1930

By 1929's stock market crash, lives had become difficult for students, most of whom had to find work to pay for their education. Jobs were hard to find, and the University tried to provide low-cost housing by converting railroad cabooses into makeshift dorms, with eight men per caboose. It later became known as"Camp Depression," or the "House of Lords." Bunking at Camp Depression was free in exchange for labor on the buildings and grounds and cafeteria. Food was not provided, and many students arranged to eat leftovers at the cafeteria for a reduced price. Grand Forks residents took a deep interest in the residents of Camp Depression, and often provided Sunday dinners and food for the residents of the "camp."

The main entertainment was hitchhiking the mile and a-half into Grand Forks to see a triple feature show for 15 cents. Another entertainment, during the height of Prohibition, was to go to Whitey's, the speakeasy in East Grand Forks, for a"mickey" of pure bootleg alcohol, which cost a dollar. It was during this period when the previous athletic nickname, the Flickertails, was discarded in favor of the Fighting Sioux (The previous name was derided as suggestive of "a useless little rodent"). UND alum Fritz Pollard was the first UND athlete to place on the U.S. Olympic team, earning a bronze medal in Berlin during a time when black athletes were vilified by Hitler. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt visited the campus in 1937.