policy issues with the role of the Normal school, in the newly completed auditorium of the Administration Building.
Good times for the school and country came to an abrupt halt in April 1917 when the United States declared war with Germany and entered World War I. Students responded immediately to the war effort and celebrated "Loyalty Day" on April 19, 1917. The school was closed for the day as students marched down the streets singing patriotic songs and waving flags. The faculty showed its patriotism by instituting a rule that any young man who requested a "school release" to fight overseas would be graduated; faculty members such as football Coach Strum, Professor Gillis, and Professor Stech joined the military. The school newspaper, The Exponent, began publishing letters from former students who had been sent to the war front and gave the first glimpse into the hardships of war; the first letter to arrive at NNIS came from junior T. Otway Thomas:
While bombs are to be dodged, shrapnel to be watched, and …
