Strong Hall University's stoic heart
Strong Hall, at first thought, a blurred vision of student fees and administrative responsibility, in reality contains a panorama of life at the University of Kansas. Behind that bland, rather stoic exterior lurks a hub of activity revealed only to those who wander from the depths to the heights, a feat requiring not only muscle but endurance.
Any tour of Strong must begin in the basement, for here lie two areas of vital concern among students—relaxation and financial aid. Students line the walls busily engaged in conversation or hurriedly gulping lunch before rushing to the next class. Their chatter combines with the banging and clanging of a profusion of vending machines, thus contributing to a general aura of chaos.
Not all is light-hearted enjoyment, however, for the observant tourist realizes beneath the clang and clatter, students are caught in a frenzy of last-minute preparation and painful struggle to cope with their unmerciful surroundings. Failure here makes the efforts of Student Financial Aid, Scholarships and Loans (located just down the hall), totally fruitless. It is no wonder the poor student sits head in hand as he flounders in his concentration.
Leaving the relaxed atmosphere in the basement, our humble tourist climbs the time-worn stairs to the first floor. Proceeding past fee windows, selective service windows and the Office of Admissions, it occurs to him his entire college career is being plotted and documented in these unpretentious offices.
With thoughts of the future still in his mind, suddenly the tourist stands in the midst of history. A bust of Frank Strong, Chancellor from 1902 to 1920, looks out to the sprawling evergreens beyond the front steps. Commemorative plaques dating from the class of 1881, plus a listing of every member of the Board of Regents since 1925, dot the walls of this main entrance.
First floor also provides classroom facilities for the thousands of eager and not-so-eager students who stare blankly at the same blackboards their predecessors regarded with distaste Blackboards here are still black, a certain indication of old age.
Second floor presents a real challenge to the uninformed. Any attempt to reach second by using the side stairs ends with dismal failure as the unwary find themselves greeted by the splatters of paint and smell of turpentine peculiar to the third floor.
Highly-polished tiles, carpeted offices and intercoms reminiscent of the executive offices in a well-established corporation characterize the second floor. Authority precludes the atmosphere as one respectfully walks past the offices of the Dean of Women, Dean of Men and the Office of the Chancellor.
Strong Hall was begun in 1911 and not completed until the 1920's. Originally it was to face the north, but the construction of later buildings shifted the direction of the campus, thus making Strong's back its front. If its appearance from Jayhawk Boulevard seems totally disenchanting, this could be the explanation.
Through the years Strong Hall has been the focal point for student protests and student pep rallies. It embraces the most conservative and the most liberal elements on the University campus and the decisions which affect both ends of that spectrum are made in this building. That's quite an accomplishment for a building turned backward by a construction mistake in the reading of blueprints.
Nov. 7
1969 KANSAN 7
THAT SET YOU "APART FROM
ALL OTHERS"
Created expressly for the man whose attire reflects his status. London tan, Black grain.
Eight Thirty-Seven Massachusetts
THE Taylor-Made SHOE