Wednesday, march 3, 1976
page 6
daily nebraskan
third
dimension
the state
of the union
By GaO Smith
"May the new building and what it represents bring
you unlimited happiness.
The "new building" was the University of Nebraska
Student Union, and the wish for happiness came in an ad
placed in the May 4, 1938 Daily Nebraskan by a local
hlltinpm ?a Stat Market 1499 O vt
The Union was opened May 4, 1938, and in a Daily
Nebraskan editorial that day, Editor Helen Pascoe said,
"Campus leaden of the past, Nebraska democrats and the
alumni leaders will rejoice in a spirit of completion for the
issue with which they struggled since 1930.
"The beautiful ballroom, spacious office rooms, and
luxurious dining rooms of the Union will be unable to
disclose the sleepless nights dedicated to their origin, the
loss of friendship in the cause of their location, and the
loss of Ufe in view of their completion,"
loss of life in view of their completion," Pascoe wrote.
"A vast amount of potentialities are sealed within its
walls. Whether they Ire fully uncovered will depend upon
the enthusiasm and cooperation with which all students
and faculty members receive it. "
The Alumni Association, Innocents, Student Council,
and the Daily Nebraskan fought for a Union.
PWA funds used
On Feb. 14, 1936, the NU Board of Regents approved
a petition asking for Public Works Administration (PWA)
funds for the Union.
The regents approved the PWA grant of more than
5400,000, but that amount had to 'be matched by the
University, according to Allen Bennett, Union director
since 1959. He says today that before 1938, the university
sold public bonds to raise matching funds because the
Legislature said general tax money was not available for
the union project.
Bennett' said the students in 1938 voted in an
all-campus referendum to assess a student fee on them
selves for repaying the bonds operating the Union and pro
viding an activities program.
The building was furnished with gifts from businesses,
alumni and citizens, he said.
Union Board 38 yean old
There was a Union Board from the beginning, made
up of faculty, alumni and students. The board made
rules for the use of the building, exercised general
control over finances and enforced the constitutional
limitations of the Union.
One of the students on the board between 1937 and
38 was Robert Simmons, now a regent from Scottsbluff.
Simmons studied law at NU from 193541. M that time,
his family lived in Lincoln, so he lived at home.
When he attended NU, Simmons said, he was a member
of the Student Council (then the student government),
and he also wa3 president of the "Barb Council." The
"barbs," or "barbarians," were students who were not
in Greek houses, Simmons said. The ' council had
representatives from non-Greek clubs and organizations,
he said, and they planned dances and other activities.
He was elected to the Union Board by the Student
Council, Simmons said, adding that he thinks he was
chosen because he represented the type of student that
would use the Union. He said many persons thought the
purpose of the Union was to provide a sort of "home
away from home" for students who lived off campus or
WOW"'
didn't have any other place to go when they were not in
classes.
Simmons said he doesn't think the Union fulfilled that
purpose then. He said the Union's present location was
west of the main campus area at that time, and many
students were not in the Union area often. Some students
worked in downtown businesses and went directly from
classes to work without going by the Union or using it,
he said.
And even after the Union was built, Simmons said,
many students spent their free time the same way they
had spent it before the Union was built-at parties in
residence halls, fraternities and sororities, he said. They
also "loafed" at the library or the "University Drug,"
which was at the corner of 14th and S Sts., he said. Many
students lived in rooming houses near campus, he said,
and in 1938 there were many clubs and literary societies.
Gontiaued oa p.7
'Coking" was
a favorite
pastime
for students
who used
the new ,
Corn Crib
in 1938.
Photo courtesy of
Ntbrasfca Union
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