Availability of Resources During WWII

Introduction

World War II was a war which had a lasting effect in multiple facets of life on campus. This section focuses on the availability of resources on campus at the time and their cooperation with the war efforts. The campus had involvement in the war through their efforts in the War Fund Drive, War stamps, and war bonds. 

On October 17, 1944, President Franklin D. Roosevelt had a radio address concerning the National War Fund Drive. President Roosevelt referred to the fund as a “gift”. This is a gift which would be sent to not only Americans on the battlefield, but also to Chinese, British, French, etc. It was a good way of building friendships with multiple nations. Ursinus College even played a role in providing aid to these organizations. In this article, it discusses the goal for the year 1944 which was set at $561. The year prior the college raised $430. The Women’s Student Government Association(WSGA) was the organization directing the drive at Ursinus. Even though the goal did not seem like much every dollar mattered when it came to aiding troops across every battlefield and front line. 

During World War II, the government needed assistance from the civilian population to aid the many Americans fighting in the war. This was done through War Savings Stamps and War Savings Bonds. War Savings Bonds was when United States citizens would send anywhere from small amounts to quite large amounts to aid in the war effort. These were to eventually be paid back with interest by the United States government. Stamps were used by the postal office to aid in the war effort and were often in much smaller denominations. These sales would aid in manufacturing, food, artillery, medical supplies, etc. In this article, it discusses the low sales for the month of September. The sales were much below expectations, but there were still many in the Ursinus community willing to assist in the aid of the American soldiers. It goes on to say that there will be another War Loan drive and hope for better cooperation in November. 

On December 4, 1944, this article described the sixth war loan drive that was happening on the Ursinus College campus. This loan drive was once again coordinated by the Women's Student Government Association(WGSA). This time they decided to hold a campus wide contest to raise money for the troops overseas. For this contest, Ursinus students would purchase guns for troops by selling their bonds or stamps. The student group who first purchased a $34.50 sub-machine gun would win the contest. This was done daily during lunch time at the campus supply store. Ursinus College was a constant participant in the war effort without even fighting. 

This article was published on December 11, 1944. This article describes the results of the sixth war loan drive that occurred at Ursinus College. In the contest that the WGSA coordinated, it did not yield the best results. The students were split up in groups by what residential hall they lived in. The residential halls that participated the most were South and Maples. They raised only $2.75, while the goal was $34.50. The quota for the whole school was set at $310.50 and they were only at $9.65. It goes on to say that they may have to use the money that the teachers raised if they do not meet their quota. It seemed at this point in the war, students seemed less inclined to partake in the war. 

This article titled "Ursinus Reaches Goal in 6th War Loan Drive" discusses the final results of the sixth war loan drive that occurred at Ursinus College, which was led by the WGSA. In these final results we can see that Ursinus College surpassed their goal of $310.50 with a sum of $492.80 in war bonds. This gave the college the ability to purchase fourteen sub-machine guns. This article further discusses the competition between the teams and organizations. Team Two, who were the students from Hobson and 944, were the winners of the competition. They raised $123.55 and with help from the teachers, who raised over $240, were able to support the troops overseas.