Davidson College - Quips and Cranks Yearbook (Davidson, NC)

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library hall of the main building. Under the same management the College reading-room is kept open and the students have access daily to over thirty newspapers and periodicals. A gas plant has been placed in the main building, which furnishes gas to the laboratories and the cen tre hall of the main building. Recently new apparatus was placed in the Senior Chemistry Laborator -. To the Electrical Department have been added several Roetgen-ray macliines and a large amount of electrical apparatus. . ll the fraternity halls arc lighted by electricity. Our A ' . Al. C. A. buikl- ing was the first of its kind upon a Southern college campus, and its work, its- parlors, reading- room, gymnasium, etc., will be spoken of in its proper place. Athletics has interested the students to the extent that we have now a bicycle track, thirteen tennis courts, a running track, gun club with traps, a lake covering fourteen acres, furnished with boats, spring-boards and bath-houses — this also will be mentioned elsewhere. For facts con- cerning Medical School see history of the institu- tion in this volume. Marked improvements have been made in the College Monthly. We arc no longer ashamed to exchange with the publications of other colleges, and we receive more comments from our exchanges, with three exceptions, than any other Southern college magazine. A Historical Socict} ' has been organized, and commencing witji ne.xt October a quarterl)- will be issued which will contain on!) ' historical paixrs prepared by the members of the socict)- and the Alumni of the College. The society halls have been refitted, one being furnished with handsome opera chairs. The Dramatic and Glee Clubs are sources of much entertainment for the students and villagers. Many of the professors ' residences ha e been greatly improved, and at present two new ones are in course of erection. Many inno ations by the Faculty relating to study hours, prayers, etc., ha ' c resulted in much good. SOCIAL LIFE AND INFLUENCES The social influences in and around l)a itlson session the Y. M. C. A. tenders a reception to the are such as parents would want for their sons while F ' reshman Class in the Association parlors. From in college. The village is well supplied with young the beginning the new men are made to feel at ladies, who exert a good influence over the sixty home and receive courteous attention from everj- per cent of the students who visit regular!)-. Re- one. The fraternity and non-fraternity strife is ceptions given by the Faculty and villagers are unknown. There are six Greek letter societies in quite frequent During the first week of the fall College, and they always contend in a friendly 17

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from the east roof of the Old Chapel finds its way into the Yadkin (Pee Dee) River, fifty-six miles away ; that from the west roof flows into the Catawba. The immediate neighborhood around the College is well drained, and contagious diseases are unknown. For eight months in the year the roads are inviting to bicyclists. The College campus contains about seventy-five acres covered with blue grass, and the beautiful walks and drive- ways are shaded by sctjres of elms and oaks. Within a mile lies Lake Wiley, co ering fourteen acres; a little further e find the Cascades, Lover ' s Leap, Diamond Rock, and nian ' other beautiful and picturesque places. The people from this section ha ing been the first in America to express their belief in individual freedom, having declared themselves independent of their mother country before such an action was taken by the States assembled, it is no sm ' prisc that Davidson is surrounded by many places of histori- cal interest. Twehe miles to the south we find the cabin in which the Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence was signed ; two miles north the re- mains of the old Log College of North Caro- lina, where Ephraim Brevard and other signers of this declaration were educated ; in the same vicinity, Tarleton ' s Tavern, where the general of the same name butchered man}- Americans ; also Purgatory Swamp, which became a Rendezvous of safety from the Red Coats for the people of that neighborhood; six miles west we find Cowan ' s Ford, where General Lee Davidson met his death in his endeavor to prevent Coniwallis from crossing the Cataw ba ; within several hundred yards of the campus stands the oak under which Centre Church was organized ; eight miles southwest is the Hope- well Church neighborhood, whose people ha e given us more history than any other section of the State within as narrow limits. IMPROVEMENTS During the last decade many improvements have been made in the various departments. A three years ' Bible Course has been established. The English, Greek and Latin courses have been improved, especially the Latin course. A year each has been added to the P ' rcnch and German courses. Political Pxonomv has received much at- tention, and its ticket is now equal to that of any Southern College. Fi ' e new laboratories have been fitted up for the departments of Chemistrs-, Mineralogy, Physics and Electricit ' . Da idson is especially proud of its work in electricity and chemistry. The libraries of the societies and the collesre librarv ha e been consolidated in the

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manner for the new men. Other social organizations are: The Runes, a local Sophomore fraternity; the Actaeon, and tiie Sigma Nu Kappa. The friendly mingling of the students on the foot-ball and base-ball fields, in the literary societies, the Y. M. C. A., the Gymnasium, and the ' arious other societies and organizations produces ties of friend- ship between students of different fraternities and between fraternity and non-fraternity men which can never be severed. The College is remarkable- free from cliques, clans and special crowds, and a more harmonious body of young men can- not be found in any institution. The constant at- tendance of the majority of college men at prayers, church, and the Y. M. C. A. results in much good. The government of the student body is left entirely in their hands, and they must be commended for the rapidity with which they dispose of cases of dishonesty. Card playing and drinking of intoxi- cants is almost unknown. ATHLETICS That it is a duty to look after the development of the body as well as the mind is recognized by every student of Davidson. Since the building of the bic) ' cle and running tracks they ha e been in constant use. More interest was shown in foot- ball last autumn t han ever before, and base-ball holds its own. The lake, with its bath-houses, spring-boards, boats and toboggan slides, claims the spare time of many students. Thirteen tennis courts are in active operation. The Gun Club owns five traps and holds annual spring practice. Golf has attracted the attention of a few, and will gradually draw boys from some of the other games. Our Annual Athletic Day is always looked forward to as the e ent of the spring session. Amateur records have been equalled and we are justly proud of some of our feats. The Athletic Asso- ciation has recently been organized, and the con- stitution and by-laws have been so fi.xed that all participants in college games in the exercises of Athletic Da)- must be members of the Association and pay regular dues. In this way more funds can be raised for athletic goods and new apparatus will be added to the G -mnasium.