Vanderbilt University - Commodore Yearbook (Nashville, TN)

Page 13 text:

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Page 15 text:

FOREWORD For years, the COMMODORE has been what one might call a traditional Southern college yearbook, and Vanderbilt has been, likewise, perhaps a tra- ditional Southern college: conservative, more or less tranquil, often leisurely. But now Vanderbilt can no longer remain the small but good Southern college, when today the need is for great universi- ties, because Knowledge today has grown bigger than Hell. And so we have change: all of us are aware of this, .we have seen the new buildings, heard the new plans, indeed, witnessed significant changes in our own institutions, in only four years. And while all this seems necessary, some of it is almost sad, especially since we don't lcnow exactly where we are going. The COMMODORE too has decided to change: we must if we are to record what is happening. But we hope to keep much of what has been best in previous yearboolcs: we intend to exercise good taste, we shall not become elaborate and gaudy. Nevertheless, we must be honest, and to be that, we must become sometimes serious, and often sar- castic. In short, we plan to give you the truth, in plain American which dogs and cats can read. All progress is not good, but a large amount of progress, very fast, presently appears desirable. However, the change that follows assumes a variety of forms. For the first time in half a cen- tury, social fraternities, those remnants of nine- teenth century romanticism, have been to some extent challenged at Vanderbilt, the old literary societies, someone pointed out, have grown into an animal of another type. Where ideals of ritual and brotherhood have decayed, new standards of bacchanalianism and suavity have become en- trenched. Tllis has caused quite a bit of thought, and some speculation.