| Summary: | Classics Professor at the University of Washington and member of the faculty Holiday Committee, Thomas K. Sidey, writes to President of the University of Washington, Thomas Franklin Kane, to inform the president of the Holiday Committee's decisions regarding Campus Day. According to Sidey, the committee has interviewed 33 faculty members and found that 24 are opposed to continuing the day and 9 are in favor of it. Those opposed give the reasons that the Alaska Yukon Pacific Exhibition has changed campus conditions, Campus Day has "degenerated" from its original purpose and there are already too many holidays after the spring vacation. Professors in favor of continuing Campus Day believe that it encourages "good fellowship between faculty and students" and fosters a tradition. The committee finds that the faculty's "personal opinion" has been the primary determinant for why they have voted for or against Campus Day as well as the "inclination (or disinclination)" of the faculty to "do the work that the day calls forth." In close, the committee recommends that Campus Day be discontinued. In 1854, territorial governor, Isaac Ingalls Stevens, suggested that a university for Washington Territory be established. The school did not officially open until November 4, 1861 with 30 students. In 1862, the Washington territorial legislature incorporated the school and appointed a Board of Regents. Throughout the university's early years, the university consisted not only of college curricula but also preparatory school curricula. The school faced constant changes in administration, enrollment and financial support in its first twenty years, often closing due to lack of students or funds. Throughout the late 1870s and 1880s, strong leadership from school presidents helped the university form a stable base of students and a strong reputation though financial problems continued to plague the school. Finally, in 1884, the legislature appropriated funds for the school and continued to make appropriations for the school in the following years. In 1889, the number of students approximated 300. About this time, discussion arose regarding a new site for the growing school. A graduate of the school and later professor, Edmond Meany, served as head of a committee to choose a new site off of Union Bay, further north and east of its current site. In 1895, the school formally moved to this new campus. Under the administration of President Frank P. Graves, the number of students grew up to 600. In 1902, Thomas F. Kane took over as the school's president. During his eleven-year administration, the number of students grew from 600 to 3,340. From 1904 to 1934, the University of Washington held an annual Campus Day in which students and faculty were involved in improving the grounds of the school. The idea was the brainchild of history professor, Edmund S. Meany. Activities in which students participated included raking, weeding, planting, chopping wood and other various maintenance activities. Thomas Franklin Kane (1863-1953) served as the University of Washington's President from 1902 to 1914. He graduated from Depauw University in 1889. Before serving as president, Kane was a professor of Latin and Greek at the University of Washington and dean. He later served as president of Olivet College and the University of North Dakota before he retired in 1933. Thomas K. Sidey (1868-1950) was a Classics professor (1903-1942) and head of the Classics department at the University of Washington (1932-1942). He was educated at the University of Toronto and the University of Chicago. He was considered an authority on Greek and Latin and in 1912, went to Europe to conduct research in the Vatican Library, the French National Library and the British Museum.
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