WE CORNELLIANS
Another page from 'We Cornellians': an illustrated Cornell history, ca. 1940
This panel from "We Cornellians," the 1940 illustrated look at Cornell University by then-undergraduate student Steve Barker '41 and published by the Cornell Cooperative Society, looks at "The Straight" - Willard Straight Hall, as well as its namesake, Willard Dickerman Straight, Class of 1901.
One of the first college student unions in the country, today it is the last remaining student union in the country to be fully operated by students. The Willard Straight Student Union Board oversees all policy and programming within the building, which also houses lounges, galleries, three dining facilities, Cornell Cinema and many offices.
Over the fireplace in The Straight's Memorial Room is an inscription in stone, a selection of excerpts from a letter Willard Straight wrote to his son, which concludes: "Hold your head high and keep your mind open; you can always learn."
