Lucas Kotnik February 16, 2016 - Revised May 8, 2016 RHET 105 A Snapshot of the University of Illinois World War II Scholars and Soldiers In the year of 1945, the United States of America was fully invested in the second world war. After the draft of 1940 was signed by President Franklin D. Roosevelt, ten of thousands men over the age of 18 were enlisted and shipped out across the globe. Those who were not chosen for war, remained within the states and aided in the war efforts in a variety of ways. In The Illio of 1945 University of Illinois, we can catch a glimpse as this old, tattered yearbook captures not only the photos of the students enrolled in the University of Illinois in the year of 1945, but also the culture and history that surrounds those who remained within the states during this prominent moment in our nation s history. Within the first few pages, the editors of The Illio provide a foreword in a letter format addressed to the readers. This foreword includes the thesis for their work. We, the editors, hope these innovations will meet with the reader s approval, and that he will find this edition a satisfactory digest of life at the University of Illinois for this year. To the ex-illini who scan these pages in faroff places, may The Illio of 1945 bring many happy memories of campus days (Stewart 4). It is then signed, The Editors. The thesis is the purpose for the source, which in this case, is to entertain the reader and inform them of the happenings of the University of Illinois in the year of 1945. The support for the thesis is all the pages, pictures, and articles within. These pages, photos, and articles each contain a snapshot into the past of the University of Illinois and each tell the story the yearbook is meant to portray. This support helps the thesis convey it s meaning.
An example of this is when The Editors state the previous line, he will find this edition a satisfactory digest of life at the University of Illinois for this year (Stewart 4). What is quite confounding in this statement is the reference to only he in this statement excluding a female pronoun to this even though women were enrolled at the University during this time period. This questions the ethos of the editors, but also captures an idea of the social status of women in the time period. Also, although not meant at the time, the pronoun choice depicts a warrant conveyed by the author. Under further study of The Illio, there are three main warrants that the editors of the piece convey: the place of women at the university, the social society of the university, and most prominently, the importance of support for the war. These warrants are displayed within the support for the thesis which, in turn, are the backing for the warrant. This includes the photos of all the students, fraternities and sororities, athletics, and armed forces. The warrant that stands for the place of women in society is not directly stated but it is represented by several separate pieces of support similar to that within the thesis of The Illio. Another example of this is also found in the Foreword, when capturing the addition of the Illio Beauties, it reads, the eight most beautiful girls in this university. In picturing these students, we honor the traditional charm of the college girl, and seek to prove that Illini girls are not to be surpassed for loveliness (Stewart 4). This subjection of trivial ambiguity because of their looks displays the era when women are judged by their looks rather than their minds. A third piece of evidence for this warrant is within the College of Medicine, where there are twenty-four men captured and only one woman. Her name was Mavis Lorraine Hardinger and she graduated from the College of Medicine with an A.B. in the Class of 1944. This displays the strained tension of a women s role in society and shows that even in 1945, it was not common
for women to be doctors. Within this one text, the constraints and expected formalities that women continued to face are portrayed as a part of the United States during this time. In addition to the role of women, the social society on campus was a significant warrant the editors had for The Illio. This is displayed through the support portrayed in photos of various athletics teams such as football, basketball, track, baseball, and swimming. In addition to athletics, there was Illinois Loyalty cheer squad which included The Chief, the Guild Productions, the fraternities and sororities, and a depiction of the Chicago Illini Union that was described as a social and recreational center enjoyed by students and faculty alike (Stewart 16). Although these are all nice and entertaining depictions of the University of Illinois in 1945, the most heart-warming is the In Memoriam for President Emeritus David Kinley. In the brief description of both David Kinley s life and works, the message is clear that President Kinley was truly an amazing man who surely will be missed. Because he was an outstanding scholar, educator, and gentleman, and because he will live on as one of America s greatest university presidents, the Illio of 1945 is respectfully dedicated to David Kinley (Stewart 8). President Emeritus David Kinley passed on December 3, 1944. This portrayal of a man who meant a great deal to the student and the University captures the true purpose of The Illio. The most overwhelming value of The Editors of The Illio, which includes the previous two, is the emphasis on the war. This volume 52 edition of The Illio was published by the University of Illinois in the spring of 1945, which is just a few short months before the unveiling and dropping of the atomic bomb on Hiroshima on August 6, 1945 and then Nagasaki on August 9, 1945. Therefore, at this point in World War II, the United States is in full swing. This is especially prevalent at the University of Illinois. The Illio displays backing for this warrant in several cases displaying that the war is a crucial part of university life. In the memoir of
President David Kinley, we learn that he was actually the one who established the Reserve Officer Training Corps, or ROTC, unit at the University of Illinois following World War I. With pages and pages of Naval Unit men and Company A men in uniform, it is clear that the University of Illinois was a primary support unit for the United States Armed Forces. The Illio even includes a letter from President A.C. Willard describing the importance of the programs at the University. A section reads, On the campus, the University has provided both college grade and technical training programs for the Army and the Navy, and various departments have contributed materially to the war effort through their research and extension programs (Stewart 47). President Willard describes the contribution of the University to the Armed Forces and concludes by stating, We hope that when victory comes we shall be prepared to deal wisely and effectively with the problems which will confront both the State and the University of Illinois (Stewart 47). The editors of The Illio portray the importance of the war both on and off the campus with the variety of pictures and letters that all have one common message, win and end the war. The warrant of a piece is supposed to be abstract values, but in The Illio, all three of these points are warrants that The Editors project on to their readers. The logos involved are crucial to the time period and to the printing of this text. These warrants, with the aid of backing, portray the thesis that The Editors wanted, a digest of life at the University of Illinois for this year (Stewart 4). Yet, people may object this claim and state this yearbook does not give a proper summary of life at the University of Illinois in 1945. To any objections, The Editors would rebuttal they selected the majority of school interests and covered all associations, academics, and accomplishments to the best of their ability. They use the qualifier hope to retain credibility in their thesis and warrants.
The Illio is a piece of World War II history and plays a crucial role in its telling of the war and of our university. On the surface, this source is a yearbook, but amongst the pages within, it is a glance into one of the most profound time periods of our nation s history. And as long as it remains within the University of Illinois Archives, it always will be.
Works Cited Stewart, Rose A., and Mayta Ballis. The Illio of 1945 University of Illinois. Champaign: The University of Illinois, 1945. Print.