Duke University - Chanticleer Yearbook (Durham, NC)

Page 14 text:

RESUMng54-55 w f T E STAND before a trempiKlous clock. It licks loudly ami nioiiotoiiously. We are aware llial soiiietliing is amiss but are unable for a moment to say exactly what is wronjj;. The liands nil ihc clock move almost imperceptibly. Sud- denly, we realize that they are moving backwards. They are taking us back through the years to Duke in 1955. We watch spellbound, powerless to resist as our minds turn back with the clock. It is as if the rhythmic sound has hypnotized us. Images spin loiiiid in our heads, crowding together until our temples pound. They have no logical order. We see the golliic splendor of the Chapel, ' i ' liis fades into the rolling green of the campus and then into the spring beauty of the Sarah I ' . Duke Menu rial Gardens. The clock ticks louder and louder. There is a sliar|), grating sound — a whirr 111 machinery aiul the hands stop. The black nuui- bers on the large white lace ol llic clock seem to glow, it is 9 |i.ui. riic hour strikes with heavy |)eals. leaving a somber echo allci ' each. A lull nu)on shines down on the Chapel, making |)alches of while light on the snu)olh stone pave- ment in lidut. I ' he shadows of Gray and I ' age fall in an ominous pattern. The wind blows softly, causing the branches of the tiTes to sway. A stu- dent walks across the j)avement whistling a frag- ment oi a popidar tune. Books are under his arm. Perhaps he has been studying in the library. He is thinking of nolhing in ])arlicular — except how good it is to feel circulatiTig air against his face. His mind, relaxing from the discipline of rigid study, wanders indiscriminately. His e es guide him and yet they perceive nothing. The backfire ol a bus recalls him suddcuU to realitv. He looks down tlic i|ua(lranglc and sees two led tail lights in llic (li lauce. The campus is deserted. He is conscious ol his own scra|)ing footsteps on the pa ement. itii a new igoi ' be hastens liis step and begins to whistle the -.amc popular tunc, lie descends the steps and turns towaid the |)op ' Shop. Once more we are I ' onscious ol the lickin;; of a clock. W c walcli a (iguic sludving al a desk. A suiall clock al one side shows that it ' - I a.m. He Books . . . glowing symbols of the greatest advantage ottered to the students at Duke University in the ycor 1955 . o tine education. 10

Page 16 text:

This yeor, as every year, found the dust-covered books under hasty perusal as hour quizzes and final exams came painfully closer. sits before an open texll)ook. From tiiiic to titnc he underlines an important sentence. The brilliant bhie of the ink tontrasts with the (lull black and white ol the page. He lifts his eyes momentarily as lie swallows from a cii|i of instant coifee. The taste is bitter. His cncs burn Irom llic strain ol study. The lacts in his head lorm a conluscd jiim- l)lr. He tilts hack in llic chair and rests the book on lus lap. in the next room he can hear the shulile oi cartls. An occasional burst of laiij;hter penetrates the walls. Down tlic hall someone is plaxin a ladio at top volume. Mis eyes scan the patics liiit his mind is not on the material, lie lliinks alioiil to- moi ' i ' ows exam and leels a Irani le M ' ns ' ol ncccs- sitv. . . . ihe lian(b on the lihrars iloek point to . ' p.m. We sit in an iinlieaiabl haiil straijihl-liacked chair observing; the acti it in die room. Thi-ouj;h the window a s|)rinj; breeze is blowing. It circu- lates drowsily. Iidling peo|)le to sleep. Several students who ha e already succumbed to the temp- tation pillow their heads on b)lded arms. The books from which they were studying lie open, the leaves lulfled by the yvind. A chair scrapes across the floor. The noise is shaij) and un] leasant. Eyes turn as the door opens and a well known student couple enters. This atternoon theie are several couples studying to- gether — probably because it ' s Saturday and study- ing must be gotten out of the way before evening. Some clasp hands across the table. Others study diligently, raising tlieir eyes from time to time to look at each other. Someone sneezes and the soinid has the impact of a firecracker. One Duke man starts up (piickly from his sluml)er. He yawns, stretches, then rises to get a drink of water from the outside foun- tain Two spaghetti with meat sauce! The waiter ' s You had to reserve a scat if you wanted to study in the library; it became the most popular ploce on campus, especially during exams. 12