Swarthmore College - Halcyon Yearbook (Swarthmore, PA)

Page 24 text:

THE miCYOi mn THE COT.r.EGE Page Sixteen

Page 23 text:

THE COLLEGE due to the Freshmen endeavoring to secure a class picture, and an equally strenuous en- deavor of the Sophomores to prevent it, has been abolished by the students themselves. Several other regulations made by the students indicate an increased responsibilit} ' on the part of the students and better organized student action, and show decided results for the beneht of all concerned. The more nearly a college community becomes a pure democracy, with teachers as older brothers and sisters of more experience and knowledge simply leading the way, the better it is for the students of the college. The 3 ' ear has witnessed the retirement, at his own request, of Isaac H. Clothier, as President of the Board of Managers, and the election to this position of Robert M. Janney. Isaac H. Clothier will remain on the Board and continue to give to it his in- valuable services. Robert M. Janney in recent years has been closely identified vi-ith all the work of the Board, under the leadership of Mr. Clothier, and Mr. Janney is to have the counsel and support of the former President in all that pertains to the welfare of the college. We have had several distinguished guests to speak at the college during the pres- ent year. Among them are the following: James Allen Baker, M.P., of London, Eng- land; Dr. James Alexander MacDonald, Editor of the Toronto Globe, Toronto, Canada; and Dr. David Starr Jordan, Chancellor of Stanford University, California. We have the promise of an address from John Wanamaker, of Philadelphia, at some time during the present year; and ex-President Taft has promised to deliver the Commencement address in June, 1915. The long list of publications and addresses by the faculty of Swarthmore shows the large, demand for their services by the general public, and a commendable growth and activity in research and scholastic achievement. A Committee of the Board has been appointed to secure plans for the building of the third and last section of Wharton Hall. Joseph Wharton left by bequest a sum of money to finish this building. If prices had not been higher than when the first section was built, and nothing had been deducted for an inheritance tax, the $50,000 left for this purpose would have been sufficient. As prices, however, are higher than when the second section was built, and as $5,000 was deducted from the total amount of the be- quest for inheritance tax, it became necessary to wait until the remaining sum had ac- cumulated sufficient interest to complete the building. Bids are now being secured, and if the funds are found to be adequate it is hoped to have the building completed in the fall of 1916. It vyas announced, last Commencement, that the college had received $63,000, the donor for the present being anonymous. This sum is to be used in the erection of a building. The Board has decided to erect a building for Physics and Engineering with this fund, and to place the Department of Zoology in the present Science building. It is hoped that the new building may be erected at an early date. The aim of Swarthmore is to make here a small college, limited to 500 students, of not more than 250 of either sex. It is the aim, by better equipment, better teachers, bet- ter prepared and selected students, to make here each year a better place for young- men and women to grow in knowledge and power. The highest conception of the col- lege is expressed in its motto, Mind the Light. This motto calls upon the students to be faithful, from this day forth to the end of time, to the highest conception of duty which their knowledge and experience and spiritual insight may reveal to them. It is their light which must illumine their path- way, which comes to them through every agency, human and divine, and which their footsteps would follow if they would gain the reward of the faithful sons and daugh- ters of men. That they may, in the province of God, be guided by this light in all the struggles of life, and that they may do their work in their own way, with joy in their hearts and songs on their lips, is the hope and prayer of their well-wisher. Page Fifteen

Page 25 text:

THE micros @F ISK THE COT.I EGE Founders ' Day, 1914 OUNDERS ' DAY fell on October Twenty- fourth ' . Unfor- tunately the day was rather cloudy ; but the weather at no time was sufficiently bad to interfere with the exercises. Hun- dreds of Alumni and friends of the College returned to cele- brate the Anniversary, and to the holiday array of students were added trainloads of enthusiastic visitors. The formal celebration began at one-thirty in the after- noon when the classes, led by the Seniors in caps and gowns, marched down the Asphaltum in a double line, and formed a hollow hexagon on the Campus. The column was headed by President Swam, Isaac Clothier, then President of the Board of Managers; Dr. MacDonald, editor of the Toronto Globe and speaker for the occasion ; and J. Allen Baker, Member of Parliament. One of the most interesting features of the procession was the string of Swarthmoreans-to- be following the undergraduates. It was composed of prospective students carrying pen- nants bearing numerals from ' 19 to ' 36, and included a number of little tots scarcely able to make their way alone between the lines of applauding spectators. When the forma- tion was complete, each class sang its song and gave its yell. A departure from custom was instituted this year by the introduction of the Founders ' Day song by the whole stu- dent body, words and music for which were written by Herbert L. Brown, ' 1 6. Shortly after the singing, the exercises were resumed in the out-of-doors auditorium. Isaac Clothier opened the meeting with an appropriate speech introducing Dr. MacDonald. The speaker is a large, powerfully-built orator with a voice eminently adapted to open- air lecturing. He based his address on the war, comparing the deplorable conditions in Europe with the peaceful relations existing between the neighboring nations in America. The theme of the oration was Peace, and as the great audience followed the carefully chosen words disclosing his intimate knowledge of American relations, it was easy to un- derstand why Dr. MacDonald was selected as chief executive of the World Peace Foun- dation. Mr. Baker succeeded the main speaker with a few remarks, and the meeting closed with Alma Mater. The crowd hastened to the gridiron, where the Garnet team defeated Ursinus, 7 to 0. The evening of Founders ' Day was devoted to a play in Collection Hall, a peace drama called In The Vanguard, by Katrina Trask. The cast was made up entirely of students selected after tryouts by the coach, Mrs. Lippincott. Although entirely too didactic for general presentation, it was so ably interpreted that the interest of the audience both in the personnel of the cast and the subject of the drama assured its success at Swarth- more. The plot depicts a young man torn between the old ideals of the warrior and the inore modern ideal of a hero of the durable. At, the outbreak of the war he enKsts, witnesses the horrors of war, and refuses to re-enlist, returning home to be shunned by his townsfolk. One of the few persons who remain faithful to him is a wealthy peace advo- cate who employs the youth to take charge of his affairs. The boy ' s sweetheart finally realizes the truth; they are united; and the play ends happily with the union of the lovers, and the horrors of war still lingering in the minds of the audience. Page Seventeen