In March 2023, a subset of archivists in our department began work on the challenging task of addressing the N-word within SCARC’s collection guides and digital objects. This project was launched as a component of a much larger effort to evaluate legacy description through an anti-racist lens, as led by the SCARC Arrangement and Description team.
A search of SCARC’s online resources revealed the presence of the N-word in fifteen oral history interview transcripts, three collection finding aids or container lists, three article or book manuscripts published on the SCARC website, and two event video transcripts that have also been published on the SCARC website. We addressed these instances in different ways, as follows.
Oral History Interviews
The N-word appeared most frequently in interviews conducted with members of the African American community, as housed in the African American Railroad Porters Oral History Collection (OH 029) and the Oregon Black Pioneers Oral History Collection (OH 042). For both collections, we added a statement on description to the collection finding aids reading, “Please be aware that some of the contents in [this collection] may be disturbing or activating. In several instances, interviewees relay stories that recount a culture of racism and the use of racist, derogatory language toward African Americans, including the N word. Connected to this are stories of trauma, both personal and community-wide.” A similar statement was added to the finding aid for the Oregon State University Sesquicentennial Oral History Collection (OH 026), which includes multiple “stories that recount a culture of racism, sexism and homophobia, and the use of derogatory and harmful language.”
In these and other instances, we also chose to add language to the abstracts used to describe oral history interviews as digital objects. For two particular interviews, we concluded abstracts as follows, “Throughout the interview, the narrator shares stories of persecution, abuse and subjugation of indigenous peoples. Connected to this are stories of trauma, both personal and community-wide. At one point in the interview, the narrator also uses racist, derogatory language to describe African Americans that is reflective of a broader culture of racism.”
Another interview abstract required different language: “ […] Specifically, the interviewer and narrator refer to place names that reflect a culture of racism and the use of racist, derogatory language toward African Americans, including the N word.”
Events Videos
Two past events recorded and transcribed by SCARC included use of or reference to the N-word. In one instance, a panel participant recalled his experience of being referred to by the slur, and in another case, a presenter displayed an archival document that used the term. For both resources, we added language to the event abstract warning users that aspects of the presentation may be disturbing or activating.
Article and Book Manuscripts
SCARC holds the papers of William Appleman Williams, a prominent radical historian who was a member of the OSU faculty in the 1970s and 1980s. As part of a past project, two article manuscripts as well as the text of an unpublished novel were released on the SCARC website. The articles included use of the N-word in reference to the historical treatment of African Americans, and the novel was reflective of Williams’ experience of race relations while on military assignment in Texas in the years following the conclusion of World War II. Neither of the articles were summarized with abstracts, so we chose instead to add parenthetical notes at the beginning of each piece, warning of Williams’ use of “racist, derogatory language to describe African Americans that is reflective of a broader culture of racism.” The unpublished novel is contextualized with a lengthy introduction, at the end of which we added a similar content warning.
Finding Aids and Container Lists
The presence of the N-word in three finding aids or container lists proved to be somewhat more difficult to address. In one instance, images of a location in Washington state that bore a racist place name were both cataloged in a collection container list, and also digitized and described in Oregon Digital. The location’s name was changed by the federal government in 1968, and we updated both the container list and the Oregon Digital records to indicate as much. However, we also chose to retain mention of the former name, with a note documenting the 1968 change.
In a second instance, a book title containing the N-word had been cataloged into the bibliography of a large collection finding aid. After discussion, we chose not to make any edits to the description for this item, since the bibliographic information for the book will remain permanent in library catalogs wherever this item is held.
Finally, another collection container list includes a description of a piece of logging equipment that appears to have been, perhaps formally, referred to in racist terms well into the twentieth century. We have contacted a colleague who is well-versed in the history of forestry to seek out an alternative term for the item, but have as yet not found a replacement name. As such, for the time being at least, this term remains extant in our collections descriptions, with the following additional context: “This name was given to a piece of equipment used to place logs in position on a carriage and to turn logs during sawing operations. Use of the term was commonplace in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.”
Relevant Collection Finding Aids and Digital Resources
Oregon State University boasts the title of Oregon’s largest public research university with thirteen research and experiment stations across the state. Some of these stations have been associated with Oregon State for nearly a century. Among them is the Eastern Oregon Agricultural Research Center. Recent archival work dealing with this experiment center and its previous names has led SCARC to evaluate the use of the term “squaw” in our collections as part of our ongoing work to address racist, outdated, and inaccurate descriptive language in our finding aids.
The word “squaw” is derogatory. Historically, it has been used as a misogynist and racist slur to disparage Indigenous American women. Even so, the United States Department of the Interior reported in 2021 that 650 geographic sites in the United States contained the term in their name, including Squaw Butte in Lake County, Oregon. In the same report, the department stated its intent to rename each of these sites. As of January 2023, many of these sites had been renamed. The landform in Lake County is now known as Stairstep Butte.
As a landmark topographic feature, this butte influenced the establishments surrounding it. Among these establishments is the Eastern Oregon Agricultural Research Center. Historically, this field station was named Squaw Butte Range Livestock Station after the nearby mountain peak.
The previous name of this station came to light via work on the News and Communications Services Records. Among the thousands of biographical materials in this collection are those of Carl Lawrence Foster, who was a professor of agriculture who worked at the station beginning in 1970. After writing Foster’s biography, SCARC staff researched and compiled the history of the station with particular attention to its name changes over the years.
Established in 1935, the Squaw Butte Range Livestock Station merged in 1944 with the Harney Branch Station. The newly-formed station was named the Squaw Butte Harney Range and Livestock Experiment Station. This was renamed the Squaw Butte Experiment Station in 1954. Another merger occurred in 1974 with the Eastern Oregon Experiment Station under directors Martin Vavra and R. J. Raleigh, forming the Eastern Oregon Agricultural Research Center.
Although the station’s name was changed, it was not changed as an acknowledgement of the harmful nature of the original. Even after the merger, the 16,000 acres that had previously been the Squaw Butte Experiment Station were still referred to colloquially as “Squaw Butte Station” for several years by locals and Oregon State employees alike, as evidenced in the Oregon’s Agricultural Progress publications from winter 1976 and spring 1981. It appears that this nickname waned in use in the early 1990s.
After the historical context of this experiment station was established, SCARC looked to other uses of “squaw” in its collections in order to evaluate its use and provide a similar context. Many other uses of the slur were in reference to the Squaw Butte Experiment Station, as well as geographic features across Oregon and the Pacific Northwest, including valleys and creeks. Other times, the word was used in the context of colloquial species names, such as “squawfish” or “squaw grass”. However, in two collections (the Ralph I. Gifford Photographs and the Gerald W. Williams Prints and Postcards of Native Americans Collection), the slur is used to refer to Native American women. In both collections, the word is found in the captions and descriptions of images of these women.
SCARC acknowledges that the racism and misogyny represented by the term “squaw” may cause harm to our users. In order to provide historical context and enable standardized searching and access across our collections, we have retained the use of this phrase in collection descriptions. However, we have also added a note to each affected collection to inform users of its context, along with a link to the SCARC Special Collections and Archives Research Center Anti-Racist Actions website and this blog post. Providing access to these historical materials does not endorse any attitudes or behavior depicted therein.
This work was completed in large part due to the initiative of Grace Knutsen (Student Archivist) and the support of the Squaw subgroup: Anna Dvorak (Public Services Assistant), Natalia Fernández (Curator of the Oregon Multicultural Archives and OSU Queer Archives), and Cydney Hill (University Records Manager).
We relied heavily on the guidance and recommendations created by the Reparative Archival Description Task Force at Yale Library. This task force consulted with Japanese American community groups to identify preferred terms to replace terminology that was racist or erased the harm done to Japanese and Japanese Americans incarcerated during World War II represented in archival collections. Written between 2020 and 2021, the best practices put forth by this group include multiple recommendations related to the remediation of legacy descriptions for materials documenting the so-called internment of Japanese Americans during World War II. These recommendations include template language for inclusion in multiple fields available to authors of finding aids, as well as suggestions for language to use in MARC catalog records. Notably, the task force also published a table of eighteen terms related to the legacy internment era that itemize preferred community terms, local terms used by Yale (which often match the community terms), clarifying notes, and the sourcing for this work. Examples of terms considered in this table include: ‘incarceration’ as a replacement for ‘internment’; ‘incarceree’ as a replacement for ‘detainee’; ‘forced removal’ as a replacement for ‘evacuation’ or ‘relocation’; and ‘American concentration camp’ as a replacement for ‘internment camp.’ We highly recommend the use of these guidelines when undertaking similar work.
For all seven finding aids, a Statement on Description was also added that included this language:
“The terminology surrounding the legacy term ‘internment’ has been adjusted. Some materials in this collection use derogatory language to describe ethnic groups. We acknowledge the racism represented by the use of these phrases and the harm they may cause our users. Providing access to these historical materials does not endorse any attitudes or behavior depicted therein.”
Two other collections required more consideration of these terms within the context of the collection.
Collection 1 ~ The Mildred and Frank Miles Scrapbook of the Santo Tomás Internment Camp describes the Miles’ experience of imprisonment at the afore-mentioned camp in Manila, Philippines for three years and one month. Largely because of the scrapbook’s geographical setting, this collection required additional consideration of the Yale terms within the context of the collection, as well as the addition of more precise subject headings, such as Concentration camps — Philippines.
Statement on Description for the Mildred and Frank Miles Scrapbook of the Santo Tomás Internment Camp, 1942-1947 collection finding aid:
“The terminology surrounding the legacy term “internment” has been adjusted. Some materials in this collection use derogatory language to describe ethnic groups. We acknowledge the racism represented by the use of these phrases and the harm they may cause our users. Providing access to these historical materials does not endorse any attitudes or behavior depicted therein.”
Collection 2 ~ Particularly regarding our collection of War Relocation Authority reports, the original descriptions in the finding aid mirrored the neutral social scientific language used in the reports. This “scientific” language erased the harm the incarceration and the act of researching imprisoned Japanese and Japanese Americans did to the prisoners. Following the guidelines, we attempted to replace existing language with recommended terms that more accurately reflects the damage done in and through these reports. “Internment” continues to show up in the finding aid where it is part of a formal name or title in keeping with the Yale guidance. This is both necessary because it is a matter of the historical record and also aids in research as many potential users have been educated using ‘internment’ as the reference term for Japanese American incarceration. We recognize that, while we attempted to be thorough, future revision to these and other descriptions may be necessary to further address as yet unrecognized bias.
Statement on Description for the United States War Relocation Authority Reports, 1942-1946 collection finding aid:
“Please be aware that content within this collection may be disturbing or activating, and racist, derogatory language is used toward Japanese Americans and other groups. We acknowledge the racism represented by this language and the harm it may cause our users. Providing access to these historical materials does not endorse any attitudes or behavior depicted therein.”
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In making these decisions, we recognize that future revisions to these and other descriptions may be necessary. In our teaching and outreach, we will also seek to continue pushing this conversation forward, such that legacy terms like “internment” might begin to lose their currency among researchers and become less of a concern with respect to issues of keyword searching.
Internment subgroup: Kevin Jones, Digital Collections and Metadata Archivist; Anne Bahde, History of Science and Rare Books Librarian; Julie Judkins, Department Head
Contributed by aman agah, 3rd year Ph.D. student in Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies
In Summer 2023, Rare Books Librarian Anne Bahde began a project to construct a shared collection in HathiTrust. This library will include all pre-1927 rare books in SCARC’s collections that have been digitized in HathiTrust. The result will be full-text searchability for those volumes, enabling users to search our collections broadly over centuries. aman was hired to build the collection in HathiTrust, searching titles and adding matches to the library. The finished project will be available in 2024.
I love data entry. It’s calming. It satisfies the part of my brain that really appreciates a clear end to a task. Working on the special collections Hathi Trust project with Anne Bahde over the summer of 2023 was an opportunity to enter some data while also thinking critically and creatively about access to archives and information. What seemed initially to be a very straightforward and simple task, was at times lengthy and required more attention to detail than I had anticipated (this is not a complaint, this is an observation). This wasn’t just copy/paste data entry, though most of my searches did start out that way. This was tweak the pasted information, with maybe another re-tweak, and perhaps another after that, then locate and enter the correct data.
Perhaps a rewind is in order–this project entailed searching Hathi Trust for publications, publications which OSU has, from the 18th, 19th, and 20th centuries. If the publication was present, I added it to a collection I had created within Hathi Trust–this collection would ultimately be made available to Oregon State University students, faculty, patrons, etc. One of, if not the primary, purpose of this project was to make these texts accessible via Hathi Trust, because their platform allows for in-text searches. In-text searches. In-text. Searches. Do you understand how critical it is to be able to search within the text? How is that not even a thing in all digital collections? What was the point of making collections digital if we wouldn’t search within the text? If that wasn’t ever going to be a thing, I guess just send me back to the card catalog. Admittedly, I do love to hold a thing in my hand and walk down an aisle of books.
I worked from a spreadsheet of all the publications OSU has, divided into three sections based on century. In typical graduate student-meets ADHD-meets child of an immigrant-meets perfectionist style, I told myself I would complete the entire project of over 5000 entries in the roughly eight weeks ahead of me. I did not. I had not, despite over 40 years of experience, accounted for the meandering journeys my brain would take with nearly every title and author name. I would copy the title from my spreadsheet, and in the span of seconds from copying the title to navigating from the spreadsheet, I would find myself searching the author of the text, or maybe checking my email inbox which I could see from its little visible tab contained a new message, or maybe I decided to search the text itself on the internet to learn more about its topic and contents. At times my mind wandered into thinking about just how many books there are and have been and will be. When I was younger I wondered what it would be like to read every book ever written. I imagined I could speak and read every language, and sort of Burgess Meredith in Twilight Zone my way through all books ever with no interruption. Imagine. Imagine a world where we had the time to really truly delve into projects like this, to truly immerse ourselves. So…you know…that added time when it happened. And one of the fun things about working with my particular set of intersecting neurodivergences and learning disabilities is a combined tendency to forget paired with reversing letters and numbers. This happened just about every time I began a search. I would paste the copied title into Hathi Trust, but then have to return to the spreadsheet to confirm the author’s name and date of publication. It didn’t matter if the date before this search, and the date after, were the same. I still had to confirm. And confirm. And confirm again.
One of the things I began to quickly notice on the occasions that I managed to immediately navigate to Hathi Trust from the spreadsheet, was that Hathi Trust’s results were often challenging to navigate. Hathi Trust allows searches to be narrowed by author name, publication location, publication date, and some other areas. This is very convenient. What is not convenient, and frankly confusing, is that my search results would show, for example, a specific year, but then that year was not within the publication dates provided in the dropdown menu of Hathi Trust. Maybe my search results would show the name of the author of a text, but that same name was not within Hathi Trust’s narrowed down list. This then required me to amend my searches. Sometimes removing various punctuations within the title or reducing the search to a few words. I sometimes searched by author or publisher, then within decade, then year. Most of the time, these amendments to searches produced the desired result.
One of the other things that stood out to me was that most of the author names I was seeing were, presumably, men. Granted, some could be women using men’s names ala George Sands, but not always likely. And many of the few women whose texts were included, were credited as Mrs. So-and-so, placing emphasis on the surname of their husband. Some of the women were given the title of “lady” or “madame”, and frankly, I don’t know which of all three options I hate most. I also noticed that the majority of the names, and I am talking like in the high 90 percentile, were Western – US of European specific. I remember asking about this–and the problem seems to lie more within who is considered publishable, and also whose work is considered more important to archive. Who is the key word here for me – because it’s not just the who of this list I was working from, but also the who deciding the importance of various authors and texts and topics.
What I had not expected was how much working on this project would cause and even require me to reflect upon my own research. It began almost quietly, with a recognition that with author name and title, I wondered if and when anything related to Persia/ns or Iran/ians would appear. Upon realizing the likelihood to be low within these titles, I found myself reflecting upon the task itself, and the act of searching. How did I conduct my own research? And given that so much of my research focuses and relies upon Iranian feminisms, how could I learn from this project to better help me locate relevant texts? I had some prior experience searching OSU archives for information on Iranian students and searching for Farsi texts – both resulting in much less than I had hoped for, and even expected. And memory/remembering heavily inform my methods and methodology, so what does it mean to recognize that memory is something I struggle with? How does my poor memory impact my own research? Anne Bahde also said something that really struck me, that “different historical periods require different knowledges/skills.” It was not something I had actively considered or framed within this context. As someone with a background in media studies, and a lover of films in general, I understand the importance of analyses with a comprehension of the period within which something was produced. However, I had not taken the time to think about how this critical thinking should also be applied to researching – so when I am researching early Iranian cinema, for example, I have to hold a larger understanding of Iran (including political and social landscape, racial and gender dynamics, language, and so on) at the time of the nation’s early cinema. I would argue that understanding early cinema in general would also be helpful. As a lover of film, I have a deep appreciation for partaking in something that asks me to pause and reflect, to find meaning, to ask questions. And I can say that taking part in this project required all of this from me.
References
“Time Enough at Last.” The Twilight Zone, written by Rod Sterling and Lynne Venable, directed by John Brahm, Cayuga Productions, 1959.
We’ve released a new set of digitized historical basketball content just in time for the 2023/2024 season!
New posts will be released each Friday in November. This is post 4 of 4.
Seattle University basketball highlights, March 1953. (0:04:40). Led by All American guard Johnny O’Brien, Seattle is shown defeating Idaho State University and earning the right to play against the University of Washington in the NCAA tournament West Regional, which was held at Gill Coliseum. The film includes footage of Seattle players exiting a charter flight, perhaps at the Corvallis airport; fans assembling outside of Gill Coliseum; Oregon State College athletic director Roy “Spec” Keene; basketball journalists seated court side; and game action versus Washington.
Chris Petersen, Sr. Faculty Research Assistant and Beaver sports fan, selected and summarized these clips. Brian Davis, our Digital Production Unit Supervisor, digitized and process the nineteen Umatic tapes now available in our MediaSpace channel. Thanks to them!
We’ve released a new set of digitized historical basketball content just in time for the 2023/2024 season!
New posts will be released each Friday in November. This is post 3 of 4.
OSU Men’s Basketball montage, 1981-1982. (1:56:37). The 1981-82 Oregon State University men’s basketball team won the Pac-10 Conference championship for the third year in a row, completing the season with a record of 25-5, with only two losses in conference. The Beavers competed in the NCAA tournament that year, losing in the third round to Georgetown, the tournament’s eventual runner-up. For the year, OSU was led by senior guard Lester Conner (14.9 points, 5.1 assists), sophomore forward Charlie Sitton (12.9 points, 4.3 rebounds), junior forward Danny Evans (11.3 point), and junior guard William Brew (9.2 point, 3.4 assist). This film includes isolated game audio of Beavers head coach Ralph Miller from timestamps 1:22:30 to 1:38:30.
OSU Men’s Basketball montage, 1982-1983. (1:49:54). The Oregon State University men’s basketball team finished the 1982-83 season with a record of 20-11, losing to Fresno State in the third round of the NIT Tournament to complete the year. The squad was led by junior forward Charlie Sitton (18.8 points, 5.2 rebounds), sophomore forward A.C. Green (14 points, 7.6 rebounds), senior forward Danny Evans (10.7 points) and freshman center Steve Woodside (8.9 points, 3.8 rebounds). In addition to game footage, this film also includes scenes from Beaver practices and locker room preparation.
OSU Men’s Basketball montage, 1985-1986. (5:14:56). In 1984-85, the Oregon State University men’s basketball team struggled through a down year, finishing the season with a record of 12-15 — the program’s first losing season since the 1970-71 campaign. The team was led by junior center Jose Ortiz (16.4 points, 8.6 rebounds), senior guard Derrin Houston (12.3 points), senior center Steve Woodside (9.9 points, 6.3 rebounds), and senior guard Darryl Flowers (9.1 points, 4.2 assists). In addition to footage from numerous games, this lengthy film includes scenes from the locker room as well as media availabilities with players and coaches.
Chris Petersen, Sr. Faculty Research Assistant and Beaver sports fan, selected and summarized these clips. Brian Davis, our Digital Production Unit Supervisor, digitized and process the nineteen Umatic tapes now available in our MediaSpace channel. Thanks to them!
We’ve released a new set of digitized historical basketball content just in time for the 2023/2024 season!
New posts will be released each Friday in November. This is post 2 of 4.
Among the most decorated basketball players in Oregon State University history, Payton was the Pac-10 Freshman of the year in 1987, a three-time All Pac-10 selection and, in 1990, both Pac-10 Player of the Year as well as consensus All-American. By the time his four-year career at OSU concluded, he held the school record for points, field goals, three-point field goals, assists, and steals. During the Payton era, the Beavers made three NCAA Tournament appearances and one NIT. His number “20” jersey was retired during the 1996-97 season.
Gary Payton highlight footage, 1989-1990 (0:04:01). Silent footage of Oregon State University senior guard Gary Payton in action at Gill Coliseum and at the Far West Classic, held in Portland, Oregon at the Memorial Coliseum. Payton averaged 25.7 points per page, 8.1 assists per game and 4.7 rebounds per game in leading the Beavers to the Pac-10 co-championship and an overall record of 22-7.
Gary Payton – Pac-10 Player of the Week highlights, March 2, 1988 (0:00:34). Silent footage of Gary Payton, who was named Pac-10 Player of the Week on March 2, 1988. Payton is shown competing on the road versus Stanford, who were defeated by the Beavers 63-61. Payton scored 17 points in the victory.
Gary Payton – Pac-10 Player of the Week highlights, February 16, 1989 (0:00:44). Silent footage of Payton, who was named Pac-10 Player of the Week on February 16, 1989. Payton is shown competing at Gill Coliseum versus Arizona State, whom the Beavers defeated by a score of 73-59. Payton scored 22 points to lead the effort.
Chris Petersen, Sr. Faculty Research Assistant and Beaver sports fan, selected and summarized these clips. Brian Davis, our Digital Production Unit Supervisor, digitized and process the nineteen Umatic tapes now available in our MediaSpace channel. Thanks to them!
We’ve released newly digitized historical basketball content for the 2023/2024 season!
New posts will be released each Friday in November This is post 1 of 4.
In addition to season montages and Gary Payton footage, this 4 partrelease includes an interview with former coach Ralph Miller on his philosophy of basketball, and an unexpected film of Seattle University playing in Gill Coliseum in 1953. The memorial service for Earnest Killum, an OSU player who tragically died of a stroke in 1992, is part of this release as well.
“Ralph Miller’s Pressure Basketball,” ca. 1983 (1:47:29). Released by OSU Sports Productions ca. 1983, this film consists of a series of conversations between Oregon State University head basketball coach Ralph Miller and host Pat Lafferty, in which Miller details his philosophy of practice and play, breaking the game down into multiple components. In part one of the film, Miller focuses on the jump stop, the pass, 3 on 3 drills, 4 on 4 drills, pressure defenses, and the team concept. In part two, he analyzes rebounding and the outlet pass, the breaking game, the high lob pass, the inside game, passing against the zone defense, attacking the zone defense, and attacking the man defense.
Oregon State University men’s basketball season preview, 1984-85 (0:07:50). Partial season preview show featuring practice footage, capsule biographies, and statistics for five first year players: Jeff Hales, Mark Kaska, Eric Knox, Ian Russell, and Byron Thierry. The film concludes with a highlight package from the 1983-84 season, set to music. Led by senior forward A.C. Green, the Oregon State University men’s basketball team reached the NCAA tournament at the conclusion of this year, finishing the season with a record of 22-9.
Earnest Killum memorial service, January 22, 1992 (0:48:42). Footage of a memorial service held in Gill Coliseum for Oregon State University basketball player Earnest Killum, who died of a stroke on January 20, 1992. The ceremony included songs by soloists Gino Mingo and Jason Harris, and remarks by OSU basketball alum Rev. Darryl Flowers, OSU President John Byrne, head coach Jimmy Anderson, teammate Scott Haskin, and two unidentified speakers — one an academic adviser and the other a community religious leader.
Chris Petersen, Sr. Faculty Research Assistant and Beaver sports fan, selected and summarized these clips. Brian Davis, our Digital Production Unit Supervisor, digitized and processed the 19 Umatic tapes now available in our MediaSpace channel. Thanks to them!
We are so excited to be able to celebrate Archives Month in person with you all and are looking forward to seeing you at the following events:
Special Open House: Scrapbooks
What: Get glimpses from nearly a century of student experiences here at OSU in student scrapbooks during this Special Open House! These colorful, candid, and joyful documents of campus past were assembled by students from the 1910s through the 2010s. Where: SCARC Reading Room, 5th floor, Valley Library When: Wednesday, October 4, 10am to 1pm
Special Open House: Shannon Day Rettig Book Arts Collection
What: SCARC is excited to celebrate the gift of the Shannon Day Rettig Book Arts Collection. This collection of over 75 stunning artists’ books and fine press specimens will support book arts at OSU for years to come. Come explore selections from the collection, including rare fine press titles and unique, collaborative art pieces. Where: SCARC Reading Room, 5th floor, Valley Library When: Wednesday, October 18, 10am to 1pm
Add Glitter to the Archives: A Crafternoon with the OSU Queer Archives
Art created by 2016 Glitter in the Archives event attendees
What: “Glitter in the Archives” began in 2016 as part of both Oregon Archives Month and OSU’s Queer History Month celebrations. The crafternoon event, featuring copies of materials from the OSU Queer Archives, was hosted in the SCARC reading room and ran from 2016-2019, and it’s finally back! This year we are collaborating with the Libraries’ Crafternoon series and the event will be hosted in the main lobby of the library, hence the new name “Add Glitter to the Archives.” As before, one of the main goals of this event is to use archival materials as a way to imagine queer futures, particularly as they pertain to OSU and the surrounding community. Participants will have the opportunity to donate their craft creations to OSQA if they would like to do so. For information and photos from past events, see the blog posts for Glitter in the Archives, 2016-2019 Where: Main Floor Lobby, Valley Library When: Thursday, October 19, 4:00 to 6:00pm
“The OSU Queer Archives: Reflecting on the Past and Imagining the Future”
What: The Oregon State University Queer Archives (OSQA) was established in the fall of 2014 with a mission to preserve and share the stories, histories, and experiences of LGBTQ+ people within the OSU and Corvallis communities. The creation and development of the OSQA was the product of a collaboration between an archivist Natalia Fernández, and a professor, Dr. Bradley Boovy, who engaged in community-based initiatives that helped to build the archive. Almost a decade after its establishment, Fernández shares her reflections on the evolution of the OSQA as well as ideas for its future. More information can be found on the Corvallis Museum website about the event; the lecture is free with admission to the museum, which is $5 general admission, free for students including OSU and LB, and free to youth and families who have SNAP. Where: The Collins Education Center at the Corvallis Museum (411 SW Second Street, Corvallis, OR 97333) When: Thursday, October 26, 10:30am to noon
Taste of the ‘Chives Recipe Showcase
What: Sample and celebrate the flavors of the Fisheries and Wildlife Coffee Club and the founder of this Friday morning tradition, Professor David L.G. Noakes! For this year’s Taste of the ‘Chives, we’ll be preparing recipes featured in “Baking Connections: Coffee Club Memorial Cookbook.” Where: Willamette Rooms, Third Floor, Valley Library When: Tuesday, October 31, noon to 1:30pm
During spring term Dr. Kara Ritzheimer’s History 310 (Historian’s Craft) students researched and wrote blog posts about OSU during WWII. The sources they consulted are listed at the end of each post. Students wrote on a variety of topics and we hope you appreciate their contributions as much as the staff at SCARC does!
This post was written by Soraya Trujillo.
When it comes to understanding the activism of students at OSC during WWII, scrapbooks are an exciting way to examine the events that took place. One example of this is the scrapbook of the Oregon State University chapter of Alpha Lambda Delta. The scrapbook itself is considerably large (around 2’x 1’) and has rounded edges. Several pages are falling out, as are some of the glued-in letters and photos, but nonetheless, it is chronologically organized and presented in a formal fashion. This scrapbook is an ideal example of the activism of female student-led organizations at OSU during WWII.
Formerly known as Oregon State College (OSC), there were many events that took place during the war years. For instance, during the school years of 1943-44 and 1944-45, the scrapbook highlights Victory Drives and harvest help that the chapter organized. Victory drives were fundraisers held by the nation as a whole, Oregonians, and college students at OSC to help with the war effort in the United States. These drives asked citizens to ration, collect, and recycle certain goods in order to supplement resources being allocated to the war effort. Using the Alpha Lambda Delta scrapbook, this post explores student activism during WWII, especially female-student activism, as well as the overall sense of community that emerged after Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941.
When it comes to student participation in the war effort, the enrollment size of OSC during the war years is important to note. The decrease in enrollment at OSC during 1943-1944 shines a light on why student-led organizations, like the Alpha Lambda Delta chapter, were important on a local and national level in regards to supporting the domestic fight against the Axis powers. The war impacted the size and composition of student enrollment, especially male enrollment. Moreover, nationally, there was a 14 percent decrease in enrollment in colleges. In other words, OSC’s decrease in enrollment was normal.[i] However, there is a significant variation in the population of Alpha Lambda Delta members during this time.
This graph is important to note due to the abnormal increase in the population of Alpha Lambda Delta during the first part of the war years: 1939-1941.
The scrapbook includes an exciting graph titled, “Graph showing the fraction of Alpha Lambda Delta members that have graduated for the years 1933-1942.” The data shows a relatively constant increase in members during the years 1940 to 1942. By the 1941-1942 academic year, the organization had grown to 59 members.[ii] Why did the Alpha Lambda Delta chapter grow despite enrollment declines at OSC during the war years? One could infer that the increase is due to Alpha Lambda Delta being an exclusively female student organization. In March 1943, the Oregon State Barometer published an article titled, “OSC Enrollment Records Drop of 23 Percent: Women Almost Equal Men in Numbers Excluding Engineers,” which explains that overall registration had dropped from 3586 students to 2753 students, a 23 percent decline. This number did not include “army engineers on the campus” who were being educated to actively serve in the military through programs at OSC.[iii] Although there was a decrease in civilian male students due to war and military-related education, OSC experienced an overall increase in women’s enrollment.
This shows Newspaper clippings of Victory Drives and harvestings that Alpha Lambda Delta took part in.
The local support that Alpha Lambda Delta mentions in their scrapbook leads to other avenues of interest. With the national war effort starting after Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor, national-level drives that involved everyone in the US, such as the “National Victory Scrap Drive” of October 1st to November 15th in 1943, could have ignited the need to create local drives at OSC.[iv] Alpha Lambda Delta members responded by creating their own campaigns and aid for farmers. The scrapbook, for example, contains clippings of an article titled, “Alpha Lambda Delta Sponsors Farm work.”[v] Female student-led organizations at both OSC and the nearby University of Oregon participated in various Victory drives, such as the “Victory Book Drive” mentioned in the Oregon Daily Emerald (the University of Oregon’s newspaper) in 1943, and helped local farmers with harvesting or tending to land.[vi] They too wanted to be a part of the overall national support.
This image shows Alpha Lambda Delta Sponsors working at farms to help the war effort in 1943.
Much of the student body at OSC during WWII supported the fight against the Axis powers, and female-led organizations led the charge when it came to supporting the local community. Female students helped local farmers in Corvallis and the greater Willamette Valley. A 1945 article in the Oregon State Barometer titled, “Coeds to help Harvest Beets: Alpha Lambda Delta Will Recruit Workers,” urged female students to volunteer to help local farmers. It was important, the article explained, that “each women’s living organization should be represented by at least three girls.”[vii] This article indicates that other female student organizations, in addition to the Alpha Lambda Delta chapter, were helping. More than ever, girls from each living organization at OSC needed to tend the land and harvest vegetables which would be shipped beyond the Pacific Northwest, due to the labor shortages in the war.[viii]
This image shows the support of Alpha Lambda Delta during the war. One can see the Patriotism and their need to support locally through the newspaper clippings as well as an American flag model/ figure.
Adding to the broader roles of females during the war, female faculty at OSC also helped in the fight against the Axis powers. According to historian Marty Branagan, “Women’s resistance ranged from actions adopted en masse as a gender to the work of women’s groups and individuals.”[ix] An example of this is the work of female administrators at OSC: Ava Milam, Lorna Jessup, and Maud Wilson during the war years. Ava Milam, the Dean of the School of Home Economics for more than 30 years, contributed to the nutritional program at OSC. Lorna Jessup, assistant to the Dean of Women, and her secretary created ration books for the student body. Maud Wilson, a female faculty member of the Agricultural College organized war guests into different homes around OSC.[x] These are just some of the various ways in which the female student body and faculty members at OSC contributed to the wartime effort.
Universities across the country participated in philanthropic efforts as well, a reality that created a bond between institutions. Historian George Zook explains that this bond emerged after the US government asked higher education institutions to be more involved in the war effort. Zook explains that the National Committee on Education and Defense and the United States Office of Education, “undertook to sponsor what turned out to be the largest and most representative conference of university and college executives that had ever been assembled in this country, at Baltimore on January 3-4, 1942.”[xi] This large representation of university executives at the National Committee on Education and Defense shows that universities were actively participating and wanted to help the country in any way possible.
The poster campaigns that the US military developed were also a significant reason for the profound amount of support from the home front. Why and how did this support happen? Terrence Witkowski explains that the American government used poster campaigns that exaggerated the need for certain supplies to encourage both moderation and donations. Witkowski states, “Perhaps the single largest group of frugality-themed posters was sponsored by the U.S. Department of the Treasury and asked Americans to forgo their immediate consumption and instead buy war bonds and defense stamps.”[xii] War bond posters may explain why Victory Drives and harvestings were common at OSC during the war, especially for female students who could not actively serve in the war.
Both images found in the U.S. Government Printing Office highlight the emergence of consumer frugality in 1942, also found in Witkowski’s article.
Adding onto the war bond posters, the War Manpower Act and the War Manpower Commission both effectively created a bond between the military and universities and additionally addressed female citizens as well. William Robbins explains in The People’s School: A History of Oregon State University that the US government used the War Manpower Act to enlist the help of universities. Robbins states, “Gilfillan’s inquiry on behalf of his seven young staff members elicited a response when the War Manpower Commission reiterated that all young men with scientific training should register [to actively serve the country].”[xiii] The War Manpower Act, according to the American National Archives, was established to recruit, “labor for war and essential civilian industries” which implies that the government needed male students for the war. In addition to male students needed for the war, other students and civilians could still support the nation through different means.[xiv] Although men were wanted for actively serving, other women and men who did not serve actively and were students are also highlighted in the War Manpower Commission on August 19, 1942, which states, “the War Manpower Commission plans of guidance which will help the students where they can make the most effective contribution to the war effort, including essential supporting activities.”[xv] This highlights how universities nationally could potentially help with wartime efforts as seen by the national Victory Drives or, in the case of OSC, aid to local farmers.
Whether inspired by the poster campaign or the Manpower Act, female students at OSC participated in the war effort. Much like other colleges and institutions around the nation, OSC was no exception to the increasing effort to help the war front through local support. In this perspective, the examination of the Alpha Lambda Delta Scrapbook during the war years is a great example of how female activism in colleges was part of a larger home front effort. Through this lens, we begin to see examples of how students helped during the war despite the setbacks they faced. For further research, finding student females and their narratives from this time period would broaden the understanding of their roles at OSC and overall define the roles of women during WWII.
Oregon State College Chapter of Alpha Lambda Delta Scrapbook, 1933-1952, Oregon State University Special Collections and Archives Research Center, Alpha Lambda Delta- Oregon State University Chapter Records, 1933-1999, Box 3, Folder 1.
Zook, George F. “How the Colleges Went to War.” The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science 231 (1944): 1–7. http://www.jstor.org/stable/1023159.
Robbins, William. The People’s School: A History of Oregon State University. (Corvallis, Oregon: Oregon State University Press, 2017).
Witkowski, Terrence. “World War II Poster Campaigns: Preaching Frugality to American Consumers,” Journal of Advertising, 32 No.1, (2003), 69-82. https://www.jstor.org/stable/4622151
[ii] Graph showing the percentage of Alpha Lambda Delta members who graduated between the years 1933-1942, Oregon State College Chapter of Alpha Lambda Delta Scrapbook, 1933-1952, Oregon State University Special Collections and Archives Research Center (hereafter SCARC) Alpha Lambda Delta- Oregon State University Chapter Records, 1933-1999 Box 3, Folder 1.
