Western Michigan University - Brown and Gold Yearbook (Kalamazoo, MI)

Page 28 text:

Not ten men but one, not one man but ten! Mr. Hoekje, by far the busiest man on campus, always has the time and the interest for student activities and student problems. His friendly manner is exemplary of Western ' s democratic spirit. JOHN C. HOEKJE, REGISTRAR Dr. Burge, as Director of Training Schools and Placement Bureau, con- cerns himself with the problems of stu- dent teachers, as shown here talking with Senta Lorenz, and of teaching in general, and keeps a watchful eye on the opportunities open to Western ' s students in the teaching field. DR. LOFTON BURGE 24

Page 27 text:

This thirty-eighth issue of the Brown and Gold finds Western Michigan Col- lege lending its full strength to the war effort. We now have at least thirty men of the faculty on leaves of absence for war duty, nearly all of them serving as commissioned officers for the Army and Navy. These men are serving as instructors in the fields of physical fitness, aviation mechanics, aviation ground school, directing Navy College Training programs, officers ' candidate schools, chemical warfare, and many other phases of the military program. We have listed nearly 900 graduates who are now in military service. Undoubtedly, there are many more than that whose names have not yet been reported. In addition to the readjustment of our regular programs through accelera- tion and introduction of new courses especially adapted to these times, v e are carrying on special programs in the training of war production workers and the training of Navy pilots. During the past year, we have trained well over 1,000 war workers and between 200 and 300 aviation cadets. We are anticipating that beginning about the first of July, we will have an additional assignment of several hundred prospective Navy officers who will be given training in the various academic branches preliminary to their special training for commissions in the several branches of the Navy. In the meantime, we look forward to the post-war era when we shall be able to go forward with some of the plans for the education of young people for a peaceful world. Committees of the faculty are now at work on the various problems that will confront us as this war comes to a close. These committees are anticipating new problems of general education, of teaching and of unemployment, and new problems which arise out of the necessity to preserve a democratic society. These committees are also considering new physical developments which should take place on the campus in order to better meet the needs of young people, who will undoubtedly come here in larger numbers, and will place greater demands upon the physical and in- structional facilities of the college. All in all, this issue of the Brown and Gold records one of the most im- portant periods in the history of Western Michigan College. It records a year of change in habits and actions of students and faculty, in attitudes toward education, and in the thinking and planning for the future. This will go down in the history of this college as a year of uncertainties and confusion, and also a year in which many of the experimental practices will affect the character of the institution for years to come. Altogether, this Brown and Gold will record one of the most fascinating stories in the history of Western Michigan College and will be something to which the individual student will refer frequently in after years as one of his most interesting and intriguing stimu- lants to memory of the war period. Paul V. Sangren 23

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0) eans The deans of men and women, Ray C. Pellett and Mrs. Bertha S. Davis, are Western ' s official and unofficial guides and counselors. They keep the students ' educational and, to some extent, their social lives in order where the students fail. Our deans are our very good friends and they understand us and help us as far as they are able whenever called upon. The demo- cratic spirit, such an integral part of Western, is personified in the friendliness of her deans. Every student may feel happy that it is made so easy for him to know and have pleasant contact with two such cooperative and understanding admin- istrative officers. Long years of being part of Western ' s life have made them inseparable from the student ' s idea of Western. Those who have gone re- member them and those who are here now know them well. 25