Phillips Academy - Pot Pourri Yearbook (Andover, MA)

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l 1 - Ll Society of Inquiry FRONT ROW: Coolidge. J. Bishop, M. Lazo, Dailey, President, Ryan, lhde, Bassick. BACK Row: D, Anderson, Kerrigan, West, B. Bishop, Blake. fl 4 Circle A FRONT BOW: Stenberg, Cohen, Bassick, Kerrigan, Coolidge and Reid, Presidentsg Sussler, E. Wil- liams, Kingery. NLIDDLE Row: Rosenthal, Quaintance, Baldwin, Schulte, Connick, Ross, Dale, Cherry, Maslin. BMX ROW: F. Thomas, Van Cleve. Dulin, Pollard, Sharpe, Levitan, Berkstresser. K27l

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261 Society of Inquiry President L, C, Dalley Treasurer J, J, Ryan, III According to an early record of Phil- lips Academy of October 7, 1833, a members of the student body met for purpose of forming an organization object of which was to inquire into moral state of the world. This was few the the the the beginning of the Society of Inquiry of Phillips Academy. This organization has had one hundred twelve years of interest- ing history, and it has shown itself able to adjust to the changing interests and needs of the commu.nity and of the edu- cational world at large. Realizing that religion touches almost every aspect of our personal and social life, students today are apt to reject any interpretation of religion that is narrow and limited and that is unrelated to the important fields of man's thought and ex- perience. The recent program of the Society of Inquiry has been built around the effort to understand the forces in the society of which we are a part, to develop an intelligent philosophy with which to deal with these forces, and to encourage the school as a whole to support organi- zations and causes that are attempting to raise the level of inanls intellectual, social, and spiritual life. With this in mind, each fall the Society of Inquiry conducts among the student body a campaign for funds that will be given to worth-while organizations and institutions. This year, under the leader- ship of Lawrence Dalley, President of the Society, and of John Ryan, Treasurer, a most successful fund-raising campaign was carried out on the evening before the Exeter football game. A goal of 33700 had been setg and when all the pledges were in that evening, a total of S4600 had been promised. Much of this money goes to such organizations as the National War Fund, the American Red Cross, Hampton Institute, the Grenfell Mission in Labrador, the World Student Service Fund, the American Friends Service Com- mission, the Calhoun School in Alabama, and some fifteen or twenty other organi- zations carrying on educational or philan- thropic work. On Sunday, February 18, the Society of Inquiry sponsored another all-day con- ference, to bring before the student body aspects of some of the major problems confronting the country and the world. Guest speakers were Dr. Thomas Jones, President of Fisk University and an out- standing Negro educator, and Mr. Spencer 1 P PRESIDENT DALLEY . . . 5'Yea, brethren

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281 Miller. In the morning session of the con- ference Dr. Jones opened the discussion of governmental control of economic activi- ties, the question of socialism in the United States, with an ensuing consider- ation of the decline of the theory of indi- vidual rights. International diplomacy was also discussed at length. In the afternoon session, the conference members considered Negro rights in America, and solutions to the problem of maintaining world peace. The Society of Inquiry hoped by this conference at least to acquaint students with qualified opinions on matters of such grave import. As a further stimulus to thought and discussion among Academy students and the people of the community, the society this year sponsored a lecture series. During the Winter term a mixed audience of stu- dents and townspeople heard such speakers as: Mrs. Paul Robeson, who spoke on the topic, MAS I See America , 'ML Paul Lin, on Wllhe Impact of the War on Chinawg Dr. Marc Slonirn, on HRussia and the United Statesw, and lVIr. lVIbonu Ojike, on uFrom African Village to American Uni- versity. The final talk of the series was A I r . . . a serious business . . . T z e 1 45 tgs ings? J Nttfiul, -, Lf-11 - Q . . U M igj 1 gtgfisit , T' 1 x ,iii nf! A if if? 5 5113- 127 K .K 'K if '1' ., A '..s Tig -f S, . cuicy. u , S bc, , cct, u given by William Stevenson of the board of trustees, in the absence of Dean Wicks of Princeton. Mr. Stevenson spoke on the activities of the Red Cross overseas. The talks, entitled 4'East and West Lecturesf' had as their purpose the development of a better understanding of other peoples and other countries. Outside of the program outlined above, the Society of Inquiry welcomed in its traditional way all new boys coming to Phillips Academy at the beginning of the year. On the first Sunday afternoon of the fall term, a reception was held at which uprepsn were invited to meet the Head- master in the Social Room of the Com- mons. On that same evening an informal meeting was held at George Washington Hall at which leaders of student extra- curricular activities and members of the Student Council spoke concerning many aspects of undergraduate life. The year's program of the Society of Inquiry has left this organization stronger in its influence upon student affairs than it has been for many years. The outlook for future success is bright. A. G. BALDWIN