University of Massachusetts Amherst - Index Yearbook (Amherst, MA)

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Old Chapel, the vivid symbol of our college and number one memory of Massachusetts State Col- lege ' s men and women, holds, as do the following few pages, many of the treasured remembrances of the khaki-clad cadets of the 58th College Train- ing Detachment as well as of the graduating Class of 1944, underclassmen, and faculty members.

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ouJde Yes, our faithful faculty has had double trouble this year in complying with the army program of instruction in addition to teaching our diminished student body. Whether or not engaged in actively teaching aviation students, all the faculty has shown enthusiasm and pride in doing its best to aid the war effort. Many have been burdened with increased hours of classes, inadequate classroom and laboratory facilities, and the strangeness of the courses they were assigned to present in routine army fashion. Indeed, there are many instances in which instructors have adjusted them- selves and their modes of teaching to fields of study far removed from their realm. Unusual arrangements have be- come usual and common as language pro- fessors instruct in ])hysics, psychologists explain math, and land-arch professors teach geography. The success of our double-trouble pro- fessors is measured by the number of men who have profited by their instruction to the extent of obtaining their goal in avia- tion. This success in turn is indicative of the eagerness and conscientiousness with which our faculty accepted this strenuous program of adjustment and hard work. All is not work, however, for many have found in the new adventure, oppor- tunities for using creative ingenuity. One physics professor found it cumbersome to carry storage batteries from one end of campus to the other as his schedule led him from Physics 25 lecture to the air- student labs. As a time and trouble saver, he devised a rear compartment on his bicycle to hold the cells. Many such contraptions have resulted for expediting the profs ' daily work. It has seemed strange to professors during the past few months to have rows of khaki-clad men before them in the classroom in place of the civilian men and women of a year ago. But their presence was in keeping with the many changes wrought on our campus by the war. Soon, the air students grew to be an integral part of our campus life, showing interest and willingness to cooperate with students. Because the air students realize the great job ahead of them, they accept their work and assignments seriously, and are in most cases a credit to their instructors. In turn, the instructors find pleasure in teaching men who are so interested and at times really humorous. In a certain professor ' s class one morning, there was a very sleepy soldier. Bill. Bill had studied the material for the day and knew every rule and formula verbatum, but was so tired, he just couldn ' t stay awake in class. His buddy tried to keep him from dozing, but found it hopeless. Suddenly the professor called on Bill to state the rule under discussion. In his sleep but in a clear tone, Bill quoted the rule, verbatum, to the astonishment of the entire class. The professor let him sleep. As air students march out, and coeds saunter in to take their places, the pro- fessor demasks his scientific being in preparation for a forty-minute English lecture. Such inner transfigurations occur many times throughout each day as our wartime professor gives his all for the education of students. voidJde

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estate, Attfuf. SttfU. Here they come gals! Tromp, tromp — Peek a boo! Is there a Sarge in there? Nope! Well, guess we ' ll have — a soda ! — a frappe ! — a dish of ice-cream ! — Yea, me too! — I was here first! — Hey sis — I ' d like — Hey, Blondie, remember me? I like lots of ice-cream — So it goes. They beg. They yell. One easy lesson in how to go definitely balmy. Once upon a time, long, long ago, there were just civilians on the campus. Then came war, then came the 58th, the hungriest bunch of fellas in the world. They eat ice-cream at 11:30, lunch at 12:00, ice-cream at 12:30— they eat all the time ! During World War I ' twas said the boys used to shoot crap. Now they flip coins (in public — don ' t know what goes on behind closed doors). Winner gets double of everything gooey while looser digs down for that last two bits. Joe College is no more — now A S Doe. There are types of cadets: the wolf type, the were-wolf type, the shy type (only one or two of these), and the definitely slap- happy type. The wolf is known by his pepsodent smile and come hither looks (one eye on the coed and one eye out for the Sarge with the gig sheet). The were- wolf — he ' s the one who howls at the sight of any female, 8 ' x 2 ' or 5 x 5. (He ' s been away from civilization for some time — anything looks good to him !) And the shy type — he ' s the one who says, Oh, I ' m not fussy. Give me anything. Then he seats himself and never looks at the girls. (Low blood pressure, cause.) As for the slaphappy A S; oh! he ' s just the regu- lar guy. He comes in big as life — thinks he ' s in the Ritz bar room — says, I ' ll have a small beer and a shot of rye. He gets a short coke with a stick of lemon — and he ' s satisfied. There are cadets from the north and cadets from the south. The only way you can tell them apart is to try short-chang- ing one. If he yells — Hey, sis, my Uncle Sammy only gives me 7c per hour, he ' s a northern man. If he says, Ma ' m, I ' m just a pore boy working ma ' way through the Air Corps, he ' s from .south of the Mason-Dixon line. There are cadets who will take you into their confidence and tell you that girls mean nothing to them, ' specially these coeds, for Well, you see, there ' s a certain gal back home. But don ' t be surprised if you see one of these Don ' t sit under the apple-tree ' ers, with a win- some coed. Cest la guerre] — you know. Really though, they ' re a fine bunch of fellows. They lent pep to our old campus and taught us much — ' specially army tactics and maneuvers. We ' ve learned to respect their apparent jollity when we realize the hell they are headed for in the war areas. We have benefited by their coming and hope that they have benefited by being here on this friendly campus! Eleanor Dudley 3 ue Be iet The blue beret tenderly hung away, and the gold watch carefully placed on the table, Dr. Fraker is ready to begin Span- ish class. The assignment was Oh, trans- late the next ten pages, but what with one thing and another, class discussion is never where Dr. Fraker suspects the next ten pages are. Translation starts, and Miss Jones mispronounces a sentence starting Un hombre con un paraguas. After correct- ing the clumsy-tongued coed, Dr. Fraker observes that the umbrella ' d man is one with something for the rain — para from the Latin for the purpose of and aguas from the Latin water, and thus rain. Logical? And thoughts of ten pages to be translated drift merrily to the four winds — four from the German 10