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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (Nov. 3, 1950)
SPECIAL Student Union Dedication VOLUME LII EMERALD SPECIAL Section Two Pages 1-8 UNIVERSITY OF OREGON, EUGENE, FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 8, 1!)50 NUMBER 31 SU—Dream Come True With the formal dedication of the Erb Memorial Student Union today, the three-story brick and marble building, already the focal point of campus activity, will be come an official part of the Uni versity. The drive for a student union at Oregon had its beginning in 1923. Twenty-five years later, in June, 1948, the reality of such a center appeared with ground-breaking ceremonies at the site on 13th St. between University and Onyx. .Students entering the University (ffi, 1948, saw the building grow from a huge muddy hole to seem ingly disconnected piles of bricks and beams. But by 1949 the build ing began taking shape. Many Watch Progress Students and professors stopped to watch its progress. Graduating seniors told the Class of 1950 how lucky they were, but this class too, was to be graduated before the day of completion arrived. Finally, Sept. 17, of this year, the $2,100,000 Student Union was ready. Delays beyond the control of the contractor, architect, or Uni versity had constantly advanced the completion date, which was or iginally planned for April, 1950. THE ERB MEMORIAL STUDENT UNION will become an official part ofIhe'unlverlity’Sy^with dedication ceremonies beginning at 8:15 p.m. in the Ballroom. Taking nearly two years to build, and costing .$2,100,000 the Union is claimed to be the most fabulous student center in the United States. Now the completed result is claimed to be the most fabulous student union in the United States. SU Director Dick Williams sub stantiates this claim by pointing Donald Erb Hoped For SU at Oregon Donald M. Erb, to whom the Stu dent Union is a memorial, was University president from 1938 to 1943, when pneumonia ended his career of leadership and vision. Only 43 at the time of his death, Dr. Erb had worked tirelessly for the betterment of the University during his five-year presidency. One of his major projects was re storing upper-division science cour ses to Oregon. He lived to see this accomplished. About a month before his death, he said that one thing he wanted was to see a student union built for Oregon. It was at memorial ser vices for Dr. Erb, that Mrs. Beat rice Walton Sackett, then vice president of the State Board of Higher Education, suggested that if the University ever built a stu cIgfJi union, it be named after Don ald Erb. He had a reputation as a scholar, teacher, and effective administra tor with a winning personality. In his chosen field of economics, he wrote numerous articles and made many addresses. At the time of his death the Portland Oregonian paid him this tribute: “He was that rare combination; a highly intellectual and formally trained man who, however, had not lost the common touch.” Even in 1943, Dr. Erb had been laying plans for the University after the war. He foresaw a tre mendous increase in enrollment and greater attention to the social utility of learning. Dr. Frederick M. Hunter, chan cellor at the time of Erb’s death, believed that Erb’s work in his five years as president would con tribute permanently to the essen tial foundation of higher education in Oregon. “The significance of this brief period will become increasingly ob vious through the coming years,” he said. The name Erb is still closely con nected with the University. Erb’s widow, now secretary in the Eng lish department, will be introduced at dedication ceremonies today. His daughter, Elizabeth, is a Uni versity sophomore in liberal arts, and the older daughter, Barbara, is now Mrs. John Craig of Eugene. A painting of Dr. Erb, done by Sidney Bell in 1944, appears on the second floor landing of the SU. Beneath it are the following words of Dr. Erb; “Do not be tolerant of misrep resentation, of superficiality, of the parading of false issues as though they were real issues. Tol erance does not extend to intellect ual dishonesty or ineptitude.” out the architectural design, func tional use, and low maintenance of the building. Students Back Claim The students back this claim when they are using such luxuri ous facilities as bowling alleys, billiard and ping-pong tables, a barber shop, postoffice, cafeteria and soda bar, ballroom, art gallery, music listening rooms, lounges, an elevator, public address system, movies, free coat checking, and offices and meeting rooms for all student groups. Boasting 17 levels, the building naturally divides into five areas— recreational, cultural, foods, ball room, and student offices. One hundred eighty-five employees in the Union keep it running sn*>oth iy. The exterior finish is brick and Indiana limestone. Woods used in finishes throughout the building1 include gumwood, oak, birch, wal nut in paneling in the Chambers Board Room, and maple in the Ballroom floor. Two types of marble, travertine and boisusedon, are used in the entrance pillars, and in the main lobby and Memorial Stairway. The completely automatic eleva tor, powered by an electric motor’, has a weight capacity of 3,500 pounds, and a 23-passenger load limit. Designed by New Yorker Dan Cooper, interior designer, New York City, planned the Tay lor Lounge, soda bar, Dads’ Room, second floor lounge, art gallery, ladies’ powder room, music listen ing rooms, piano practice room, the Waller Room, and Chambers Boai'd Room. Drapes throughout the building were also designed by Cooper. Wil liams planned interior decorations for the remainder of the Union, advised by the architects and fac ulty members in the School of Architecture and Allied Arts. General contractor was the Ross B. Hammond Company, Portland. Mechanical work was done by the Rushlight Company, Portland. The Morgan Electric Company, Seattle, was electrical contractor. Already the Union has became (Please turn la page eight) History of UO Student Union Begins Back with Class of 1923 By BOB ZWALD When a student attends an as sembly, meeting, or dance, plays ping-pong, bowls, or just stops to meet friends at the Erb Memorial Student Union, he is enacting a scene visualized by progressive and far-sighted individuals as far back as 1922. The Student Union as it is better known, did not simply mushroom out of the ground because some genii snapped his fingers. It is the result of 27 years of hard work by Oregon students, faculty members, and alumni, and was financed 100 per cent by contributions. The desire for a student union on the University of Oregon cam pus was first expressed by Uni versity President P. L. Campbell in 1922, but his plajis were halted by his death and the depression. McGregor Starts Fund In 1923, John McGregor, ASUO president, gave the idea a second birth and started a building fund drive. The students were enthusias tic, committees were formed, and the money started to flow in. The senior class voted that each senior pledge $10 a year for a per iod of 10 years. The other classes made pledges and, 27 long years ago, started the drive with a noisy parade. The years went by, and some times the project seemed almost lost, but the original pledges, peri odical donations from local mer chants and occasional contributions from students, kept the drive slowly moving. The project took definite shape again in 1938 when the late Don ald M. Erb, the man to whom the Union is dedicated, became presi dent of the University. Erb, who guided the University until his death in December, 1943, was the superior leader and organizer need ed to bring the project back into the spotlight. In December, 1943, the fund-' stood at $58,000. The attainment of this figure was helped greatly (Please turn to page eight) President's Message... Dedication of the Erb Memorial Union today will mark the successful conclusion of an effort which began 27 years ago. I am confident that everyone who views this fine building will agree that it was well worthwhile. It is fitting that this building be a memorial to all Univer sity men and women who lost their lives in the service of their country, for such a center has been foremost in student thoughts for more than a quarter of a century. It is fitting, too, that it be named for President Erb whose keen interest in students and their welfare earned him the admiration and respect of all who knew him. Even more impressive than the actual building, it seems to me, is the fact that every segment of the University family had an important part in making it possible. The Erb Memorial Student Union is an outstanding example of what cooperative effort, directed in a constructive vein, can do. It is with real feeling, therefore, that I take this means of thanking all those who had a part in this project—the students who persisted in their efforts to obtain such a center, the thousands of alumni, mothers and dads who contributed of their time and money, the faculty who helped with the plans and gave encouragement in many other ways, and the count less other friends of the University who carried some part of this effort. They can, with reason, feel proud of this building and what it means to the campus. President H. K. Newburn