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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (April 11, 1942)
After the Bombs, Still Number One When the first bombs dropped on Hawaii early in the morning of December 7 the ordinary ac tivities of the millions of people in the rich country which had the islands for its territory were put asute, they did not know for how long, until the sudden-breaking war had ended. One of the smallest things that was postponed for the duration was an idea which had been brooding in the minds of Oregon students for many years. It was a plan for. a student union build ing. Hot Rich This was nothing new. Other campus had buildings where stu dents met and where visiting art ists performed. But Oregon had never been- a rich campus and other, more pressing, needs had put th'e building in the back ground. After much spadework, how ever, ’it" Had seemed, before Pearl Harbor, that everything; v/as ready for the union. Now, with the union an absolutely dead is sue, other things have the spot light and there has been danger of the union being killed forever. One reason for this slaughter is arguments that have been ad vanced promoting other buildings to be built after the emergency is done. But a concrete promise that these plans would not inter fere with the student’s dream when building was again consid ~W’Cd on the campus was given Friday by the young, vigorous president of Oregon, Donald M. Erb. Said Erb, “The student un ion is number one on the list. I am committed to the erection of a student union building.” Killed With no indecision, however, he indicated' that the student un ion was definitely killed for the duration. The nation's efforts are concentrated on war and he in dicated that there can be no dis tractions from this. “All expecta tions which we had for a possible s1i%dent union project have now been put in a pigeonhole,” he said. So the dream which had its be ginnings in the mind of Lyle Bar tholomew, ASUO president in 1921-22, and was carried on by John MacGregor, again was put on the shelf, this time to make way for the most pressing emer gency that had yet caused its de ferment. But the promise which Dr. Erb made Friday gave new hope to many students who had heard arguments in the past months for, when the time came, the erection of other buildings. A Dream Dr. Erb has not, of course, been the first president of Oregon to throw his weight behind the stu dent union building for Prince L. Campbell, president from 1902 to 1925, was also one of its chief sponsors and included the idea in his $10,000,000 ‘‘greater Oregon” campaign. Two of the objectives of the campaign has been achieved, a stadium and a gym nasium, but the student union is still a dream. It was near to a reality, how ever, before the war guns boomed for the state legislature had passed a bill to permit $250,000 to be borrowed to finance the pro ject. Important fact of this bill was that it was not a grant but merely gave permission to bor row the money. And a Hope Other aid was also then, ap parently in sight, for Dr. Erb Fri day, ‘‘We had thought that we would be in a financial condition by the end of 1943 or the begin ning of 1944 so that the building fund would begin to free itself from the bonds now outstanding for the library and other campus buildings. We had also hoped that bv that time a public works pro gram might assist in the work." So certain were campus author ities that the union would be erected that on May 13, 1941, a student-faculty committee had given its decision on the question of a site. First choice was Deady, second, Sheldon, third, millrace. Were Shelved But these years-long plans were all shelved Friday when in his sunny office Dr. Erb outlined the present status of the stu dent union. He was not indecisive or hesitant on the subject but talked as a man would who has had his mind made up for some time. Although the student un ion movement is rightly dead un til normalcy is reached again the students of Oregon now have def inite promise that it will not be put aside because of plans for other buildings. When building is again started on the Oregon cam pus the student union is “number one on the list.” Gcan^iwi GatetuLiSi Installation of officers will be the highlight of the Yeomen pot luck dinner set for 6 p.m. Monday night in Gerlinger hall. The ASXJO Executive council and members running for top four positions will meet on the council upstairs in the Side, Sun day night at 9 o'clock. All Emerald reporters will meet this morning at 11 o’clock in the news room to discuss plans for reorganization and the frosh edi tion. Glenn Wessels, noted artist and teacher, has been appointed as sistant professor of fine arts at Washington State college. DREAM STAGES . . . . . . of the student union. Above, students of 1923-24, headed by John MacGregor, student body president, watch the rise of the union’s gift campaign thermome ter. Right, three cf the sites cho sen in '-11: top, Fiji; middle, Dads’ gates; bottori, Sheldon. Below, President Erb who Friday stated that after the war the union was still “number one on the list.”