University of Missouri - Savitar Yearbook (Columbia, MO)

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of which was the Athenaean, an organi- zation which shaped student opinion and afforded opportunities for forensic practice until its disbandment in 1937. This was practically the only important student ac- tivity until the turn of the century. A new institution appeared about 1870, however, and finally began to challenge the suprem- Ullw -lr v T W --if- 'H i 3 X ff E E UPL E S X E 2 2 2 l . fx E W V Q 3 fg ' X E I - h . 21 Agn K . 2 In 'f f' , - 5 L. f . .-te . X . Y- -- :: j i f fu X 5 x, E L IE 5 cg E , f S P' J ' x it -l ? 4i . - -1... O Federal troops used the academic hall as a prison for four years during the Civil War. Some of the Confederates were ex-students of the University and were able to make their escape through knowledge of the interior layout of the building. acy of the literary society. This, of course, was the Greek-letter fraternity, which was at first a secret, organization. It was these sub-rosa groups which waged constant war- fare for two decades with the Barbs and first agitated the removal of Dr. Laws from the presidency. The earliest groups affiliated nationally with Phi Kappa Psi, Beta Theta Pi, and Phi Delta Theta. On the night of January 9, 1892, the old Academic Hall, which had two new wings not ten years old, went down in flames. This conflagration blighted confidence and aspirations which had taken years to en- gender-but only for a short time, for in spite of the 3lE125,000, 'loss sustained, plans were immediately and enthusiasti- cally cast for recouping the deprivation. Instead of the institution's being closed or transferred to a more prosperous commun- ity, classes continued in public edifices, and a tremendous building program was in- augurated. In three short years almost every building now standing on Francis Quadrangle was erected. The state legis- lature as well as the people of Boone County stood equal to the emergency and began making biennial appropriations of thereto- Page 20

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president's mansion, and a promise of an annual appropriation thereafter. Expansion and increase continued to characterize University history during the administration of Samuel Spahr Laws 11876-I8895. The College of Engineering became distinct from the College of Ag- riculture in 1878, and the Agricultural Experiment Station appeared on the cam- pus in 1888. Shortly thereafter the fore- runner of the present R. O. T. C. unit, the Missouri State Military School, found its niche in University studies. Laws himself had something of Read's forcefulness and uncompromising will, but he carried it to the unreasonable point of belligerenceg and his consequential unpopularity with the students precipitated an investigation in 1889 which prompted his resignation. The post-war period witnessed a con- siderably increased enrollment, which in 1875 approximated 250 students, a figure which almost trebled the average pre-war attendance. But of especial significance Page 19 . O Major James S. Rollins for several decades ren- dered such invaluable service to the University that shortly after the Civil War the Board of Curators bestowed upon hirn the title, Pater Universitatis Mis- sonriensisf' This painting, by George Caleb Bing- ham, his life-long friend, was destroyed by the jire in 1892. is the fact that some seventy counties were represented, and that students away from the Missouri river valley began to attend. The institution was more than a universityg it was a state university. Of less impor- tance, but perhaps of more interest, was the appearance of two outstanding con- tributions to student life. The first of these was the literary society, chief representative

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fore unthought-of generosity. The fire, then, was not such a great catastrophe, for it led to amazing regeneration and reforma- tion. The University as We know it today, both in physical plant and general organi- zation, actually dates from this reconstruc- tion period. Since the turn of the century the history of the University of Missouri has been largely that of every prospering middle- western state university. It is a period characterized by rapid expansion in physi- cal plant, great leaps in enrollment, the addition of other schools and colleges, the Page 21 O On the night of 'january 9, 1892, the Athe- naean literary society was privileged to hold its jirst evening meeting. The members arrived in time to find the Academic H alleand their meet- ing room-in flames. Several of the more in- trepid dashed into the building and were able to save several volumes of records, their own piano, and from the museum a great stu-fed elephant and a stujed ape. In the confusion someone stole the piano, but the stujed ape can still be seen on the second floor of Lefevre Hall. The next day only the columns and part of the walls were left as bleak reminders of the majesty of M issouri's jirst ojicial building. solidifying of state-Wide interest, and con- stant support on the part of state legis- lature. It is during this last period that the White campus assumed its present charac- ter. The School of journalism was es- tablished in I908Q the Graduate School of- ficially became a separate division in 1910, and the School of Commerce was founded in 1914. Among the most evident of general trends was that in curricula away from classical and liberal studies toward so-called practical and vocational subjects. Within