Bowling Green State University - Key Yearbook (Bowling Green, OH)

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Ah g El TO THE CLASSES OF l9I8 HE message the College has for you is just the message that your country, that life itself, has for you. It is the message of devotion, of sacrifice, of loyalty, of patriotism. During these glorious days we are being born again. In this new birth our souls are cleansed of all the dross of materialism and we realize that life itself is great and kingly in the measure in which it is a life of love and sacrifice for the welfare of humanity. We begin to see that industry exists for the sake of society, churches for the community, homes for manhood and womanhood, governments for the governed, and schools for citizenship. 'Tis the teacher's task to build up day by day through well-considered and dispassionate knowledge such ideals of home and country that sacrifices, even the sacrifice of life itself, will be made gladly for those ideals in war and in peace. Let us sweeten life with high ideals and noble thoughts. Let us courage- ously point out the domestic problems that confront us that they may be solved by the light of the truth. Let us open the eyes of the youth to the world oppor- tunities that await America. Let us train the youth to meet those oppor- tunities. Let us inspire them with such love for humanity that every page of American history shall be bright with deeds of justice for all mankind. Let every school house be an altar to our country, every teacher a source of inspiration. Let no son or daughter of Bowling Green fail in this. For to fail in this is to fail utterly. The schools, even more than armies and navies, the teachers, even more than soldiers, are the hope of democracy. Zff

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sry Qs-9 fe Q fi 2 3 2 G ? 5 95191039 HISTORY OF BOWLING GREEN STATE NORMAL COLLEGE N 1910, the General Assembly passed an act extending the normal school system of the State by the establishment of two additional state normal ' ischools, one in northeastern Ohio and one in northwestern Ohio, and author- izing the Governor to appoint a commission to locate the schools. This com- mission chose Bowling Green as the location of the school for northwestern Ohio. On June 30, 1911, the Board of Trustees appointed by the Governor, organized and on February 16, 1912, elected the President of the College, the appointment being required at this time since by act of the legislature he is clothed with advisory power in determining building plans. A general building scheme was adopted, and with the initial appropriation of S150,000 the Board pro- ceeded with the construction of the central feature of the plant-the Adminis- tration Building. In 1913, the General Assembly appropriated 341,000 for enlarging the auditorium and gymnasium in the Administration Building, and 3218.000 for the erection of a Dormitory for Women, Science Building, and Heating Plant. Other available funds were added to the appropriation for the Heating Plant, making the total cost of this building and equipment S48,1.75. In 1915, S100,000 was appropriated for a Training School Building, and in 1917, 524,000 was appropriated for the improvement of the grounds, 310,500 for water and gas plants, and 35,750 for farm buildings. Williams Ha1l,.the dormitory for women, was opened at the beginning of the Summer Term, in June, 1915, and the Administration Building in September of the same year. The Heating Plant was put into service in the autumn of 1915. Early in the spring of 1916, the Science Building was far enough .advanced toward completion to permit of the use of some parts of it. The entire building was thrown open for use during the Summer Term of 1916. The contract for the construction of the Training School Building was let in July, 1916, but owing to delays which the contractor has experienced in getting materials the building is not yet completed. A comprehensive scheme for the improvement and beautification of the grounds was developed by a capable land- scape architect in the autumn of 1917 and work was begun in March, 1918, on Court.Street and the part of the campus surrounding the present buildings. In planning these improvements great care has been exercised to preserve the natural beauty of the site and to improve its attractiveness and usefulness by artistic treatment. On September 15, 1914, the College opened in temporary quarters with a faculty of fifteen members including four critic teachers. and an enrollment of 158 students. Extension classes for teachers in service have been a feature of the work of the school from the beginning, and a Summer Session is an integral part of the academic year. Annual appropriations are made by the General Assemblyufor the support and maintenance of the College. Although the school has been in operation less than four years, fully one-third of the teachers of northwestern Ohio have been enrolled in its regular or extension classes. .fm - 7

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TI-IE. UPPER ROOM T is written in The Book that Christ sent Peter and John ahead into the city to discover a place where He might eat the Passover with the disciples. The Savior instructed them to enquire of a certain man, And he shall shew you a large upper room furnished: there make ready. And Christ and the Twelve here partook of the Last Supper. No scene in history is more humble in setting, and none is more memor- able. It has been portrayed by various artists, but its wonder and beauty lie on the further side of all language. This upper room was the meeting place of the Master and His disciples in that long ago: it is today the symbol of communion between man and God. In the life of every individual is felt the need of a quiet place, hidden from the world of bustle and distraction, where man may commune with the Infinite and be fed by the bread of life. This upper room is a place of refuge and a real necessity. Here the tumult of the world dies into silence, and the thoughts of man are turned upon the realities of his being. It is here that he gets the vision which enables him to observe the sorrows and the seeming deserts of the daily life without losing faith in the infinite love. Those whom we see surrendering in the battle are those who have never dined in the upper room at that invisible table of which the bread enables man to conquer. In the silent hour, we may partake of this bread, as those of old time were sent manna from heaven. And he that eateth of this bread shall live forever. Who, more than the college student, needs this communion of the upper room? In the rush and stress of constant preparation and recitation, there comes the crying need of such a help, a retreat where one may think, a room apart into which one may enter, as the wearied pass from the hot and noisy street into the cool silence of a welcoming cathedral. This is the great error many students commit when they arrange their courses: they forget to plan for the quiet hour, when they can put the daily tasks into right relations with one another and with the inner life. Have you felt yourself hurried and driven? The coming of new tasks was perhaps so incessant that you were unable to make your own that which was offered. One of the greatest needs of students is to obtain a perspective, to see what the many and varied phases of the school day mean as a part of life. And forsthis is needed the upper room, the quiet period of solitude, when the in- dividual may face self, and commune with soul, which is communion with the Divine. It is not enough to know life's offerings with the mind-one must realize with the soul. We have need of both society and solitude. The two are complementary, as are summer and winter, day and night, exercise and rest. Society makes us members of the collective life of mankind: solitude gives vigor and richness to the individual life. The life of the hermit, and the life of the man who thinks with the herd, are alike imperfect lives. The complete life is that of the mag- nificent man-of-war: it can share in the life and discipline of the fleet, or it can sail the seas alone. 9