It is 1933 and the nation is in the midst of the Great Depression, but you wouldn’t know it from reading The Chronicle’s archives from that year.
The Chronicle from the week of Feb. 8, since the paper wouldn’t begin to publish daily until 1968, has a spattering of articles on dances, lectures and student policies. This issue, like others I read over in the archive, is a testament to the existence of the Duke bubble. If a campus newspaper is supposed to be a microcosm of the University, then Duke was (and to a lesser extent remains) a very sheltered place.
In this issue, the big news is the approach of a series of highly anticipated dances. An image of the women from the Pan-Hellenic Council who would lead the dancing with their partners dominates the front page, and an article on the decorating scheme, “Women’s Gymnasium Is Regally Decorated For Valentine Dances,” is included beside it.
“Friday night will find the campus deep in preparation for the first dance of the long awaited Post-Examination series. . . . One of the most interesting features of these dances will be the decorations. On entering the gymnasium the dancer’s attention will immediately be focused upon a large red heart set on an appropriate background at the far end of the hall. This valentine sentiment is carried as the decorative scheme.”
Another front page article, this one below the fold, includes an overview of regulations the Social Standards committee had agreed upon for the dance. Among those cited in the article were requests that boys refrain from sending girls corsages. Rather humorously, they also requested that people respect the ambiance.
“The committee wishes to make a special plea to everyone not to tear up the decorations. They feel that after they have gone to so much trouble to put the decorations up, everyone ought to be allowed to enjoy them for the whole evening.”
Other topics that received substantial coverage in this issue, much like in the current Chronicle, are student and faculty group meetings and visits from important lecturers. An article titled “Faculty Makes Important Rule At Recent Meet,” describes the creation of the Dean’s List and a new policy that would allow students who make the list to be exempt from the current school wide attendance policy.
“A resolution allowing certain students of the two upper classes in the undergraduate school here to be free from the general university regulations concerning class attendance was passed at a recent meeting of the Duke faculty. . . . ‘Students whose names are on the dean’s list will not be subject to the general regulations of the university governing class attendance.’”
A note from the editors from that same week titled “The Dean’s List” applauds the University for the implementation of this new policy.
“The establishing of a Dean’s list for the present semester marks another step in the development of Trinity college. . . . No longer will the superior student be required either to be present at all sessions of his classes, or to submit some satisfactory excuse for his absences from them. He will be his own judge. He is now being recognized as a man capable of judgment.”
Cigarette advertisements frequented the pages of the 1933 Chronicle issues.
This issue, like others in the 1933 archives, was very Duke-centric to the point of containing no article on events outside the University, and very few references to the plight of the less fortunate around the country. It seems to me that important information is missing from this Chronicle’s folds. However, perhaps the Chronicle’s function in the 1930’s was not to inform students on a broad base of issues that impacted their lives at school and beyond the ivory tower, but rather as simply the definitive source of campus life.
Today many students look to the Chronicle for all their news consumption; in 1933, the Chronicle seemed to function more like a supplement to newspapers that address non-Duke issues. Back in 1933, if I picked up a Chronicle, I was searching specifically for information on student social and academic pursuits. Simply put: since its origins, The Chronicle has undergone a niche change.
Things you might not have know about The Chronicle in 1933
- The Chronicle sold for 10 cents and was published each Wednesday during the school year.
- Until 1972 Duke’s West Campus was home to the men’s college, and East Campus was the Women’s College of Duke. In this issue, the listing of editors and contributors to The Chronicle reflects this gender divide— men are simply editors and staffers, whereas women were specifically noted as co-ed editors and co-ed staff. Letters from the Editors are also gender specific; “co-ed editorial” marks the beginning of anything written by female editors.
Do you ever worry when you see a restaurant employee coughing while on duty? Since their job revolves around food, you would hope that any sick restaurant worker would take the day off.
