Kenyon College - Reveille Yearbook (Gambier, OH)

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 Sixteen

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THE COLLEGE

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Kenyon Kenyon has always prided herself on a certain individuality. Her sons go out into the world glad that they are not as other men are. and gratefully ascrib- ing the difference to their Alina Mater. This individ- uality developed naturally out of the isolation of the college. Founded in what was then a wilderness and cut off from outside influence, Kenyon was thrown in upon herself, and. as it were, was stewed in her own juice. The impulses and aspirations of one generation of college men became the inviolable traditions of the next, and no college was ever more fortunate in its traditions than Kenyon. The Kenyon men of the first few decades set a high standard in scholarship, in their literary societies and in their careers after graduating. The activities of Kenyon have changed since the days of Stanton and Hayes. No more do we celebrate Washington’s Birthday nor do the literary societies hold the commanding position that once was theirs. But the tradition of excellence persists, and altho Kenyon engages in all of the important activities of a big university, she responds to their demands in a highly creditable way. It is, of course, difficult to maintain five athletic teams and the musical clubs, publish the Collegian and Reveille, and give a prom and hop and the festivi- ties of commencement week with an enrollment of less than a hundred students. Frequently work must be done by men with no especial fitness for it. The editor of the Collegian, also, may have to drop an editorial to go out for football practice, or the basket ball captain may stay up later than is consistent with good training in order to write a paper for Philo. But this does not. on the whole, lower the standard of our activities, for this difficulty and the lack of special musical, literary or athletic ability is overcome by the zeal with which the work is done. From the standpoint of the individual engaged, moreover, the system is nearly ideal, for every man in college is engaged in some kind of work not included in the curriculum. Thus Kenyon’s environment and inherited traditions have made her unique. She is small, but she is a college among many, a college which in the past has sent forth capable and cultured men. and which, we believe, will continue to do so in the future.