New Issue of the Insight newsletter!

The latest issue of Insight, the MSU Libraries’ newsletter is available here: Insight May 2013.  It includes the following  contributions from the MSU Archives’ staff:

 

A letter written by Cynthia Ghering, University Archives Director, about archiving electronic records (page 4 of the pdf).

“A Day in the Life of a Michigan Union Soldier” by Ed Busch, Electronic Records Archivist (page 5)

“Digging Up MSU History” by Whitney Miller, Processing Archivist (page 5)

and

“Emeriti Faculty: Don’t Recycle Those Papers!” by Sarah Roberts, Acquisitions Archivist (page 6)

 

 

Student Strike of 1902

Article from the Chicago American October 28, 1902

Class Tug of War 1903; New event instituted after the class strike of 1902

One October, while Michigan Agricultural College President Snyder was away from campus, Freshmen and Sophomores met at midnight to have their annual class rivalry rush. Snyder had forbidden the rush from taking place, and threatened suspension to any participants, because of a permanent injury sustained to a student in the 1900 class rush. The faculty, after being made aware of the event, took action against some of the students. A total of 17 Freshmen and Sophomores were suspended for their actions. 28 more received notices of action being taken against them, pending a decision from the faculty. These students were served with suspension notices, varying from 1-3 years, and were told to be off campus by 5pm. Students were outraged and called for a student meeting. All class levels were represented as a decision to boycott classes until the suspended students were reinstated was made. Classes were cancelled on the campus due to lack of attendance by students. Even women, who were not part of the class rush, took a stand and refused to attend classes in support of the student body. Faculty threatened that all missed classes would have to be made up or students would receive zeros. President Snyder held firm in his position saying that class rivalry is fine, but that there needed to be a less dangerous, more athletic way of doing it. He also defended the faculty action of giving some students more than 1 years suspension based on their behavior prior to this incident. Newspapers all over the state got wind of the strike, causing many parents to remove their children from school in order to “keep them out of trouble.” The strike ultimately lasted for three days. It ended when President Snyder made the decision to refer the suspended students to a committee of chosen faculty for review and a “revised” and safer class rush event.

For more information about Class Rivalry at MSU, see: http://msuarchives.wordpress.com/2010/03/25/class-rivalry-posters-on-flickr/

MSU Archives Closed for Spring Cleaning – May 6-10, 2013

This is just a reminder that the Michigan State University Archives & Historical Collections is closed this week (May 6-10) for Spring Cleaning.  We will resume our normal hours on Monday, May 13, 2013.

 

Proper Etiquette Expected of Students in the 1930′s

Etiquette is something that most people do not think about in today’s age. Most of us know not to place our elbows on the table or chew with our mouths open. Those are really the only “etiquette rules” we observe in our daily lives. In the 1930s, it was common for students to be given a guidebook at the beginning of the year outlining proper procedure for all situations one might encounter on campus. Situations outlined include campus life, tea parties, dates, and formal dances. Table manners, order of introduction, and how to be agreeable are all covered extensively.

According to the manuals, which can be seen in collections on the On the Banks website, the worst thing for a girl was to be overdressed or be sloppy in appearance. Women were also warned not to be too exotic in their every day wear; that woolen dresses and oxfords would put college men more at ease and therefore, make them more approachable. Men were told that baggy pants, unshaven faces, and “Tarzan” haircuts would not win them favor with the coeds and should be avoided. Overall, the biggest piece of advice offered to students was that, “Your personal appearance is one of the most important factors of your success on campus.”

Below are some questions to ask yourself to determine if you are a proper lady/gentleman by the manuals standards:

Do you greet people with a “How do you do?” or “Good Morning?”

Do you seem friendly while on campus?

Are you punctual?

Do you set up meetings with professors ahead of time?

Do you knock at doors before entering?

Do you hold doors for people behind you?

Ladies, do you thank men for holding the door for you?

Men, do you rise when a woman enters the room? Do you remain standing until she is seated?

Do you know the situations under which gum chewing is not in order?

Do you chew toothpicks in the privacy of your own room?

Do you speak in an agreeable voice?

Do you avoid gossip?

Do you save thirty seconds and ruin the grass by cutting across campus?

Upcoming Event: Take Your Child to Work Day Tour

Three boys preparing food for a child nutrition class, 1925

This Thursday, April 25^th, the University Archives & Historical Collections will be participating in Take Your Child to Work Day, sponsored by the MSU Women’s Resource Center.  Ever wondered what life at MSU was like over 100 years ago?  Visit the University Archives to see student scrapbooks, football programs, and photographs.  Learn MSU trivia and see the Eagle, a campus newsletter created by the 13 year old grandson of Professor Robert Kedzie.

We will offer half hour long tours starting at 9:30 am and 10:30 am. For more information about Take Your Child to Work Day please see http://www.wrc.msu.edu/documents/TYCTourGuide2013.pdf.

Please contact us with any questions or concerns.

Phone: (517) 355-2330

Email: archives@msu.edu

Address:  Conrad Hall, 888 Wilson Rd., Room 101

Pioneers of International Education: Onn Mann Liang

Onn Mann Liang can be seen here in 1926, in his graduation cap and gown.

International students have been studying at Michigan State University for over 140 years, which the Archives’ new exhibit – International Students at Michigan State – outlines over here.  Recently, the scrapbooks and work documentation of one such student, Onn Mann Liang, have been uploaded to our On the Banks of the Red Cedar website almost in their entirety.  These donated materials provide the story of Liang’s life, mainly in pictures and a few brief correspondences, from late high school until the year before his death in 1957.

Being an Engineering major, Liang seemed to have a fascination with bridges. This image is one of many he took of various bridges while in the US, and it shows him on campus standing on a small wooden structure.

Liang was one of a

group of twenty international students who studied at MSU in the 1920s, and he can even be seen in the first photo of the International Students exhibit with the International Studies group known as the Cosmopolitan Club (back row, third from the right).   His scrapbooks from the time he spent at MSU reveal how immersed he was in the campus lifestyle.  His photographs include images of himself and others canoeing and walking alongside the Red Cedar River or alternatively around the major sights of campus, such as Beaumont Tower or the Greenhouses; the pictures also reflect his interest in bridge engineering – multiple artistic shots of various bridges around MSU have been included.  These campus pictures are

Liang was a prolific photographer, especially of MSU’s campus. This particular image appears to be on a bank of the Red Cedar River.

inter-mixed with oddly familiar and nostalgic college scenes of Liang looking perturbed at large drafting desks, reclining on lawn chairs, exploring nearby cities like Ann Arbor, and

finally posing in his long-awaited cap and gown.  While he was still attending school, Liang was known for the quality of his photographs (even winning a few awards), and his shots were good enough to open a photography studio in Lansing.

Liang took this picture while in Chicago in 1928. The La Salle Street bridge is foremost in this image, but another two can be seen in the background.

After completing his undergraduate studies in 1926, Liang spent the next six years in the US travelling to various cities while also working for the Michigan State Highway Department.  Scrapbook images of Chicago show such famous buildings as the Tribune Tower as well as the La Salle Street Bridge – which was built and completed throughout the year of 1928, and, as a bridge enthusiast, could very well have been the reason for Liang’s visit to the city.   Within the next two years his travels also brought him to Buffalo, before he came back to Michigan and began working full time with the Highway Department.  Some of Liang’s final photographs include him among coworkers at the Department, prior to his return to China in 1932.

This image shows Onn Mann Liang and his wife on their wedding day in 1936.

Wedding photographs from 1936 and registration documents as a Civil Engineer show Liang’s quick integration back into Chinese life.  Employment papers from the same period reveal Liang’s work as a primary engineer of dyke and bridge plans throughout his native country, which, just as with his time spent at the Michigan State Highway Department, was a direct application of the education he received from MSU.  After processing the Liang scrapbooks, it becomes apparent that he carried that education with him, even up to the last years of his life.  The final image of the Liang scrapbook shows him on a return trip to San Francisco alongside his wife and son – with the Golden Gate Bridge receding behind.

Morrill Hall Reminiscences

Morrill Hall, circa 1913

The Department of Nursing was established at Michigan State College in 1950.  The program was an immediate success.  In 1954 the first 10 graduates earned the highest scores on the State Board of Nursing Exams in Michigan.  During its first decade of existence, classes were held in Giltner Hall, which was home to the College of Veterinary Medicine.  Conditions were not ideal as there was no available space to hold demonstration classes and a large number of sick and dying animals were housed in Giltner, a problem exacerbated by the lack of ventilation.  It was decided in 1961 to move Nursing to Morrill Hall. The following excerpt is from the book Nursing at Michigan State University, written by Dr. Isabelle Payne, Dean Emeritus of the School of Nursing:

After many conferences with the staff in the Office of Space Utilization, the program was moved to the basement of Morrill Hall in 1961.  It wasn’t the best solution, but the faculty were all on one floor and several offices were available for single occupancy.  There were adequate classrooms and space for laboratory demonstrations and practice.  Morrill Hall had originally been a dormitory, and when one prospective student came for a pre-admission interview, she remarked, “My grandmother told me that she lived in this building when she was a student at Michigan State College.”

Although the animal noises and odors were no longer a problem, the faculty was now challenged by bats.  Because Morrill Hall was constructed for use as a dormitory, fireplaces were located in each room for heat.  When the building was remodeled for office and classroom use, the chimney shafts were not closed.  Occasionally, a bloodcurdling scream was heard and one could be sure that a faculty member had encountered a bat.  Students were amused when a bat approached a faculty member.  If a student was attacked, however, it was a different story.  Regardless of the bat’s prey, the screaming, the running to escape, and the general confusion were the same.

Morrill Hall had limited storage space, and, just as when one moves from one house to another, excess accumulation of “stuff” needed to be sorted and disposed of.  The faculty was so spread out in Giltner Hall that it was difficult to consolidate and sort the equipment before the move took place.  This did not seem to bother most of the faculty, but Helen Penhale and Isabelle Payne decided to take matters into their own hands.  They returned to Morrill Hall one evening to sort and dispose of materials that could no longer be used as teaching aides.  One of the dilapidated articles they came upon was an old Chase doll (almost everyone remembers Mary Chase).   After weighing the pros and cons of the situation, they decided to dispose of the mannequin by placing it

Mrs. Mary Chase, source of the misunderstanding. Chase dolls were used to train health care workers.

in the trash disposal bin outside the building.  They carried the mannequin out with no difficulty, but because its joints were not functioning properly, it was hard to manage the legs and arms; it took some creative maneuvering to cram all four extremities into the bin.

Apparently, someone driving by saw the women stuffing a “body” into the trash receptacle and contacted the police to investigate.  Before the task of disposing of the “body” was complete, several police cars with lights flashing and sirens screaming came into the parking area between Morrill Hall and Olin Health Center.  By then, the two culprits realized what was happening and were literally consumed with laughter.  They had great difficulty explaining the situation to the policemen, who in turn were doubled over with laughter.  By then a crowd had gathered and it took some time to explain that no one had been murdered and an attempt was not being made to dispose of a “body.”

The police dispersed the crowd and laughingly suggested that when another “object” or “body” was to be disposed of Physical Plant personnel be asked to assist.  Fortunately, neither The State News nor late night TV scooped the story.

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Works Cited

Payne, Isabelle. Nursing at Michigan State University. East Lansing: University Printing, 1994.