Kenyon College - Reveille Yearbook (Gambier, OH)

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 tin subjects he studies. When he realizes tin value of the part, the beauty of the whole become , apparent. The form has meaning. Hv this careful process of learning, the ideas which result are not very easih forgotten but kept fresh and ready for future application. Perhaps this serious philosophy of education is what makes the Kenyon man a giant in his own world. When he understands what a powerful and lasting thing education is at Kenyon, he can gaze at the ivv-covered towers and see more in them than external beauty. He can love Kenyon’s spires localise they have become impressive symbols of his achievement. nother principle the Kenyon man accepts — the first principle of the psycholo- gists«—is that man is a social animal. The intellectual and social worlds harmoniously combine at Kenyon. If a man is strong only within himself, if he does not understand society and appreciate the thoughts and ambitions of other men. all his learning comes t nought. We have heard many “intellectuals and less-than-intellectuals cry out against fra- ternities in American colleges on the grounds that they are exclusive cliques, “intoler- ant'' of outsiders. Kenyon's fraternities are not secluded circles of friends, but groups with equal respect for one another. Fraternity and non-fraternity men alike are cordi- ally welcomed at any Kenyon social function. Ostensibly Kenyon's social organizations provide a convenient framework for all the social activities of the college. In addition, they provide the physical conditions under which much of the understanding of humanity discussed above is effected, hraternities on the Hill are valuable and mature. Bv studying and living in such a society as Kenyon offers, the student gains an abiding strength. Here triviality and immaturity are discouraged bv circumstance. The Kenyon man can hardly Ik less than a serious individual when he lives in an intelligent world. A Kenyon party is an unusual thing. After Jack has worked hard, he is willing to play just as vigorously. hen a group of Kenyon men gather together for relaxation, the wit. s(»ngs. and good humor combine to make a unique and extremely pleasant rest from toil. And the Kenyon man participates enthusiastically in the extra-curricular ac- tivities of the college which apjK-al to his tastes and sensibilities. There is no demand at Kenyon, nor hardly the |x ssibilitv. to be a doer-of-all. If the Kenyon man attempted such a feat, he would encounter so much conqx'tition from the talented men who participate in one or two activities that he would soon be discouraged. He does not become a general tiX

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In all ways, selection and guidance are the primary functions of a college faculty and administration. To Ik great a college must first select its scholars with prudence. Kenyon selects carefully. Mow can a college staff have its students study all that has been designed or written? The Kenyon faculty is unusually competent in taking the grain and letting the chaff lie still. The Kenyon man will then make his own selections. By this freedom he will Ik prepared to state his opinions with surety and finesse. } T i HAVE TALKED IX THEORETICAL TERMS of the Kenyon man’s phi- losophy. The validty of the theory will be proved by its daily ojicration in Kenyon life. Now it is time to examine some of the facts. Perhaps the first fact to remember is a small college. It is only classified as “small ’ because of the tremendous expansion of other colleges and universities in the last two decades. In the beginning Kenyon was a college, without any restrictive adjective. Today Kenyon is not much larger than it was fifty years ago. It has maintained a steady per- sonality. By carefully limiting the expansion of the college, Kenyon’s administrators have put into practice the famous dictum of Alexander Pope — “The proper study of mankind is mail. 'I'he Kenyon man can see his theory working every day for lu can freely discuss with the faculty or any of his fellow students the meaning or value of any thought which may enter his mind. The Kenyon family is small enough in numbers to make the college a friendly place, and great enough in mind to give its scholars an intelligent understanding of humanity. Although comparatively small in numbers, the Kenyon family is by race, religion, and varied ex|K rience, a heterogenous group. Kenyon’s faculty and students come from all sections of the United States and from many foreign countries. 'I'he Kenyon man is privileged to live and study in a place where so many external societies are represented. His views will be modified by the views of those around him and they will gain a kind of universality in the process. From the day he begins his college career, the Kenyon man is continually faced with ini| ortant situations. 'I'he problems which he discusses in and outside the classroom con- cern basic principles of humanity, education, and life in the world today. Xo driving force is necessary at Kenyon to keep its scholars thinking. With his fiery intellectual curiosity, the Kenyon man is kept alert bv his own volition. The Kenyon man is ready to talk after testing a mathematical formula, learning a principle of economics, or reading a line of poetry. He will decide the meaning of such particular segments as things in the whole of T‘8f fi

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handyman, but an expert in certain lines. The Kenyon man has a sound understanding of extra-curricular activity, which is unusual when compared to the general conception in American colleges and universities. Some may remember the article a Kenyon student wrote in 1949 which was pub lislied in the “New York Herald-Tribune. It expressed with great veracity and wit the intelligent outlook which the Kenyon man takes toward collegiate sjiorts. He d«»c not consider them serious ends in themselves. The ideal philosophy of ’ii matters not whether you win or lose, but how you play the game is really practiced by Kenyon ath letes. Kenyon men do not play sports for glory or personal prestige. In three year's ex perience on the Hill, we have found that when a Kenyon man wore his varsity letter sweater on the campus, it was a cool day. T X GENERAL, THE KENYON MAX is conservative in philosophy. He dresses. A talks, and thinks conservatively. After thorough test and examination, the Kenyon man usually agrees with the great writers and thinkers of the past, lie has learned to proceed with caution and to keep always in mind the original verities of thought and behavior which have withstood the tests of time and experience. 1 le is tolerant of and frequently agrees with — those who understand and admire modern art or music, but In- is slow to accept rash. new. world-shattering theories or discoveries, which are arrived at implusivelv. One can almost judge the success of a college by the number of hallowed traditions which it maintains. Kenyon has many, and they are kept alive through the years by students who are satisfied with their education and have grown to love their alma mater. They do not desire to change these rituals for future generations, lest the future genera- tions Ik denied the same full experience which their predecessors enjoyed. The Kenyon man is humble, lie realizes the wisdom of social as well as intellectual humility. In academic life, and in private conversations with his friends, the Kenyon man is cautious in stating his opinions, careful that they are correct according to his un derstanding: and he states them frankly but with humility, lie is intelligent enough to understand that his opinions can hardly be correct for all times and under all circum stances. As an important corrolary of his humility, the Kenyon man believes that there is somewhere a being greater than himself: lie believes in (iod. Of all the external circumstances which influence the Kenyon man and make him what he is, perhaps the free, independent atmosphere at Kenyon is the most important. Before a young man comes to Kenyon lie is rather closely guided by his parents, a head master, or both. W hen he arrives at Kenyon he may be a little surprised to find that In- is now, possibly for the first time in his life, almost completely on his own. By his own discretion the Kenyon mail must decide how and when to work and play, when to get up in the morning and when to go to bed at night. If he passes the test of independence and fulfills the high achievements exjiected of him. he will one day become a Kenyon gradu ate like the men we salute today. A college is the sum of its people. It suc- ceeds or fails to the extent that its citizens succeed or fail. Kenyon is successful for the men it produces. Hie Class of 1954 warmly congratulates the Class of 1953. You have faithfully up- held the standards of Kenyon. May this book Ik a stimulus to your memory of four fruitful years at Kenyon College. D.L.L.