University of Missouri - Savitar Yearbook (Columbia, MO)

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MW 1, unnum- 10 I im not going to be a leader long . . . Today,s student is much more involved in the future of Columbia and of our nation than students were 10 or 15 years ago. They have become con- troversial and more outspoken, but the students have added a good atmosphere to our town. Col- umbia is a younger town because of the university and the colleges than it would be without them . I think some townspeople think all students are crackpots, but I donlt think this. I know that some adults are crackpots, and I am convinced that some of the students are crackpots. We have undesirable students and un- desirable townspeople. But by far, I think that our students are a really fine group. I think that the ultimate purpose of the university is to fit, equip or develop a student so he can fit into our society, and also come up with new ideas for society and be a leader. Pm not going to be a leader long. Other people who are leaders today are going to have to step down. Certainly we want students who are leaders, not just fol- lowers, and not just a person who fits into society. They have got to be society. I am hopeful that we can maintain along the line of the thinking of the future generations and not go way out and forget that America is still probably the best place in the world to live. Herb Jeans, Mayor of Columbia

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12 Rev. Kenneth Frerking, Campus Lutheran Church Anyone else . . . is a sort of invader Socially, politically, Ithink the students, and even more so, the faculty bring a certain open mindedness and a greater degree of liberal attitudes than you would normally find in Columbia. Basically, Missouri is rurally oriented and usually more conservative. The university, through its students and faculty, presents another point of view. I guess some people look upon Columbia and Boone County as their special heritage; anyone else who comes in is an outsider, a sort of invader. They may feel threatened by this. If you listen to party line ta local radio talk show, you pretty quickly pick up this feeling. For these folks, there are some conflict problems, but my guess is that this kind of attitude, this barrier, is breaking down. You always have this whenever you have a point of view that is more liberal than the center of the road. You are going to get another point of view in reaction which is going to be more con- servative than the center of the road. My entire ministry has been in the campus ministry. Seven years at Ohio State, and Pve been here for about six years. As far as the campus ministry is concerned, there have been some pretty big changes tin students over the recent yearsJ When I first began at Ohio State back in the late 1950s, we were still in the religion boom era that had started in the early 50s. It was fashionable then for people to associate with the church. There was no problem as far as getting students to- gether for organizational meetings. Organizations were in. We had a psuedo-Greek organization in our church called Gamma Delta. The students identified with its kind of thing and all the para- phanalia that goes with the Greek organization. That whole thing has gone by the wayside. We are less structured and more interested in presenting a variety of programs - educational, service projects - that would be of interest to students. We work with a fewer number of students now in terms of these group activities than we did back in the late 1950s Attendance at worship service is holding its own fairly well in our case. There has been a sifting out of those who were there for the tiwrong reasons. It could be that we have a tthigher quality of worshipers. We have to comfort ourselves with these rationalizations, anyhow, whether theyire true or not!