St Olaf College - Viking Yearbook (Northfield, MN)

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N.- Rf 'xv-. g, -- .,..v-:F ..g A7-A, fLL.,.,. -7 , .- .,.x,s .. - N.,-CK ,F - St. Olaf College a Christian College By PRES. 1. N. KILDAHL. T. OLAF COLLEGE is a church school. It is the college of the United Lutheran Church. Why does the church maintain a col- 45, lege? Because the church believes in Christian education. What is the work of a Christian college? It is, of course, in many respects the same as that of any other college. Its work, i of course, must be college work. But, as logicians would express it, the term Christian college is wider in intention than the term college, because a Christian college has all the characteristics of a college, plus those characteristics which make it a Christian college. And what are the characteristics of a Chris- tian college? Or, in other words, what work must be done in a college in addition to general college work in order that it may be termed a Christian college? The special Work of a Christian college is to impart Christian knowledge, to inculcate Christian doctrine and Christian principles, to teach Christian morals and to in- fluence the students to lead Christian lives. This is what St. Olaf College is trying to do. It ought to be the aim of a college to develop symmetrically the whole man, and thus to produce the highest and most nearly perfect type of manhood and womanhood. The highest and most nearly perfect type of manhood and woman- hood is that which most resembles Christ. But this type of manhood and woman- hood can be obtained only by a thorough knowledge and constant practice of the Christian religion. It is evident that the college which neglects to develop the religious and spir- itual life of its students does not develop the whole man, and does not aim at pro- ducing the highest and most perfect type of manhood and womanhood. The ed- ucation which students of such a college get is very defective. And not only is de- velopment of the most important part of man neglected at a non-Christian college, but even the knowledge which is imparted at such an institution is very one-sided. The students of such a college study the works of Xenophon, Caesar, Goethe, Shakespeare, Longfellow, and Ibsen, but they do not study the greatest and most Wonderful book that has ever been published. They learn to know who Charle- magne and Henry VIII were, but they learn nothing about Moses and Paul, the two men who have influenced the world by far more than any other two men. They are instructed in regard to the relation between mind and body, but they are taught nothing as to the relation between man and God. The non-Christian college cannot give the best and most adequate education. ,. ,..-- 12

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.1- N X -Sl - 1 , -ci. -5f ' 1' -3,-3:f.- T '-,ye U Mff.:2-f A --ll-.- Y:-f-,,-f-- agar, . . J Z: The man who, under God, had guided the destiny of St. Olaf College during :,,b E? the first twenty-five years of its existence was President Mohn. Few realize how much we owe to this man. Let future generations of St. Olaf Alumni try to re- alize their indebtedness to him who gave his life work to the upbuilding of the Christian college. I-Ie laid the foundation, and whatever St. Olaf is or ever will become must rest upon that. Besides what has been mentioned he prepared for the future expansion of the college by adding forty-seven acres to the campus, most of which he secured privately and afterwards deeded over to St. Olaf Col- lege. A new era of expansion began with the year 1899. The undergraduate stud- ents of the United Church Seminary were to be transferred to St. Olaf. This meant an immediate increase of about 2oo students, and to accommodate these the Boys' Dormitory was erected in 19oo. In this year the presidentls residence was also built. Then followed the Steensland Library in 1902, costing approximately SI3,000, which was given by Consul Halle Steensland, of Madison, Wisconsiii. In IQO5 the central heating plant was built. The next year saw the completion of the Hoyme Memorial Chapel, erected by the United Church in memory of its first pres- ident, Rev. Gjermund I-Ioyme, mainly through the efforts of our late lamented vice president, the Rev. Nils J. Ellestad. i . In 1907 the St. Olaf I-Iospital was built under the auspices of the St. Olaf As- sociation. A substantial barn was the next building. Then came the Finseth band stand, and last but not least, came the Mohn I-Iall, named in honor of the first president of St. Olaf College. This outward expansion has been accompanied by a corresponding expansion in other lines. The number of students has increased more than tenfold, and the number of teachers in proportion. The curriculum has developed new courses, and added new departments to the different courses from time to time. The li- brary has grown to Io,ooo volumes. Three laboratories for the teaching of sci- ence have been equipped. Independent student activities have been fostered in various directions. The students have taken a leading part in oratorical contests and intercollegiate debates. The St. Olaf College Band has gained an enviable rep- utation. Athletic sports have been cultivated. Society work lias prospered. Re- ligious organizations are making their influence felt in the uttermost parts of the earth. The banner of St. Olaf still floats, and on it are inscribed the words which President Mohn selected for inscription on the official seal of the College, the old battle cry of King Olaf: Pram, Pram, Cristmenn, Crossmenn! 11 X - ,1

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.f '?' '-if X -Qsfi?-'i1I,5.':'-E.c7-ily? V if , ,,.. J .--T- ff.:c1?'- '.LJ:', Qiif'-.75 .J 4. For such an education we have to look to the Christian college. But not only is instruction in the Christian religion eliminated from the non- Christian colleges, but in many of them anti-Christian ideas are inculcated and the students are taught to look upon the Bible as a book which cannot be trusted. It is simply impossible to teach some of the subjects offered at a college Without touching on matters pertaining to our attitude to the Bible. It is often taken for granted and spoken of as an admitted fact that science and the Bible do not agree. You cannot, of course, expect that a student in all cases should be able to discriminate between mere hypotheses and facts, and stud- ents who are not especially interested in religion do not, as a rule, know much about what the Bible really does say. They hear and read all the time that modern science has done away with the old belief in the Bible. And they take it for granted that it is so. They do not stop to consider that scientific theories held a hundred years ago are ridiculed by scientists of to-day, and that theories held to be true to-day will be proved untenable a hundred years hence. It is the privilege of the Christian college to show its students that there is no conflict between religion and science, but that the most beautiful harmony exists between the two. In an address delivered two years ago at the North Dakota University Mr. I. I. Hill said : - I have a warm spot in my heart for the Christian colleges. It is a serious matter to send your boy to college, and many a young man comes back a skeptic, not because he has learned too much, but because he has learned too little. You may tind out many things by your laboratories and investigations, but when We come to spiritual things we are limited to revelation. Because St. Olaf College is of the same opinion it tries not only to help its students to read the Book of Nature but also the Good Old Book containing God's revelation, and it tries to show its students that the two books are by the same au- thor. 13 2- 1. ,SSC ..,-,vQ-Ei- 'E-T 75 lf .- fi