Bloomsburg University - Obiter Yearbook (Bloomsburg, PA)

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

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.

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Nor brightest shield that longest clings To Mil Linliiigcd. gleaming coal of valor. An i y charm to iiiiloi k the chest . . . To un eil the hidden beacons that F ' oint to roads seldom walked, if ever; A green-leafed emblem of philosophy That has but three aims to boast: One for the Ideals of Truth. One for the Light of Endeavor. The last for Whatever (m will: Your choice, as an individual. Yours to fill, or yours to leave blank; Or, yours to crowd with many hopes As life has seemed, to you. to promise. And when your foot has fell the current. Fast-moving, ever-pulling, never still. Beneath your knowledge-armored weight. Hold high the branch of i vy that you clasp. Step full upon the barge of Time, And journev with life to far-off ports That hold the garnered treasures you seek. -JoiNiOR L. Eddincer