Evening star., 1934-06-17

faculty members. mostly young. Soph-
omore graduates go into the Junior
classes of Princeton, Dartmouth,
Mount Holyoke and other first-rank
colleges in full standing.
The old plant has been almost COM
pletely rebuilt, and now includes sew
eral handsome modern buildings. The
endowment has been raised from prac-
tically nothing to about 100000. The
way this was done was a triumph Of
ingenuity, hard work, cooperation
and undergraduate muscle.
At present there are 262 students,
about half boys and half girls. The
limit is $50, but a few extras always
squeeze in. The majority come from
Illinois and Indiana, but 16 other
States are represented. If a larger
number could be accommodated the
enrolment would be increased many
times.
At Blackburn every student works.
Aprons and overallS. No student is
Intentionally admitted who could af-
ford to go to another college.
Student jobs are of many kinds
Carlinville has few businesses that can
offer employment to students; there
fore employment is found for them
within the college. They do all
campus work except teaching and a
very few technical jobs. Their jobs
incluoe the wholesale buying of food
for the college dining hall, its prepara-
ton and all work incidental to serving
meals, janitor work in all buildings,
all work in the college laundry and
book store, the operation of the COL
lege library, Office, heating plant and
200-acre farm; also a continuous
and varied program of new conStruc-
ton.
The work program is directed by
students through central committee
consisting of two boy work managers
and two girl work managers There
is a busineSs-like division of duties.
There is student head waitress, head
Janitor, farm boss, head librarian,
head of Office force, and so on.
Each student is required to work at
least Is hours week, plus two-and-a-
half hours every other Sunday. Over
time is discouraged, also outside jobs.
This makes a relatively light work
schedule compared with what many
students carry in non-self-help COL
leges.
The day at Blackburn begins early
very early for the f1remen, breakfast
cooks and a few others who have to
beat the Winter sun by hours. The
official day is divided into four work
periods Of two-and-a-haL hours each.
Late hours are kept by janitors, bread
bakers and some others. Furthermore
since some jobs are dirty and chang
ing clothes cuts into students time,
effort is made where possible to let
students assigned to these jobs work
three half days Of five hours each i'll
stead of six quarter days.
Routine operation of the college
does not furnish enough work for all
students. New construction fills out.
Material is usually a heavy con-
Struction cost item. Money Is scarce
at Blackburn, so a good deal of in
genuity is sometimes exercised to keep
this cost within limits. A recent in
stance is typical and interesting. A
Carlinville street was being repaved
with concrete. Under the worn-out
asphalt was found a sublayer of
bricks, fashioned and handmade.
Having been buried, they we're about
as fresh as when they came from the
kiln. Blackburn got them for haul
ing them away. Students recovered
about 117,000 bricks.
These were used to build an in
cinerator and new barn and to
veneer the gymnasium. The latter
was an old structure with a self
help history. Originally it had been
CONTINUED On Fourth Pasel