student life – Blogging Hoosier History

China Remixed: Showin Wetzen Hsu, BA 1909

Posted on April 12, 2017 by Katie Martin

As part of China Remixed, a campus-wide initiative to celebrate Chinese culture, the Indiana University Archives is celebrating the long history of Chinese students at IU with a series of blog posts and an exhibit in the lobby of the Wells Library.

Showin Wetzen Hsu was the first Chinese student to graduate from Indiana University, earning a Bachelor’s Degree in History in 1909. Hsu came to the US in 1905 and studied at the University of California until the 1906 San Francisco earthquake and fire compelled university officials to end the academic year early. He transferred to the University of Illinois, where he stayed for 2 years, but decided to continue his studies IU in 1908 to specialize in Political Science, International Law, and Diplomacy under professors he admired.

Showin Wetzen Hsu’s War Service Record detailing his judicial service in China until 1919

Shortly after graduation, in 1909, Hsu was recalled to China to serve as a law compiler in the Councilor’s department. Hsu rose through the ranks of the Chinese government quickly between 1911 and 1930. Hsu earned a master’s degree in 1911 and was appointed secretary of the Ministry of Education. In 1912, Hsu was involved in transitioning the Chinese government from an imperial dynasty to a republic after the fall of the Qing Dynasty, a group that held power for more than 250 years. In 1912, the president of the newly established Republic of China appointed Hsu to serve as a justice of the Supreme Court of China. Hsu served in many high-level governmental and judicial capacities during his long career.

Letter from Showin Wetzen Hsu to President William Lowe Bryan, November 20, 1916 written on stationary from the Supreme Court of China

Hsu fondly remembered his time at IU even after his return to China. He corresponded with President William Lowe Bryan, donated money to IU causes, and frequently communicated with the IU Alumni Office. In October 1909, Hsu wrote a letter to William Lowe Bryan stating, “For the last whole academic year, I enjoyed my work in your university very much. I have been always proud of being the first Chinese graduate in Indiana and in the near future if I should be able enough to do any thing for my country is of course all due to your great supervision of our alma mater.” In January 1916, Hsu wrote to the Alumni Office to say that, although there were not enough IU graduates in Peking to hold a Foundation Day reunion, his thoughts were with his alma mater.

Pages four and five of letter from Showin Wetzen Hsu to IU President William Lowe Bryan, October 12, 1909: “I have been always proud of being the first Chinese graduate in Indiana.”

Showin Wetzen Hsu paved the way for many Chinese students to attend Indiana University. Within 10 years, more than 10 Chinese students would find their way to IU.

Feel free to contact the Indiana University Archives if you would like to learn more about the history of Chinese students at IU.

Sticking to the Dance Card: Student Socials and Dancing to the Music of Louis Armstrong and Hoagy Carmichael at IU

Posted on February 14, 2017 by Laura Bell

In the early to mid-twentieth century, students didn’t make friends on social media or find a date through an app. They went to student sponsored socials and dances, with chaperones and live bands. The women were asked to dance by a different male student for almost every song, and they needed cards to avoid scheduling one dance with two different boys. They knew how to have fun and even got to hear some great music! Who wouldn’t want to hear Hoagy Carmichael or Louis Armstrong?

Junior Prom with Count Basie Orchestra, Alumni Hall, 1946

The Myra Montgomery Arthur Dance Card Collection and the Indiana University Archives Dance Card Collection hold numerous examples of inventive miniature booklets once used by female students to schedule their dance partners when at a social event. The two collections together contain over 50 different dance cards from dances and parties held at IU for students between 1900 and 1955. The ‘cards’ are often about the size of a person’s hand or smaller, with several pages provided for listing names. Some are in different shapes, such as a clover for a St. Patrick’s Day dance, or a football for the Foot-Ball Dance, held on the eve of the Syracuse-Indiana game in 1925. Others are attractive metal or leather booklets with a ribbon or string for a young lady to loop around her wrist while dancing. Parties and dances were sponsored by sororities, fraternities, and other student clubs and groups such as the Boosters Club, and there were always annual dances like the Annual Senior Siwash or the Junior Prom. There were so many dances, sock hops, and events to attend, a student could not only have a full dance card each night, but also a full schedule for the week!

The “Jonquil Jump” held on April 14, 1928 was a dance sponsored by the AWS. Hoagie Carmichael performed.

Inside the inventive and colorful covers of a dance card was a lady’s promised dances, but also a list of chaperones, the name of the student organization sponsoring the dance, and who performed the live music. Many of the performers were local or college bands that played at IU often, but some were upcoming or established stars of the jazz and big band era! It turns out Hoagie Carmichael and Carmichael’s Collegians performed at a few of the student dances between 1924 and 1925 as his career was beginning. The students who planned The 1939 Junior Prom even somehow found a way to book Louis Armstrong!

Carmichael's Collegians. This image scanned from page 117 of the 1924 Arbutus yearbook. (Clockwise starting at bottom with Carmichael at piano) Howard Hoagland "Hoagy" Carmichael, Unknown, Howard Warren "Wad" Allen, Unknown, Unknown, Unknown. — Carmichael’s Collegians. This image scanned from page 117 of the 1924 Arbutus yearbook.
(Clockwise starting at bottom with Carmichael at piano) Howard Hoagland “Hoagy” Carmichael, Unknown, Howard Warren “Wad” Allen, Unknown, Unknown, Unknown.

Hoagy Carmichael was a Bloomington native who, after graduating from IU with a bachelor’s degree and law degree in 1925 and 1926, went on to become one of the most significant composers and musicians of his time. Famous for writing well known hits like “Georgia on My Mind” and “Stardust” among others, Carmichael is an icon of the jazz and big-band eras. He worked with Johnny Mercer on a number of projects including collaborating with him on “Skylark” in 1942, and his songs were performed by many famous singers including Louis Armstrong.

This dance card from May 5, 1939 has a metal casing and shows Louis Armstrong performed at the dance sponsored by The 1939 Junior Class of IU. — The dance card for the Indiana University Junior Prom 1939, held on May 5, 1939, has a metal casing and a page at the end shows Louis Armstrong performed at the dance sponsored by The 1939 Junior Class of IU.

The young men and women who were lucky enough to attend a student dance where Hoagy Carmichael or Louis Armstrong were performing during the 1920s and 1930s not only had the chance to fill their dance cards, but also to see some of the era’s most famous musicians!

To learn more about the Myra Montgomery Arthur Dance Cards Collection or the Indiana University Archives Dance Card Collection, or see them for yourself, contact the IU Archives.

Dancing the Night Away: Student Life in the 1950s

Posted on January 9, 2017 by Katie Martin

Margaret Albersmeyer Werling graduated with a bachelor’s in Education in 1953, and, according to her personal scrapbook, attended every sporting event, theater show, and dance that she possibly could between 1951 and 1953. While perusing her scrapbook, I discovered many interesting IU student traditions including: the decorating of fraternities for football games, the Law-Med School Boress, the Arbutus Queen Contest, and the Fall Carnival Parade.

Fraternity decorated for Homecoming, 1949

Margaret was an avid attendee of athletic events and saved programs from basketball games, track and field events, and football games. She must have truly enjoyed attending the Old Oaken Bucket games between IU and Purdue because she saved tickets and programs from 1951 and 1952. Although she did get to see IU triumph in football, she watched the Hoosiers clinch the 1953 NCAA Basketball Championship over Kansas and attended campus celebrations.

C625_PurdueIU — Margaret Werling’s ticket for the 1951 Old Oaken Bucket game

I was most intrigued by Margaret’s impressive dance card collection. Dance cards initially became popular in Vienna, Austria in the 19^th century and their usage peaked in the early 20th century. Dance cards were typically small, decorated booklets worn on a woman’s wrist or attached to her dress with a cord. Men carried pencils and wrote their names on lines next to the name of dances in the booklet.

Dance cards remained in fashion until the 1960s when dances became less formal affairs. Common phrases such as “pencil me in,” “my dance card is full,” and “save the last dance for me” are all tied to the dance card culture. Many of Margaret’s dance cards have a decorated cover that reflects the theme of the dance, lists of committee members who sponsored the dance, and details about the entertainment.

Dances were all the rage at IU in the 1950s. There were plenty of formal and informal dances to keep students busy. Students could attend the Freshman Frolic, the Freshman Tyronian, the Sophomore Cotillion, the Junior Prom, the annual Blanket Hop hosted by Sigma Delta Chi (the honorary journalistic fraternity), the Senior Siwash, and many more!

Dance at the Union, 1951 — Dance at the IU Memorial Union, 1951

A dance that became an annual tradition on campus was the Wellhouse Waltz. The first iteration of this dance was held in 1944 at the Alumni Hall of the Union. Each year, male attendees selected a freshman woman to become “Miss Campus Coed.” It was said that in order for any IU woman to become a “true coed,” her date must take her to the Well House after the Wellhouse Waltz and then kiss her for the full twelve strokes at midnight.

The Junior Prom was the most formal dance of the season and was held in the Men’s Gymnasium with a dedicated theme. The festivities could last until two o’clock in the morning. Students must have truly enjoyed these dances because they would “end only by force of the 12:30 curfew when dates unwillingly part” (1953 Indiana Arbutus, p. 138). The theme of Margaret’s 1953 prom was “A Star Danced.”

Duke Ellington at the 1952 Dames' Ball — Duke Ellington at the 1952 Dames’ Ball

Well-known artists played at many IU dances. In 1952, Duke Ellington played at the Dames’ Ball, a dance where women escorted the men. According to the 1952 Arbutus, “The men reaped the benefits of inverted chivalry that evening as they were called for, paid for, and encumbered with original – and uninhibited – corsages.” At the end of the night, one man was chosen to be “King of the Dames.”

Students voted on a Queen at both formal and informal dances. At the 1952 Sweater Hop, the Sweater Queen was selected out of twenty-nine candidates. According to the 1953 Arbutus, “each housing unit had the privilege of selecting their candidate for the competition. The list was narrowed down to five girls before the dance by several judges picked from campus dignitaries. The sponsoring housing unit then put on an all-out campus campaign.” Couples attending the dance cast their vote and the winner was presented with a cashmere sweater and roses.

Margaret must have loved her time dancing the night away as an undergraduate at Indiana University because she came back to earn a master’s degree in education eight years later. If you would like to learn more about dances at IU, look at Margaret Werling’s scrapbook, or learn about other IU student traditions, contact the IU Archives.

A Bicentennial Gift from the IU GBLT Student Support Services Office

Posted on October 18, 2016 by Katherine Siebenaler

The Indiana University GLBT Student Support Services Office kindly donated their wonderful collection of scrapbooks to the Indiana University Archives as a “Bicentennial gift.” With the launching of the Bicentennial website and many Signature Projects, Doug Bauder, Director of the IU GLBT Student Support Services Office, thought it was the perfect time to donate these valuable pieces of history.

GLBT Scrapbook001 — An early pamphlet from the office

The scrapbooks are the newest addition to the Indiana University Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender Student Support Services Office records in the IU Archives. Starting in 1994, the year the office was created, these scrapbooks document the office and other GLBT events and issues in the larger community through pictures, memorabilia, and newspaper clippings.

In these scrapbooks, one can find photos of the many workers and volunteers who have served in the office, as well as photos of events the office has held across the years.

GLBT Scrapbook003 — Flier from 10th Anniversary

Some of the stories documented in the scrapbooks include the controversy surrounding the creation of the office, the celebration of more equal marriage rights, and the Pride celebrations in Bloomington.

GLBT Scrapbook002 — Photos from the early years of the office

The scrapbooks also contain multiple posters and other memorabilia from various events. Additionally, throughout the scrapbooks one can find the moving stories of GLBT students and their struggles for acceptance. Especially moving are the stories of GLBT youth whose families cut them off financially but found help through the GLBT Student Support Services Office emergency scholarship funds. One scrapbook contains letters of appreciation and articles about the 10^th anniversary of the office in 2004, while another scrapbook celebrates the 20^th anniversary of the office in 2014. This scrapbook contains heart-felt thank you notes expressing gratitude for the services the office offered. In this scrapbook and throughout the others the hard work and support of Doug Bauder, as well as others, is readily apparent. Through items such as articles, posters, photos, and thank you notes, these scrapbooks provide an overview of GLBT life in Bloomington and on campus over the past twenty-two years.

GLBT Scrapbook006 — Thank you notes from 20th Anniversary

Sincerely Yours: The Pinkerton Detective Agency

Posted on October 12, 2016 by Dina Kellams

Scandal.

Intrigue.

THE Pinkerton Detective Agency.

Lest you think differently, Bloomington has been a hopping town for some years now. And university students today are different in many ways from the students of yore – but similar in so many more.

In the 19th century and into the early 20th, college students across the country would anonymously publish satirical and sometimes scandalous underground newsletters called boguses. They used these outlets to comment on rival organizations, students, and oftentimes, university faculty. We have some terrific examples of these publications in the Indiana University Archives, but none created a stir as much as what we call the “Turd” bogus. (Yes, really.)

On a spring morning in 1890, Bloomington residents woke to find that a particularly vulgar bogus had been delivered to their doorsteps during the night. The authors accomplished much in its single page, attacking Indiana University students and faculty by calling into question their intellect, morality, and sobriety.

Bloomington citizens were outraged, as at many households children found and read the bogus before parents got to it. And the University administration? Well, you can imagine their response. While unhappy about the situation himself, in public President Jordan tried to play the “boys will be boys” card. The IU Board of Trustees, however, was having none of it. They wanted the responsible students punished, so they called in the big guns to find the dastardly authors – none other than Chicago’s Pinkerton National Detective Agency.

The Pinkerton operative, known to us only as J.H.S., arrived in Bloomington in the wee hours of April 26th, 1890. In the Archives, we have a terrific series of letters the investigator sent to back to headquarters in Chicago. His reports read like something out of a detective novel: private conversations with students in his hotel room where he would try to trick them into confessing, lurking around town to hear what talk he could of the publication, etc.

The Pinkerton agent remained in Bloomington for nearly two weeks, dutifully reporting back each day, but it was the work of wagging tongues that revealed the authors and not so much J.H.S.’ fine detective work. As President Jordan suspected from the beginning due to the content and tone of the bogus, it was seven members of Beta Theta Pi fraternity who authored it. At the last moment, some of the writers lost their nerve and hid the newsletter in a trunk. The others, however, retrieved the bogus and distributed copies throughout the town.

Many in the guilty party were from prominent families, including Nicholas Robertson, son of IU Trustee Robert Stoddart Robertson. Nonetheless, all seven were expelled from the University. Connections, however, had its benefits, of course. In June 1892, the faculty relented and degrees were granted to five of the men, and all seven were reinstated into the University with good standing.

Below you can read the first letter of the Pinkerton operative — click the image for the full PDF of the letter, and if you’d like to read more, contact the Archives!

What? You want to read the bogus that created such a stir? Well, be warned that it really is quite vile. But here you go – click on the bogus image to open a larger version, which you can then blow up for full reading pleasure.

Letter to L.V. Buskirk from William A. Pinkerton, April 28, 1890 — Yes, THE Pinkerton Detective Agency

Blogging Hoosier History Indiana University Archives

About