The University of Michigan

by Wilfred Byron Shaw

The Doorway of the Martha Cook Building

The changes from those stricter days have come gradually and as a reflection of the spirit of the age; the scientific and not the ecclesiastical spirit rules, with the result that the student is left more to his own devices in ordering his life. The discipline of the old days would not be tolerated now and any tendency towards firmer regulation of undergraduate life is often resented. The break came first, perhaps, in a new spirit of independence which followed the fraternity crisis in 1850. This was emphasized by the fact that the students in the professional schools were excused from compulsory church and chapel attendance, a discrimination which did not fail to react upon the literary undergraduates. The rule still held, however, until 1871; though the Sunday monitor who checked church attendance had long disappeared. Daily prayers were maintained until 1895 when they were succeeded by semi-weekly vesper services, which, in turn, were eventually discontinued. Current opinion upon this gradual change is possibly reflected in the statement made in 1900 by President Angell:

Where, as at the University of Michigan, the average age of the freshman on entering college is 19.5, it is at least open to discussion whether the spiritual welfare of undergraduates will be promoted by their being driven to religious services under fear of the monitor's mark.

A religious census made in 1894 showed that of approximately 3,000 students, 2,500 were church members or church adherents, and that 301 students had become clergymen or missionaries. A similar census of the men in 1919 showed that of a total of 5,804, 3,501 were church members, while 943 others expressed some church preference. This included all forms of belief. These statistics seem to indicate that there has been very little change in this respect in the last twenty-five years, though some decrease in church attendance would not be surprising in view of the great increase in students and the less homogeneous character of the student body. No one familiar with the student life today, however, will question the vitality and effectiveness of the religious influences which reach the students through the various churches and religious organizations of Ann Arbor, particularly in view of extensive plans now under way for further co-operation on the part of the churches.

The passing of the old Chapel in the religious life of the University was marked by the growing strength of religious bodies among the students. The strong religious spirit of the early Faculty was reflected by their encouragement of an organization known as the Union Missionary Society of Inquiry, which followed the great missionary movement of the first part of the century, and served as a rallying point for undergraduate religious life. This organization, however, according to Professor Hinsdale, was "anything but an unmixed blessing, either to the institution or to the students," though in what particular is not disclosed. There also existed from earliest days, a Sunday morning service which the students conducted in the Chapel. The old Missionary Society came to an end in 1857, to be followed by the Students' Christian Association, which soon became one of the most effective factors in university religious life. It was the first association of this character organized in any American college, and through what may be regarded as a fortunate accident in its name the opportunity for membership was left open to women students upon their admission twelve years later. This brought to it a powerful reinforcement.

The Association professed no creed, the members merely pledging themselves to religious character and work. The meetings were held at first on the fourth floor of the old South College, but this proved inadequate and with the coming of President Haven, the Association was established in a room especially fitted up for it on the first floor. Eventually these quarters in turn became too small, for, at the time of the semi-centennial celebration of 1887, when the need for a new home for the Association was discussed, the membership of 300 was far too large for this room. A movement for a new building arose, therefore, which led to a successful appeal to the alumni; though it was not until June, 1891, that the Students' Christian Association Building which stands on State Street almost directly across from University Hall was formally dedicated. The total cost was about $40,000 and of this amount Mrs. Helen H. Newberry of Detroit gave about $18,000; the building being known as Newberry Hall in honor of her husband, John S. Newberry, of the class of '47.

From this time the work of the Students' Christian Association, now carried on under far more favorable circumstances, expanded rapidly. A further extension of the religious life of the University came in 1895, when a University Y.M.C.A. was established by some members of the Students' Christian Association who had become dissatisfied with the older organization and desired, moreover, to become associated with the strong international Y.M.C.A. body. This new organization found a home eventually in McMillan Hall on the corner of State and Huron streets, where it grew in influence with the student body until the time seemed to many propitious for a reorganization of religious work among the students. This was effected in 1904 through the incorporation of the old Students' Christian Association into the Y.M.C.A. and Y.W.C.A. with separate headquarters in McMillan and Newberry Halls respectively, although the old title, Students' Christian Association, was nominally retained.

McMillan Hall was eventually taken over by the Tappan Presbyterian Association, the owners of the building, and the resulting need for new quarters for the men led, in 1915, to the successful solicitation of funds for a new Y.M.C.A. building. Two years later, on March 2, 1917, the new building, known as Lane Hall in honor of Judge V.H. Lane of the Law School, who has been President of the Association for many years, was formally opened. It stands on the corner of State and Washington streets, and represents an outlay of approximately $125,000, of which amount $60,000 was contributed by the Rockefeller Foundation under the provision that a like amount be raised within a certain period. It was designed by William A. Otis, 78e, of Chicago. Dignified and simple in its general architectural lines, it is a distinct addition to the public buildings of Ann Arbor, and in many respects represents a new style of building for a Y.M.C.A. This results from the fact that it is designed primarily to serve only the religious interests of the students, and does not aim to assume the broader social functions of the Union or the physical training supplied in Waterman Gymnasium. Grouped around the large hall or lobby in which the work is centered, are rooms for the officers of the Association and offices for the pastors of the Ann Arbor churches. A large library and adjoining study is also situated on the first floor. A small but most attractive auditorium, seating some 450 persons, occupies the second floor, with a dining-room and four class rooms at either end. The basement contains a social or club room and additional class rooms.