Haverford College - Record Yearbook (Haverford, PA)

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- -l ' M ' : PROLOGUE T ' l ' has often lieen pointed out to the un(leri;;rad- - ■ nates of Havcrford Colle5j;e that the theories and prt ' jtuhces with ret ard to rehgion, iiohties. and life-in-ijeneral which we ])ossess when we enter are ehanjj;t ' d and mellowed throughout our four years sojourn. Many of these changes have heen so gradual and have occurred so dee]) within us that we have failed to notice them. But there lias l)een one factor which, as it altered, we could not hut mark well — oin impressions. Indeed, in retrospect, we find that ll;i erford is jiar excellence an institution of imjjressions. Most of uur earlier im])ressions ha e undergone complete reversal in the course of time from Freshman to Senior year. It is interesting and enlightening to look hack on the wa ' we felt four years ago. Comparisons are odious, hut in this case it is highly fitting that we hark hack to the past, resurrect a few of our old opinions and set them beside our present feelings. The jnirpose of this prologue, then, is to aid in the resurrection. and to view the wreck of the old in the light of the new. When the class of 1935 gathered within these cloistered ])recincts for the first tiiue. the average one of us. let ' s call him Anyone ' I ' liirlifivc, re- marked from ajipearances that this group was sim- ilar to that entering any small college save in one res])ect — here were few athletes and many schol- ars. Hy mid-years this opinion had changed only in that now Mr. Anyone Thirtifive felt a good number of those he had formerly deemed schol- ars were merely i suedo-scholars. By this. A. Thirtifive. referred to a portion of his co-mates in education who acted lik- the most profound of scholars everywhere but in tiie classroom. That is. they .secluded themselves (Anyone, drawing from his knowledge of the past, felt that a life a])art must be conducive to great learning) and. when infrequently seen or beard, outside of class, were discussing topics in extremely cultered ac- cents which only the erudite could comprehend. •{ 9 }■

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Prologue

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PROLOGUE — (Continued) (Usually (i (. ' r . nyiiiu ' ' s hiad ) Sonit ' lmw these jisuedo-scholars did nut carry o -er their brilliant recitations to the classroom. Thirtifix-e siip])osed this was because they ])referred in ac(|uire wisdom in their own way, tho ' he was not certain. In connection with the faculty, Anyone ' s im- pressions were manifold. His biograjiher. how- ever, shall dwell on only two or three of them. President Comfort ' s inimitable cane-strut and rostrum benr-hu.s were a source of considerable amusement to him. The [iresident ' s first S])eech in collection failed largely to mo -e him. Tie had heard all of that stutT before. The two deans caused Thirtifive no little sur- jirise and wonder. He had assumed tiiese men would be just as formidable as their names — IT. Tatnall Brown and Archibald laclntosh. But here were two in high office who looked like ini- dergraduate whippersnappers. Sureh ' , he felt they must be geniuses. After some four inter- views with them, however, he drew other, more reasonable, conclusions. Then there was the introduction to lliat group that frown on tlie bottle and the butt — the Black Kwakes. It took Anyone some time to put his finger on just what distinguished these men from the rest. Finally he decided their outstanding characteristic was a strict adherence to the timely warning Be good, sweet youth, and let who will be clever. coui)led with a projiensitv towards penuriousness and a predelictinn for fre(|uent aj)- plication to the feed bag. Having heard the rumor before arri ing at Haverford that the jirowess of the local boys was not quite what it should be on the athletic field, he accepted the first few defeats grimly cheering even in defeat. But after a tiiue he be- gan to take the attitude of certain others of his classmates. His sui)|)i)rl was ut longer whole- hearted. Most of the minor events he never at- tended, and even at the major games lie cheered with his tongue in bis cheek. Thus, at the end of his Soiihomore war we find Mr. Thirtifive tho he may not have confessed it to himself definitely skejjtical of what the college was giving him besides a certain amount of book learning. Even here he felt he could have gotten most of what was taught by going thru it alone without the aid of anv ])edagogue. Now let us skip a few years. Anyone Thirti- five is in the last half of his senior year. In the interim he has made many discoveries, all of which confirm him in the belief that Knowledge comes, but wisdom lingers. He had fonuerly disapjiroved of greasers. Now. he feels these celebates have a right to their method of a])- l)roach : indeed, it has its advantages, though he does not entirelv approve of it. The deans have a tough job — there is plenty of room for impro ement but. he says to him.self, would not thi.s be the case under any circum- stances? Uncle Billy ' s maxims have found a place in his heart. Though many of them, are. theoretically, still old .stuff, they have taken on a new meaning for him, because he has learned to apply them to himself. He has discovered that many a Black Kwake carries a heart of gold — ■ though careful of money. Finally, he enjoys watching the teams. Often enough he does not get tremendously excited or wrought up in a prep school fashion, but he does get a genuine kick out of seeing his mates grapple with the opposi- tion, and in their defeat he suffers. In short, our friend Anyone has gone from (|uick, sure fire impressions to mellowed opinion. He has learned, in jjart. the great lesson that there is good in evervthing. ■{ 10 }•