Willard Straight Hall
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Willard Straight Hall is the
student union A students' union, also known by many other names, is a student organization present in many colleges, universities, and high schools. In higher education, the students' union is often accorded its own building on the campus, dedicated to social, ...
building on the central campus of
Cornell University Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to teach an ...
in
Ithaca Ithaca most commonly refers to: *Homer's Ithaca, an island featured in Homer's ''Odyssey'' *Ithaca (island), an island in Greece, possibly Homer's Ithaca *Ithaca, New York, a city, and home of Cornell University and Ithaca College Ithaca, Ithaka ...
, New York. It is located on Campus Road, adjacent to the Ho Plaza and Cornell Health.


Background

The construction of Willard Straight Hall was initiated by
Willard Dickerman Straight Willard Dickerman Straight (January 31, 1880 – December 1, 1918) was an American investment banker, publisher, reporter, diplomat and by marriage, a member of the very wealthy Whitney family. He was a promoter of Chinese arts and investments, an ...
's widow,
Dorothy Payne Whitney Dorothy Payne Elmhirst ( Whitney; January 23, 1887 – December 14, 1968) was an American-born social activist, philanthropist, publisher and a member of the prominent Whitney family. Life and work Whitney was born in Washington, D.C., the daugh ...
, as a memorial to her husband. The building was intended to lead to "the enrichment of the human contacts of student life", according to the speech Straight gave at the dedication of the hall. Cornell historian Corey Earle notes that in the era Willard Straight Hall was constructed, "it was unusual to have a building with no academic purpose". The concept of a "student union" building was a recent invention at the time—the first student union in North America, Houston Hall at the
University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universitie ...
, had opened in 1896. When Willard Straight Hall opened its doors in 1925, it was still one of only a few such structures in the country dedicated to student life. However, Cornell provided on-campus space for student organizations since its earliest days. In January 1870,
Andrew Dickson White Andrew Dickson White (November 7, 1832 – November 4, 1918) was an American historian and educator who cofounded Cornell University and served as its first president for nearly two decades. He was known for expanding the scope of college curricu ...
allocated a large room in the middle section of White Hall to be used as a "Society Hall." White donated $1,000 to furnish it subject to $300 in matching gifts from student organizations. Later,
Barnes Hall Barnes Hall is a student-services building located in the center of the Cornell University campus in Ithaca, New York. It was built in 1887 in a Romanesque style and has 21,618 sq ft. History John R. Mott, Cornell Class of 1888, was concerned abo ...
was built to house the Students’ Christian Association in 1888. In 1918, recently widowed, Dorothy Whitney Straight met a Cornell Agriculture student,
Leonard Knight Elmhirst Leonard Knight Elmhirst (6 June 1893 – 16 April 1974) was a British philanthropist and agronomist who worked extensively in India. He co-founded with his wife, Dorothy, the Dartington Hall project in progressive education and rural reconstruc ...
, who persuaded her to visit the campus. Elmhirst and Straight together with certain faculty members decided that the best realization of Willard Straight's wish that some of his estate be used to make Cornell a more "human place" was to build a student union building. Elmhirst graduated from Cornell and left for India in 1921. For the next three years, Dorothy Straight oversaw planning for Willard Straight Memorial Hall, which was to be built with part of her
Whitney family The Whitney family is an American family notable for their business enterprises, social prominence, wealth and philanthropy, founded by John Whitney (1592–1673), who came from London, England to Watertown, Massachusetts in 1635. The historic fa ...
fortune in addition to Willard Straight's bequest. The cornerstone was laid on June 15, 1924, and the dedication ceremony was held on November 25, 1925. Elmhirst and Dorothy Straight had been married in April 1925. Leonard Elmhirst came from a land-owning family in
Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a Historic counties of England, historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other Eng ...
, England. The seeds for his study of agriculture in Ithaca, NY and subsequent
Dartington Hall Dartington Hall in Dartington, near Totnes, Devon, England, is an historic house and country estate of dating from medieval times. The group of late 14th century buildings are Grade I listed; described in Pevsner's Buildings of England as "on ...
School and "Institute for Rural Reconstruction' in the agriculturally impoverished England of the 1920s were sown on his first visit to
India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
during World War I.


Design

Willard Straight Memorial Hall was designed by a noted architect of the day,
William Adams Delano William Adams Delano (January 21, 1874 – January 12, 1960), an American architect, was a partner with Chester Holmes Aldrich in the firm of Delano & Aldrich. The firm worked in the Beaux-Arts tradition for elite clients in New York City, Long I ...
, and constructed from the local "llenroc"
bluestone Bluestone is a cultural or commercial name for a number of dimension or building stone varieties, including: * basalt in Victoria, Australia, and in New Zealand * dolerites in Tasmania, Australia; and in Britain (including Stonehenge) * felds ...
, a feldspathic sandstone; the architectural model for its
Gothic revival Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic, neo-Gothic, or Gothick) is an architectural movement that began in the late 1740s in England. The movement gained momentum and expanded in the first half of the 19th century, as increasingly ...
style may have been the 14th-century
Dartington Hall Dartington Hall in Dartington, near Totnes, Devon, England, is an historic house and country estate of dating from medieval times. The group of late 14th century buildings are Grade I listed; described in Pevsner's Buildings of England as "on ...
in Devon, which the newlyweds purchased in 1925. Murals in the lobby by
Ezra Winter Ezra Augustus Winter (March 10, 1886 – April 6, 1949) was a prominent American muralist. Biography Winter was born in Traverse City, Michigan, trained at the Chicago Academy of Fine Arts in 1908, and the American Academy in Rome in 1914. Winte ...
date from 1926 and represent Willard Straight's business interests in China and his enthusiasm for the arts. The murals depict virtues as chivalry, adventure, diplomacy, creativity, and optimism.


History


Opening

Willard Straight Hall opened in November 1925, following twenty months of construction at a cost of $1.5 million to construct, and $100,000 to furnish. 4,800 people streamed into the building to see it on opening day, and 3,000 more on the following day. Access to the building was by membership only. All undergraduates were automatically members, but faculty, trustees, and grad students could pay for the privilege at $8 per year, and alumni could join for $5 per year.


Access for women

Dorothy Straight's preference was for the building to be equally accessible to men and women, but she encountered strong faculty opposition. As a compromise, the larger main entrance would be restricted to men, and women would be permitted to enter via the smaller south entrance; Straight's hope was that women would subsequently have access to the main central area of the building. However, on the building's opening in 1925, women were restricted to the use to two lounges and a rest room near the south entrance. Ten years later, the food service areas were opened to women. During World War II, women were given access to the entire building except the barber shop. It was not until 1977 that the barber shop, and thus the whole building, was finally integrated to both sexes. From Willard Straight Hall's opening, the main desk was staffed by
undergraduate student Undergraduate education is education conducted after secondary education and before postgraduate education. It typically includes all postsecondary programs up to the level of a bachelor's degree. For example, in the United States, an entry-lev ...
s. In addition, the building's policies are set, updated, and enforced by the student-led Willard Straight Hall Board of Governors, more commonly known on campus as the Willard Straight Hall Student Union Board (SUB). Prior to 1969, the upper floors of the Straight served as a hotel for Cornell's visitors and guests. The broadcast studios of the
WVBR WVBR-FM (93.5 FM) is a commercial, student-owned and volunteer-run college radio station that broadcasts to Ithaca, New York and surrounding areas. It operates at 3 kilowatts from a transmitter on Hungerford Hill, in Ithaca. Prior to 2016, WVBR ...
Radio station were in a lower level. The building also housed the University Theatre, where until 1988 the Cornell Dramatic Club (formed in 1925 from the merger of the Dramatic Club and the Women's Dramatic Club) staged almost 50 performances a year. As Cornell built more dormitories on the West Campus and the North Campus, two additional buildings supplemented the Straight to serve students: Noyes Center on West Campus and the North Campus Union (now
Robert Purcell Robert W. Purcell (1912–1991) was an American businessman and philanthropist, having served as financial advisor to the Rockefeller Family from 1955 to 1979 and as chairman of the board of trustees of Cornell University from 1968 to 1978. Duri ...
Community Center) on North Campus. The combined operation constituted the Department of University Unions. In 1970, with the advent of the University Senate, University Unions became a part of the new Division of Campus Life. In order to end duplication and tensions between the University Unions and the Dean of Students Office, University Unions merged into the latter department.


1969 building takeover

In the 1968–69 school year, the university judicial system was the center of a controversy in connection with the disciplining of African-American students who had engaged in a protest. It was also directly related to the burning of a cross on the lawn of the Wari House, the dormitory for African-American women on campus. (Ithaca police reportedly suspected, but never proved, that the cross was burned by members of the campus Afro-American Society as a pretext for further protest). As racial tensions escalated, some African-American students demanded amnesty for the accused protesters as well as the establishment of an Africana Studies center. On April 19, 1969, some of them occupied Willard Straight Hall, ejecting parents who were visiting for "Parents Weekend" from the hotel rooms on the upper floors. Subsequently, white students from
Delta Upsilon Delta Upsilon (), commonly known as DU, is a collegiate men's fraternity founded on November 4, 1834 at Williams College in Williamstown, Massachusetts. It is the sixth-oldest, all-male, college Greek Letter Organizations#Greek letters, Greek-let ...
fraternity unsuccessfully attempted to retake the building by force. Some of the occupying students left the building and returned with firearms in case of a further attack. Then the
Students for a Democratic Society Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) was a national student activist organization in the United States during the 1960s, and was one of the principal representations of the New Left. Disdaining permanent leaders, hierarchical relationships ...
(SDS) led by C. David Burak formed a protective cordon outside the building. Ultimately, the Cornell Administration, particularly Vice President
Steven Muller Steven Muller (November 22, 1927 – January 19, 2013) was the president of the Johns Hopkins University, serving from 1972 to 1990. He was born in Hamburg, Germany, the son of Marianne (née Hartstein) and Werner A. Muller. His father was J ...
, negotiated an end to the building takeover. The photos of the students marching out of the Straight carrying rifles and wearing bandoleers made the national news and won a
Pulitzer Prize The Pulitzer Prize () is an award for achievements in newspaper, magazine, online journalism, literature, and musical composition within the United States. It was established in 1917 by provisions in the will of Joseph Pulitzer, who had made h ...
for
Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. newspa ...
photographer
Steve Starr Steve Starr is a Pulitzer Prize winning American photographer. He has since retired from photography, and since 2014, has served as a Third Order Franciscan Brother at Grace and St. Stephen's Episcopal Church in Colorado Springs. Life Starr atte ...
. On campus, the Straight takeover led to the formation of the University Senate, a restructuring of the Board of Trustees, a new campus judicial system, and the foundation of the Africana Studies and Research Center. By the end of the academic year, Cornell President James Perkins resigned. It also led to the creation of the Cornell Africana Studies and Research Center in late 1969, but the building it was housed in was burned down by a racially motivated arson attack less than a year after its creation. Beyond Cornell, the Straight takeover led to the New York State Legislature enacting the Henderson Law, which required each college to adopt "Rules of the Maintenance of Public Order." Vice President
Spiro Agnew Spiro Theodore Agnew (November 9, 1918 – September 17, 1996) was the 39th vice president of the United States, serving from 1969 until his resignation in 1973. He is the second vice president to resign the position, the other being John ...
referred to the Straight Takeover in speeches as an example of the excess of college students. Economist
Thomas Sowell Thomas Sowell (; born June 30, 1930) is an American author, economist, political commentator and academic who is a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution. With widely published commentary and books—and as a guest on TV and radio—he becam ...
would later refer to the takeover as the result of policies intended to "increase minority student enrollment... by admitting students who would not meet the existing academic standards at Cornell." In Sowell's opinion, some of the militants accepted "turned out to be hoodlums who terrorized other black students".


2017 protest

In a move reminiscent of the 1969 takeover, 300 marchers again occupied Willard Straight Hall for a few hours after presenting a list of demands to president Martha Pollack. The protest, led by Black Students United, was a response in part to the assault of a black Cornell student a few days earlier.


Facilities

Willard Straight Hall has always served as a space for socializing and informal connection between students. Over the years, the building has evolved and changed significantly. At various times the building has featured an information desk, a Game Room with billiards and ping pong, a Browsing Library, a tea room (for women), a barber shop, movie theater, dining halls, an Art Room, a Music Room, a lost-and-found, a newsstand, a live performance theatre with orchestra pit and rotating stage, a ceramics studio, an ice cream shop, television lounges, spaces for meetings and coffeehouses, and offices for student organizations. The Ivy Room was originally built as a mess hall for servicemen during World War II. The building once held guest rooms on the fifth floor for alumni and visitors. A photographic darkroom opened in 1939, was expanded in 1973, and closed its doors in 2006. Celebrations were held to observe the building's 25th anniversary in 1950, and its 75th anniversary in 2000.


Current facilities

The building currently encloses several dining facilities (Okenshields, The Ivy Room, and The Bears Den), and lounge spaces for students. A lounge on the south end of the building is named in honor of Leonard Elmhirst. Special facilities include: Several multi-purpose rooms used for dance and performance troupes, Cornell Cinema (in the Straight Theater), a full service digital computer lab, newly remodeled 2nd floor Elizabeth Staley Office of Student Support and Diversity Education, 5th floor Student Activities Office, Office of Fraternity and Sorority Affairs, offices and mailboxes for student organizations, the 4th Floor WSH Art Gallery, and the Browsing Library, International Lounge, and Music Room. It formerly housed the Cornell Ceramics Studio, which closed in May 2011. A long-running joke among students concerns the placement of a power outlet on the ceiling of the staircase leading down to the Ivy Room. The offices of Cornell Cinema and the Dean of Students Office are also in the building. During the Fall 2020 Semester, a
COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...
surveillance testing facility opened on the 4th floor of the building.


Limitations

Due to its age, the Straight has many outdated facilities, such as poor heating, ventilation, and acoustics. Amenities such as teleconferencing and modern air conditioning are restricted by the ancient electrical system, and the building is not adequately wheelchair accessible.


Further reading

*Leonard Knight Elmhirst, ''The Straight and Its Origin'', 1975, OCLC 2046429 originally serialized in ''Cornell Alumni News'', 1974–75 *
Peter Pennoyer Peter Morgan Pennoyer FAIA (born on February 19, 1957) is an architect and the principal of Peter Pennoyer Architects, an architecture firm based in New York City. Pennoyer, his four partners and his fifty associates have an international practice ...
and Anne Walker, ''The Architecture of Delano & Aldrich'', Norton, 2003,


External links


History of Willard Straight Hall
(video)
Official Board of Governors Home Page (SUB)


References

{{Authority control Cornell University buildings Student activity centers in the United States Buildings and structures completed in 1925 Delano & Aldrich buildings Gothic Revival architecture in New York (state) 1925 establishments in New York (state)