By Erasmus Baxter
In 1968 Western had around only 6,000 students, the equivalent of a mid-size high school. However, growth was on the horizon. Fairhaven college was about to begin its first year at Western, the Viking Union was expanded and a large pipe was installed under the Old Main Lawn. Western’s president predicted that the student population would soon double and the University would be called either “Western Washington State” or “Bellingham University”.
However, not all was ideal in Bellingham-land.The large trench across Old Main lawn prompted the Western Front to publish the headline “It’s not just the ditch – it’s the hole problem.” In other hole problems, a student’s parked car was pushed into the hole dug for the Viking Union expansion causing her to remark on the ongoing difficulty of finding parking at Western.
Some Things Never Change
Another issue that might seem prescient for anyone who recently lived in Edens Hall
was the failure of water heaters in North campus dorms. Despite many plumber’s best efforts the top floor of Nash Hall remained as cold as the present day social scene there.
A freshman wrote a letter to the Western Front complaining about students packing up before class was over and making it impossible to hear the professor. Fortunately, this obnoxious behavior has been largely eradicated.
Finally, an article introducing a blues legend coming to campus talked about “white America’s” fascination with and appropriation of “Negro Music.”
Some Do
To raise funds for the World University Service, an organization of students worldwide, students held a week of events that included a computerized date finder, an ugly man contest and a turtle race. No word if ugly man contestants got complimentary use of the computer matchmaker.
A student wrote to the newspaper to complain that female students in a PE class were docked points for wearing pants around campus and to class. According to the letter, there was an unwritten rule that women were not allowed to wear pants on campus before 4 p.m. or in cold weather or during finals week.
In other patriarchal news, dorms had curfews, were separated by gender and had a Dean of Men and a Dean of Women. Quite impressive titles!
Another matter of much contention was the establishment of a ROTC program on Western’s campus. That matter was fiercely debated by staff and students as Western was the only state school in Washington to not have a ROTC program. With the background of the Vietnam War many were opposed to the establishment of a Department of Military Sciences on campus. In the end, no ROTC came to be.
Some are Horrific
I’m just going to leave this excerpt from the February 27 Western Front here:
“Slave auction Friday
Slave labor may be purchased Friday in the VU foyer for 25 cents a half hour.
Masters may request a slave, either male or female, to iron, mend, shine shoes, mop and wax floors, type, tutor, wash cars, wash windows and mirrors, sweep and dust, empty waste baskets, run errands and so on.
Work must be done by the slaves on slave day, Saturday, from 1 to 5 p.m.
Dorms will be open for this period.
The master is responsible for telling his slaves where and when he wants the work done and for furnishing supplies.
Any students wishing to sign up as slaves may do so at any dorm desk before Friday.
Slave day is sponsored by the freshman class.”