Elmhurst College - Elms Yearbook (Elmhurst, IL)

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. RltllARD NiEBUHR, l ll. ' resident of Elnihiirst C.i)lle 19

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THE AIM OF E L M H U R S T COLLEGE An aim is always something which lies beyond present achievement. In speaking of the aim of Elmhurst College we are not speaking of its attainment but of a purpose which it seeks to realize in progressive fashion. Between the main goal and the present situation there are often many way-stations , im- mediate purposes, which must be passed on the way to the terminal and we some- times lose sight of our ultimate aim because of the present urgency of attaining a half-way goal. The result of such confusion is sometimes a premature sense of attainment, sometimes a great loss of energy, sometimes a deflection from the road to the main purpose. One of the immediate purposes of Elmhurst College is the attainment of the standard set for four year colleges of liberal arts. It needs to raise a larger, en- dowment, to develop several departments of instruction, to increase the size of its senior college. It is seeking to provide preparation for the various professions, such as teaching, medicine, law, business. It has sought and is seeking to stan- dardize its curriculum, the preparation of its faculty members, the conditions of entrance and of graduation. With all of this emphasis upon standardization we may lose sight of the fact that our ultimate purpose is not the attainment of a common standard but of an effective individuality, not the formation of a standard product but the educa- tion of individualities and personalities. The standard must represent a minimum and not a maximum, if it is not to become a source of danger. This is true of the student and of the school. The student who is content to meet a standard intellectually and morally and does not go beyond that standard in the development of his personality may be losing as much as he is gaining. Part of his education may mark an ascent from a lower standard to a higher one, part of it, undoubtedly, will be a descent from a higher to a lower. It must be the purpose of Elmhurst College to develop men who are not merely good C men in all their attainments but who are men of B and A grade in intellectual as well as in moral and spiritual achievement. One step in this direction has been taken by the provision for honors courses. Much that cannot be accomplished by administrative measures must be done by the students themselves, with their ambitions, their sense of duty and their desire for service. The development of the individuality of the school is another matter. That individuality must grow out of its past. Among the best traditions of our past which the future ought to preserve and develop, which will retain for the school its individuality and help it to perform its individual task in the world are these: its character as a Christian college which does not believe that the support of a Christian denomination involves no special obligations, its character as a school where a large proportion of the students are preparing for some definite branch of Christian work, its character as a school which seeks to transmit the best pro- ducts of its European background to the new civilization of America. H. RiCH.XRD NiEBUHR. IS

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THE ACADEMY IN 1926 It has never been more difficult than this year to write a history or to venture a prophecy for the academy. It is easier to present a few figures and let the reader draw his own inferences. During the school year 1924-25, the academy had an average enrollment, with 103 students. Forty-two of these were seniors and 30 were juniors, a total of seventy-two in the upper classes, while only thirty-six were members of the two lower classes, distributed about evenly between them. It was something of an anomaly that the two upper classes should be twice as strong as the two lower classes. Since, however, the growth of the college would make it necessary to limit the enrollment of the academy to the capacity of Irion Hall, the prospective reduction of the academy in numbers was viewed with equanimity. Of the 108 students enrolled last year, 42 were graduated and 15 others did not return. Fifty-one students returned in the fall of 1925 to complete their work in the academy. There was room, therefore, for about thirty new students. Only fifteen, however, registered. The academy, consequently, has this year only sixty- six students of whom ten are also registered for some work in the college. There are thirty-five seniors, 13 juniors, 14 sophomores, and only 4 freshmen. The graduation of thirty-five seniors will leave the academy a body of only thirty-one old students, if all of these return, in the fall of 1926. The best that we may reasonably expect for next year is that the academy will receive enough new students to keep the total enrollment at about this year ' s figure. This means some thirty to forty new students, which until the last year or two was the normal increment. Should the enrollment of new students not exceed that of last fall, one would have to admit that the future of the academy is in doubt. Fortunately, the future of the academy is no longer the only hope of Elmhurst. The college is growing in proportion as the academy has been declining. Never- theless, a strong academy remains a desirable asset to the college. The academy has been thus far the chief support of the college, for from it have come more than half of all the student s in the college since 1919. In the interest of Elmhurst College, it is desirable to maintain the academy for some time to come. In the interest of the Evangelical Synod, moreover, it is desirable to maintain an academy where young men may prepare themselves most effectively, even in their college preparatory work, for the future study of theology. The academy offers strong courses in English, German, Latin, Greek, history, mathematics, and science, as well as Bible study, music, and physical education. This is a list w hich few high schools can duplicate. The opportunity is given to ambitious students also to complete all or the greater part of their academy work in three years, and thus reach college work a year earlier. There never was a greater need of men for the ministry than now exists in the Evangelical Synod. The academy asks the support of alf to whom this is a vital question, that it may do its share in the work of the Kingdom of Christ. Paul N. Crusius. 20