Dickinson College - Microcosm Yearbook (Carlisle, PA)

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DEIJICATIUN In 1800, Dy Benjamin Rush, a Founding Father of both the United States and Dickin- son College, received from Thomas Jefferson a letter which contains one of Jefferson's most famous statements regarding freedom of thought- I have sworn upon the altar of Cod, eternal hostility against every form of tyranny over the mind of man. It is significant for us at Dickinson that Jefferson, an educator as well as a statesman, held Dr. Rush in such esteem that he would care to confide to him his deepest thoughts on this matter. These two men, members of that great group of dissenters who pledged their lives and sacred honors to freedom, were among the architects of our national heritage, and they both shared in the feeling that the freedom which they helped found was .more than just political. lt was freedom of thought and of belief, it was freedom of inquiry and the pursuit of truth. It was an ideal which summarily rejected any attempt to stifle or censure the free exercise of man's Cod-given niind. Like many worthwhile traditions, this one can often be sorely abused or totally ignored. In the presence of nameless and unreasoning fear and hysteria, the high ideals of intel- lectual and academic freedom upon which our college is based may sometimes be notably disregarded. Such considerations as political and- economic pressure and expedi- ency may take precedence over the ideal. Irreparable harm can be done, not only to the reputation of the college, but also to its intangible but all-important spirit. However serious it may be, this damage need not be permanent. There is no reason for the perpetuation of an evil. We are in possession of a tradition of freedom, and need only to sincerely reaffirm it in order to partially rectify any mistakes of the past. The mistakes can never be erased, but it can be ensured that they do not happen again. It is ,with optimism and a firm faith in the future that this, the 1958 Microcosm, is dedicated to the noble principles of academic freedom.

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The President WILLIAM WILCOX EDEL H9461 The President of the College, Lemuel T. Appold Foundation, A.B., Dickinson College, 19155 A.M., 19193 D.D., 19355 S.T.B., Boston University School of Theology, 19213 L.H.D., Gettys- burg College, 19493 I.L.D., University of Pennsylvania, 19493 D.Hu., Boston University, 1950. V B f n u ' :fm nh .KW X J n w,w,MWQi1- V -igm . V , , W M mi ' , , H ww' we we Wwe a ' ' ' . J E ,UI V 1' 1:1 e 3 it e V ,e ,ge . .