Morgan State University - Promethean Yearbook (Baltimore, MD)

Page 22 text:

WE GRADUATE IN SPIRIT by CPL. JoaBPH E. Grass You must realize that upon your entry into the College Enlisted Reserve Corps, you will he a member of the army, and as such will be liable to the call of your Qom,. mandcr-in-Chief at any time . Those wo ds of our own President Holmes still echo and re-echo in our minds and hearts. Then on March 2. 1943, the call came to us. The orders were clear and from our Commander-in-Chief- You're needed, boys, to bring relief from this plague of oppression that threatens to engulf you. You arc needed to preserve the way of life; it is your duly and privilege to contribute he best you have lo offer to the preservation of a free, democratic country . And so, with unbowed heads and shoulders erect, we sallied forth to be trained and to train others in the fine art of appreciating the kind of life to which we had been accustomed. Our specific jobs have been many and diverse; we have accepted the challenge of analyzing the need o( each individual job, and we have extended ourselves lo meet the challenge. Now, we have also reconciled ourselves to the fact that we must graduate in spirit . Extended thought raises the universal question in our minds- Why must we grad- uate in spirit? We would much rather be present to receive the fruits of four years' effort in the fields of academic and social conditioning. Since this is a selfvidcnt fact-why must we gh duale in spirit? Philosophically we have grown and matured. We have on numerous occassions come focc to face with the enemy which makes our spiritual graduation a necessity. We have met this enemy as a spirit; and we have met him as a being. We have learned that our success over him can come only when we adjust our minds and bodies to the rigors of living that border on the boundary of hell. We have discovered llhat only the individual who has the greatest spirit can ever hope to graduate in body as well as ki spirit Sinoc we have been diligent students, we have learned our lessons well. From our classrooms of the army camps and the world battle-gTOunds we haive heard and comprehended the lectures on life; we have learned that to live is more than to merely exist. We have crammed before examinations, during examinations, and after them too--we have the utter rucessity of passing every examination imprcSScd -yes, even scared-into our souls. Had we failed to pass-we would not be here hi spirit to graduate with you. Upon the battle-scarred earth as our desk, we have learned to write in Rowing style the answers to the question of survival. We know that to survive oetdrs an op- portunity to Jive. We have survived the daring of the enemy whom we have met in spirit; we have Jived through the heU created by the enemy we have met in being. We have lone these things because we have been diligent students. We have our blackboard too, high over our heads. We've lain beneath the sky and solved our problems with the stars. Our problems have «been vital. Well to we remember the one of logistics m which we worked out the fcasability o£ attack or re- treat. To arrive at an approximate was never enough; our answer had to be accurate and exact. Nor had we the opportunity LO waste time and materials; no miscalculation no misuse could ever be tolerate. 1 Our problems were loo vital lo err even slightly. Thus we figured out the problem of existing and surviving and living-for living k more than existing. You must realize ... ... Yes, ive realizx:; and having that rcalizatioo we fonily resolved within ourselves to make our graduation two-fold-we will graduate in spirit today with ,you, but on the morrow, we will graduate in being. 18

Page 24 text:

WE SALUTE YOU Actually seeing the days of 1944-thosc days which seemed so remote when we entered Morgan as Freshmen,-compels ik to think more soberly and far differently from what we did when we were a group of gay youngseers with bursting enthusiasms soaring hopes and definite ideas of A New Day , A New Regime . Our interests during our first years were centered around a Bigger and Bettci- Morgan . Under tire inspiring leadership and tireless energy- of our beloved former sponsor, Mrs. Jessie M Wright, we began a study of the traditions already cstablishhd at Morgan and sought to eliminate those which we felt did not spell honor and glory- for Morgan. We also firmly established those practices set by the class of '43 under the leadership of the then Mivs Laura Robinson whose untiring efforts and loyalty- as sponsor of the class of '43 won adiradon and esccem from lhe dass of '44. The pn - gram of the davs which preceded ik included such programs as the Frcshman-Sophomo Confrrence and Freshman Day. In cooperation with the Traditions Committee of the Alumni, we managed to initiate new and wholesome tradition. Two losses w-hich seemed to ik irreparable occurred in '43 w-ithin a few months of eadi other; the loss, through draft, of the great bulk of manhood of our class; and, through resignation, our bulwark, Mrs. Wright. These losses as could be expected, plunged us into-a stormy first semester which seemed at times destined to disrupt ik permanently, but our new sponsor. Dr. Spaulding, ever ready with advice ;uk1 sympachv, ever eager to support our programs along with our okl faith and pride in '44, kept ik from actually falling to pieces. As young as we arc in years we have learned some of life's lessoas and we want to leave to the classes that remain a word of advice. Will you bear with us while we leave a word of encouragement? First, we encourage the dass of '47 to stick to your ideals of sodal, moral and sthoiastic perfection although you may he h the midst of oppositioa Allow no one to steer you from your beliefs in fundamental truchs. Remember that next year you will he followed instead of being led. We challenge you to be as gixxl leaders as you have heen followers of some of the ideals of the davs of '44. We encourage the davs o( '46 to unite as a davs and strive for success ii the years to come. Do not allow your disappointments and disillusionmcnts to deter you from striving to obtain those things in which you really- believe. As a unified group, try as Tennyson so aptly puts it in his Ulysse.rs, to strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield. As fix- Ihe davs of '44, we an: knit by our early hopes and suce(»ses, our later frustrations and desperations, our present trials and responsibilities, into a bond of peculiar strength and durability; and for that union we ran welcome the distresses that have been ours and feel secure in the solidaricy that will ever make the group that enrolled here in 1940, the members that have been added to us and the two sponsors whom we have known, oik inseparable unit, the davs of '44. Wtth fond remembrance of all of you, with sincere best wishes for yoir future, w-ith appreciation for your loyalty and cooperation, our great davs makes its final salute to Morgan. ERNESTINE WELCH. 20 President o t Class of «44