Bloomsburg University - Obiter Yearbook (Bloomsburg, PA)

Page 19 text:

For just as tlif ivv needs roiitiiiual noiirisliiiicnl to keep it alive anil giowinj;. we too need cdnstanl inlelle liial nourishment il we wish lo attain our lull growth. ' 1936. which marked a (|uarter eentury of Ivy Days, was highlighted hy a series oi rhvthm clog dances on the pergola hy five senior girls. That year, for the first time, a lawn party was held lor alumni, friends, and relatives. following the Ivy Day exercises. This look the place of the Class Night program, and the parties were held with few exceptions for the next seven years. In 1943 the party was still a feature, hut Class Night was also held. 1914 was a verv (piict v ' ar. with little licside the Oration heing sched- uled. In l ' M.3, sim|)le exercises were Iwld aftei ' the Baccalaureate sermon, in the morning, and this has heen the custom for the past four years. Thus we have tracetl the transition of Ivy Day through the years; from the elaborate classical ceremony of the early 1900 s to the brief, simple exercise of today. No matter how the formal procedure is changed to con- form to the times. i v and its symbolism will always remain the same.

Page 18 text:

Among other out tan(liiifi leatures of the 1930 oration, the loUowing anonvtnou lelerence to h u in liulefl: Then uc ' ll iPlurn and seeing it ui high. Shall read a life of living histor . Strong tendrils and hright foliage ahove, Below torn branches and the fading leaf. Thns shall we do. Thus eonquer. Thus fail! e — the common branches of one vine arise Sprung from this hill and nurtured neath these skies! Speeial featiiio ol the .31. 32. ami 33 |)rogiani were folk (lanee and May dances which hail been presented earlier in tiie year as part of the May Day exercises. 193T was tile first vear tiiat there were no dances or other features. The ivv was planted, the Oration given, and Miss Moore led the group in inging Maroon and Cold ' and the Alma Mater. From this year on. the Ivy Day oli ervances were of a simple nature. The Oration of 19.3.3 deah with the ymli )li m of ivy and it parallelism to the future ol the (•las . as did the speeches of other years. John McGrew, the orator, -aid. in |iart: Of course we would plan to do graduate work. 14

Page 20 text:

ODE ON GRADUATION The li( n rush of somber marcliiug strains. The memory of towering spires mid Groves of campus pines, forever green. . . . Tiicsp have slip|)ecl awaN to fade and die, Deserted at last in an alien world That heeds not sentimental reveries. The tasseled square, the svmholed cloak Are now l)ut antiques of an earlier dav; But, still, the fragile sprig of ivy (Inherited from keepers long gone hv ) Close-held in vour firm. lenched grip. Is ours to emhlazon. silhouette, or imprint, On the ever-widening, sweeping hori on. A s|)rig of iv V ! Mayhap it seems triv ial, A hare reward for tasks belabored; Too meek in crv. loo weak in its assertion To liravc the uorld as does a crest of arms Hut. no! ' tis not the stoutest sword alone riiat blades the widest, sharpest swath, 16