Dr. Jim Johnsen, president of the University of Alaska, has his hands full with current legislative actions. He has taken several broadsides from the Legislature and public regarding funding, administrative structure, and developing statewide campuses.
Guns on university campuses became a divisive and much-debated issue during the 29th Legislature. Senate Bill 174 that would allow guns on campus has been a major consternation to the university president and faculty.
Dr. Johnsen and the current Board of Regents can take heart in the fact that they are not dealing with any problem that has not been a problem at some point in the past.
Dr. Charles Bunnell, known as the father of the university, was UA president from 1921 to 1949. During that time, he later said, "There were many rough times." But, he said, "I would not have changed anything."
Dr. Bunnell experienced problems with budgets. He spent a lot of time in the quest for additional funding to grow the university. He was constantly working to recruit students, especially Alaska Natives.
During research in 1973, I discovered that Dr. Bunnell wrote of his problems in correspondence to a diverse group of people through the course of his tenure.
In 1948 and 1949 guns on campus were mentioned in letters to colleagues at colleges outside of Alaska. In one letter he tells about the returning soldiers from World War II who were bringing guns on campus as they attended the university on the GI Bill. Bunnell said he believed every room in one dormitory had guns in them.
But, according to Bunnell, the guns were not the problem. The problem was that when the caribou migrated across the Fairbanks campus the students left their classes to shoot them.
The real concern Bunnell expressed was that students were bringing the caribou they shot back to their dorm room for butchering. Problems do seem to be in the eye of the beholder.
Darroll Hargraves is a retired school superintendent and past director of the Alaska Association of School Administrators. He lives near Wasilla and is a private consultant for school and community resources.
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