wheeler, USNT president, the senate set up a booth in the Union Building to help students ascertain the names and addresses of these representatives. And so it Was. For weeks students thought primarily of how agreeable the university status would be. The Texas House of Representatives discussed I-Iouse Bill 645 at length and suggested minor changes. The first name proposed, the University of North Texas, was changed to North Texas University and then changed again to North Texas State University. '4The chances look goodf, was Ratcliffis continual re- port. And there were reasons for this. North Texas ranked among the top institutions of the state in many aspects that are the measure of a univer- sity. Among Texas institutions, NT had a larger enroll- ment than I6 schools already bearing university status, it ranked fourth in enrollment among all schools. Its outstanding faculty and facilities attracted students from all over the nation. A national survey showed NT tenth in the nation in number of full-time undergraduates enrolled in teacher education. In addition, the college led the state in English and music majors and was second in business majors. The School of Music was ranked APPROVING STUDENTS RESPOND TO THE SPEAKER

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F., The academic year started , ' ' . . E' r Wlth a new name, a revised ' school song and new yells ' an i ' E Cheerleaders even introduced this symbol of an eagle with spread Wings to be used at 1 football kick-offs. L V f 4 After the bill's passage, owners of the College Barber Shop changed their name to include uuniversityf' AND CREATES CHA CES GALORE ALTHOUGH it was too warm a summer to wear sweat shirts, stu- dents flocked to the stores to admire and buy the new stock. QEXA5 59 Q . UNMEWY as '- ,J 6 ff! 52.11 lllvsxmz' Even before the college officially became a university, many changes occurred on and off the campus. Stores surrounding the campus amended their signs. The Trading Post with its new name, The University Store, and Voertman's sold their old college decorated stock for half price and ordered more with the new title. The College Press, now the Print Shop, was flooded in the summer with orders from the different departments for new stationery and printed supplies. Words in the school song, '4Glory to the Green, were slightly altered to delete college and insert HNorth Texas and uuniversityf' lt was also necessary for the student body to vote an amendment to the USNT constitution at the beginning of the school year to permit student body publications to carry the name North Texas State Universityf, Under the constitutional laws, the USNT senate could not af- firm the name change by printing the Word c'University on its handbooks and other matter until the student body approved the correction. Senior rings altered to bear the NTSU', trademark were available at the end of the summer. Two new dorms, Crumley and McConnell halls, were open to accommodate a flood of coeds, many of whom were attracted to the campus by its new status. Even so, many were turned away because of lack of dorm space. Organizations changed their names. Highway signs near the campus were repainted. And so on. Not all has changed yet that will change, but this Yucca attempts to show what the first university year has been like.