senior seminar paper
Kristen Edwards
Senior Seminar
Murray State University 1960 and 1969:
Through the Eyes of the News
The decade of the 1960’s is one of great change. From bobby socks and petty coats to long hair and burning draft cards, perceptions of the world changed dramatically. In 1960 people were optimistic of the new decade. It was going to be a decade of progress and hope. However, as time went on, people began to realize that things were not turning out as they had hoped.
Violence as early as 1961 began to chip away at the pure outset of the decade. On November 22, 1963, President John F. Kennedy was assassinated, and Americans watched as their decade of hope turned into the “days of rage”. In 1965, America began the bombing of North Vietnam. The same year, Black civil rights advocates began a march in Selma, Alabama, and “Bloody Sunday” occurred.
The downward spiral continued into the late years of the 60’s. In 1968, North Vietnam launched the Tet offensive, Bobby Kennedy was assassinated, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated, the soviets invaded Prague, and there was a mass riot at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, Illinois. In 1969 police raided a gay bar in New York, an incident we now call Stonewall, and someone died at a Rolling Stones concert at the Altamont Speedway on Dec. 6. By the end of the decade, people were no longer concerned merely with the Cold War and Communism, but were wondering if their sons and husbands were going to come home in a body bag.
Organizations were founded to deal with changes, and to try to create change. Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) was founded in Michigan, and became the vanguard organization for college campuses. However, this and other groups eventually fractured under the pressure of the government and governmental actions.
Vietnam dragged on as a police action in the midst of a Vietnamese Civil War, making high demands of a youth that was becoming wary of authority and government. Who were these students? What were their concerns? What was it like for the people who entered the world during a decade that changed the world?
During the 60’s, social activism was taking place on many college campuses. The college campus gave birth to several anti-war and civil rights activist groups such as SDS, and also was the site of intellectual activity. This paper aims to take a look at one such university, and to examine its social content. It will observe Murray State University in 1960, then Murray State College, and compare it with Murray State University in 1969. It will also look at the way that the school and students dealt with the assassinations of Dr. King and President Kennedy.
Murray State College was one of _ public universities in Kentucky in 1960. It was a school with an enrollment of _ students. It had an active ROTC Program. In 1960, a Murray State shoulder patch was approved for the ROTC brigade. Also approved in the fall semester of 1960 was a Military program for TV to portray the meaning and phases of the ROTC program. On September 28, the College News, the Murray State paper at the time, noted that the military science department, in charge of the ROTC, recorded 48 more cadets enrolled in the freshman class than the previous year, making it a total of 931 students in the military science program. Also, there was an increase of 69 students in the sophomore class, a significant increase according to Captain John Bryant of the military program. He said this was significant “because this group is where most of the dropouts usually occur”. On October 12 of 1960, the paper also noted that sixteen ROTC graduates were stationed in Europe. A glance at the newspaper would tell even the most casual reader that the ROTC had a strong department, as there is an honoring or meeting cited in almost every issue.
The strong appearance of the ROTC program, along with a high reporting rate of student achievement and administrator achievement, reflects the conservative, modest, and scholarly atmosphere at Murray in 1960. Students were expected to be clean cut. Academics were important and the subject of several articles. On February 9 an article titled “Cheating Merits College Censure” claimed that cheating marked the beginning of “academic dishonesty”. The author compared cheating to stealing, and went so far as to say the atmosphere presented to students encouraged cheating. The February 23 paper cited that Dr. Kurt von Schuschnigg, a diplomatic history and international law professor at St. Louis University, and former Austrian Chancellor at the time of Hitler’s invasion, was to speak at Murray.
Student’s desires for academics were also apparent through the articles written about and for them. A weekly book review was given, with titles such as I Was a Teenage Dwarf and The Ugly American. Reading is an importance also seen in a student written article entitled “Both Mind, Body must have Fuel”. The student stressed the need for fellow students to nurture the mind more, and that people should read for pleasure.
Students were not only concerned about academics, but also with the world around them. On January 12 Gerald Henry wrote an article concerning the “rash of countries rushing to be numbered among the nuclear elite of the world”. In the same issue, Professor James S. Harris presented concerns of the world population. He stated that the rising population makes world peace a concern, as there were, at the time of publication, 2,790,000,000 people in the world, a population that was expected to double by 2000 according to Jimmy Benedict. Doug Harris stated that “if overpopulation should cause the underdeveloped countries to ally with Russia, the military position of the United States would become less secure and the preparations for defense and retaliation would have to be intensified”.
Indeed, Russia and communism were on the minds of students and faculty at Murray, along with the rest of the world. In the February 16 1960 issue of the Campus News, Bettie Jo Ray addressed her concerns over a proposed congressional amendment that would affect the filling of vacancies in the House of Representatives in case of a nuclear attack. In the same issue, Dr. Frank Steely of the Social Sciences department addressed concerns over Russia’s missile capabilities. He said that more money must be spent on education “because this is where the ultimate outcome of the battle between East and West will be decided”.
Already by 1960, though, people were already talking about young people’s distrust of authority, and their lack of responsibility. On March 15 a guest columnist wrote an article titled “Beat, Rebel Generation Shirks Responsibility”. He claimed “The future of the beat or protesting generation can be read in its past” and that “the beatnik is a rebel without a cause, who shirks responsibility on the grounds that he had the H-bomb jitters” “His disengagement from society is so complete that he treats self as the only reality and cultivates sensation as the only goal”.
By 1969, the student newspaper had grown from four pages to 24 pages. It seems that students had a lot more to say, and they did. Murray State may not have had the problems that larger schools had, but they kept in the tradition of speaking up about student concerns in relation to the establishment. There was much discussion of the ROTC program, the rules imposed on women living in the dorms, and the equality of black students. Also, focus on world issues switched from the Cold War to the War in Vietnam. In the paper there was a noticeable increase in emphasis on style.
One of the top issues discussed by both students and faculty was that of compulsory ROTC, and the actions of the ROTC. On February 26 a student wrote in asking if it was sacrilege for the ROTC to hold sessions in the “Little Chapel”, or if it was just a paradox that the art of killing was being taught in a holy place. It seems that other students shared similar opinions. A message was found in the remnants of a recent snowfall in front of the ROTC department stating “There’s more to life than playing soldier”. It was one of many such statements, left by an anonymous writer. On March 19 the student council saw an ROTC petition. March 26, Adams suggested that people research into the reasons why ROTC was compulsory on campus.
A partial response came on April 2 in an article on Kentucky’s changing campuses. It stated that ROTC at other schools had either been weakened or they had made it completely voluntary. Students obviously wanted something along similar lines. Students held a protest meeting against ROTC to discuss “issues and possible action on compulsory ROTC”. It was attended by 250 to 300 students and faculty. A petition was provided for people to sign in opposition of a compulsory program, and was said to bear 900 signatures, mostly of students. On April 30, Samuel Jessen claimed that the ROTC department gave too little incentive. On May 7, James Simms wrote an editorial about how the institution needed change, and ROTC was listed among the needed changes. On May 28, the faculty publicly announced that it supported a voluntary ROTC program. Dr. Charles Daughaday, associated professor of English, said that “The abolition of compulsory ROTC is ‘morally, intellectually, and academically the right and just action to take’”.
This is not to say there was not opposition to the desires for voluntary ROTC. May 14 Wayne Williams supported not abolishing ROTC. The decision itself was in the hands of the Board of Regents. In a May 28 letter to the editor, a military commander spoke against the protest held against compulsory ROTC. In May of 1969, the Board of Regents was scheduled to make a decision, but deferred. It was again delayed in November 1969. It was stated that the Regents must decide something by the next month. By December 17, the Board of Regents had decided to reject the proposed plan for voluntary ROTC. They instead decided to adopt a one year compulsory ROTC program versus a two year program. In response, a letter was written to the editor concerning the decision. It stated that the problem had not been solved because it was a problem of student contempt. Another article claimed that the ROTC compromise of ’69 was a pawn in the game of politics. It said that the compromise was not really a compromise because it was still required.
Another issue addressed often in the paper was that of the rules imposed upon female coeds. On April 2 1969, a female transfer student wrote a letter to the editor comparing Murray State University with St. Louis University, a well known conservative Catholic school.
She said “I recently spent a weekend with a friend at St. Louis University, the school from which I transferred last fall. This friend, my former roommate, related an incident in which she came in from a party at 3:00 a.m. - an hour late according to women’s dormitory rules. The following morning she received a note saying that unless she wanted four campuses, she should see that hall director as soon as possible. She saw the director and was pardoned. This put me in a mind of parallel incident. Three days after I arrived at Murray (before fall registration), I came in from a dance at 11:25 p.m. - 25 minutes late according to Murray dorm rules. Punishment for this offense is automatically eight campuses. However, after two weeks’ anticipation, I was required to appear before the dorm council to plead my case. I was given three campuses, although a number of council members felt this was much too lenient. St. Louis U. is a highly rated Catholic school which is considered very conservative. Next year there will be no hours except for freshman girls. This is far from being a new idea. Am I wrong to resent the fact that this university feels it necessary to impose more stringent rules upon me at age 20 than my parents did when I was 16? I now hear that next year the women’s dorm regulations are to be considerably liberalized. All I can say is, it’s about time!” - Pat Callaghan.
In the same issue of the paper, it was declared that women’s dorm hours were to be reviewed. In an April 23 issue, a cartoon was printed stating “Our girl Lillian T.: Here at Murray we treat our coeds as mature, intelligent adults!* *call downs for full wastebaskets, unmade beds, using laundry room after 11 pm, campuses for smoking in bed, ironing in room, accumulation of call downs. Mandatory sign-out sheet after 6:30 pm”. On page seven of the same issue, “Dorm dwelling coeds listed pet grievances”. Among them were the need to check in and out, dorm hours, room checks, and the violation of constitutional rights. Both men and women listed grievances, the men sympathizing with the way women were treated. On May 7, in the same letter to the editor stating that ROTC was one of the changes that MSU needed to look into, girl’s rights were also listed as a major change that needed to be looked into.
The Inquiring Reporter, a newspaper column, asked students how they felt about girl’s dorm rules, and what they liked and disliked. The most frequent complaints consisted of girl’s ability to take dates into the TV room, which wasn’t allowed, the inability of girls to wear slacks or shorts in their lobbies, and the call down system. On November 12, the paper stated that the women’s rules needed to be reviewed, and that the women were treated like Jr. High girls. On October 8 it was stated that late minutes and a clean slate were going to be included in dorm changes, and it was obviously needed. Women needed to be able to govern themselves.
The third issue often discussed on MSU’s campus, just as at many other campuses, was that of race. On March 5 it was stated that blacks have contributed to the United States. March 19, Black coeds in Woods Hall wrote a letter saying that they had received unfair, biased treatment from dorm mothers, stating “We’d rather die on our feed than live on our knees.” March 19 the paper said that there was a rising increase in interest in the Negro past, and as a result an increase in History courses on the topic.
April 2 the paper reported on the visit of Dick Gregory, a participant in the University’s Insight series. He had a background in the St. Louis ghetto, and provided many insights on the status of Black Americans. He said “The same German that could have killed my daddy in World War II and made me go 27 years without a daddy can come to America now and move into a neighborhood my daddy’s son can’t get into” and “Charlie Drew, a black man, invented blood plasma, but bled to death in the waiting room of an Atlanta hospital that didn’t accept n******”. On Universities, he said “They try to make us chocolate coated white folks.”
On April 3, a march was held in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Bernard Dishman, president of STEAM, said “the march was ‘designed to relieve tensions and show people that Negro students can assemble in a peaceful manner to express their feelings. We contradicted the belief that a march would create violence, by fusing together, black and whites as one”. Again, the May 7 letter concerning changes on campus stated that there needed to be a recognition of the importance of Blacks in the University community. Also May 7, the paper announced the first Black Arts Festival to be set for May 10-11. Also, Krady’s Konvictions, a paper column, addressed the Black/White issue. December 10 race relations were surveyed , and November 19 the panther organization was explained by Dishman. November 26 a letter to the editor discussed the racist atmosphere on campus.
1969 was also a year where protests, problems, and the Vietnam War were greatly discussed. January 15, a US soldier overseas sent an article on the war. The paper reported the death of an Honors cadet of ’67 in Vietnam. March 15 an essay urged Americanism, and asked if campus protests were within the American tradition. A March 12 cartoon showed a Regent talking to an officer, saying “Officer, that person is thinking of threatening violence”, in reference to a young man sitting against a tree, wearing peace, love, and beauty buttons. On April 2, the Inquiring Reporter asked students the reasons why MSU had been spared from riots, demonstrations and other actions of violence. Common responses included the lack of extremists, the fact that MSU is a small school and so it is easy to pinpoint leaders, that there was nothing to riot about, that the administration isn’t liberal and so students learn to accept policies and conform. Others said that the security forces on campus had stated the consequences, and students had too much to lose, that students were in a state of apathy, that students were not much against regulations, and that MSU did not have as many problems as larger schools were there are demonstrations. One Student suggested that they were in a state of apathy. On April 23 it was suggested that the “reason Murray State had been spared riots and disorder is that its president is a man students can look up to and respect, and at the same time one who tries to understand them and enjoy the things they enjoy”.
On May 7 Jimmie D. Sloan, a 1968 graduate of Murray, claimed that someone cried infringement on rights when someone was not satisfied. He told students who were unhappy at Murray to “Get out and go elsewhere”. A May 14 cartoon addressed the sentiment and his complaint against complaints on the editorial page. It stated “It has been said, ‘If you don’t like the way things are at Murray, you should leave!’ Just suppose everybody with a gripe took this seriously? ‘I’m sorry, sir, the legislature refuses to support a school with only 12 students and 13 vice presidents!’”.
On October 8, the National Vietnam Moratorium was scheduled for October 15, which went off without a hitch. In a November 26 letter to the editor the peace situation and the need for demonstrations was addressed. One of the more interesting events of the entire decade, and possibly the most destructive, was the November 5 exploding of the anti-tank vehicle in front of the ROTC headquarters at Wrather Hall. On December 17 Dr. Spock came to Murray to speak on Dissent and the lottery draft.
In the between times, and notably the dark times of the 1960’s, tragedy struck the nation. On November 22, 1963, President John F. Kennedy was assassinated. However, the student paper made no mention of this tragedy until December 10, in an editorial on the fourth page of the paper. This was the only article that was found on the subject. Another tragedy, the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was not reported until sometime in May, stating in a caption to a picture that a march had been held in his honor on April 9. I found it surprising that so little was reported on such a horrible tragedy.
The major difference between the student newspaper in 1960 and 1969 is that students speak out much more about their personal worries and concerns. While there are obvious changes that go along the lines of the larger society, this is the one fact that sets the end of the decade apart from the beginning. The paper went from a four page report on student, academic, and world accomplishments, goals, and worries to a 24 page publication reporting largely on student activities and student grievances. The drawback is that world happenings were rarely reported. However, the paper did articulate the changes that happened at Murray State, and showed the shift of attention from the early 1960 on a more formal atmosphere to a more informal atmosphere in 1969 that set the stage for future generations.
Senior Seminar
Murray State University 1960 and 1969:
Through the Eyes of the News
The decade of the 1960’s is one of great change. From bobby socks and petty coats to long hair and burning draft cards, perceptions of the world changed dramatically. In 1960 people were optimistic of the new decade. It was going to be a decade of progress and hope. However, as time went on, people began to realize that things were not turning out as they had hoped.
Violence as early as 1961 began to chip away at the pure outset of the decade. On November 22, 1963, President John F. Kennedy was assassinated, and Americans watched as their decade of hope turned into the “days of rage”. In 1965, America began the bombing of North Vietnam. The same year, Black civil rights advocates began a march in Selma, Alabama, and “Bloody Sunday” occurred.
The downward spiral continued into the late years of the 60’s. In 1968, North Vietnam launched the Tet offensive, Bobby Kennedy was assassinated, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated, the soviets invaded Prague, and there was a mass riot at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, Illinois. In 1969 police raided a gay bar in New York, an incident we now call Stonewall, and someone died at a Rolling Stones concert at the Altamont Speedway on Dec. 6. By the end of the decade, people were no longer concerned merely with the Cold War and Communism, but were wondering if their sons and husbands were going to come home in a body bag.
Organizations were founded to deal with changes, and to try to create change. Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) was founded in Michigan, and became the vanguard organization for college campuses. However, this and other groups eventually fractured under the pressure of the government and governmental actions.
Vietnam dragged on as a police action in the midst of a Vietnamese Civil War, making high demands of a youth that was becoming wary of authority and government. Who were these students? What were their concerns? What was it like for the people who entered the world during a decade that changed the world?
During the 60’s, social activism was taking place on many college campuses. The college campus gave birth to several anti-war and civil rights activist groups such as SDS, and also was the site of intellectual activity. This paper aims to take a look at one such university, and to examine its social content. It will observe Murray State University in 1960, then Murray State College, and compare it with Murray State University in 1969. It will also look at the way that the school and students dealt with the assassinations of Dr. King and President Kennedy.
Murray State College was one of _ public universities in Kentucky in 1960. It was a school with an enrollment of _ students. It had an active ROTC Program. In 1960, a Murray State shoulder patch was approved for the ROTC brigade. Also approved in the fall semester of 1960 was a Military program for TV to portray the meaning and phases of the ROTC program. On September 28, the College News, the Murray State paper at the time, noted that the military science department, in charge of the ROTC, recorded 48 more cadets enrolled in the freshman class than the previous year, making it a total of 931 students in the military science program. Also, there was an increase of 69 students in the sophomore class, a significant increase according to Captain John Bryant of the military program. He said this was significant “because this group is where most of the dropouts usually occur”. On October 12 of 1960, the paper also noted that sixteen ROTC graduates were stationed in Europe. A glance at the newspaper would tell even the most casual reader that the ROTC had a strong department, as there is an honoring or meeting cited in almost every issue.
The strong appearance of the ROTC program, along with a high reporting rate of student achievement and administrator achievement, reflects the conservative, modest, and scholarly atmosphere at Murray in 1960. Students were expected to be clean cut. Academics were important and the subject of several articles. On February 9 an article titled “Cheating Merits College Censure” claimed that cheating marked the beginning of “academic dishonesty”. The author compared cheating to stealing, and went so far as to say the atmosphere presented to students encouraged cheating. The February 23 paper cited that Dr. Kurt von Schuschnigg, a diplomatic history and international law professor at St. Louis University, and former Austrian Chancellor at the time of Hitler’s invasion, was to speak at Murray.
Student’s desires for academics were also apparent through the articles written about and for them. A weekly book review was given, with titles such as I Was a Teenage Dwarf and The Ugly American. Reading is an importance also seen in a student written article entitled “Both Mind, Body must have Fuel”. The student stressed the need for fellow students to nurture the mind more, and that people should read for pleasure.
Students were not only concerned about academics, but also with the world around them. On January 12 Gerald Henry wrote an article concerning the “rash of countries rushing to be numbered among the nuclear elite of the world”. In the same issue, Professor James S. Harris presented concerns of the world population. He stated that the rising population makes world peace a concern, as there were, at the time of publication, 2,790,000,000 people in the world, a population that was expected to double by 2000 according to Jimmy Benedict. Doug Harris stated that “if overpopulation should cause the underdeveloped countries to ally with Russia, the military position of the United States would become less secure and the preparations for defense and retaliation would have to be intensified”.
Indeed, Russia and communism were on the minds of students and faculty at Murray, along with the rest of the world. In the February 16 1960 issue of the Campus News, Bettie Jo Ray addressed her concerns over a proposed congressional amendment that would affect the filling of vacancies in the House of Representatives in case of a nuclear attack. In the same issue, Dr. Frank Steely of the Social Sciences department addressed concerns over Russia’s missile capabilities. He said that more money must be spent on education “because this is where the ultimate outcome of the battle between East and West will be decided”.
Already by 1960, though, people were already talking about young people’s distrust of authority, and their lack of responsibility. On March 15 a guest columnist wrote an article titled “Beat, Rebel Generation Shirks Responsibility”. He claimed “The future of the beat or protesting generation can be read in its past” and that “the beatnik is a rebel without a cause, who shirks responsibility on the grounds that he had the H-bomb jitters” “His disengagement from society is so complete that he treats self as the only reality and cultivates sensation as the only goal”.
By 1969, the student newspaper had grown from four pages to 24 pages. It seems that students had a lot more to say, and they did. Murray State may not have had the problems that larger schools had, but they kept in the tradition of speaking up about student concerns in relation to the establishment. There was much discussion of the ROTC program, the rules imposed on women living in the dorms, and the equality of black students. Also, focus on world issues switched from the Cold War to the War in Vietnam. In the paper there was a noticeable increase in emphasis on style.
One of the top issues discussed by both students and faculty was that of compulsory ROTC, and the actions of the ROTC. On February 26 a student wrote in asking if it was sacrilege for the ROTC to hold sessions in the “Little Chapel”, or if it was just a paradox that the art of killing was being taught in a holy place. It seems that other students shared similar opinions. A message was found in the remnants of a recent snowfall in front of the ROTC department stating “There’s more to life than playing soldier”. It was one of many such statements, left by an anonymous writer. On March 19 the student council saw an ROTC petition. March 26, Adams suggested that people research into the reasons why ROTC was compulsory on campus.
A partial response came on April 2 in an article on Kentucky’s changing campuses. It stated that ROTC at other schools had either been weakened or they had made it completely voluntary. Students obviously wanted something along similar lines. Students held a protest meeting against ROTC to discuss “issues and possible action on compulsory ROTC”. It was attended by 250 to 300 students and faculty. A petition was provided for people to sign in opposition of a compulsory program, and was said to bear 900 signatures, mostly of students. On April 30, Samuel Jessen claimed that the ROTC department gave too little incentive. On May 7, James Simms wrote an editorial about how the institution needed change, and ROTC was listed among the needed changes. On May 28, the faculty publicly announced that it supported a voluntary ROTC program. Dr. Charles Daughaday, associated professor of English, said that “The abolition of compulsory ROTC is ‘morally, intellectually, and academically the right and just action to take’”.
This is not to say there was not opposition to the desires for voluntary ROTC. May 14 Wayne Williams supported not abolishing ROTC. The decision itself was in the hands of the Board of Regents. In a May 28 letter to the editor, a military commander spoke against the protest held against compulsory ROTC. In May of 1969, the Board of Regents was scheduled to make a decision, but deferred. It was again delayed in November 1969. It was stated that the Regents must decide something by the next month. By December 17, the Board of Regents had decided to reject the proposed plan for voluntary ROTC. They instead decided to adopt a one year compulsory ROTC program versus a two year program. In response, a letter was written to the editor concerning the decision. It stated that the problem had not been solved because it was a problem of student contempt. Another article claimed that the ROTC compromise of ’69 was a pawn in the game of politics. It said that the compromise was not really a compromise because it was still required.
Another issue addressed often in the paper was that of the rules imposed upon female coeds. On April 2 1969, a female transfer student wrote a letter to the editor comparing Murray State University with St. Louis University, a well known conservative Catholic school.
She said “I recently spent a weekend with a friend at St. Louis University, the school from which I transferred last fall. This friend, my former roommate, related an incident in which she came in from a party at 3:00 a.m. - an hour late according to women’s dormitory rules. The following morning she received a note saying that unless she wanted four campuses, she should see that hall director as soon as possible. She saw the director and was pardoned. This put me in a mind of parallel incident. Three days after I arrived at Murray (before fall registration), I came in from a dance at 11:25 p.m. - 25 minutes late according to Murray dorm rules. Punishment for this offense is automatically eight campuses. However, after two weeks’ anticipation, I was required to appear before the dorm council to plead my case. I was given three campuses, although a number of council members felt this was much too lenient. St. Louis U. is a highly rated Catholic school which is considered very conservative. Next year there will be no hours except for freshman girls. This is far from being a new idea. Am I wrong to resent the fact that this university feels it necessary to impose more stringent rules upon me at age 20 than my parents did when I was 16? I now hear that next year the women’s dorm regulations are to be considerably liberalized. All I can say is, it’s about time!” - Pat Callaghan.
In the same issue of the paper, it was declared that women’s dorm hours were to be reviewed. In an April 23 issue, a cartoon was printed stating “Our girl Lillian T.: Here at Murray we treat our coeds as mature, intelligent adults!* *call downs for full wastebaskets, unmade beds, using laundry room after 11 pm, campuses for smoking in bed, ironing in room, accumulation of call downs. Mandatory sign-out sheet after 6:30 pm”. On page seven of the same issue, “Dorm dwelling coeds listed pet grievances”. Among them were the need to check in and out, dorm hours, room checks, and the violation of constitutional rights. Both men and women listed grievances, the men sympathizing with the way women were treated. On May 7, in the same letter to the editor stating that ROTC was one of the changes that MSU needed to look into, girl’s rights were also listed as a major change that needed to be looked into.
The Inquiring Reporter, a newspaper column, asked students how they felt about girl’s dorm rules, and what they liked and disliked. The most frequent complaints consisted of girl’s ability to take dates into the TV room, which wasn’t allowed, the inability of girls to wear slacks or shorts in their lobbies, and the call down system. On November 12, the paper stated that the women’s rules needed to be reviewed, and that the women were treated like Jr. High girls. On October 8 it was stated that late minutes and a clean slate were going to be included in dorm changes, and it was obviously needed. Women needed to be able to govern themselves.
The third issue often discussed on MSU’s campus, just as at many other campuses, was that of race. On March 5 it was stated that blacks have contributed to the United States. March 19, Black coeds in Woods Hall wrote a letter saying that they had received unfair, biased treatment from dorm mothers, stating “We’d rather die on our feed than live on our knees.” March 19 the paper said that there was a rising increase in interest in the Negro past, and as a result an increase in History courses on the topic.
April 2 the paper reported on the visit of Dick Gregory, a participant in the University’s Insight series. He had a background in the St. Louis ghetto, and provided many insights on the status of Black Americans. He said “The same German that could have killed my daddy in World War II and made me go 27 years without a daddy can come to America now and move into a neighborhood my daddy’s son can’t get into” and “Charlie Drew, a black man, invented blood plasma, but bled to death in the waiting room of an Atlanta hospital that didn’t accept n******”. On Universities, he said “They try to make us chocolate coated white folks.”
On April 3, a march was held in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Bernard Dishman, president of STEAM, said “the march was ‘designed to relieve tensions and show people that Negro students can assemble in a peaceful manner to express their feelings. We contradicted the belief that a march would create violence, by fusing together, black and whites as one”. Again, the May 7 letter concerning changes on campus stated that there needed to be a recognition of the importance of Blacks in the University community. Also May 7, the paper announced the first Black Arts Festival to be set for May 10-11. Also, Krady’s Konvictions, a paper column, addressed the Black/White issue. December 10 race relations were surveyed , and November 19 the panther organization was explained by Dishman. November 26 a letter to the editor discussed the racist atmosphere on campus.
1969 was also a year where protests, problems, and the Vietnam War were greatly discussed. January 15, a US soldier overseas sent an article on the war. The paper reported the death of an Honors cadet of ’67 in Vietnam. March 15 an essay urged Americanism, and asked if campus protests were within the American tradition. A March 12 cartoon showed a Regent talking to an officer, saying “Officer, that person is thinking of threatening violence”, in reference to a young man sitting against a tree, wearing peace, love, and beauty buttons. On April 2, the Inquiring Reporter asked students the reasons why MSU had been spared from riots, demonstrations and other actions of violence. Common responses included the lack of extremists, the fact that MSU is a small school and so it is easy to pinpoint leaders, that there was nothing to riot about, that the administration isn’t liberal and so students learn to accept policies and conform. Others said that the security forces on campus had stated the consequences, and students had too much to lose, that students were in a state of apathy, that students were not much against regulations, and that MSU did not have as many problems as larger schools were there are demonstrations. One Student suggested that they were in a state of apathy. On April 23 it was suggested that the “reason Murray State had been spared riots and disorder is that its president is a man students can look up to and respect, and at the same time one who tries to understand them and enjoy the things they enjoy”.
On May 7 Jimmie D. Sloan, a 1968 graduate of Murray, claimed that someone cried infringement on rights when someone was not satisfied. He told students who were unhappy at Murray to “Get out and go elsewhere”. A May 14 cartoon addressed the sentiment and his complaint against complaints on the editorial page. It stated “It has been said, ‘If you don’t like the way things are at Murray, you should leave!’ Just suppose everybody with a gripe took this seriously? ‘I’m sorry, sir, the legislature refuses to support a school with only 12 students and 13 vice presidents!’”.
On October 8, the National Vietnam Moratorium was scheduled for October 15, which went off without a hitch. In a November 26 letter to the editor the peace situation and the need for demonstrations was addressed. One of the more interesting events of the entire decade, and possibly the most destructive, was the November 5 exploding of the anti-tank vehicle in front of the ROTC headquarters at Wrather Hall. On December 17 Dr. Spock came to Murray to speak on Dissent and the lottery draft.
In the between times, and notably the dark times of the 1960’s, tragedy struck the nation. On November 22, 1963, President John F. Kennedy was assassinated. However, the student paper made no mention of this tragedy until December 10, in an editorial on the fourth page of the paper. This was the only article that was found on the subject. Another tragedy, the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was not reported until sometime in May, stating in a caption to a picture that a march had been held in his honor on April 9. I found it surprising that so little was reported on such a horrible tragedy.
The major difference between the student newspaper in 1960 and 1969 is that students speak out much more about their personal worries and concerns. While there are obvious changes that go along the lines of the larger society, this is the one fact that sets the end of the decade apart from the beginning. The paper went from a four page report on student, academic, and world accomplishments, goals, and worries to a 24 page publication reporting largely on student activities and student grievances. The drawback is that world happenings were rarely reported. However, the paper did articulate the changes that happened at Murray State, and showed the shift of attention from the early 1960 on a more formal atmosphere to a more informal atmosphere in 1969 that set the stage for future generations.