Elmhurst College - Elms Yearbook (Elmhurst, IL)

Page 19 text:

9 l CLOSE on the heels of the faculty came the Freshman Week Committee. On Monday, September 10th, this bustling group of upper classmen, headed by August Wirkus, and con- sisting of the Social Life Committee, the class presidents, and miscellaneous representatives of this and that organization, assembled at the college to work out the games and activities that were to follow. Bright and early the next morning a table was set up out in front of Old Main and a receiving line was formed to register the new- comers. Presently they began to arrive, on foot, by car, by train, and laden with suitcases, boxes and bundles. They came slowly at first, but pretty soon were descending upon the school in hordes so that where one frightened stranger had formerly stood there was now a milling mass of them, all looking more or less alike with their green beanies and awed faces. What did it feel like, that first glimpse of the campus? Perhaps it was a mixture of thrill, strangeness and bewilderment. But before y ou had a chance to finish your thought of Vt here do I go from here? a friendly upperclassman took charge of on and somehow you found yourself standing in front of the registration table. Here, slightly dazed, you answered all sorts of questions pertaining to name, home town and head size. They then fitted you with a green beanie and gave y ou an envelope con- taining E Book, name pin, room reservation and constitution. You were informed that you, your E Book and your green beanie were to be inseparable for the next six weeks. Clutching your precious packet and balanc- ing your beanie prcearioush on your head. on then followed your guide who showed on to your room in the dorm. There von were lei I lo settle down and get acquainted with vour roommates, fler you had stowed vour posses- sions away, ou went outside again lor a better look at the campus. hat at lirsl had been onl a confusing jumble ol buildings now began lo assume some sort ol order and there was the reassuring sight ol other green beanies dotting the latidseape. Mreadv. as von returned the greetings ol lei low students, von were beginning to feel at home. 15

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FRESHMAN WEEK COMMITTEE: Row 2, D. Babjak. M. Troike, A. Trnka, R. Koch, G. Langeler, I. Kolozy L. Teichmann, A. Pettee, N. Kienle, M. Kennedy. Row 2, H. Warehime, P. Rahmeier. M. Albright. R. Johnson, D Cabbr, N. Dougherty, J. Stevesand, A. Bizer, L. Eichenlaub, D. Crusius, R. Mensendiek, D. Emde. K. Baker We made il! W here do we go from here? Whither thou goest, I will go, ( til Home- coming). 14

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AS you walked around campus, the first building you came to was Old Main, with its familiar tower. Old Main, where you find classrooms, faculty rooms and the new campus store . . ., whose corridors re-echoed with the sound of countless feet rushing to and from classes . . . Old Main, wherein knowledge is gained and shared . . . with its bulletin board and its table under the clock where tickets are sold and ballots are cast . . . Old Main, whose chimes ring the time every quarter hour and beautifully summon us to reverent pause at noon and evening as they toll out familiar hymns . . . Old Main — the crossroads of the campus, where the purpose of the college is focused and expressed. Next you came to the library, erected in memory of the nine hundred young men of the Evangelical Synod who lost their lives in the First World War. These ivy -covered walls shelter thousands of books on every conceivable topic. Within them one can find students study- ing diligently, or just dreaming or perhaps stealing a whispered conversation when the librarian isn ' t looking. Continuing down the walk, you came upon South Hall, home to the girls and Mecca to the fellows. South Hall, where Mom Hermann watches over her brood with wise care and somehow manages to keep them from blowing the place up . . . South Hall, with its 10:10 curfew, when from all directions couples as- semble on the steps for those last tender good- nights . . . South Hall, with its parties, its hullaballoo at midnight, its pranks in the dim hours of the morning and its occasional mo- ments of quiet. At the otler end of the flagstone path is the gymnasium, building of many purposes. Here is the scene of dances, when couples glide to dreamy music, of the basketball games when [he floors reverberate with the pounding of running feel and the walls echo back our ex- cited cheers. This too is where the Theatre puts on its productions, where student actors and actresses present to the college the world ' s finest drama. Here also, in a different mood. Chapel Assembly is held twice a week, when we can take an hour off from the day ' s rush of study and activity for a time of worship. Then you arrived at the newly completed Senior Men ' s Dormitory, which houses not only the senior fellows but also classrooms and the offices of the Administration. Many of the students can remember when the new dorm was just a hole in the ground. Some of us were present at the laying of the cornerstone and can recall how we watched the building grow from a dream to a reality. And now it is finished at last and first to occupy it is the class of 1952. Irion Hall, the home of the freshmen, sopho- more and junior fellows, is undoubtedly the noisiest building on campus. Probably as a dorm it is no noisier than other dorms, but added to the uproar that rises naturally from many people living together, there is, on the east end, the confused and dissonant clamor of the music school, where instrumentalists, vocalists and choruses blend their efforts in a constant din. Down in the basement are found the offices of the campus publications, the Elms and the Elmbark. Also in Irion is the College Chapel, where Vespers are held on Monday and Wednesday evenings. Kranz Hall, the oldest building on campus, contains the Student Union Lounge, class- rooms, speech clinic, and up on the top floor, WRSE, the campus radio. Down in the base- ment is the S.U.. the meeting place for the whole campus. Whether you want a cup of coffee to wake you up in the morning, a snappv game of cards to take your mind off your studies in the afternoon, or just a few hours of relaxation watching television, you will find them all in the S.U. At last, having completed the circuit of the campus, you found yourself standing before the Commons building. Commons and the never-ending line-up for each meal, stretching outdoors and blocking traffic in warm weather and winding up and down the stairs in winter. Commons and the food that is never quite as Eood as home cooking but which can feel awfully good in that empty place that comes at meal time. [h