Taylor University - Ilium / Gem Yearbook (Upland, IN)

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Ghe College ' Ghat Cares for the Soul Riches, high position, social prestige, and pohtical influence vie with one another to gain possession of the young person plunging into the adventure of life. In spite of these antagonistic influences which lie in ambush for him, the average youth is optimistic for the future as he ends his high school career and turns his face towards college. The average young person naturally steers his course to an institution where he can have his powers properly curbed and directed. To find a college which will train his mind and body is not difficult. Any person who is willing to work and sacrifice a little, can now receive a college education. When one comes to a finer discrimination, however, and marks the colleges and universities which could with truth bear the title, The College that Cares for the Soul, he discovers a lack of definite spiritual emphasis. I Among the colleges which place a premium upon spiritual things, Taylor ranks as one of the most spiritual. As an institution of higher learning, Taylor compares very favorably with the average college of her size. The most important feature of her role, nevertheless, is that Taylor sacri- fices no good thing on the altars of her spiritual life. The hour of prayer oc- cupies the tiriie often given to indolence ; the days of revival efliort and times of meditation for others merely replace the time spent in frivolity in the average college. Intramural athletics at Taylor give the students a safe and healthful means of physical development. i Should a college which is modern in its curriculum, and safe and sane in every respect, be condemned for teaching and fostering in its halls the very pillars of belief which have been the Gibraltars on which our civilization has so mar- velously prospered ? To the contrary, Taylor is more than ever before in the . cynosure of public approval because of her definite spiritual emphasis. A cross- (, sectional view of her life on an ordinary day will be sufficient to convince the iLiliiJ most skeptical person that there is something really worthwhile in Taylor ' s stand- ard of spirituality. The joy, the peace, and the contentment which are in evi- dence in the lives of her students make vivid the fact that Taylor is The College that Cares for the Soul. Page Seventeen

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ISaylor University and Tier Predecessor In comparing the Taylor University of today with her predecessor, the Fort Wavne Methodist Episcopal College, one becomes interested in the very early history of our Alma Alater. Thus, it is our purpose to give a short sketch of its early history in order to gain a deeper love for Taylor and a keener appreciation of her progress through the years. In the year 1846 the Fort ' ayne Female College was organized by the Indiana Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church. However, the school did not remain in this condition of single blessedness for many years. In 18?2 it united with the Collegiate Institute of the same place and became the Fort |i ilj Wayne Methodist Episcopal College, a co-educational college. In 1890 it passed under the control of the National Association of Local Preachers of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and its name was changed to Taylor University. The college was named for the first missionary bishop of Africa, one of the greatest mission- aries of modern times. Bishop William Taylor. After personal visitation and ,, | .| examination into the character and work of the university, Bishop Taylor gave it ' ' his hearty endorsement, prayed for it every day, and assisted it by his influence and means. It found a place in his great heart because of its spirituality and its missionary enthusiasm. Among items of interest in the life of Taylor ' s predecessor, the organization of the Philalethean and Thalonian literary societies is of great importance. The Thalonian Society was organized in 1850 by a group of eight young men. In 1853 the society was reorganized to include the gentler sex, and since that time I ! M the Thalonians have been an outstanding and progressive group. The Philalethean Society was not organized until the spring of 1878. Its organization was deemed necessary because of the increase in the enrollment of the institution. Thus the Lovers of Truth began their stable history. The name of Sammy Morris is so intimately connected with the history of . ; the institution during this period that this synopsis would not be complete without mention of him. The black boy with a life dominated by the principle of Truth in God left an influence in the minds and hearts of his classmates and upon the college as a whole, that never shall be removed. His communion and fellowship with his Father was so intimate and sweet that his life was a veritable benedic- tion. Thus He being dead, yet speaketh , and his work is now going on in Taylor University and throughout the whole world. Page Nineteen