St Anselm College - Anselmian Yearbook (Manchester, NH)

Page 52 text:

Neophyte sages and humble enthusiasum . . l 0 hllosoph Club ease Society Although relatively unpublici- zed, the activities of the Peace Society have been so consistent as to rank it among the more energetic student or- ganizationsg by serving chiefly as a. discussion group and seeking their so- lution in Christian morality and ethics. As an indication of its stature in intercollegiate circles, the Peace Society this year served as host to the fifteenth annual convention of the New England Catholic Students Peace Federation. A solution sought in Christian morality . . . One of the several organizations to be founded during the evolution of our class was the Philosophy Club, a product of the humble but energetic enthusiasm of Mr. Joseph McDonald, assistant pro- fessor of philosophy. Operating in an air of calm contem- plation and employing the keen white light of objectivity, neophyte sages and philosophers examined human thought in general and Catholic Doctrine in Christian Philosophy in particular. Far from standing apart from the stream of college life, this group has dedicated itself in great part to the gen- eral welfare of the student body. With a working nucleus of no more than a half-dozen members, this group is an example of a highly efficient extra-cur- ricular activity which needed no large membership for its success. Much cred- it is due of course to the unstinting and selfless efforts of its moderator. In sponsoring a series of philoso- phical smokers, at which current prob- lems and trends in modern thought were explained by informed speakers, and in the arrangement of a number of inter- departmental symposia, which outlined the definite relation of philosophy to all phases of human endeavor, the Philoso- phy Club has rendered an invaluable service to the intellectual side of extra- curricular education.

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.sharing Club No serious attempt to organize a college debating team at St. Anselm's was made until 1949, when Father Bede Maras and Mr. John Lynch undertook the task. Prior to this time, there existed only the Panel Discussion Group, which while restricted solely to intra-mural de- bate, served a valuable purpose in providing experience for its members until the new unit was formed. Progress of the Debating Society was slow, but purposefully so. By following a policy which stressed careful training and preparation in lieu of quantity of engagements, advance- ment was steady. Thus it was inevitable that these painstaking efforts should reach fruition as they have in 1951, the most successful and gratifying year in the Society's existence. The entry of two teams of Anselmians in the N.F.C.C.S. Regional Debating Tournnment at Providence, with their subsequent fine show- ing, signalled a long first step in a series of de- bates with colleges throughout New England, the net result being the establishment of St. St. A Orators - on a pai' witb the best . . . Anselm orators on a par with the best. A trial period finished, a promising future. Careful training and a long first Step. . . 47

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A metamorphosis and a professional touch bhey a ers Lower right: Early's Kimber . . . with Pender, a vet- eran team . . . In two years, dramatics have un- dergone a metamorphosis. From '47 to '49 the old disorganized society func- tioned, but only sporadically. In the Fall of '49 the group adopted its new name together with the experienced di- rectorship of Fr. Thomas Flaherty, and Mr. Edward Comiskey. Since then, the reputation of the players as dramatists with the professional touch, has spread throughout New England. Five seniors Ambi Pender, Bill Early, Dick Manning, Jack Petit, and John McNamara have bean. with the group since freshman days and did much in laying the new groundwork. Early and Pender have especially distinguished themselves as a veteran team by appear'- ing in every pruduction,from Career Angel through Shadow aml Substance, Room Service, George Wfashington Slept Here, to Dark Victory. They also ap- peared in productions of Mount St. Mary and Rivier Colleges which in- cluded: Barrets of Wimpole Street, Mur- der in a Nunnery, Ont of Wfinzl and Rain, jenny Kissed Me and Little Foxes. Outstanding characterizations were Pender's Canon Skcrrit fShadowJ and Doctor Steele CVictoryJ and Early,s Mr. Kimber fG. Washington, and Horace Giddens CI-ioxesj. With our class, the last memories of Brother Petroc will fade never to return again to haunt the Abbey Players. Fading memories of Brother Petroc . . .