University of Texas Austin - Cactus Yearbook (Austin, TX)

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laithlullv, unsv In (lutv that 1u ' in. tinu STUDENT LIPE This excursion intn tlic liistory of the University has seemed necessary. The office of the President of tile riii ersit will exert a most powerful influence on itN futui-e. It ! - aid to be the most difficult position which American society can call upon a man to till. Here special and peculiar difficulties environ it. Stu- dent sentiment is colored by an iconoclastic tint that is probably a reflection of the influence of Mr. lirann. The prevalent democracv is so excessive in its demanil for freedom that it is often degraded into a specious populism that would destroy w here it can not convince by peaceful methods. A person in authority is, per- force, one who must be looked upon, if not with sus- picion, with much mental reservation. The lesson of loj-alty has yet to be completely mastered; the license of unwarranted and unjust criticism will soon be rele- g-ated, let us hope, to its proper limbo in the realm of politics, and cease to be invoked by those whom the public confidently look to for higher and nobler ideals. The real university must be a family life in which loyalty of each member to the whole shall be the divine inspiring breath. But while truth and candor comjiel us to admit that this spirit of loyalty is not yet in our midst in perfection, our recognition of the absence of the ideal shows that we have unconsciously set it before us. It is a lesson that will be good for us all to learn, from the President down to the humblest student, — it being understood that the faculty are included in the bodv to whom this recommendation is made. Who r i.a rt in th L - fan lih life that s . .f th ■ Vn vei sitv. In ..r u •posi and mi tual for- this ul ra-d ■moc rae V. falselv tails in this has no ck: should make single the a few years, through i bearance, we shall out called freedom. President David Starr Jordan, of Leland Stanford University, says : In the environment fittest for train- ing young men and women, there are three mighty ele- ments, — healthfulness, beauty, and freedom. When judged bv these standards the environment of our own student body is most fortunate. Few cities can boast of such entire freedom from epidemics, and the general health of all classes is far above the average. Austin is situated on the end of the plateau through which the Colorado breaks to spread out into the broad alluvial valley of the south. The river, the mountains, the lake (that was), the high prairies to the north and east, make it a location of exceptional natural beauty, especially when one comes to contrast it with the unbroken monot- ony of the plains of West Texas and the forests of the eastern portion of the State. The great granite capitol, whose bigness makes the city appear pigmy-like, stands guard to the south of the University —like a protecting husband keeping watch over his tender spouse. Other public buildings, the Blind Institute, the Deaf and Dumb Institute, the Insane Asylum, etc., add picturesqueness and interest to a city made beautiful by the gifts of nature. But, after all, it is the spirit of freedom, the eqalitv of merit, woven into the very organization of the University, that gives it a unique place among the col- leges of the South. A thousand young men and women meet daily in its classrooms, library, and college grounds on term of absolute freedom. The rich and the poor follow Socrates through the mazes of his dialectics; male and female sit together as disciples at the feet of

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lir ,1 ■ «« I f n ' l 1 ■ I EUSITY HALL

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AUDITORIUM