Students, Faculty and Community
Members Valued Thriftiness

Desire to achieve thriftiness and efficiency enabled faculty and students to succeed in their endeavors with only minimal resources. "Cheapness," with regard to school operations, was a source of pride for school participants and community members alike, and administrators used the phrase "cheapest school in Southwestern Oklahoma" in recruitment efforts. Students and faculty took pride in the fact that the school met basic needs and no more. [1] To their way of thinking, using or wanting more goods and services than one needed was selfish, undesirable, and potentially harmful. They viewed their ability to make minimal and efficient use of resources as altruistic and selfless. [2]

1. "Cameron State School of Agriculture," The Wichita (1914): 100.

2. "Operating Cameron’s Dormitory--Thirty Girl Students Moved Into Building Last Night; More Coming--Board At $2.50 Week--Expenses at Minimum; Twenty-Five Boys Are Camped on The Campus In Tents," Lawton Constitution Democrat Weekly, October 24, 1912, 10.

Previous		INDEX		Next