Newsroom

CORVALLIS - At one time, it was one of Oregon's most photographed landmarks. Its outside quadrangle has hosted future presidents and sidewalk evangelists.

The bookstore's textbooks, music and apparel chronicle societal change over the decades, while the timeless lounge has hosted generations of students who study, listen to classical music, or catnap on the overstuffed sofas.

The Memorial Union at Oregon State University turns 75 years old this month. It was conceived as a memorial to the graduates of the institution - then Oregon Agricultural College - who had died in World War I. The cost was staggering at the time, almost laughable now: about $500,000.

"The Memorial Union has quite a history," said Don Johnson, assistant director for programming. "It has been the hub of campus and a gathering place for students for the last three-quarters of a century."

After it opened, the Memorial Union suffered through a rough period as the Depression put a financial stranglehold on the university. In a book by Irwin C. Harris called "More Than a Building - the MU at OSU," he chronicles how items in the lost and found were sold to raise revenue. Longtime MU director Jack Porter was quoted as saying "I've seen times in those mid-30s when there wasn't enough money to keep the corridors of the MU swept."

As the Depression eased, however, the Memorial Union began to flourish. Students flocked to meeting rooms, held dances, and carried on with a variety of activities. The onset of World War II put a chill on the good times and prompted a debate about whether the facility should be used in the war effort. The attack on Pearl Harbor erased all doubt.

In 1942, the first college "Victory Center" in the United States was established in the MU to promote the war effort. The center was designed to integrate all defense activities on campus, and war bonds were sold. Athletic director Percy Locey purchased $15,000 in bonds the first day, propelling the center toward its goal of $75,000.

A short time later, Oregon State became the first institution in the west to receive a contract for the Army Specialized Training Program, which trained advanced engineering students, housed them in dorms, and fed them at the MU.

By the arrival of the Vietnam War, student attitudes about the military had changed and the Memorial Union became the center of student protests. Sit-ins, rallies, signs and demonstrations were commonplace throughout the 1960s and into the early 1970s and the culture of protest extended beyond U.S. involvement in Vietnam to other issues of the day.

Toward the end of the 20th century, Johnson said the MU became a place where students would learn about world events. A television gallery allowed students without a TV of their own to watch breaking news about the Gulf War, the assassination attempt of President Reagan, or the tearing down of the Berlin Wall.

Above the TV gallery, the long hall has flags from dozens of different nations, accenting the internationalization of the university.

"It wasn't always about crises, though," Johnson said. "When the Portland Trail Blazers won the NBA championship in 1977, the gallery was packed."

For 75 years, the MU has been where Oregon State University students have come to learn, to play, to express themselves, to meet with others who may agree or disagree with them, to grab a quick lunch, or to buy a Beavers sweatshirt.

"The Memorial Union," said Johnson, "is still the pulse of the campus."

OSU will commemorate the 75th anniversary with a series of tours, exhibits, films, lectures and events on Friday, Oct. 31, and Saturday, Nov. 1. A "tailgate" party preceding the OSU-Arizona PAC-10 football game will be held on Saturday, as will an exhibit of 1928 automobiles.

The weekend also is OSU's Homecoming.

An open house will be held in the Memorial Union on Saturday, Nov. 1, from 7 to 10 p.m. and the public is invited to visit. The Salem Big Band and Cool Shoes will perform in an original USO style show in the ballroom, while pianist John Nilsen and his trio will play in the lounge. The recreation center will be open, featuring free billiards and black light bowling.

Historic Weatherford Hall, just southwest of the MU, is also celebrating its 75th birthday and additional tours of that unique residence hall are available. Weatherford will become the residential home to the new Austin Entrepreneurial Program in the College of Business beginning in 2004. For a complete schedule of Memorial Union anniversary events, visit the web at: http://osumu.org/events/mu_lxxv.htm