University of Southern California - El Rodeo Yearbook (Los Angeles, CA)

Page 14 text:

Alma mater By JOHN OLIVER W1LsON, 'fos 'Mid storied lands our college stands, 'Mid scenes oft traced in dreaming, Wliere golden sands with golden fruit And golden grain are teeming, But ne 'er a spot though seeming fair, On mountain shore or lea, In keeping has such memories as The halls of U. S. C. We dwell 'neath ever sunny skies, 'Mid flowers ever springing, Where pleasing verdure never dies, And birds are always singing. 'Mid whispers of eternal seas, That ever shall endure- Oh, U. S. C. our love for thee Unehanging is and sure. Oh, dear old school, thy classrooms are To us new worlds revealing, Thy rallying times have sent new life Into our being stealing, Thy ties have bound us each to each, And brightened all our days, And life means more, a boundless store Since we have trod thy ways. And when the restless, hopeful years To other scenes shall woo us, And joys and struggles of these days Are but a memory to us, Amid life's disappointing cares, Our hearts will turn to thee, And for thy sake fresh courage take, Our own dear U. S. C. I2

Page 13 text:

li Ihr Chreatvri niuvraiig Some forty years ago the Great Provider planted an acorn. The years passed and a tiny oak blindly reached upward. The storms came and the winds blew, but through it all the tree struggled on. It grew and grew and the weak sapling of the days gone by developed into a mighty tree. And today the Creator sees tl1e ideal, wrapped up in the heart of the acorn, realized. In 1879 the original deed of the University of Southern California was executed, and the following year saw the University incorporated. It was a very small beginning. Those who were the real forces in this movement fer higher learning in the South dreamed of a Greater University. Many times during the early years it seemed as though the idea must be abandoned. But, inspired by the idea of a Greater University, the men who had founded it remained true to their trust. The University began to grow, its field was broadened, its faculty was enlarged. Ten years ago, President Bovard ex- pressed in words the ideal that had inspired the men of the days gone by and the phrase, The Greater University, was coined. The ten years have passed rapidly. Each year has seen the University one step nearer her ideal. Today she stands with two thousand five hundred students, a faculty numbering over two hundred and fifty, and a graduate department of two hundred and more- the center of higher learning in the South. Today, nine colleges are included in the phrase, The Greater University. University extension work has begun and the municipality at large is feeling the direct influence of her power. To- day she stands. the Great University of the South, realizing the ideal of her founders. Today U. S. C.'s leaders are preparing themselves to be worthy leaders of the Greater University which is rising before us-a realization of the ideal that has been developing during the thirty-four years of her growth.

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