Tuesday. Jan. 16. 1962 University Daily Kansan
Page 7
Many Parties-
(Continued from page 1)
booth peeking, but the phrase "insufficient evidence" always made its appearance, especially when the council was Pach controlled.
Since the ASC was organized in 1843, Pach has been exclusively Greek. Member fraternities had a way of pledging independents who showed political promise with other parties.
Once, a freshman ASC representative elected on another ticket later became vice president of Pach.
AFTER THE 1954 division of Pach, the organization has been secret. It appeared for the first time in several years in the 1960 edition of the "Jayhawker." The members wore black hoods to protect their identities.
The Society feels the fraternity system is the most efficient way to accomplish the goal of high standards of Greek leadership at KU.
There have been unsubstantiated rumors of Pach's activities in the last few years. One Hill fraternity violated a regulation concerning treatment of pledges. The Inter-Fraternity Council debated the violation and a stiff penalty was placed on the fraternity.
ANOTHER RUMORED Pach activity occurred during the spring election campaign last year. The University Party nominated an independent to oppose Vox Populi's fraternity man. Rumors of Pach's pressure on UP Greek houses were voiced with no evidence being uncovered.
At another meeting of the IFC the next week, a member quickly asked for repeal of the punishment against the fraternity. The motion passed with very little discussion. Rumors of Pach's involvement were heard.
In 1922, a student named Chet Shore was tired of empty political platforms and organized the "Dollars and Cents" party.
The first party to oppose Pachacamac was Black Mask. It was a Greek-independent coalition and lasted from 1915 to 1926. At that time it dissolved and reformed into the "Independent coalition."
"My understanding is that the other two parties (Fach and Black Mask) promise reforms in student government and the like," he said. "My idea is that, regardless of who is elected, classes will not be made any shorter, and that we will all come to school the rest of the year, the same as formerly.
"Thus, it is my plan if elected to conduct a price-slashing campaign. I will start a campaign to establish a rest and smoking room for men; to raise the price of Bull Durham and lower the price of Camels."
He created enthusiasm for his new party by campaigning with a three-piece jazz band and passing out salted peanuts and Eskimo pies, Pach won the election anyway.
SIMILAR schemes were devised by several parties but the Pach machine proved too tough. And Pach has lost only six elections since 1926, each time to a newly-organized party.
Football players were allowed to participate in political parties until the KU defeat by Kansas State in 1926. On the following Monday, Chancellor E. H. Lindley said player interest in politics caused the loss and the athletes were forced to withdraw.
In December, the election was finally held and by this time Pach decided it was not worth the trouble. The Independent coalition won the election.
This caused the elections to be postponed until October. When the next election date rolled around, 800 names were discovered missing from the election rolls. Another postpone-ment.
Pach settled back and waited. The coalition lost the next four elections and was dissolved in 1931.
A Big Blow In 1952
Journalism students practically had a story drop into their laps on March 12, 1952, when 75 mile-anhour winds toppled five stories of steel girders during the construction of Malott Hall.
It was perhaps one of the most spectacular accidents in KU history. The gale sent the girders crashing into a matchwork jumble. There were no injuries, however, and damage was estimated at only $18,000, since much of the material was salvageable.
J-Student Today More Serious than Before
By Dennis Farney
The journalism student of 1912 cheerfully cut classes when something more important—like work on the Daily Kansan—came along, was often a 24- or 25-year-old "pro" with previous newspaper experience and prided himself on the number of routine campus news stories he could find for the paper.
THE JOURNALISM STUDENT of 1632 still cuts classes—sometimes—but he does this a bit more reluctantly than his 1912 counterpart.
He seems more serious and more inhibited than his predecessors. As late as 1954, for example, two senior journalism students erected a pup tent and lived in the wilds of Fowler Grove (the J-school lawn) for a week to publicize the campus centennial celebration held that year.
Yet, paradoxically, he is expected to handle stories far more complex than did the student of 1912.
Nothing like that happened this year.
He is younger (most of the 91 KU journalism students are from 20-22 years old), and he has little, if any, previous newspaper experience.
The reasons for this change? The
growing complexity of the modern world and a thing called interpretative reporting.
THE JOURNALIST OF TODAY. operating on the theory that complex news stories must be interpreted, not merely reported, finds that he must first acquire a broad background in the liberal arts and sciences.
That's why today's journalism student resignedly trudges up the hill to class after spending most of the night working on a particularly difficult news story. And that's why, in the opinion of some observers, both the journalism student and the journalism profession as a whole have improved in the past 50 years.
John Ise, professor emeritus of economies, recently commented on the changing journalism student.
"I think they've changed for the better," he said, "They're more careful and better trained. In the old days, journalists would get some ungodly reports on things because they didn't know enough to get things straight.
"THEN, YOU COULD read the Kansan in a few minutes, because there was very little of importance
in it. But today's Kansan is trying to educate the students on the issues of the day. Journalists today have a social attitude, and that's good."
Two KU administrative officials, Fred Ellsworth, executive secretary of the Alumni Association, and Raymond Nichols, executive secretary of the University, were also asked to compare the journalism student of today to the student of 25 or 30 years ago.
Mr. Elsworth graduated from the KU School of Journalism in 1922. Mr. Nichols graduated from the school in 1926.
"To me, the big change is that students in the school today are younger," Mr. Ellsworth said. "When I was in school, we had students who had already edited small papers before coming to school. Some of them were making their way through school by selling articles and feature stories to papers like the Chicago Tribute and the Christian Science Monitor.
"WHEN I WAS CAMPUS editor,
I hardly went to classes at all. But
the situation has changed today.
Students today have a much harder
time keeping up in their studies."
Mr. Ellsworth said that journalism
students were older and more mature in 1920 than now, because a large number of them were World War I veterans. He added, however, that "it's probably the tendency of every graduate to think that the best students graduated with him."
"When I graduated in January, 1922," he said. "I could see how the staff had enough manpower to put out the Kansan that Spring, but I couldn't see how they had anyone to get it out in the fall. The whole staff was terribly green."
But as it turned out, he related, his worry was unnecessary. The "green" staff of 1923 included Ben Hibbs—who recently retired as editor of the Saturday Evening Post—and Donis Fleeson, today a successful Washington news analyst.
Mr. Nichols noted the emphasis placed today on a broad education for journalism students.
"Today's student is better informed than was the student in my day," he said. The entire student body shows a better understanding of national and international affairs.
"What we need today is the reporter who can explain what the news means. This kind of reporter must have a good background."
"An estimate of repair costs? Sure-I'd say ... about $1.50 a pound!"
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