2 The KANSAN Comments ... PAGE SIX What Is The Matter With Student Forums? TUESDAY, APRIL 8, 1941. The Student Forum Board was established to "promote forums, lectures, debates, political unions or any other means of public discussion and education that appear advisable." The board is provided with a yearly budget and the power to contract any speakers whom it feels will interest the students. The board does its work quietly, with little fanfare, but it has provided many speakers and meetings in past years. At the last meeting of the W.S.G.A. council the report of the Student Forum Board was read. The report was interesting because it reported a decline in student interest in forums, and poor attendance at the picture shows sponsored by the board. In the past five or six years the appropriations granted to the forums board by the student governing councils has steadily fallen off from a high of $1,500 to a present budget of $300; the W.S.G.A. council was moved to recommend that the succeeding council further reduce the appropriation. However, there has been a recognizable trend away from student interest in educational forum discussions. The world is faced with a multitude of critical problems that may be solved only by critical thinking and discussion; the University would logically seem the place to work upon these problems, and yet the forum board has difficulty in getting even a medium-sized crowd of students to attend their sponsored forums. Why don't students come to the events scheduled by the Student Forum Board? For one thing, the University calendar is so jampacked with entertainments and programs that the average student is unable to attend more than a small percentage of the total number of events. Students taking part in any outside activities have little time to spend in cultivating their minds by attending any more formal discussion group than a boarding house bull session. It seems too bad that forums should become obsolete at the University, but what can be done? Current rumor has it that the Italian fleet isn't fleet enough. Turn About Squeeze Play Poor Adolph Hitler is being victimized. First, it was friend Benito, the playboy of the Balkans, who misled poor, gullible Adolph. Benito told Adolph a fairy tale about how the two strongest totalitarian states in the world should stick together. Benito whispered to Adolph, in the strictest secrecy, of course, that with the Italian navy, that omnipotent ruler of "Mare Nostrum," could hold the British sea dogs at bay. Imagine Adolph's surprise when he found that the Italian navy considered its work well done when it kept out of the reach of the British. As a matter of fact, the three wise men in a tub could probably keep the spaghetti-slurpers busy for the better part of the war with nothing more potent than an old Springfield rifle and a few dirty glances. Benito's ground troops also proved that they are the world's best when it comes to distance running. Reports would seem to indicate that some of the boys from Rome could whisk by even old Paavo Nurmi, running left-footed and carrying a full Italian war pack, which includes a second wind as standard equipment. To add insult to injury, the tricky Yugoslavs out-wiled the wily Adolph when they not only refused to support their "sacred agreement" with him but now are actually fighting him. They really shouldn't have done it. It might destroy Adolph's faith in humanity. There seems to be only one thing left that can happen to trusting, idealistic Adolph. It would be just like the British and Greeks and Yugoslavs to up and win the war. Now wouldn't that be awful? Minimum Courtesy When a blonde dancer was trying to get her American aviator-husband out of a Spanish jail during the civil war in that country, General Franco saw a picture of her and wrote her a little note. She made public a literal translation of the flowery and stilted phrases which a Spaniard writes at the end of a letter, above his signature—and her husband's release was indefinitely postponed! The unfortunate publicity put General Franco in the light of having offered to kiss the dancer's foot. What he actually meant was, "Yours truly," or at most, "Sincerely yours." So no one need be concerned when Secretary Hull winds up a curt note to the German charge d'affaires with: "Accept, sir, the renewed assurances of my high consideration." That is merely the language of protocol for "Yours truly," or simply "Yours." —From the Des Moines Register. OFFICIAL BULLETIN UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS Vol. 38 Tuesday, April 8, 1941 No. 123 Notices due at Chancellor's office at 3 p.m. on day before publication during the week, and at 11 a.m. on Saturday for Sunday issue. RHADAMANTHI: Rhadamanthi Poetry society will meet this evening at 8 o'clock in the Union Lounge. Walt Whitman will be discussed. Anyone interested in the reading, writing, or study of poetry is welcome. Bob Humphrey, president. JAY JANES: There will be a meeting the Wednesday after Easter vacation, April 16, at 4:30 in the Pine Room.—Genevieve Harman. SENIORS: Please fill out Senior Activities Card for your Jayhawker Senior Picture before April 18 at the Jayhawker Office in the Sub-basement of the Union Building.—Bob Woodward, business manager. TAU SIGMA: There will be no Tau Sigma this evening.—Carolyn Green. Student Paper of THE UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS Lawrence, Kansas UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN EDITORIAL STAFF Editor-in-Chief Ken Jackson Editorial Associates ; Arthur O'Donnell, C. A. Gillmore, Mary F. McAnaw, and Eleanor Van Nice Feature Editor Kay Bozarth Publisher ... Gray Dorsey NEWS STAFF Managing Editor David Whitney Sports Editor Gabe Parks Campus Editor Miles Forrester Sports Editor Helen Houston News Editor Kay Zorath Sunday Editor Chuck Elliott Hold Wet Hold Wet Make-up Editor Gee Smith Picture Editor Art Cook Artist Press Editor Floyd Declare Craig C. A. Gilmurth and Betty Weston BUSINESS STAFF NINESS STAF Business Manager Advertising Manager Frank Buergnermerger Subscription rates, in advance, $3.00 per year, $1.75 per semester. Published at Lawrence, Kansas, daily during the school year except Monday and Saturday. Entered as second entry on request. Refundable at Lawrence, Kansas, under the act of March 8, 1879. From the Air-- The Campus Is a Beehive --Or a Surface View BY FLOYD DECAIRE Maybe you do know the town well enough to find the gang at the favorite coke-dispen-sary with your eyes closed. You've been trotting around Lawrence for years, and undoubtedly it's 'old stuff' to you by now. If you want to try something new, breeze out to the airport north of town and take an airplane ride over the city. Can't you just imagine yourself out there on the runway, your plane poised for flight much like the first robin of spring? The boys over by the hangar motion the "all clear" signal, and your pilot starts taxing down the runway. The wind sock tells him the wind is from the south, so at the end of the stretch he drags one wheel brake a little and spins the ship around to take off into the wind. No incoming planes are visible (they have the right of way) so we're set to go. He pulls the throttle all the way out, an ear-splitting roar almost deafens you momentarily, and you race down the runway. As you feel the ship becoming light, he eases the "stick" back, and the ground starts to drop away from you. Before you realize it you have passed the main portion of the business section. In comparison with the land ahead, which is occupied by the residential section, that main street seems dreadfully short—indeed much shorter than it was the time you walked all the way down to the post office with your laundry bag. Haskell, with its flora and fauna surrounding it, gives the impression of a city in itself. The pilot banks sharply to the right and you experience the unique sensation of having the ground turn up on one end as if it were going to meet you. The University really looks magnificent from up here, much better than it did the day you ran puffing up Fourteenth street hill, fighting the thought that you were late to a quiz. Main Street Shrinks Sunday afternoon Dwight Horner and an identified woman were in the Horner car, "Old Faithless," beyond the dike south of Haskell. They couldn't get "Old Faithless" started, and had to walk back to town. Later he took some brother Phi Psil's out to get it, but in the meantime it had rained and the car refused to go. Today at 4:30 the P.E.F., Psi Expeditionary Force, set out to the rescue, ally led by Delbert Campbell, experienced tractor driver. ROCK CHALK TALK Bob Crosby pulled more than one corny crack in his bandstand prattle last night. One came when somebody in the front student ranks suggested that the band boys visit the Teepee after midnight. "Hey, fellas," called Bob to his crew. "There's a place in town called the Teepee. Want to go out and get your wig wam?" By HEIDI VIETS Jay Gunnels recently received a mystery letter. The letterhead was "University of Kansas," but instead of an official message the contents were a rattle and a shower of confetti. Investigation revealed that the prank was pulled by Frank Kalich. He had a tightly twisted rubber band between two wires, with a paper clip on it to furnish the rattle and fluff out the confetti. If you didn't see Chuck Skidmore doing his original hop-shag at the Prom last night, you best show off the bandstand. Battenfeld was so merry Saturday night when it was announced that Alice Russell was engaged to C. H. Mullen, head proctor of the three cooperative halls, that they marched over to Templin, where Mullen was eating, picked him up bodily, carried him back to Battenfeld, and dunked him under the shower with all his clothes on. Velma Wilson, executive secretary of the N.Y.A., has vowed never again to drive her car in Texas. While attending a convention in Lubbock, Texas, she left her car parked on a main street. Returning two hours later, she had acquired a parking ticket. When she faced the judge in police court, he said, "Young lady, if you had put a nickel in the box you could have parked for two hours without any trouble." On the way home she ran a stop light in Plainview, Texas, and was motioned to the curb by a motorcycle policeman, who gave her a free lecture on watching stop lights and indicating turns. Sig Ep Harold Edwards went to Houston for a geology convention. He had just registered at his hotel when the president of the Missouri, Kansas, and Texas Railroad phoned him to ask if Edwards would be his guest on a special train to St. Louis. He was a little confused by this new popularity until the railroader explained that he thought he was speaking to the conductor of the St. Louis Symphony, also in Houston for the week. Prof. Olin Templin thought he was playing a joke on Marvin Goebel in the alumni office when he asked him to send a student to work in his lawn at 5 o'clock Saturday morning. Goebel contacted Wallace Whitney and told Professor Templin. "Better make it 6," said Templin, still fooling. Before 6 a.m. Saturday Whitney was knocking on the Templin door. Now the professor knows Goebel is no man to fritter with.