Southwestern College Alumni Handbook

SOU TH W E STER N COL LEGE

Alumni Handbook

Welcome,

Southwestern College Alumni This useful guide to being an SC graduate will answer your questions as well as provide information about alumni services, events, and other opportunities for you to stay involved in the life of the college. It also serves as a reference of important campus phone numbers and resources. We hope you’ll keep it handy.

Table of Contents Story of the Jinx . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-5 The Mound and the Ceremony Behind It . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-7 Annual Campus Highlights. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Can’t Make It to Campus?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 Career Services Available. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Top Ten Ways to Stay Connected . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 Celebrating SC Alumni . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 Make a Difference. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 Staying Connected. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14-15 Useful Phone Numbers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 What Is The Department of Alumni Programs? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 1

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SOUTHWESTERN COLLEGE TR ADITIONS

Story of the Jinx Excerpt from The History of Fairmount College by John Rydjord

F

ollowing its 41 to 3 victory over Fairmount (now Wichita State University) in 1912, the Moundbuilders made a limestone slab on which the score of that glorious game was inscribed. On this sinister slab was pictured a smug black cat wearing a black bow tie, and below the cat, the score that humiliated Fairmount. The memorial became a tombstone, and “the most sacred possession of Southwestern students.” It was set up in a pseudo-serious ceremonial, with appointed officials burying Fairmount in a black and yellow coffin. The “preacher” gave a most “heart-gripping” sermon.

The Southwestern College yell was substituted for prayer. The students were given a final look into the coffin, which contained a skull, possibly a bovine skull from the laboratory. Then came the torchlight parade, after which the students, according to their “inalienable right,” stormed a theatre without paying.

After Southwestern defeated Fairmount 29 to 7 in 1913, several loyal Fairmount students, led by Harold Chance, made a midnight raid on the Hoodoo cemetery and “spirited” away the slab with the record of Fairmount’s defeat. The word “spirited” was appropriate. Shortly after the obnoxious stone had been stored in Fiske Hall (on the Fairmount campus), the boys in the dorm were afflicted with smallpox. The memorial stone was a hoodoo, a jinx. Then the memorial was relegated to the library. Southwestern students, unhappy about the loss of their memorial monument, broke into the library, rescued it, and took it back to Winfield. But they did not return it to the Hoodoo cemetery; it was placed in a secret spot, safe from the pilfering fingers of the Fairmounters. That depressing memorial had caused so much distress and so many defeats that it would be the duty of loyal Fairmount fans to remove its evil influence.

The conflict over the Hoodoo slab became a sort of cause celebre. (S. Carnot) Brennan, (J. Linn) Beebe, Red Davis, and others made several nocturnal reconnoitering expeditions to Winfield. Lincoln LaPaz and Miss Phil Hanna went to Southwestern and posed as prospective students during registration in 1917.

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THE STORY OF THE JINX, CONTINUED

They pretended to be the children of a wealthy oilman from the Augusta area.

Their father had insisted that they go to Southwestern College, they said, and here they were registering. They did not pay their fees but said that their father would write out a check for the whole amount. They appeared to have plenty of spending money and treated the students to ice cream. Then they said that they had heard a jolly good story about a Jinx and wanted to know what it was all about. In apparent innocence, they asked to see this powerful stone which had jinxed the Fairmounters. Completely taken in, the Southwestern students showed them the stone in the college vault. While Miss Hanna asked dumb questions, LaPaz “cased the joint” and discovered a ventilator shaft to the vault that could be sprung from within. Then they all went out and had more ice cream at the expense of the two “wealthy” greenhorns from the oil fields of Augusta.

The Fairmounters wasted no time. The next night a group of Fairmount students drove to Winfield. Worried over a couple “spooning” in a parked car, they hid in the shadows until midnight. LaPaz knew his way to the ventilator, lowered himself to the floor, sprung open the lock, which opened the safe, and opened the door. The treasure was there. So back to Fairmount came the flying squadron with the Jinx in their possession. The raiders waited for chapel to assemble on Monday; then the “disheveled, tattered, and haggard men struggled up the aisle bearing a huge stone and singing Fairmount shall shine.” Pandemonium broke loose. Never in the history of Fairmount had there been a more exciting chapel. It was contagious; all class conflicts were forgotten and the whole of Fairmount was united into one jubilant and rejoicing melting pot. Even the faculty reacted with unprecedented glee and “jigged with joy.” Arthur Hoare, that dignified and dutiful dean, lost his cool and is reported to have said: “I don’t give a hang if we don’t have school for a week.” That “give a hang” was surely a bold euphemism for stronger words.

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The Jinx was safely stored in a bank vault. Fairmount would no longer have to fight “against the uncanny, inexplicable, enervating, and baleful influence of the Hoodoo.”

The twelve boys and girls who participated in the purloined Jinx escapade were students of distinction on the Fairmount campus, and they organized the Jinx Club. The club was a secret group and a source of school spirit, possibly on the sinister side. The 1919 Parnassus published a picture of the club, with Lincoln LaPaz in the center, his pompadour hair raising in great waves as if it were charged with electricity. It also pictured the Hoodoo tombstone with its humiliating score of 41 to 3.

Yet, the possession of the diabolical Hoodoo failed to protect Fairmount from its traditional foe at Winfield. After the war, President (Walter H.) Rollins felt that peace in Europe should be followed by peace in Kansas. He suggested that the Hoodoo memorial be made an annual trophy for the winner. But the Fairmount Jinx Gang would share it with no one. It must be destroyed.

Before meeting the Mounduilders in the fall of 1919, Fairmount fans took the sinister stone to a place on the Cannonball Highway, west of Wichita, and blew it to bits with nine sticks of dynamite. It was to no avail. Southwestern defeated Fairmount 20 to 0. LaPaz, or “Link” as he was called, could only give the lame excuse that one of the sticks of dynamite must not have exploded. In 1920 neither team scored. In eight years, half of the Shocker-Builder games had ended in a scoreless tie, and in 1923 the score was 13 to 13, a jinx number for both. A copy of the original Hoodoo memorial was restored by Southwestern in 1921.

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SOUTHWESTERN COLLEGE TR ADITIONS

The Mound and the Ceremony Behind It

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By Kasey (Dumler) Griffith ’01

opropose the inauguration of a new college custom, absolutely unique among all the colleges of the world. This ceremony is to be known as ‘The Building of the Mound.’ Nobody but Mound-builders can build mounds. So no other college has now, or is ever likely to have such a custom. It is highly appropriate to Moundbuilders, but would have little meaning to others. There is a decided advantage, I think, in having at least one custom that is absolutely distinctive of this institution. So many of our customs are copied, not only by us, but by a thousand other colleges. Such customs, being mere imitations, come to have little significance. But I challenge any one to point to a college that has anything like what is proposed in the building of the Mound.”

Dean Leroy Allen spoke those words at the first regular assembly of the year on September 8, 1927. Later on that day, the ceremony that sets Southwestern apart from any other college in the nation was founded.

Dean Allen proposed the ceremony at the morning chapel, and that evening, students and faculty gathered around the proposed spot to inaugurate the tradition. Torches led the procession up the hill, around Richardson Hall, and stopped on the north side. The band serenaded the group along their path.

Dean Allen placed the first stone and then student body president Joe Neville dedicated the Mound. Difficulty soon arose when the crowd attempted to place their stones.

Trying to place them all at once, stones started flying through the air, in an attempt to sail over the heads and onto the Mound. However, only one “casualty” resulted from the chaos - Donald Teed had the unfortunate job of shoveling mortar into the pile when a rock struck his head. He only received a cut, but his head was bandaged for the rest of the ceremony.

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Speaking at the ceremony was Dewey Short, professor of philosophy.

He would later move to Springfield, Mo., to become a pastor, and eventually, a Congressman. During one election against Franklin Roosevelt, Short was considered as a vice-presidential nominee for the Republicans. The former SC professor was even credited with coining the phrase, “That man in the White House,” referring to FDR. At the bottom of the Mound, an iron box was placed. Included in the box was a list of all school alumni, a college catalog, copies of the student newspaper and yearbook, absence regulations, and a “fake” check for $1,000,000, drawn on the State Bank of Winfield in favor of the 1927 student council.

The Mound tradition continued in its original location until 1962, when it was determined that the Mound had to be moved. The spot the Mound occupied was deemed a perfect location for the new Darbeth Fine Arts building. On September 7, 1962, the Mound was moved down campus, in front of Mossman Hall, where the Moundbuilding tradition continues every fall at the start of the school year.

“The building of the Mound is a type of tradition created out of whole cloth by the fertile brain of one who long ago fell in love with Southwestern and its ideals,” wrote Allen in a 1943 Collegian article. “As we build into the mound of loyalty, the rocks bearing our names or initials, so by building our hearts and lives into the institution, we can gradually make Southwestern, not the largest, but the finest college in the land.”

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Annual Campus Highlights You remember – the SC campus is beautiful during every season of the year, so come back and see us often. Refer to the alumni website or the Southwesterner, or contact the alumni office for specific dates.

Moundbuilding Ceremony | AUGUST Homecoming | OCTOBER Eagerheart | DECEMBER Founders Weekend | APRIL Commencement | MAY Attention, graduates New graduates (1-4 years after graduation), stop by the Builder Nation table at the Homecoming football game, south entrance to Jantz Stadium, and pick up your free gift from the alumni department! We want to help you stay connected with fellow classmates and your alma mater.

Class reunions Your graduating class will have a reunion every five years at Homecoming, and various affinity reunions are held annually. Check the website for specific information and plan to attend: sckans.edu/homecoming.

Spend a night on campus Planning a trip to Winfield? Looking for a place to stay that won’t break your budget? If you reserve in advance, the SC guest room located in Shriwise Hall can be your temporary home for only $60 per night. Sheets, pillows and towels are provided. For availability and reservations, contact Jessica.Falk@sckans.edu. It will be just like college days, without the homework!

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Can’t Make It to Campus?

Not everyone can make it to Winfield for chapel, a game, an event or a performance. Fortunately, the power of the web provides an opportunity to tune in, no matter where you are. Both live webcast events and archived ones from the past can be accessed at moundbuilder.com.

Follow your favorite Builder sports teams!

Come to campus for the excitement of the competition, or, if you aren’t able to be at the game in Winfield or on the road, follow via the web at buildersports. com. Go Builders!

Shop for Builder gear from anywhere Don’t forget the Moundbuilder Market is open 24-7 with online access at moundbuildermarket.com. Get your SC gear, any time, anywhere!

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Career Services Available Your Moundbuilder education was valuable to you in preparing for your career. Southwestern is committed to continuing to help you in your career path.

In addition to networking and continuing education opportunities, we now offer the services of CareerBeam. This valuable new service is FREE for Southwestern College alumni!

With CareerBeam you can: • Find your career direction with a variety of assessments to develop a customized career profile • Land the ‘right’ job faster through the creation of a strategic job search process • Conduct research with industry and company information including international intelligence • Locate company contacts with databases and integrated social media • Create custom resumes, cover letter, pitch and interview responses • Get a leg up on the competition!

To access the Southwestern College alumni CareerBeam site, go to sckans.edu/ careerbeam or find the CareerBeam link on the alumni website at sckans.edu/ alumni.

We hope you will continue to stay in touch with Southwestern – with current contact, family and job information. By doing so, you will be invited to occasional networking social gatherings that are held around the country. You won’t want to miss out on these valuable opportunities to connect with other Moundbuilders in your area.

Builder Banner Bomber When visiting somewhere interesting, snap a selfie and share at sckans.edu/bannerbombers.

We’ll add a fun SC sticker and you can see all the cool places Builders go!

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You’re Still a Moundbuilder Top ten ways to stay connected

Your Southwestern experience doesn’t have to end with graduation. Get more out of your college education by connecting to the college through one of our many programs.

10 Keep your contact information updated by e-mailing alumni@sckans.edu, when you move, get married, get a new phone, change e-mail, or have a new job.

9 Be our friend on Facebook... search for Southwestern College Alumni and Friends or go to facebook.com/southwesterncollege.alumni.

8 Attend alumni events – Homecoming is always in October. Check the alumni website at sckans.edu/homecoming for dates.

7 Take a few minutes to visit with current SC students when they call for Phonathon.

6 Tell a high school student or co-worker about your great SC experience.

5 Read up on current events at Southwestern and fellow classmates in the Southwesterner publication that is mailed out four times a year.

4 Offer to host an alumni gathering in your area, or be an alumni class host to help plan your class reunion at Homecoming.

3 See if your employer has internship opportunities for SC students – if so, contact James.McEwen@sckans.edu.

2 Proudly wear SC logos or display them on your car, in your office, and in your home, and be a Builder Banner Bomber when you travel.

(See sckans.edu/bannerbombers for more information.)

And, of course…

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Give back to your Alma Mater. You may have forgotten that a portion of the cost of your education was underwritten by gifts from alumni. You can “pay it forward” to the next generation of students by making an annual gift to the Builder Fund at sckans.edu/makeagift.

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Celebrating SC Alumni Among the best measures of a quality institution of higher learning are the successes of those persons who attended that institution. Southwestern College has made it a priority to recognize outstanding alumni through seven Halls of Fame.

Athletic Hall of Fame Business Hall of Fame Educators Hall of Fame Fine Arts Hall of Fame Leaders in Service Hall of Fame for the Social Sciences Natural Science Hall of Fame Scholars Hall of Fame In order for the college to be informed of all the great things Moundbuilder alumni are doing, we need your help. Please take time to notify us of worthy alumni. Go to sckans.edu/hof, or contact the alumni office and request a hall of fame nomination form. Your efforts will help insure that outstanding individuals receive the accolades they are due. You may also want to check out the halls of fame on the web. All the above are available for online viewing.

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Make a Difference at sckans.edu/makeagift Check out sckans.edu/makeagift. A gift to the Southwestern College Builder Fund empowers our students and faculty to explore their passions and strengths.

The faculty, coaches, and students thank you for your help!

The newly designed SC website also features easy access to the Make-a-Gift site from any page by clicking on the gift icon on the upper left edge of the window.

Did You Know?

Many employers offer matching gifts for your SC donations. Contact your employer to see if your SC gift can be increased with a matching gift.

It’s easy!

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Staying Connected The power of the Moundbuilder network can be of help to you and others at any stage of your life, no matter where you live. Stay in touch – networking can be beneficial at both ends of the connection!

Address and other changes To keep you informed of Southwestern activities and in touch with your friends, we must have your current address. Also, if you marry, please inform us of any name changes. A “What’s New With You” form is provided in each issue of the Southwesterner, fill out the online form at sckans.edu/alumni or send changes by e-mail to alumni@sckans.edu.

How to find your friends If you lose contact with any of your friends and classmates, the alumni office will be happy to try to help reconnect you. Please keep in mind that we are not at liberty to disclose personal contact information without permission of the person you’re looking for, but we are happy to contact them with your information and ask them to get in touch with you. Homecoming reunions are also a great way to stay connected with classmates, so plan to come back every five years!

Reconnecting with faculty Ever wish you could reconnect with your favorite faculty member, but don’t know how? Faculty and staff contact information is at your fingertips on the web.

Winfield campus contact info available at sckans.edu/directory. Professional Studies contact info is at southwesterncollege.org/contact-us/staff.

Whom to tell, when you become famous Actually, you don’t have to wait until you are featured on the cover of a magazine to drop us a note about your current activities. Please remember that all of your life changes are important to your alma mater. Send information on job changes, marriages, births and other news to the alumni office. The easiest way is by e-mail at alumni@sckans.edu.

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Alumni volunteer programs Volunteering is a great way to stay connected. Below are just some of the benefits of investing your time and effort on behalf of Southwestern College.

• Learn about new programs and people at Southwestern College • Network with alumni, parents, friends and students • Gain leadership experience • Participate in a variety of stimulating events • Strengthen established SC friendships and make new ones • Have fun with other Moundbuilders!

Main campus social networking FACEBOOK: sckans.edu/facebook

ALUMNI FACEBOOK: facebook.com/southwesterncollege.alumni LINKED-IN: sckans.edu/linkedin TWITTER: sckans.edu/twitter

INSTAGRAM: sckans.edu/instagram YOUTUBE: sckans.edu/youtube FLICKR: sckans.edu/flickr

Professional Studies social networking FACEBOOK: facebook.com/schighered TWITTER: twitter.com/SCHigherEd LINKED-IN: sckans.edu/linkedin GOOGLE+: sckans.edu/google+

Reminisce

Moundbuilder Yearbooks are available for viewing online at sckans.edu/yearbooks

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Useful Phone Numbers Main Campus. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (620) 229-6000 Admission (undergraduate, graduate) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (620) 229-6236 Alumni Office. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (620) 229-6334 Class Host volunteers Halls of Fame Homecoming Athletics. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (620) 229-6218 Schedules Foster Parents program Box Office (theatre and music). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (620) 229-6272 Camps & Conferences. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (620) 229-6141 Richardson Performing Arts Center performances Career Services. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (620) 229-6307 Financial Aid. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (620) 229-6215 Veterans Services Institutional Advancement. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (620) 229-6279 Fundraising Alumni programs Library. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (620) 229-6225 Moundbuilder Market (campus store) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (620) 229-6264 Public Relations/ Communications. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (620) 229-6343 Registrar’s Office (transcripts) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (620) 229-6268 Sports Information. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (620) 229-6259 Student Life. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (620) 229-6391 Student programming International students foster parent program Professional Studies. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (888) 684-5335 Admission (undergraduate, graduate, online). . . . . . . . . . . . (888) 684-5335 VA Services. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (888) 684-5335, ext. 3323

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Office of Alumni Programs MAILING ADDRESS: 100 College St., Winfield, Kansas 67156-2499 CAMPUS LOCATION: Dole Center, 201 N. College Street (across from Beech Science Center)

PHONE: 620-229-6334 (Susan Lowe, alumni director)

TOLL FREE: 800-846-1543, ext. 6334

FAX: 620-229-6338

E-MAIL: susan.lowe@sckans.edu, alumni@sckans.edu

WEB: sckans.edu/alumni FACEBOOK: facebook.com/southwesterncollege.alumni

What is the Department of Alumni Programs?

The SC alumni department is the way the college keeps in touch with more than 23,000 alumni throughout the world. As an alumnus of Southwestern, you are automatically elegible to utilize the services that this department provides.

There are no dues or membership fees for this privilege. The primary objectives of the alumni department are to foster loyalty and unity of Moundbuilder alumni, to provide a mechanism for the exchange of ideas among alumni, to sample alumni sentiment, to act as an official channel of communication between the alumni and the college, and to create a network and provide support among alumni. To best accomplish these goals, there are active class hosts for each class year that represent their classmates, as well as the director of alumni programs.

Please visit our office when you are on campus! The SC Alumni Department is located across College Street in the Dole Center. We want to keep you updated on the college, your classmates, and alumni activities on campus and in your region. We are here to serve you, and we want to hear news about you. We offer an open invitation – stop in on your next visit.

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100 College St. | Winfield, Kansas 67156 Home of the Moundbuilders

sckans.edu