The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 49, July 1945 - April, 1946 Page: 34
717 p. : ill., maps, ports. ; 24 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
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Southwestern Historical Quarterly
closer together: Professor David F. Houston, chairman of the
Faculty B Hall Committee, had told him that the Hall under
the direction of Mrs. Hicks, the first and only woman manager,
had accumulated a deficit of four thousand dollars. Moreover,
the Hall had become unpopular; many students had moved
away because of the riotous conduct of their fellows; Austin
merchants demanded cash for their goods; the manager was
resigning. Bugbee proposed that he and I move back (we had
both lived there) to B Hall and try to work out a solution of
the difficulty. "It's your Hall," said Professor Houston, and
President Prather agreed.
Bugbee's plan was simple: the B-Hallites in mass meeting
elected at his suggestion a president and two men from each
floor as an Executive Committee. This committee adopted a
few rules of discipline, which they were given plenary powers
to enforce. When a student threw a biscuit across the table,
out of the Hall he went. There was no appeal. Bugbee and I
volunteered to handle all the business side of the proposition
without any charge. We paid board just as did the students,
although I believe Professor Houston would not allow the
auditor to accept our room rent. I remember that Bugbee told
the assembled B Hall residents that our job (his and mine)
was to see that the Hall was kept decently clean, that the food
should be wholesome and plentiful. We hired and fired the
servants, bought the groceries, and made regular financial
reports to the B Hall Committee. The University comptroller
handled all the money. "The rest is up to you," said Bugbee.
"It's your home and you are absolute bosses. Lomax and I will
do everything for you except to exercise discipline. You can
tear B Hall down if you like and I'll never report it to the
faculty." The students took his earnest words at face value.
The first Hall committee was made up of thoughtful fellows
headed by Howard Parker, who won a great victory by soon
throwing out a couple of fellows who told the committee to go
to hell with their rules. Bugbee and I sat in with this Hall
committee when they met until they began to discuss discipline.
Then we retired.
Bugbee's plan worked from the start. All the vacant rooms
were quickly taken. The boarders increased from about a hun-
dred to two hundred and twenty-five, though we raised the rate
from ten to eleven dollars a month. We paid our bills promptly34
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Texas State Historical Association. The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 49, July 1945 - April, 1946, periodical, 1946; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth146056/m1/43/: accessed April 27, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.