Girard College - Corinthian Yearbook (Philadelphia, PA)

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rJdetter Jrom Our President To the Class of ‘74: You have lived through some rough-and-tumble years at Girard—and survived! Congratula¬ tions! As you grow older vou will discover that your Girard experience, both within and outside the classroom, will help you in life. I hope that each of you has grown tough and resilient in mind and body. You will need all the resources you can command for the years ahead. The world, I believe, is likely to make increasing demands upon the individual. You will have to be prepared to withstand the onslaught of mass collectivization in order to save your own identity and freedom. High school graduation is a step forward and upward, as social progress is usually visu¬ alized. You have reason for pride in this accomplishment. However, you will not be fully sat¬ isfied unless you can leave Girard with a sense of contribution to its welfare. If you have only received during your years on campus, and not given, your victory will be shallow and your momentary success will sour. Although adults as well as youth have difficulty in fully comprehending the concept, a person grows only as he gives of himself—his talents, his energy, his good will. Girard is not an inexhaustible well of resources. As with all institutions, it must be constantly re¬ plenished and supported with new ideas and unremitting effort. If you are committed to the notion of continuing growth, as you surely must be, something is required of you before and after graduation. Loyalty to Girard and personal dedication to its ideals must be first, of course. There¬ after, it would be seemly and proper for each member of the Class of ‘74 to pledge himself to the further strengthening of the College. The forms of individual contribution are manifold: excellence in study, model deportment in the halls, citizenship in the community, high stand¬ ards of dress and appearance, tidyness in maintenance of buildings and grounds, generosity toward fellow-students, leadership in volunteer programs. The list is endless, and each senior is free to choose the areas in which he is best suited to serve and contribute of h imself. Of all the lessons which the Class of ‘74 might have learned at Girard, none is more im¬ portant than that simple homily enunciated quietly by the Bishop to the thieving Jean Valjean in Les Miserables: “ Life is to give, not to take.” Best wishes to you all! Gayle K. Lawrence 4

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RETIREMENT Mr. Samuel Shirley “Sam”, as Mr. Shirley has been called affectionately for many years by the Girard Family, surely has brought to his service at the College a dedicated sense of responsibility, a creative approach to teaching, and an almost unfailing sense of humor. His current error was always: “the first mistake I ever made!” much to the delight of his students. This is not a man to have an opinion after thoughtful consideration and keep quiet. Many a constructive suggestion he offered. He was never able to tolerate mediocrity and felt strongly that a false separation between ethics and academics could result in chaos. This “old war horse” leaves the field to other younger contenders to whom he must surely urge the highest kind of commitment to the re¬ storation of excellence at Girard College. 3

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administration 5