Bethany College - Bethanian Yearbook (Bethany, WV)

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Colleges have been criticized since the time they began. They ' ve been accused of mollycod- dling the student, of killing the student, of being too much like a country club, of having not enough recreation, of being too commercial, of not having a business-like administration. Some have even accused the college of being a waste of time and money. However, these arguments have been of no avail. It has been said that the only good derived from an argu- ment is to impress the audience with the fact that the presenter is a bigger jackass than was previously supposed. But we ' re willing to run that risk Whoever said that colleges were only a waste of money was not as narrow-minded, as bigoted, as cynical as he appears to be from the first in- spection of his argument. That the chap had a point will become evident upon a more com- plete analysis If a high school graduate so desired, he could easily obtain a college education for himself. He could easily digest and assimilate all the knowl- edge that is incorporated in the person, and some- times the mind, of the average college graduate. The consideration of a hypothetical case will serve to make more clear this statement. A high- school graduate desires to enter medical school. If the pr me requirement for entrance is, not a bachelor ' s, but a knowledge of certain funda- mentals prescribed by that school, why must he spend three, or even four years, in college at a waste of both time and money, when, by study at home and personal supervision of material, guided by the requirements of the particular school to which he desires attendance, he can complete his undergraduate work, or his preparation, and meet the entrance requirements in a period of time considerably shorter? Why don ' t more high-school graduates at- tempt to educate themselves? Why do the ma- jority insist upon a college education as a re- quirement for success, or use the denial of one as an excuse for failure? Why is it that we ' re thinking more and more that a college education is a necessary, integral, part of our lives and that without it, life is bare, devoid of all joys and pleasures, of the happiness that is derived from No Push ! So We Came To College one ' s career , of the ability to appreciate its beauties, of all culture? The average college student has insufficient will power to hold himself to a task, once he has assigned himself to it. He has no perseverance. He requires someone to stand watch daily over him, to prod him a- long when he ' s tardy, to pick him up when he ' s fallen, to boost him atop a glorified pedestal and keep him there. Then, too, he needs someone to as- sign the material to be covered daily, and to make sure that he has prepared and completed the assignment. Our hero, in other words, can ' t de- pend upon himself. He is merely a slave to his own inconsistencies and weaknesses. He comes to college, spends more money, for he could be at home saving room rent, transportation, while not paying quite as much board, and wastes more time than otherwise would be needed to complete two undergraduate courses at home on his own initiative. And what does he re- ceive? A diploma, which was put to a far better use by the sheep, an ephemeral collection of facts ambiguously termed a college education, four years, or even more, attached to his birth- day, and that most desired of desirables, that most glorious of glory, that flat, trite, empty term, polish . Other men have educated themselves. Ex- ceptions? Certainly. They were exceptional men in that they quit the groove in which flows, is carried, our hero, and attained their place in the sun. They knew what they wanted and they got what they wanted, primarily because they worked for it, because they faced their reverses and obstacles and refused to be beaten, because they had the drive, the initiative, the will power to see it through. How many are faced by the same conditions today as faced these men, and accept their position passively? Many. This, for only one reason — we have no faith in ourselves to complete a task that we want to do. Hailstones bouncing off a tin roof will be no comparison to these words bouncing off tin ears. Every student who reads this will be in too deep a lethargy to exert the mental effort necessary for comprehension. But we console ourselves. Alas, we are not exceptions, either.

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THE B thcWAXUl NUMBER 2 VOLUME XXXI NOVEMBER 19 3 9

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Published Monthly BY THE Student Board of Publications of Bethany College The SjeJtfumiajti Entered as second-class matter on January 14, 1920 at the post office at Bethany, V. Va., under the Act of March 1, 1875. Subscription: Four Dollars a Year Vol. XXXI November. 1939 Number 2 Editor-In- Chief Bert Decker Business Manager Geo. Petroff Editor ' s Notes The staff believes that the students are inter- ested in those actively interested in Bethany ' s sports. As a result we present Bobbie Murray and Bud Kuhns on our cover. On page four Dick Roberts gives us the low- down on This yer game o ' feetball. If you can read it without giggling, you are better than our proofreaders. Having lived with Coach Boettcher for a year, and having labored over those mountains, the editor has taken it upon himself, personally, to attempt to portray our sport of the hills, cross country running. Paul Freiling, Bethany ' s student from Ger- many, on page seventeen gives us the average German ' s reaction to European history since 1918. It is a good article; turn to it now. Turn to page twelve and you will find some- thing new in sorority write-ups. Last month a page titled The Bethanian Buffoonery was cut out at the last moment. On page eighteen you will find why. November ' s Contents No Push ... So We Come To College . . . Inside Cover Home Coming 2 Football Frolics O ' er Hill and Dale .... 6 Mathematical Addition . . 8 The Social Committee and You 9 The Little Gold Cross . . 10 The Subtle Art of Apple Polishing 11 KD Did It 12 Inside A Fraternity . Review of the Arts . 14 16 Germany 17 Bethanian Buffoonery 18 page one