Rowan College - Oak Yearbook (Glassboro, NJ)

Page 15 text:

A XATION MOVRIVS SENSELESS TRAGEDY The entire nation remained stunned and be- wildered three days after the terrible news. All through the country, time seemed to stand still. The unbelievable had happened. Every life in the nation was changed. Every heart was full, and every conscience troubled. A dark cloud fell over the land, leaving every American not merely stricken, but dishonored. But then the consequences had to be accepted. John F. Kennedy — buoyant, witty, confident and high-spirited — was gone. The ready grin, the broad A , and the reaching forefinger were gone also. The New Frontier was suddenly history. Less than three years before, when Mr. Ken- nedy was inaugurated, he admitted that his vision of a new America would not be achieved in the first 100 days . . . nor in the life of this Adminis- tration, nor even perhaps in our lifetime on this planet. But let us begin. He began. And, of course, we began again to live and work under a new President. The torpor of grief was cast off, for this is the nature of man, the nature of the American people, and the nature of the American political system. Tough and durable, it was built to survive the threats of a changing world and the demands of man ' s struggle with history. The flags now fly again at fullmast. The bands now play allegro, children laugh, and society moves on. Not because we have forgotten the grace and promise of a beloved President, but because, as he well understood, the capacity to triumph over ad- versity is the measure of man, and of a people. The world changes, governments topple, old issues are settled and new issues arise. To some changes the student responds, to others he is indifferent. Whatever his reaction, the events are creating the world he will enter, the problems he will face, and the society in which he will live. In the pages which follow all stands still— timeless, changeless, fixed. For a brief moment in time, it was his world.