Interview with Sandra Kroll

Partial Transcript: Both of my parents are college graduates

Segment Synopsis: Her parents went to college, so Kroll considered that it was never a question for her or her brother if they were going to college.

Keywords: college; graduates; messy; roommate; when

Partial Transcript: It didn't take much on my part to decide that I would go to Madison

Segment Synopsis: Summer time in Madison fascinated Kroll

Keywords: Campus; Lake Mendota; Madison; Music clinic at UW-Madison; University; love; private dorm

Partial Transcript: But one of the ways that I helped myself was by applying to the new co-op dorm.

Segment Synopsis: As the a member of the first cohort of UW-Madison co-op residents, she described in details her first year dorm experience in the Zoe Bayliss Women's Cooperative. There were 50-52 women living at this new cooperative dormitory in 1955. Students were carefully selected on the basis of academic merit and financial need.

Keywords: The Zoe Bayliss Women's Cooperative; dorms; fifty; fifty-two; selected

Partial Transcript: There two dorms, two new co-op dorms that opened that fall.

Segment Synopsis: Zoe Bayliss and its male counterpart, the Dave Schreiner House, as the first university-owned and operated cooperative dorms on campus, were regarded as experimental housing arrangements. There was a house mother and a cook. A cooperative dorm meant that the residents did much of the work themselves; SK describes their responsibilities, assigned on a rotating basis. She tells a story about her protest against three weeks of garbage duty and the ensuing consequences.

Keywords: arrangement; competed; experimental; poor; rich; scholarship

Segment Synopsis: Residents of Zoe Bayliss had restricted hours in those days. They resented the fact the male dorms had no restrictions. SK talks about setting up a governing organization at Zoe Bayliss that first year, which functioned reasonably well because of the type of residents chosen to live there.

Keywords: adventure; granted; interesting; residents; restrictions; rough spots; selection

Partial Transcript: The building of course is still there.

Segment Synopsis: The building was adequate and comfortable, albeit lacking the grace of some of the other dorms. A floor of 21 women shared three showers and a phone; a three-minute time limit was placed on calls.The dorm, though university-owned, was categorized as independent. Most of the residents were not involved in clubs and organizations. Some very strong friendships were formed in this dorm. A formal dance held in partnership with the Dave Schreiner House is the one social undertaking SK can recall.

Keywords: adequate; comfortable; friend; girls; phone call; telephone; time limit; twenty-one

Partial Transcript: For the first few weeks, however, of my Freshman Year

Segment Synopsis: Zoe Bayliss was still under construction the first few weeks, and the residents were housed on the condemned fourth floor of Chadbourne Hall, which she talks about. SK moved into an apartment with some friends her senior year.

Keywords: Chadourne; ceiling; condemned; construction; creaked; floors; wood

Partial Transcript: Moving into an apartment, my senior year was...

Segment Synopsis: Kroll briefly explains that it was part of tradition for seniors to move into apartment. She then briefly described her experience there.

Partial Transcript: Your format also ask me about course of study

Segment Synopsis: She was doing social work courses at first, because she felt a strong obligation to give back to society. However, she did not grasp the ideas of the discipline, so she began to study Secondary Education. SK talks about her course of study and interests, concentrated in education, history/political science, and English. History and English were two of the best departments in the University. SK wanted to become a high school history teacher.

Keywords: altruistic; classroom; confused; education; impact; social obligation; social work

Partial Transcript: Maybe one of the things might be interesting

Segment Synopsis: She described the logistics of P.E. class at that time and how P.E. class impacted her later life.She talks about some of her courses and instructors: Fundamentals of PE ("Fundies"), and Bowling

Keywords: Bowling; Freshman Year; P.E.; Physical Education; classes; fourteen credits; semester classes; six week classes

Partial Transcript: That first semester my basic program

Segment Synopsis: The Myths of Ancient Greece and Rome significantly impacted her life. She talked about the class and the professor in details. taught by Professor Agard.

Keywords: 1 credit course; Ancient Greece and Rome; Bascom Hill; entertainment; lectures; museums; paintings; sculptures; slide; textbooks

Partial Transcript: Another class I took outside my major

Segment Synopsis: A well-organized class for her to learn science. However, dissection practice was not pleasant.

Keywords: assigned seats; dissection; general credit; lectures; organized; quizzes; science; unpleasant; zoology

Partial Transcript: I can still picture many of my instructors

Segment Synopsis: She enjoyed her Shakespeare course very much, even its quizzes. Taught by Helen C. White.

Keywords: Freshman Advisor; Helen White; Shakespeare; courses; fascinating; lectures; play; quizzes; renowned scholar; worth-while

Partial Transcript: I remembered George Mosse's

Segment Synopsis: She also enjoyed George Mosse's courses on European history. European history courses.

Keywords: George Mosse

Partial Transcript: I remembered absolutely struggling

Segment Synopsis: Her Economics class was very tough for her. She was failing for a while and so was everyone else. The grades were scaled because they were so low that semester.

Keywords: History Major; basic economics; credential; teaching; university requirement

Partial Transcript: I think my Medieval history course

Segment Synopsis: It was her last semester at the University. He would depart from lecture notes every once and a while. Italy and France.

Partial Transcript: Apparently, politics were fairly active on campus.

Segment Synopsis: She herself was not too involved in political activism. She then described that the UW students in the 50s were one of the most liberal groups in America. Though there was political activity on campus, those at Zoe Bayliss were left of center but not overly active. SK remembers a controversy over a leftist political group on campus and concern over issues of integration. Most students were more liberal than their parents and home communities. UW's reputation for academic standards and liberal causes was a matter of pride.

Keywords: accurate; higher; integration; liberal causes; pride

Partial Transcript: Much of my own non-class

Segment Synopsis: Socializing and various part-time jobs occupied her leisure time. She mentioned a world-class tax expert who she worked with in Economics department. SK spent her time outside of study and class in casual social activities and working part-time. SK talks about some of her jobs, including working in the Statistical Analysis Lab punching information into IBM cards. Minimum wage inflated from $.55 to $1.10 an hour during the time she worked there.

Keywords: Associate Dean; College of Letters and Science; Home-economics departement; casual social activities; part-time; registration; working

Partial Transcript: I think that minimum wage...

Segment Synopsis: Minimum wage might be 55 cents and hour. By the end of her college career, it rose to about a dollar and ten cents an hour.

Keywords: 55 cents; inflation; minimum wage; part-time; worker

Partial Transcript: You asked about social actives

Segment Synopsis: Drinking beer played an important role in her social life. She also revealed that the drinking age was 18, and UW-Madison was the only campus in US which sold beer to students. Other social activities including Greek life parties, dinning, dating, making friends and etc. State Street "kiddie" bars and dorm/fraternity parties were the center of weekend social activities. UW was a very friendly campus. SK talks about some favorite food spots and activities, including ice skating on the lakes.

Keywords: 18 year old beer drinking; Dorm Party; Frat Party; Johnson Street; Kitty bars; State Street; bars; beer; hard liquor; sold beer on campus; students; weekends

Partial Transcript: There is another area, that

Segment Synopsis: In the summer between Junior and Senior Year, she worked with friends in dinning hall and kitchen engineering summer camp in Northern Wisconsin. They worked hard were attractive to engineers and professors there. They also went to the the Tyler Lake and explored the wilderness. It was a wonderful memory for her. Last year she took her family to the area for the first time since 1959 when she and her friends went there. She then talked about her speculation of the history of the summer camp. She was wondering whether the University of Wisconsin still holds the summer camp for engineers. Last summer SK and her family recently revisited the camp area. The camp is not at Taylor Lake anymore.

Having the opportunity to live in northern Wisconsin was one of the experienc¬es which made SK a "true badger."

Keywords: Summer; The Tyler Lake; camps; discovery; employment; enjoyable; jobs; unusual

Partial Transcript: Other features of University life

Segment Synopsis: Because she wants teaching credential in Wisconsin, she was required to take a course in conservation and cooperative movement course. Both the courses and US History courses gave her a pride of Wisconsin progressiveness. She considered that many people have forgotten how progressive Wisconsin was, because it became a hotbed of McCarthyism in the 50s. University experiences in courses in conservation, the cooperative movement, and U.S. history courses also inspired state pride in SK. Wisconsin has exhibited great leadership in areas such as the Progressive, cooperative, and conservation movements.

Keywords: Ag-Econ; Pride; Robert M. La Follette Sr.; U.S. History; Wisconsin Badger; courses; proud

Partial Transcript: My daughter on the other hand

Segment Synopsis: Her daughter wanted to reside in Wisconsin someday, because she was attracted its scenes during many summer trips.

Partial Transcript: Now I am looking through the format paper you have sent.

Segment Synopsis: She first made a correction of her previous interview that she took White's Shakespeare courses in the end of Junior Year and the beginning of Senior Year. As of White, she recalled that she always wore purple. The campus legend said that it was because she lost her lover in ... [indexer could not understand the term] time. However, sometime before she graduated, a reporter from the Daily Cardinal interviewed her, asking her about the legend. White refuted it, clarifying that she picked purple color to match up with her white hair.

Partial Transcript: The other era that you particularly asked about

Segment Synopsis: She said that she and many of her friends took for granted some campus gender stereotypes. Less than a half of her friends settled down in permanent relationships. They believed that marriage would compromise their professional life at least for a time. She claimed that back then, they did not feel being discriminated against. They accepted gender "differentiation." She figured out later that there were more opportunities for men than for women in professional life. She considered Betty Friedan an important figure in awakening women. Meanwhile, she thought that students back then were interested in learning about racial discrimination, because they were exposed to it when they grew up. Talking about discrimination against Jews, she revealed that a Jewish girl in her dorm felt being discriminated.

Partial Transcript: We were more aware of racial discrimination

Segment Synopsis: Students were more aware of racial discrimination. SK talks about a Jewish resident at Zoe Bayliss.

Keywords: Nazi Germany; anecdotes; discrimination; race; refugees

Partial Transcript: I've alluded couple of times to matter of money.

Segment Synopsis: Co-op dorm fee was quite low, comparing to other dorms ($500 a year, twenty meals a week). Text books were quite expensive. She usually used library reserved books. In addition, library became a social place, because many people usually took smoke breaks there. Very few students had cars. Public transportation was inexpensive and efficient these days.

Partial Transcript: I've said nothing about drug or the sexual revolution

Segment Synopsis: Drugs and the sexual revolution did not happen in her college career. On sexual activities, she claimed that her peers usually tried to prevent them from letting others know about them. Traditional values prevailed. Drugs were not available to them.The pill was not available at the time and traditional sexual values prevailed. Drugs were not available.

Keywords: Drugs; current; lied; myths'; the Pill; traditional values

Partial Transcript: So when I graduated in 1959, my goal was to become a high school teacher

Segment Synopsis: Her goal upon graduation was to teach English and Social Studies in high school. She taught in Utah before going to graduate school in Minnesota. She planned to be a school counselor. She then worked as a high school counselor and then went back to classroom to teach English. SK moved to California where she has taught high school English, and has worked as a counselor and in the guidance program. She recently retired. [just retired last Friday before being interviewed]

Keywords: California; English; Graduate School; Masters Degree; Michigan; Minnesota; Missouri; School Counselor; West

Partial Transcript: Doing this tape is brought back a lot of memories of

Segment Synopsis: She considered that her experience was not very unique. She reflected on the campus activism during the 60s and the 70s that the seed of it was planted even before the 50s. Wisconsin tradition, she thought, was to search for truth, and it was connected to the later student activism. Recalled the first prompt for her first English class at the University, borrowed from a speech by some university administrators on the mission of UW-Madison, "The ability to seek the truth wherever the search may lead." She considered that the University upheld it well.

Keywords: 1950s; Civil Engineers camp; revolutionary; revolutions; seeds; sown; tradition; truth; unique

Partial Transcript: I enjoyed doing this tape...

Keywords: memories