Mount Vernon Seminary - Cupola Yearbook (Washington, DC)

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EDITORIAL HERE is scarcely a girl. I suppose, who has not embarked upon the great adventure of going to boarding school without a more or less clear idea of the mischievous fun she is going to have. Every girl has, at one time or another, eagerly followed the escapades of some beautiful heroine of fiction, and firmly resolved that she will be just such a lovable young rogue when the fatal day of incar- ceration at last arrives. In some institutions, perhaps, the students do live the life of tabled abandon, but at M. V. S. such is not the case. Any attempts made to tread the primrose path of dalliance are viewed here with high disfavor, and life for the courageous offender becomes so miserable in countless little ways that the game seems hardly worth the candle. There is more fun within the law at M. V. S. than outside it. and vastly more freedom. This is not a conventional opinion, but is an honest Conviction formed after seven years of boarding school, a good many of which were spent on the wrong side of the fence in the dense shade of disapproval cast by the powers that be and were. However, we agree with even the most lax of students that school, just plain, unadulterated school, with nothing to break the monotony, becomes, in a short time, the deadliest of bores. It is not the pursuit of learning that makes life in a boarding school possible and even delight - ful despite the omnipotence and omnipresence of the Hand Rook and a marking committee. It is the extra-curriculum activities in which one becomes engaged that makes one agree, although silently, with the time- worn phrase of the aged and experienced Olympians: “School days arc the happiest, my dear.” It is the plays, the athletics, the student publica- tions that supplement and enrich the dawn to dusk struggle for wisdom and knowledge, and it is the measure of one ' s success in these undertak- ings that determine one’s importance in the group. One of the most interesting and time-demanding phases of these activities is the student publications. “The Cupola” is the only one of which M. V. S. boasts at present, but so rapidly has it grown during its four short years of ink and paper existence that the future seems prom- iseful of greater things. “The Cupola is a review of the year touching briefly the high points in the dramatic, artistic, social, and athletic activities which occupy so fully our time from October to May. 7

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TABLE OF CONTENTS Pictures of Chapel Editorial ' Calendar 9 Faculty 10 Cupola Staff 1- Senior Class 14 Junior Class 34 White Class 36 Yellow Class 38 Literature 41 School Events 77 Dramatics 87 Athletics 97 Clubs 109 Art 121 Jokes 125 Student Body 132 Advertisements 137 6

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A year book may or may not be of great value and credit to a school. The thing that assures it success, and without which it cannot long continue, is the interested and united backing of the entire school. It is your book, and on you, individually, its success or failure depends. If you put a girl on the staff because she is pretty or because she is popular, when you know her ability in this sort of work is nil; if you elect a staff, and then forget them and their work until the finished volume is in your hands; if, in other words, you do not take a vital, active interest in the book that may be just as much yours as you care to make it — then you will be forcing the publication of a poor book which will eventually lead to a failure. While it is true that not every- one can write even student articles, vet there is not one who is unable to contribute in at least a small wav. “The Cupola endeavors to reproduce as nearly as possible the spirit of the school, and, as you are the school, you add or detract, as the case may be, to what, after fifty years, we so justly acclaim, as the “Spirit of M. V. S. And so we appeal to you for your interest, if for nothing more, in “The Cupola of the future. This is the least and yet, in a sense, the greatest way in which you may aid in making it the book you desire it to be. It has been the object of the present board to make this year’s “Cupola not only a success, but a success founded on the broad and lasting basis of general interest. In omitting the dedication this year, we have desired to establish no precedent but merely to leave the matter an open question for each succeeding board to decide as they may think best. If the three previous volumes have been more or less introductory, we feel that with this one the character of “The Cupola” has actually begun to take shape, and, as it passes from our hands to yours, it bears with it our affection and interest born of time and effort spent in its behalf, and the fond hope that you will, in the future, correct its mis- takes, improve on its achievements, and make of it a thing of real interest and value to M. V. S. Alice V. Campbell, Editor-in-Chief.