Oberlin College - Hi-O-Hi Yearbook (Oberlin, OH)

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Gherlin from the QButsiiJe Clymer ,md Sweeter manlier and womanlier lives than those who C C 5 wear the Oberlin colors. A A The Chzmo-Q in the physical conditions, even Within my memory, D has been vast, My first visit must have been in the early Spring of 18733 it was during the lifetime of President Einn6Y, and if WHS the only time I ever hadthe good fortune of meeting him. Even then the town was excessively plain, and the College buildings were as unattractive as brick and mortar can be made.- There was not a touch of the aesthetic about the premises, and as for the mud-I can best describe that by saying that I started with two horses and a buggy from Oberlin for Elyria at ten o'clock in the evening and reached my destination, eight miles away, at a quarter before one the next morning. The theology of Oberlin, which in those days was supposed to be Orthodox, could have given cogent reasons for believing in depths that are bottomless. . No remark of old Oberlinites now revisiting their Alma Mater is so hackneyed as the expression of their wonder as to what the men and women of sixty' or seventy years ago would say if they could return and behold the beauty and the glory of the town and College. The Oberlin Calendargwhich has been hanging in my office for the last four or five -years, gives evidence of the existence of a community in which the beautiful is neither depressed nor forced, and in which the finer arts are cultivated with intelligent enthusiasm. Inmusic, especially,-Oberlin has come to be known as one of the chief centers west of the Alleghanies. There are not many institutions in the land 'where so much serious attention is given to the higher forms of music. The festivals of the Oberlin Choral Union are events of importance in the musical world. The leadership of Oberlin in religion and philanthropy has long been recognized. It is interesting to note the phases through Wh' ' ' - . . . . wh fC11s10uS fhOugl1t has been passing in Oberlin since 1834. Three re - - - Q at leaders have stood forth as its representatives, Finney. Fairchild an ' - . . . 1 d Kmg- Each of them has made his own contribution to theological prggressg 16

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of College men in Ohio who are not graduates at Oberlin. And it may be supposed that our judgment of its character and work would be a little less partial than that of its own sons. If that is the sup- position, then I have to say that the testimony of these representa- tives of other Colleges, so far as I have heard it expressed, is sin- gularly cordial as regards Oberlin. I believe that Oberlin enjoys in a very high degree the good opinion of the educators, and the educated men of Ohio. All institutions, except the Deacon's One Hoss Shay have their weakest spots, and doubtless Oberlin, like every other College, is subject to criticism, but I am sure that there is no institution in the State for which one hears more hearty words spoken than for Oberlin College. The undergraduate constituency of Oberlin is of high quality. Most -of the students, of course, come from families of the middle class. Many of them are farmers' sons and daughters, and these are apt to, be earnest and hard-working students. But boys and girls who are brought up in homes where there are no books are at a great disadvantage when they are pursuing their studies g people who are reared in homes where there is some intellectual background are able to make a great deal more -of a College course. And a pretty large proportion of the Oberlin students are the children of minis- ters and other professional men, who have been accustomed, all their lives, to some degree of culture, and who are ready to make a large use of their opportunities. Educators from Eastern Colleges who have visited Oberlin have remarked to me upon the excellent material, from an intellectual point of view, which the University finds to work upon. I The morale of the College has always been high. The pater- nalism of former days, has, no doubt, been gradually and almost ,unconsciously relaxed, and some things are now allowed which would have scandalized the community iifty years ago. And it is altogether probable that in the large number of students now gath- ered about the Campus, cases of misconduct must frequently occur. Nevertheless I doubt if it would be .possible to find grouped any- where on this planet eighteen hundred young men and women living 15 Qbherlin tram the QBut5iiJe

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Finney appeared as the foe of the fatalism which was crippling the Calvinistic faith, and asserted human responsibility with a vigor and thoroughness that left nothing to be desiredd Few, if any, of our American theologians have done more to shatter that cast-iron dogmatism which practically said to men, in language that Finney was wont to quote, You can and you can't, You shall and you shan't, You will and you won't, You'll be damned if you do, And you'll be damned if you don't. Cf course this tremendous emphasis on the freedom of the human will was highly heretical, Oberlin has always been heret- ical. But it was spoken with a mighty conviction, which made the world listen and believe. Fairchild fcllowed with 'his breadth and calmness and sweet-' ness, bringing all theology under the ethical test, and making us sure that the judge of all the earth will do right. Some of us will never forget the help that was given to us by his quiet but un- flinching assertions of the righteousness of God against every im- plication of injustice. That, too, gave ground for suspicion in some quarters, there are always people who think it dangerousto be- lieve in a righteous God, but Dr. Fairchild's quiet' testimony did quite as much to ethicise theology as was done by any teacher of his time. . , And now we have the wise and brave leader who holds fast to the old faith while he brings in the new knowledge to illuminate it 3 who shows us how the ethics of the Christ and the discoveries of modern science can live together, each lending light to the other. No finer work in the way of reconciliation is being done in the country to-day than that for which we are indebted to President King. F I hope that the haste and inadequacy of this testimony, thrown together in the midst of my Lenten services-with two meetings 17 QBherIin from the Q9utsihe