76
P: Yes, of course. Now, let's talk about what life was like
on the campus at that particular time. First of all, the
state was in the Depression, as was the rest of the nation.
How large was the student body?
L: I've forgotten the enrollment in summer school, but I think
it was about 1500. The student enrollment at the university
was somewhere around 3300. I thought the atmosphere was quite
different from what it had been before when I had taught there.
And I made that statment to a group of people once. J. Hooper
Wise, the head of the English department at that time or
later, came to me and said, "Angus, you said there was quite
a change on the campus from what it used to be." He said, "I've
been here all that time and I haven't noticed much change."
So I began to explain to him what I noticed. There were younger
people around, including Manning, Bill--and Bill has always been
a fascinating personality to me, and then there was C. Vann
Woodward, and I shared an office with him. You know who he is.
P: Oh yes.
L: He was professor of history at Yale.
P: Where was your office? Peabody?
L: No, in Language Hall, Anderson Hall. Up on the northwest corner
on the second floor in Language Hall.
P: Phil Constans was teaching the English Department.
L: Yes. I'm not sure, I think they were calling it the speech
department at that time.
P: They were, I think you're right.
L: That's right.
P: Angus, let's start talking about the level of radicalism on the
campus at this time and what was going on there.
L: I'd like to give you a brief background of my association with
communist groups before I got to Gainesville.
P: All right.