14B the university daily kansan
homecoming
friday,october 17,2003
1940-1959]
Provided by This Week in KU History. www.kuhistory.com, a project of the KU Memorial Unions.
NOT EXACTLY FLOWER POWER — 4.23.1941
NOT EXACTLY FLOWER POWER — 4.23.1941 Approximately 3,400 KU students and faculty members, plus Chancellor Deane Malott and his wife, Eleanor, participate in the University's first Dandelion Day, a voluntary campus weeding operation that collects 93,000 pounds of dandelion debris in a mere three hours.
University Archives Spencer Research Library
Sailors Art Stenman and Alfred Taylor use calipers to check their polishing operation on a lath in the University of Kansas shops, where a new Navy school for machinists is training 800 bluejacketts for service with the fleet.
SLOW DOWN, YOU MOVE TOO FAST 12.18.1942
- As the German blitzkrieg moved through Western Europe, President Franklin D. Roosevelt made preparations for a second world war.
In a mass protest against the speeded-up term schedule induced by the pressures of World War II, 1,000 students hold a "Vacation Starts Tonight" rally in the Strong Hall corridor in front of Chancellor Deane W. Malott's office.
In September 1940, the Selective Training and Service Act became law and drafts soon spread across the nation to enlist as many eligible men as possible. Less than a month later, 1,083 University of Kansas students and faculty enlisted in the first peaceetime draft in history. At the conclusion of the war, more than 7,000 former and current students and faculty had served in World War II.
entrance into the Alpha Delta Pi and Pi Beta Phi sorority houses. But because of locked doors and windows, many men were reduced to shouting. "We want falsies," in front of the Alpha Chi Omega house.
The late 1950s also marked the end of a campus tradition since 1902, the "nightshirt parades." In the final parade, held
As the war ended, new campus traditions began to take
Even before the end of the war, University officials wished to find a way to honor the 276 students who gave their lives fighting overseas. By May 1951, the University was prepared to dedicate the Memorial Carillon and Campanile. Thousands gathered to hear the bells toll America and Crimson and Blue. A year before the official dedication, the class of 1950 was the first to begin the tradition of walking through the Campanile and down the hill during commencement.
snape. After the women of Watkins Hall admittedly stole two signs from men's residence halls, retaliation was needed. A few nights later, nearly 1,500 men gathered outside of Green Hall, since renamed Lippincott Hall, and began the largest palny raid in KU history. The group quickly moved across campus in search of women's panties and gained
Sept. 27, 1957, more than 700 students gathered for the final walk across campus. Along the way, the group picked up several deans and Chancellor Franklin Murphy, all dressed in nightshirts. The group proceeded to the Mississippi street baseball field for a rally led by football head coach Chuck Mather and then up to the Union Ballroom for dancing. However, the end of the nightshirt parade marked the beginning of a new tradition. The first Traditions Rally was held in September 1958.
Despite integrated classrooms and residence halls across campus, Lawrence was no different than any other American town in the late 1940s. Just steps off campus, African-American students encountered segregation and racism in many public places throughout town. Dining became a difficult task for them after 7 p.m. when the Union's integrated dining facilities closed.
In the fall of 1947, the Lawrence chapter of the Committee on Racial Equality (CORE) surveyed 15 local nightclubs and restaurants that refused service to African Americans. After interviews with members of CORE,
restaurant owner W. E. Murphy went on the record saying he would not serve African-Americans or CORE members. Thus a boycott of Murphy's restaurant, Brick's Café, located near the Kansas Union parking garage, began. Both African-American and white CORE members filled into the café April 15, 1948 and, as expected, were not served by Murphy. A fight nearly erupted among CORE members and 15 to 20 white men, who were recognized as members of the football team. As the police arrived, the
men were told that they would be allowed to remove the protesters from the restaurant. The "huskies," as they were called by CORE members, then proceeded to physically remove them from the café and drop the protesters on the front steps.
University Archives, Spencer Research Library The skeleton of the Campanile in 1950 reflects in Potter Lake.
As racism and segregation continued to dominate Lawrence, it was an African-American that would soon rise to forefront of public attention. Despite not being able to play varsity basketball his first year at Kansas due to NCAA rules, Wilt Chamberlain quickly made national and local headlines. In his first game as a Jayhawk, Chamberlain scored school record 52 points against Northwestern in 1956, a mark that still stands today. Chamberlain led the Jayhawks to the national championship game in 1957, but the team felt to North Carolina in triple-overtime.
— Story by Ryan Schneider.
Edited by Katie Bean
Additional material for this article was supplied by This Week In KU History. www.kuhistory.com, a project of the KU Memorial Unions.
.