Vassar College - Vassarion Yearbook (Poughkeepsie, NY)

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FOREWORD VERY college has its own personality, a well recognized but intangi- ble thing which cannot be caught and expressed in words. But the essential quality which helps to make this personality, the quintessence as one might say of a college, can give some introduction to a genuine acquaintance with it. In groping among all the familiar attributes of any college and among Vassar's idiosyncracies for the most vital characterization, we have settled upon the spirit of democracy. Despite the long waiting list, due to the number limit of a thousand, the conditions of life and the cus- toms at Vassar are ill adapted to cultivate any spirit of snobbishness. No one can have better accommodations or service by paying a higher price. All rooms, desirable and undesirable, are assigned by lot, or by order of ap- plication in the case of Freshmen, and all cost the same amount. This means that room-mates are chosen purely for congeniality, not for equality of income. No private motors or maids are permitted at Vassar. No select num- ber, moreover, can retreat to a luxurious club. There are no sororities, sec- ret societies or their equivalent. Nor is their lack felt. The only social club house is one for the employees of the college. The students cooperate enthusiastically in its support and in the entertainment of the maids there. For their own use the whole undergraduate body has recently been given a Student's Building with a large auditorium and committee rooms. Democracy signifies the sharing of responsibility as well as of privilege. Self government thru the Students Association, the policy of non-professional coaching in all athletics, dramatics, debating, and publications, and the committee system so widely in use, develop a high degree of initiative and accountability in the students. And the duties cannot all devolve upon a few, because Vassar enforces a point system, rating each non-academic activity and allow- ing no one girl to carry more than 10 points. These conditions of democracy, both planned and voluntary, are fos- tered by Vassar's more or less isolated situation in the country near but a small city. The girls are thrown upon their own resources largely for amuse- ment. And with its own farm and power plant, its own lakes for skating, and hills for picnics, Vassar is remarkably self-sufficing. So it has been able to preserve a natural camaraderie and a close knit community spirit. W