1947-1948

Team Picture

The Faculty Lloyd Robert Newcomer, A.M. Assistant Professor of English; Northern Illinois State Teachers College; Iowa University; A.B. University of Wyoming; A.M., University of Southern California. Joins the faculty in 1946. He resigned May, 1951. William Owen Pugh, A.M., Instructor in English, A.B., Whitman College; State University of Iowa; A.M., College of the Pacific; joins the faculty in 1946; teaches speech courses Frederick James Hunter, A.M. Assistant Professor of English; Los Angeles City College; A.B. University of California; A.M., University of North Carolina; joins the faculty in 1946; teaches drama courses

Whitman News

Whitman College in 1947-1948

A. The college added 19 new faculty members and six administrative staff.

B. A new student center with a snack bar, bookstore, game room, recreation lounge with a fireplace and terrace, post office, music room, ballroom, faculty lounge, and club offices opened in the fall.

C. Frank “Butch” Boewer was the student body president.

D. Winslow A. Anderson was the college president.

E. Lloyd Newcomer was the debate coach.

F. Louise Dekker was the debate manager.

I. At Whitman

A. A large issue of controversy on campus was a new fashion trend towards longer skirts. To protest, Whitman men organized “Hate Women Week” during which they ignored college women in the hopes of bringing back shorter skirts.

B. The Pioneer ran ads for Chesterfield Cigarettes featuring such celebrities as Rita Hayworth and Bing Crosby, and for Greyhound Bus Lines, which charged $3. 40 for a ticket to Spokane.

C. Popular fashions included Dior’s New Look with longer and fuller skirts, as well as a move towards the more casual look of plaid shirts and slacks or ski wear for weekend wear for both men and women.

Prizes awarded at this time

The John Brining Prizes in Extemporaneous Speaking of &12.50 each are awarded to the best man and woman speakers in a speaking contest that is open to all members of the freshman class.

The Delta Gamma Reading Prizes of $25, $15, and $10 are awarded at Commencement to the students who read during the year with intelligence and appreciation the largest amount of good literature, apart from their required college work.

The Dovell-Gose Prizes in Oratory of $30 and $20 are awarded at Commencement to students upon the basis of a contest in oratory. The contest is open to sophomores, juniors, and seniors.

Oscar Seawell won the men’s portion of this contest.

The Austin Rice Debate Trophy is awarded to the champion women's intramural debate team.

The John W. Ackley Debate Trophy is awarded to the champion men's intramural debate team.

The Hugh Elmer Brown Debate Trophy is awarded to the man who is adjudged to be the best intramural debater.

Department News

Speech Courses within the English Department ENGLISH 1 or 2. Listening, Speaking, Reading, and Writing. An introduction to the English department basics course. ENGLISH 15 or 16. Orientation and Speaking, A public speaking course with a diction emphasis. ENGLISH 27. Reading Aloud. ENGLISH 29. Theory and Practice of Discussion. ENGLISH 45. Oral Interpretation. ENGLISH 47. Argumentation and Debate. ENGLISH 56. Public Speaking. ENGLISH 57-58. Dramatic Interpretation ENGLISH 73-74. Radio Speech ENGLISH 80. Remedial Procedures in Speech Correction. ENGLISH 75 or 76. Advanced Public Speaking.

World News

II. In the World

A. There was great concern over the stability of the U. N.

B. The U. S. government continued to work to revive Europe after World War II through the Marshall Plan.

C. “Britain nationalizes coal mines.”

D. “Peace treaties for Italy, Romania, Bulgaria, Hungary, Finland signed in Paris.”

E. “Union rejects U.S. plan for UN atomic-energy control.”

F. “Truman proposes Truman Doctrine, which was to aid Greece and Turkey in resisting communist expansion.”

G. “Marshall Plan for European recovery proposed—a coordinated program to help European nations recover from ravages of war.”

H. “India and Pakistan gain independence from Britain.”

I. “U.S. Air Force pilot Chuck Yeager becomes first person to break the sound barrier.”

J. “Jackie Robinson joins the Brooklyn Dodgers.”

K. “Anne Frank's The Diary of a Young Girl published.”

Team Awards

III. Debate at Whitman

A. Intramural debate

1. The topic was “Resolved: That a federal world government should be established.”

2. The Beta Theta Pi team of Milt Keenan and Dick Weber debated the independent team of Dave Allard and Charles Montgomery, and the Sigma Chi team of Sayre Stevens and Earle Hayslip in a round robin final. The Betas won while the independents took second and the Sigs, third.

3. In women’s competition, the Kappa Kappa Gamma team of Pat Sugg and Janet Richardson won. Bonnie Marolf and Carmen Gleiser of Alpha Chi took second, and Kappas Mary Jo Reed and Mary Shuham took third in a round robin final.

B. In November, the Oxford University team of Sir Edward Boyle and Anthony Wedgewood Benn debated on the negative against Dick Yancey, Weber, and Bill Church of Whitman on the topic “Resolved: That the working of a modern democracy demands a liberal rather than a vocational education.” The Oxford team debated at approximately 70 different institutions during their U. S. tour, which lasted until January 1948.

C. Intercollegiate season

1. The national topic was the same as the intramural topic. The individual events topic was world peace plans.

2. Over 240 debaters from 19 schools participated in the 15^th annual meet of the Northern Division of the Western Association Debate Tournament at Whitman, December 4-6.

a. Gordon Jaynes won the men’s extemporaneous speaking, lower division, and men’s interpretive reading. He also tied for second in men’s impromptu speaking, lower division.

b. Marolf and Gleiser won the lower division of women’s debate.

c. Craig Esary took second in men’s interpretive reading.

d. Dekker took third in women’s extemporaneous speaking.

e. Shirley Hayes tied for third in women’s extemporaneous speaking.

f. Carolyn Angell tied for fourth in women’s extemporaneous.

g. Chuck Chalfant tied for fourth in men’s impromptu speaking, upper division.

h. Yancey and Church tied with six other teams for second in men’s debate, lower division.

3. Four Whitman debaters competed at the National Speech Tournament in Salt Lake City, December 29-31, against over 450 students from more than 35 schools.

a. Dekker took fifth in impromptu speaking.

b. The University of Utah won, followed by the University of Southern California.

4. Triangular Debates

a. At the women’s tournament in Pullman, December 12-13, Dekker and Shirley McCartney, and Liz Franklin and Angell took second with a total of four wins. The University of Idaho took third with three wins,while Washington State won with five wins.

b. The Pioneer did not report results from the men’s tournament

5. On January 16-17, three Whitman teams competed in the Inland Empire Debate Meet at the University of Idaho in Moscow against over a dozen schools and 47 teams in six rounds. Gonzaga took first and Washington State took second while Idaho, Oregon State, and Montana tied for third.

6. Gordon Jaynes competed for Whitman at the annual Pacific Forensics League Speech Contest in Reno, Nevada, April 1-3. Discussion centered on “What our foreign policy towards Russia should be” and recommendations from the discussion went to the president and the U. S. State Department. Jaynes stood out as the only sophomore at a contest dominated by seniors, and he extended an invitation for the 1949 contest at Whitman.

7. Whitman entered 14 people in the 18^th annual Linfield Intercollegiate Tournament held February 25-27, with 30 schools and over 400 participants.

a. Weber took fourth in extemporaneous.

b. Angell and Franklin tied for second in the upper division of women’s debate.

c. Marolf and Gleiser tied for third in the lower division of women’s debate.

d. The University of Utah, the University of Southern California, and Willamette took top honors.

During the year, about 14 students traveled with the debate team.