Guilford College - Quaker Yearbook (Greensboro, NC)

Page 7 text:

a sense of Unity composed of the PARTICULARITY of many parts. The Melting Pot Begins . . .

Page 6 text:

Images. Guilford College could be represented by many images. The pictures of people and places and activities in this Yearbook represent many such images that will remain indehbly in the minds of us who have been so involved in the life of the College community. Among all the images, however, there are a few symbols that seem particularly expressive of the philosophy of Guilford. One, the oak tree, as pictured on our cover has become central in our College logo. The other is the symbol of the melting pot. The oak tree has a literal as well as a symbolic meaning. It is a representation of the large black oak tree outside New Garden Hall which has been designated by the North Carohna Department of Natural Resources as the largest of its species in the State. Its enduring strength, its graciously extended branches, its deep rootedness in the soil, all seem to represent qualities of the historic durabihty, vigor, growth, and rootedness of the College itself. The tree, like the College, is a living reality, constantly needing renewed nourishment, but constant- ly enriching our lives with beauty , strength, and integra- tion. The idea of the melting pot, like the symbol of the tree, conveys a sense of unity composed of the particularity of many parts. There are thousands of leaves that come together in the rich texture of the tree ' s foUage. Similar- ly the meeting of many nationalities, of many geo- graphical ranges, of different religions, of different races, of different value structures is made possible in the College as a melting pot. The integration of this aray of ideas, of people, of values, and of meanings provides the rich texture in which deepened respect for the par- ticularity of individuals becomes a strong component in the educational process. This is perhaps especially true at Guilford as a Quaker institution since our concern has always been to support the integrity of the pilgrim- age of individual seekers while at the same time celebrat- ing the importance of the gathered community. The melting pot, like the college, can never be a blurring of individuality into a uniform caldron of sameness. There is a common search for intellectual growth , social signifi- cance, perceptiveness in making life decisions, and com- panionship in the search for profound layers of mean- ing. But with that we also enjoy and cherish the particu- larity of distinctive styles, distinctive tastes, distinctive ideas, and distinctive identities. We are truly one and at the same time many. We have community and individual identity. We have a melting pot of common bonding and the spice of many ingredients. William R. Rogers President, Guilford College

Page 8 text:

::: ' kj-5 i- ' i