Montana State University Bozeman - Montanan Yearbook (Bozeman, MT)

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ALFRED ATKINSON President Montana State College k THE economic life in prospect, during the years just ahead, will call for many trained people, and it is a pleasure to extend greetings to those who are being equipped to undertake the important responsibilities which are to be met under these conditions. More and more the unthinking work of the world is being done by machines, and the finest opportunities are for those who are trained to consider problems fully, in order to reach sound conclusions and find right solutions. Modern conditions require dispassionate consideration of problems, in place of prejudice and tradition. The young people now in college are to be congratulated that they have recognized the opportunities afforded, and are fitting themselves with a sound foundation of information and right intellectual habits. For the trained person, with correct habits ot industry, the years ahead promise much. Twenty-one

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MELVIN A. BRANNON Chancellor University of Montana (CORDIAL greetings to the editors and readers of the 1931 Montanan. Your J annual has a function that is unique. It is similar to the public service performed bv the Town Crier in the age antecedent to printing. It is the only voice that announces outstanding achievements in the social, cultural, and athletic events of the current year to the members and friends of collegiate communities. Society today is critically examining the service and worth of education. Insistently and repeatedly the question is asked. “What does education do for a person, and is it worth what it costs?” It is the opportunity and responsibility of the 1931 Montanan to assist in giving a convincing answer to this query which is common in market-place and press. A seer has proposed to measure an “educated person” by five characteristics: “(a) Correct and precise use of the mother tongue, (b) refined and gentle manners which are the expression of fixed habit and action, (c) the power of reflection, (d) the power of growth, and (e) the power to do.” Permit me to express the hope that the 1931 Montanan will affirmatively witness that the collegians at Montana State College possess the five characteristics which I have quoted in this greeting. Twenty

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J. M. HAMILTON Dean of Men A student at Montana State College may he graduated with honors and never have participated in any of the activities offered by the institution outside of the class rooms and the laboratories. Such a student never will have experienced the inspiration that comes from contact with a public audience, nor the thrill of winning a contest. Leadership grows out of successful competition, and the skill acquired on an athletic or a judging team, in holding the attention of an audience in a debate or the leading part in a drama, may be the determining factor in the successful performance of a task after college days are over. Leadership in a fraternity or any other group of students is a sure indication of future leadership in business or professional life. Herbert Spencer, the great English philosopher, said that education is a preparation for living, but John Dewey, America’s outstanding educator, went a step further and declared that education is life itself. Of all the opportunities offered by a collge, the student activities are most nearly real life. T wenty-two