Morningside College - Sioux Yearbook (Sioux City, IA)

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1915 SIOUX Efmhitinn CF rom the Viewpoint of a Seniorj Perhaps there are institutions of learn- ing where iconoclastic methods are need- ed to rid them of a host of useless tradi- tions and customs, which inhibit individ- ualism and preclude progress. However, Morningside is not of these. The icono- clast is not wanted here. Traditions are necessary to the modern College and Morningside lacks traditions. It will be recalled that the more con- servative statesmen of 1787 recognized the danger that this government, drunk with its newly gotten power and latent democracy, might run to excess unless checks could be placed upon it. And so a system of checks was devised,-of the Nation upon the States, of the Senate up- on the House, of the President upon Con- gress, of the Senate upon the President, of the Judiciary upon the l..egislature,-- all for the purpose of restraining when feeling should run high or action become ill-advised. That they have aided ma- terially in keeping the Ship of State upon the general course mapped out for it by the men of '87 is, of course, not open to dispute. It was the first of these checks which held the Union together in 1832 and which should have done so again in l860. The second prevented the dis- grace of a conviction' after the impeach- ment of a President in '6S. So the re- peated application of each of them could be noted in the attempts to maintain the character and dignity of this new world experiment in democracy. Tradition, when strengthened by the accumulated prestige of years, is as potent as law, civil' or natural. It restrains the hand of wild excess. It lays down prin- ciples of moral and aesthetic action im- possible for the State to call law and impolitic for the institution to call rule. It is not so much the nature of the regu- lation which hurts, it is the character of the power that imposes it. The stamp acts of I765 and l89S were little differ- ent, but the former was levied by a for- eign power and caused rebellion, while the latter was levied by ourselves and was not opposed. Thus, if the State should say that every student who is ap- prehended in the act of making a path across his campus should. be expelled from his College the law would be thrown out by the courts. If the administration of the institution should make such a regulation the students would rebel. But if the students themselves make such a rule tradition, and back it up with con- sistent action, it will be obeyed and hon- ored. A rule providing for the expul- sion of all students found cheating at ex- aminations would hardly come within the purview of State legislation, nor would it be politic for the school to put such a statement in its catalogue, but the stu- dents, through tradition, can make it as imprudent for anyone to cheat at exam- inations as to make a bold robbery on the open street at high noon. But tradition is not only a potent de- terrant from riotous acts, it is equipollent as an incitant of that vague something called College Spirit. Who has not been inspired to deeper, truer, nobler ac- tion by the recital of the traditions of his family, of his country, yes, and of his school? The custom that a holiday be granted after any notable victory, be it forensic or athletic, is an illustration in point. The reiteration of the College records, songs, yells, foolishness, on such occasions increase the pleasure of going to school, and because of that, if for no other reason, they are beneficial. The MORNINGSIDE Seurnfren

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Slmtccn .....i......L.....-- comes the leaves will fall, but trunk and limb remain to welcome the master trans- former Chlorophyll, each recurring springtime. The College student there will find special emphasis placed on those simple lines of study marked out by the trunk line of the years. The great store- house of history will be opened to him and his view of events will not be con- fused by speculative theorizing or super- hcial splitting of the subject into drawfish and freakish electives. The language in which he speaks will become manifold in its meaning when he has found and feels its relation to that in which Homer wrote and Cicero spoke. The season's Best Seller will find no place in an estimate of literature. The stars will become familiar in constant Constellations rather than by the midnight presence of a stray comet. Euclid will prove to be a true friend to him. He will be taught to walk and talk with Plato and Kant, how to find 'much 1915 SIOUX good in Herbert Spencer and Dr. Huxley, and will leave posterity to pass judgment on, or forget, Bernard Shaw. His year of Science will be chosen for its own sake and not for future credits at the Univer- sity, His College course then will be unlike: The Angels of Wind and of Fire, who Chant only one hymn and expire, The appeal to save him from the Frivolous incidental in study applies equally to the atmosphere and associations of the four years. His athletic ability will be culti- vated with a view of keeping him out of mischief, but a more earnest attempt will be made to discover his Aesthetic nature. A number will suffice for his room, but he will be known by name in the class room. Tuition has a right to claim a larger share of the students' expenses than any demand of superficial social extrava- gance. Closer to the ideal than any other College will be MORNINGSIDE. flllnrniiigaiilv from ai ill E1Il1P1',H Svtanhpuint The most important question, we as fathers, ask of the College of today, is what kind of a boy or girl has your Col- lege training made of them? As a father who has watched carefully the progress of his sons through College, I have become convinced that this ques- tion is all there is to consider or to look into. I have little concern for his Latin, Mathematics, or the balance of his Col- lege curriculum, whether it is good or bad. If bad, there remains plenty of time to correct it fas occasion demandsj. But my sons' or daughters' moral training can- not be so treated. If not looked after at this time fwhile in Collegej ,then the Phychological time is surely past. This is llie time and this is the place that it must be done. It matters not whether it has MORNINGSIDE been done before or not. The question I would more seriously consider than all others, would be, Wliat College will give my boy 'or girl the best moral training. And when this question was decidecl that is the College they would most likely attend. To express my thought in a few words, it would be this: If I am sure that my child's moral training is right, I am willing to take all chances on his Latin, Mathematics, etc., or shorter yet, the Col- lege that sends my boy or girl home a Christian, is the one I prefer to send them to. A young man's or girl's moral training very correctly indicates to me more than all things else, the sort of a life of future usefulness his will be.

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- 1915 SIOUX student body should refuse to give over the tradition that classes be called off and College spirit be allowed to bubble over for a few hours when a considerable victory has been gained. During the pres- ent school year one such circumstance has occurred-the immediate raison d'elrc was the winning of the triangular debate -when the Faculty refused to grant the request of the students for the usual holi- day, and when the students, took by force what they had been refused upon request. Probably no one event during the school year has resulted so satisfactorily from the standpoint of College spirit. But there were individuals who looked with disfavor upon that action! Morn- ingside has no place for the iconoclast! flllnrningaihr CAs a Senior Sees It., It is becoming more and more evident that the time has come when the educated man is recognized as a leader in the va- rious activities of life. Because of this the courses of instruction now emphasize those subjects which will' best equip a man for his life work. The man or woman with a good sound education basis is given the preference in the keen compe- tition, for the survival of the fittest. At the present day there are many dif- ferent kinds of educational institutions aside from Liberal Arts, such as Profes- sional, Technical and Agriculture Schools where the finishing touches are given the student in the special branch of work to be followed. But the person who at- tends such a school is one who has defin- itely decided in his or her own mind with respect to the special line of work to be followed. And a certain amount of Col- lege work is required before one can enter many of these institutions. What concerns us most is the true value and place of the small Liberal Arts Col- lege with reference to the average man and woman of today. The vast number of such schools scattered throughout our great nation speaks for itself. But many times the question is asked, Cf what real value is the school where one merely ac- quires a small amount of knowledge on a large number of subjects, as compared to the already mentioned vocational schools where the student receives perfect training along one line. In attempting to give a brief answer to this question let us hrst glance at the average boy or girl who graduates from our High Schools and Preparatory Schools. The average age of these students is about I8 years. The greater majority have been dependent upon the home for support and guidance. Many also have far fetched, pre-conceived ideas along certain lines which are merely characteristic of youth. They are at that age where their entire life can be swung one way or the other by the environment within which they are placed. These High school graduates, as we see them, are full of life and vim ready to jump in and make good. Again, and in the great majority of cases, they have no idea of what to prepare for as they are at an irresponsible age and have given practic- ally no thought to their life work. So it is for this class of boys and girls that the Lib- eral Arts College of today means so much. The general College course is peculiarly adapted to the training of these youthful characteristics. The curriculum which is composed of a variety of subjects, has a broadening effect upon the student, in that a certain amount of knowledge is gained MORNINGSIDE Eighteen