Reed College - Griffin Yearbook (Portland, OR)

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REED COLLEGE ANNUAL + 1915 late in the spring. Papers wer red dealing with the origins of tragedy, with the beginnings of comedy, with the Greek theater, and with modern recasts of Sophoclesl O'cdipus Tyrannus; a play of Aristophanes was red aloud and discust. At the end of this course of study the club put to the test its knoledge thus gaind by presenting a tragedy of Sophocles, and so completed the work of the first year. During this last year the club has made a brief survey of the facts about Greek and Roman society. At successiv meetings different members hav traced upper-clas Greek and Roman thru their lives. Their customs in matters of birth, nursing, pedagoging, marrying and buryinOt; their work and their play; their duties as citizens, in the agora and forum; their religins duties, as priests of their households; their dres and manners; their modes of social intercourse; their ideas regarding the position of women; these ar the salient points coverd in the second year's study. Again, putting to the trial the practical value of a theoretical course, the club gave a dinner in the style of the early Roman Empire. The members, all in tnnics and togas. reclined at 10 tables; they drank the helth of the poets, proposed by a pseudo-Maecenas, in grape-juice Falernian; listend to a Greek bard Chant Theocritus; watcht bnffoons and dancing girls, and feasted all the while on classic pabulum above reproach,-both mere food and Latin cone versation. And as at the banquet. so thruout the year, n'from eg to appleil work and play hav gone on wel together. FRENCH CLUB HE members of liAcadcsmic wer not, so far as any- one can recall, brought together by any dominant or earnest purpose, and to the present time there has l: $ been no constitution, by-laws, or other instrument to insure the perpetual existence of this body. There is no charter, no code of procedure; the election of offisers has never been cald to mind. Roberts' Rules of Order hav never been studied by IiAcadi'ml'eJ-and all the members may talk simultaneusly if they wish. In short, the one common tendency, and the one regular habit of the group is to support the rule, clzaczm faz't comme 1'! lm' plait. The business of llAcadcgmie has been to amuse itself with anything in French that makes an appeal. Readings and con- versation in a more or les pure form of Gallic diction ar prac- tist when the members come in session. Moliere has his ad- mirers among those of the members who ar inclined toward comedy, and consequently several of the meetings hav been devoted to selni-performances of the Bourgeois Gentilhonmir. The members say they wil do a great deal more presently, and possibly they may persist in their intentions. There wil soon be several complete sets of plans to cover the activities of l'Acadeiizic for several years to come. Accordingly the mem- bers, if their minds hold, wil sometime put several perform- ances of favorit French dramatic masterpieces before the pub- ,ffjrv-i w J .4351-

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1781 In the last semester of this year, literature again came to the fore. The specific fase of inquiry was the drama. Discussions and readings of von H-offmansthal and Schnitzler culminated in the presentation of two one-act plays on Thurs- day evening, March twenty-fifth. Schnitzlerts satire, Die Literatur, was playd in German, and von Hoffmansthalts tragedy, Beth and the F001, was given in translation. While the Deutsche Verein has had an intellectual aim for its prime purpose, it has by no means slighted the social. The German customs of Lieder singing and Kaffce drinking hav added to the plesure of the informal social hour after the program. They ar always regarded by the members as among the most delightful and distinctiv features of the Verein gatherings. CLASSICAL CLUB HE Classical Club was organized in the winter of 1913 by Dr. Rees and the twenty-flve students in the department. Their purpose was to gain some g of that 11knoledge by the way, of Greek and Roman life and letters which the work of the k9 clasroom does not giv. During the two years of its existence the club has met monthly; it has pland a regular course of study for each year and arranged as wel for two REED COLLEGE ANNUAL 4- 1915 lectures by outsiders. Dr. Wilson spoke at one of the regular meetings on Troy as a trade-route, and at another meeting Miss Mary Frances Isom gave an interesting account of her trip thru Greece. These talks wer, however, only interludes in the regular work of the club. During the first year attention centerd 0n the drama, since it had been decided to stage the Antigone ROMAN BANQUET 1915

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I801 REED lie. Meanwhile the meetings furnish abundant entertainment and occasional intelligible French conversation. BIOLOGY CLUB N THE spring of 1913 some of the men interested in biology formd the Biology Club. This began as a center of discussion for current biological prob- 8 lems, and the latest research relating to these prob- S lems. The meetings wer held every fortnight. At LWQ some of these meetings there wer lectures by ont- siders to which the college was invited. One interesting evening was given over to hearing Mr. W. L. Finley speak and seeing some of his bird pictures. Other meetings wer conducted by the members. In the folloing fall women wer admitted to the club and the meetings wer opend t0 the college public. Some general biological questions and certain tecnical ones wer discust by the members. Dr. C. F. Hodge spoke to the club concerning nature study for children, Dr. Ralph Matson, concerning tuber- culosis, Dr. C. S. White concerning public helth. The attend- ance was regular and considerable interest was manifested. During the current year the club has confined its discus- sion to the general subject of heredity. Lectures hav been given by Dr. Torrey and by members on varius aspects of the subject. COLLEGE ANNUAL -1- 1915 Altho none of the charter members wil be in college next year, the traditions of the club hav been wel establisht and handed down to the newer members. These traditions may be summarized: the dominant interest of the club is intellectual; the club is concernd only with the vital biological problems of the day; it meets regularly and never postpones its meetings; each member in his turn to address the club givs a thoughtful and carefully prepared paper. CHES CLUB RGANIZED ches playing was introduced into Reed s College in the fall of 1912 when a ches club was organized under the direction of Mr. XVood with Qj Lloyd Carrick and Roland Bristol as president and secretary. Except for occasional games among the members, little playing was done until the fall of 1914. At that time Lowell Bradford was elected turnament manager and conducted a three months' ranking turnament in which thirty men participated. The playing during the spring semester was supervised by Walter Carl as president and Horace Miller as secretary-tresurer. Two turnainents wer held; one was a percentage turnament won by Mr. Carl, and the other a challenge turnament with the Acacia Club of Portland. With enthusiasm stil high, ches bids fair to become permanently a favorit indoor game at Reed.