University of Wisconsin Madison - Badger Yearbook (Madison, WI)

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i' iftin While the yholofnjttion w such'things as the possibility ( madc oart h satellite into space, local events c ored for our attention as well. One of the big questions on campus this year was “Will the city pass the beer law raising the legal drinking age to 21?” Minors 18 years of age and older sighed with relief when they learned their refreshment privileges were still intact. Madisonians, and students as well, took time to watch with intense interest the“trial”of Police Chief Bruce Weatherly. For several weeks newspaper headlines screeched about the hearing’s progress, but after the dust had cleared, none of the 13 counts against Mr. Weatherly had been proven. The American Legion did some screeching of its own. as it attacked the University for maintaining subversive groups on the campus. In a running battle with the Daily Cardinal the Legion narrowed its complaint to the existence of the Labor Youth League. President E. B. Fred’s eloquent defense of the University’s prin- Guy Sundt, our beloved athletic JiTe orj died this year leaving memories of his devotion and service to the campus community. Ivy Williamson, the |x)pular football coach who had brought Wisconsin’s fighting Badgers to the fore,stepped into the vacant position. Dean of Women, Mrs. Mark (1. Troxell resigned this year after 25 years of service to her friends the coeds. Concrete evidence of tlie University’s construction and expansion program took the form of a new Commerce building, and the Memorial field house which saw their first use during the fall semester. In view of the future planning, these ultra-modern structures were just a sample of those to come. We students were more directly concerned with our own campus problems and how to deal with them. Increased University expansion was rapidly tightening the student housing and parking situation, and student leaders fought segregation on campus with the anti-bias petition.

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decisions outlawing segregation in public schools and undermined t he old concept of “seperate. but equal.” Several southern states sought to retain the status quo with the doctrine of interposition others turned to secret organizations and violence. Negroes demonstrated their feelings in the Montgomery, Ala. bus boycott, and the Emmit Till murder case stunned the nation. The stock market hit new peaks as the nation went on a credit buying binge which began to worry the experts. But parents were worried more about the new Bock 'n Boll craze with such tunes as “See va Later Alligator,” and “Stay Off My Blue Suede Shoes,” which kept their children stomping in the dance halls late into the night. A few of our favorite tunes were Tennessee Krnie Ford’s “Sixteen Tons,” Roger Williams’ “Autumn Leaves,” and Vaughn Monroe’s version of “Black Denim Trousers.” “Guys and Dolls” was the year’s biggest movie musical, but “The Man With the Golden Arm” and others also hel| ed distract us from top television shows like “The $64,000 Question” “Ed Sullivan,” and “The Perry Como Show.” The national scene w as equally endowed with significant events—some of them with worldwide importance. President Eisenhower suffered a heart attack which panicked the nation, and the stock market as well. After weeks of intent waiting as the President progressed, the news came that Mr. Eisenhower had made a splendid recovery and would be available for re-election. A host of willing Democratic candidates, none of them able to gain complete party support, made it uncertain as to who bis opponent would be before convention time. We were amazed to read one morning that the FBI had captured the gang who committed the famous SI .000.000 Brinks robbery five years before. Most of us had forgotten all about it. Dr. Jonas Salk announced his discovery which gave new hope to polio victims and parents throughout the nation. And the government hastily assumed control of a project to produce enough of the Salk vaccine to inocculate the nation’s children. Racial segregation was a topic on the lips of everyone as the Supreme Court handed down

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The Badger Setting Squeezed tightly between the ('ity of Madison and Lake Mendota, the University campus stretched out like a long thin ribbon as it hugged the shoreline on the north from Wisconsin Avenue to Picnic Point, and extended only three blocks south to University Avenue. This relatively small patch of land packed with buildings, students, and a wealth of knowledge attracted students from all parts of the world. In fact, this year’s enrollment included students from all of Wisconsin’s 71 counties, all the other 47 states, the District of Columbia, Hawaii, the Panama Canal Zone, Puerto Rico, Alaska, Guam, and 65 foreign nations. So Badgerland extended much farther than the Madison campus and the nine extension centers throughout the state. In terms of influence it extended throughout the world in the minds and hearts of some 112,000 alumni. From its humble beginnings atop Baseom Hill 107 years ago when Baseom Hall (then called Main Hall) and present-day North Hall were the only buildings, the University has grown to be one of the nation’s largest institutions, offering nearly 1.400 different courses of study each semester in 31 of the 33 fields of human knowledge. More than 3,800 new students registered each year for Extension Division correspondence courses to receive their education by mail. Thus Badgerland was limitless . . . continually improving . . . continually growing. This was Badgerland 1956 ... and in terms of future expectations, really only the beginning.