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

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X This body was organized in 1919 under the name Wom- en's Student Council for the purpose of controlling all af- fairs pertaining to the conduct of women students. The Council was formed when the Senate found itself incap- able of legislating wisely for the co-eds, although the truth of the matter is that the co-eds discovered it first. Not only was the Senate unable to legislate for the women students, but it was also unable to punish women for in- fractions ofthe roles as their sole method of enforcing laws was through pond parties and the co-eds objected to apub- lic bath. lt was in the years following WWII that women turned their recognition into equality with an integration of ladies from the Womens S.G.A. into the previously all male Senate. , TWT W ,-,.,.---- ..-t ,. . v'-f. , .- , 0 'A 95' '.J ', f ,-o . 4,

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3 191O'5 1930's 1950's 1900's 1920's 1940's Above: an early 20th Century class with female representation. Right: The Women's Student Government Association in 1931. Over the years, more than just the facade and style of the school have changed: the people have changed. One gender in particular, the female, has evolved from non-participation to the point of relative equality today. Women were not pre- sent at the birth-of the college and weren't recognized as possible members of this academic community until 1894 when the President was first given authority to establish courses for co-eds by an act of Congress. The end of the First World War brought an increase in' women's enrollment which brought along increased recognition. We can get an insight to their role at that time by looking at a piece in the '31 Index reviewing the Women's Government Association. . BOOKLET BY E. .I .V ., f . .gg Q it 'H-L 1 i 1 i xc' 1 .3 fi 1 A Personal Canv:v::. -. .lifnsi ', A o Evil: of Dormitory Life-'rhdnight H0 f1 of Who Knew: Whll' A 9 Flirting 52 K0 Mill wizhouc o Reading Improper Az Other Suggs.-:tive

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THE CULTIV TIG Swerving down the mountainside, the bed gains momentum with the sweep of the curves as it coasts toward the univer- sity. The bed is the vehicle: the student its operator. An inti- mate gravitational force draws the student inward. On four tiny wheels he lemmingly glides into the green. The potent color assaults his eyes, but nothing will prevent him from reaching the place of education. Passing through farm lands, villages, tobacco fields and hills, the student delights in the solidarity around him. The typical New England countryside pervades the senses. New England smells so typical that one could almost inhale it. The bed picks up speed as the foothills force it to the center of the Valley, to the university and education. The student has journeyed through the Murkwood Forest. He's gone through the land of Candolph. Tapped maple trees and pastoral quietness. The bed is winding in and among the beauty. Descending, the bed leaves the titillating freshness and is greeted by a mirage of sorts. There is an exaggeratedly tall monument in the distance. A lofty formica plaque now stands where the university once was. There is a level grassy plain beyond the plastic monolith. The place where the university was appears to be ready for a hay harvest. This serene sight of fertility, how- ever, is nearly obliviated by the formica. The plaque is lavish and large, colored glossy black and plastic white marble. The student glances up uncertainly at the epitaph looming over him. He muses that it looks like a World War Il veteran's memorial, he'd even have to ascend steps in order to read the wording. There are small American flags planted by its flanks. The student grins, salutes, and mounts the cardboard steps. He parks his bed adjacent to the formica slab. Reading an inscription, the student shrugs then smiles again. The university. Place of higher education and fun. The zone from which all good things come. Yes, the student reminisces. lt is now the year n. The uni- versity in this year did x to avert becoming y so that the co- tangent of bl would never realize itself. Competition and the survival of the fittest is the formula by which all will be solved. He knows about the formica plaque. The student knows that there is a grassy ground where the university once was. He has memorized the wording, he can recite the familiar refrain. The student also knows that his birth coincided with the erection of the monolith, after the destruction, after the competition and after the carnage of the university. With the murmurings of Robert Goulet music in his heart, the student reads the familiar words. ln the past, persons of every rancor and from every crevice in the earth attended the university because it was inculcated in them that high- er education led to the making of more money, more success, and by coincidence perhaps, the betterment of society. These people of the past who attended the university were of all varieties: tall, short, fat, from different income groups, with different intellectual capacities. Living at the university were people who turned on and people who turned off to the people who turned on. People became frightened and brutal- ized by those around them. The masses and the turning on and the growth and the technology forced the people to at- tack one another. Everyone tried to badger his neighbor as much as he could in every way that he could. Some of the people turned inward, but most of the species lashed at their own. This transition and adaptation occurred when the universi- ty first came into its own renown. Its structural growth was superceeded only by ferocious competition. The womb had burst and in-fighting among the people spread like the common cold. The rapid and luminous development created a very short pause so that an evaluation could be made. Then, people didn't think the technology would stop there. In their hearts, they feared the bricks and mortar which had blighted their valley. The social, environmental, educational and administrative problems were overwhelming. The student digests the sagacious formica words. He will be able to tell his grandchildren about the university. Since the coming of the formica plaque so much has happened. The university library long ago went down in architectural history as the least conducive to study and the ugliest. Con- crete and bricks which formed the facade decayed at an early age. The refuse sank into the ground beneath. The only arti- fact remaining from the construction is the elevator system which is stored in the university archives. The Campus Center eventually filled with rainfall and float- ed to Hadley where it is presently being used as a recreation area and meeting place for the Valley's Polish American Club. Dormitories on the hill slid into campus and sank. The same fate befell SouthWest. Much of their preserved remains has been found in the mire. The writing on the walls tells of the torment which students underwent while living in the cubi- cles. The graffiti also tells of their pleasures. There are no remains of the dining commons. In the militant 1990's they were blown off the face of the earth. The tax people have indicated that decades of churning stomaches due to tasteless food caused students to sabotage the gar- bage disposal system. The subsequent stench forced admin- istrators to employ the national guard who obliviated the structures. The student ponders the fate of the university. Lounging in his bed he laughs at the grassy plain meeting his sight. The destruction of the university was a joke just as its inception was. lts purpose was to provide the student with a broad understanding of our historical heritage and to equip him