r
PAGE TWO THE MICHIGAN DAILY SUN
DAY, NOVEMBER 3, 1940
Class
Of
1944
To
Be
University's
Centennial
Graduates
Ten Graduated
At First Rites
96 Years Ago
Institution Opened Doors
In September Of 1841
To QuakingNeophytes
By EDMUND J. GROSSBERG
The class of 1944 will be the 100th
class to graduate from the Univer-
sity of Michigan.
The University has come a long
way since the morning of Sept. 5,
1841 when six students registered in
the stuccoed building that was to
serve as classroom and dormitory.
That inauspicious beginning was
in itself a noteworthy achievement,
after 24 attempts to found a univer-
sity in Michigan.
"Religion, morality and knowledge
being necessary to good government
and the happiness of mankind;
schools and the means of education
shall forever be encouraged," read
the Northwest Ordinance, and the
early inhabitiants of the state of
Michigan were seriously impressed by
this idea.
So important was this need for a
university that taxes were raised 15
percent and four lotteries were auth-
orized by the' state legislature in
1817 for the benefit of the Univer-
sity of Michigan.
Primary Schools Established
That year classical and primary
schools were established in Detroit,
and during the next few years some
primary schools sprang up in differ-
ent towns, providing preliminary
training for some of the students who
were later to enroll in the University.
However, funds were scarce and
various attempts to establish the Un-
iversity itself ended in failure. Final-
ly on March 18, 1837 the "Board of
Regents of the University of Michi-
gan" was created by the state legis-
lature and preliminary plans for the
organization of the University were
approved.
The original Board of Regents in-
cluded six members of the Michigan
State Constitutional Convention, two
physicians, four lawyers, one write
and one merchant. Seven among the
total of 20 regents had college de,
grees.
Ann Arbor was selected as the site
for the proposed school and the land
on which the University was to be
situated was donated by the Ann Ar-
bor Land Company.
Physical Plant Described
Finally in 1841 the University was
ready to open its doors. The follow-
ing description of the physical plant
is quoted from the Michigan State
Journal, published in Ann Arbor, Aug-
gust 10, 1841:
"The main building is four stories
high, built of brick, handsomely and
durably stuccoed so as to give it
very nearly the appearance of Quin-
cy granite. Besides this, four profes-
sors' buildings of the' same materials
are finished. More classical models or
a more beautiful finish canot b
imagined. They honor the architect,
while they beautify the village."
Shortly afterward, the main edifice
was named "Mason Hall" in honor of
Governor Stevens T. tAason. The
building still stands as the north wing
of University Hall.
Although present day entrance re-
quirements are considered to be stiff,
judge what the poor neophyte who
desired entrance to the University in
1841 had to go through.
Admission Exams
Candidates for admission had to
pass an examination on "English
grammar; geography, arithmetic, al-
gebra through simple equations; Vir-
gil; Cicero's Select Orations; Sallust
Jacob's or Felton's Greek Reader;
Andrews and Stoddard's Latin Gram-
mar and Sophocles' Greek Grammar,'
according to the catalog of the De-
partment of the Arts and Sciences
The catalog continues, "Testimon-
ials of good moral character are re-
quired in all cases."
Six students measured up to th
requirements, and five entered as
freshmen and one as a sophomor
that September morn. They were
Judson D. Collins, Monroe; Merchan
H. Goodrich, Ann Arbor; L. Decatu:
Norris, Ypsilanti; George E. Parma
lee, Ann Arbor; George W. Pray, Su
perior; and William B. Weason, De
troit.
Haven Hall Dwarfed Campus Way Back In 1864
Dental Legislation Will Protect
State's Citizenry, Bunting Says
United Sutte Supremef Court and
Sitate 11pr imecourts have, upheld
then constitjitionalty of decntal lawvs
similar to the new Michigan Act. He
r(eferred Lo a diecision handedl downt
rby the United States Supreme Court
State proposal No. 4 on the Nov.
5 ballot protects the public against
misrepresentation and fraudulent
forms of dental service by setting up
machinery for the regulation of the
practice to the best interests of the
people, Dr. Russell W. Banting, Dean'
3f the School of Dentistry. declared
in an interview yetserdav.
Any health service, Dr. Bunting
said, requires statutory regulation ;oX
insure that the practitioneers will;
work for the better welfare of the
public.
State proposal No. 4 was placed
cn the ballot as the result of a reer-
endum petition which challenged the
Dental Practice Act of the StateI
passed by the 1939 legisiatur2. The
more important ov>s:ons of the act ;which encouraged legislation "pro-
require that each dentist must be a riding safeguards not only against
citizen of the Unit d States with at deception, but against practices which
least four years of study in a dental would tend to demroralize the profes-
school, that it shall be unlawful for sion by forcing its members into an
any dentist to make any advertising unseemly rivalry which would enlarge
statements tending to mislead or de- the opportunities of the least scrup-
ceive the pablic, and that the dentist's ulous."
license must be displayed in his office. - -__
The act also stipulates under what 'ai mer Joins ROTC Staff
circumstances a dentis~is license may
be suspended. Lieut. Dan J. Bulmer, surgeon on
Dr. Bunting poin c out that 44 the University hospital staff, joined
states have similar regulatory legis- the ROTC staff as medical officer
lation concexning the dental profes- this week, replacing Maj. Ernest D.
sion. Michigan, he commented, is Liston, who has been transferred
among the few states that lag behind by government orders to the staff
the procession. of the surgeon-gener-al in Washing-
fn the past, Dr. Bunting stated, :.he ton, D.C., it was announced.
"i. i
'
M <;
, , '
3
f
F
lee; Pray; and P. W. H. Rawls, Kal- igan and is considered a member
amazoo. Norris completed three years Seniors listened to lectures in Lat-
at Michigan but matriculated at Yale j in and Greek and studied intellec-
College. He was subsequently given tual philosophy; psychology; moral
a degree from the University of Mich- science; political grammar; political
igan and is considered as a member economy and Butler's analogy.
vacation beginning in mid-August, 1
two weeks at Christmas and foura
weeks of spring vacation. .
The 10 seniors, 18 juniors, 14 soph-
omore and 11 freshmen who attend-a
ed the University in 1845 lived in
Mason Hall, which also boasted a li-
brary of four or five thousand vol-
umes, a chapel, classrooms, a col-
lection of minerals, and geological
zoological and botanical specimens.
One study with two bed-rooms op-
ening on it, was assigned to two
students. They furnished the rooms
themselves and cleaned their own
quarters, sweeping the refuse into the
hall where the janitor picked it up.
Expenses Estimated
Quoting the catalog again, "Ex-
penses range from $7 to $100 a year.
There is a $10 admission fee and $7.50
for incidental expenses and services of
Janitor. There is no charge for tu-
ition."
Among the services the janitor
rendered was to ring a giant bell,
obtained from the Michigan Central
Railroad, at 5:30 a.m. Quite frequent-
ly the students either stole the bell
or stuffed it up.
The full professors were paid $500
annually and were allowed to live
in the houses built for them by the
University free of charge.
In January 1842 the Regents could
not pay their salaries, but Pro-
fessors Joseph Whiting and George
P. Williams chose to remain on the
job until the emergency was past. In
1844 University finances were better
and the salary of a full professor was
raised to $700..
Interestingly enough, an attempt
was made even before 1845, to start
a college paper, but it failed.
Elizabeth M. Farrand in her "His-
tory of the University of Michigan"
published in 1884 gives the following
account of that historic first grad-
uation day:
First Graduation Day
> "It was a great day for the town
as well as for the University; mer-
chants closed their stores, and old
and young crowded to the church.
Each student of the graduating class
delivered an oration, and, in the
judgment of the press of the day, each
acquitted himself well. The Detroit
r Advertiser said of them: 'The pieces
spoken by the graduating class were,
for the most part, of superior merit,
evincing a depth and originality of
thought and a clearness and beauty
of composition that is seldom sur-
passed in the other older colleges.'
Professor Ten Brook made the clos-
ing address to the class, and in the
afternoon Dr. Duffield addressed the
literary societies. In the evening an
entertainment was given in honor
of the graduating class by Mrs. Den-
ton,,Mrs. Hawkins and Mrs. Page."
The Michigan State Journal closes
its account of the day with an appeal
from a member of the class in re-
gard to the ladies who entertained
them: 'Alumni from this first exam-
ple, shall not their names go down
with yours to future ages on the
e records of the University?' "
s Members Listed
e Members of that first graduating
class were: Charles A. Clark, Monroe;
t Collins; Thomas B. Cumming, Grand
r Rapids; Edmund Fish, Bloomefield;
- Goodrich; Edwin Lawrence, Monroe;
- Fletcher Marsh, Kalamazoo; Parma-
r
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Student Life Described
Some idea of student life of the
time may be gained from the cata-
log. "The classes attend each three
recitations or lectures daily, except
Saturdays, when they have one reci-
tation and an exercise in elocution.
They have also weekly exercises
in translation, composition or writ,
ten disputations."
"Public examinations are held at
the close of each term, attended by
the Board of Visitors, appointed an-
nually by the Superintendent of Pub-
lb R EME MBE R
~jJANE OSE
for
nan r-n2ua
JAMES ROSALIN D
ST RUSSELL
(That guy from Washingtoaj (That woman from "The Women")
11
1410 lmAf
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