Bethany College had its very own unit of the Student Army Training Corps, or SATC. The SATC was created by Congress as part of the Selective Service Act of 1917. It’s purpose, according to the SATC Training Manual, was to utilize effectively the plant, equipment, and organization of the colleges for selecting and training officer candidates and technical experts for service in the existing emergency. The SATC was a voluntary program that inducted 200,000 men on its first day. These men were given private status, which gave them no way to avoid enlistment.
Author: Alanna Lustfield
Junior Accounting Major/Honors Student from Bethany College, Lindsborg.
Lindsborg is a small, Swedish town in central Kansas. The land was settled on in 1869 by Swedish immigrants, and became a city the following year. To this day, one-third of the townspeople are Swedish. Around the time of WW1, most of the city was still speaking Swedish as their first language, as the majority of the citizens were first- or second-generation Americans.