As the Great Depression deepens, the college is forced to reduce the salaries of faculty and staff by an average of 25 percent in order to meet reduced state appropriations. The budget granted to WSC for 1933-1935 through the legislature’s “barefoot schoolboy” measures represents a cut of 36.5 percent over previous budgets.

Due to widespread unemployment, enrollment falls, allowing President Holland to close Ferry and Stevens residence halls in the spring of 1933 and keep them closed until September 1934, saving as much as $6,000. The library budget suffers a cut of 33% in the 1933-34 college budget.

For students, dropping out of school for a semester or two to earn money was a common practice throughout the ’30s. Typical part-time jobs for women often involved cleaning and babysitting in private homes, while male students worked on farms surrounding the college.