Peace College - Lotus Yearbook (Raleigh, NC)

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mi -«; ■ FRAZIER TALKS In INTERVIEW WITH LOTUS LOTUS: The society of today has become a hard and fast moving one to keep up with. How do you believe Peace prepares her girls to face this often demanding society? Frazier: We are definitely living in a fast moving, rapidly changing society, and this fact of change presents what may be higher education ' s most acute challenge. To tell the truth, we simply do not know what will be needed to meet the chal- lenges of tomorrow, for we have little idea of what tomorrow ' s society will be like. I suppose, then, that one needs to acquire the attributes of flexibility and adaptability more than anything else — and the desire to continue learning the rest of one ' s life. Students say that the academic pace at Peace has quickened. If this is the case, it would make sense that this would help prepare you to meet the demands of the future. And at the same time, the assurance and serenity that can come from a rea- soned and vital faith in God, in oneself, and in your fellow men will help us live in tomorrow ' s world. We believe this strongly, and I sincerely hope that Peace can make some contribution to the development of such a faith. LOTUS: There is at pres- ent a strong trend toward co-educational schools, so much so that all-boy schools or all-girl schools are rapidly being pushed into the background. How does Peace plan to cope with this problem? Frazier: I am well aware •fW ilLlXk.

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BBSss ams a xissii ' of this trend, which some people think has reached epidemic proportions. It is interesting to note, howev- er, that this movement has achieved its present momentum only since 1965. And what happened in 1965? The number of high school graduates in the U.S. began to level off and many colleges found themselves with a declin- ing volume of applica- tions! This was especially true of those schools which were located in iso- lated geographical areas. I personally believe that many of the decisions to become co-educational were motivated more by geography than by a quest for academic excellence. Many of us still believe that women can get a bet- ter education when she is not intimidated in the classroom and relegated to second-class citizenship outside the classroom by the more aggressive male. This is what happens in every co-educational col- lege. And as every Peace girl knows, here in Raleigh we are not isolated from the masculine world. I will not say that there are no advantages in attending college with males. But I believe the disadvantages outweigh the advantages. Let me give you an example which may be significant. I am told that about ten years ago a survey was conducted in Greensboro to determine the alma maters of women who were serving as presidents of major women ' s organizations in that town. And what do you think they found? That every single presi- dent had attended a woman ' s college! I believe this tells us something about the experiences in leadership which you can have in a woman ' s college but which would never be possible in a co-educational school. LOTUS: We hear so much about the Peace Girl Image , yet today ' s youth stresses individuali- ty. Do you think with this stress on individuality, girls can still be shaped into the Peace image? If so, why or how? Frazier: I do not know what or where you hear about this image . Per- sonally, I do not have an image of what every Peace girl should be like, but I do have some ideas about scholarship, ladyhood, good manners, gentility, respect for others, and similar matters. And I would hate to think that I did not. If good manners, self respect, and respect for our neighbor ever go out of style, then I want to turn in my card as a member of the human race! It may be that we tend to confuse bizarre behav- ior with individuality, but there is really no connec- tion between the two. Ev- ery college worth its salt encourages creativity and individuality, but it also encourages harmonious living, self discipline, re- spect for other human beings, appreciation of the good and the beautiful, kindness — and we could go on and on. Our task is to seek a balance between individuality and other traits which are equally important. At least that is what we are trying to do at Peace.