Virginia Commonwealth University - Cobblestone Wigwam Yearbook (Richmond, VA)

Page 13 text:

Of course, that path winds through many strange places, and In the warmth of a spring afternoon when Inspiration becomes stifled within the con- fines of four walls, it se ems to naturally lead In the direction of Monroe Park. Here the elm tree, spreading like the chestnut of the village smithy, becomes a canopy under whose boughs are fash- ioned concepts In tempera and pastel. This is all part of the Informal outlook decreeing that the only coercion necessary for achievement is an Imagina- tion responsible to a well-disciplined conscience. Manageable realities? Faculty adviser, Mrs. Jane Vogeley counsels a student in her academic program. The realm of actual experience! A practice teacher can learn too. But that imagination requires a solid practical back- ing before It is ready to become a well-developed faculty of the professional Individual. Frequently the pursuit of this backing takes the student out of his lecture room and into the realm of actual ex- perience, where he comes face to face with situa- tions he will meet after college. Drama students gain professional poise in the Black Hills Passion Play. This practical work furnishes not only a keen Insight on the subject at hand, but also yields much In the way of personal revelation. For as he applies what he has learned In the classroom he also comes to evaluate his own capabilities and define some of his human nature. It is also through this contact with the practical that he gains a humble confidence In the ability nurtured through training, and adds to that already established sense of professional direction, a professional poise. T n r ■ ■ • ' »

Page 12 text:

•. .r.t, f. T. f ' f • • ■ • « mm . 1 A harmony of purpose characterized by an RPI orchestra rehearsal. RECIPE FOR A STUDENT: Into a classroom with thirty chairs and a couple of blackboards, add thirty unseasoned minds, then with one good instructor, slowly stir in a cupful of ideas. The results: Probably not discernible immediately, or even in a year, or two, or twenty, but an undeniable change has been effected. Perhaps part of that change will be a harmony of purpose, drawn from the tones of individual endeavor. That harmony is an evident characteristic of the RPI student with his appreciation for imagi- native activity. That harmony manifests itself in the way he organ- izes these thoughts and ideas into manageable realities, and in his attitude toward an education where each subject Is more than just a class and more than just three credits necessary for a degree. Rather, each is a new experience designed to nudge his intellect a little farther along the path of knowledge. An Art class follows its inspiration to Monroe Park

Page 14 text:

,v - . ' V- i : ;« -S ,«t ' 0- Woven around the are threads . . . The imagination of true creativeness blended with a firm grounding in the practical aspects of a profession provide but half the sum of education. Only the finished fabric is visible, for woven around the warp are threads of a much more complex and less easily defined nature. This is the intangible; a subtle agent which plays such a vital role in the materializa- tion of dreams and the development of ideas. of a much more i nplex .ily defined natu It Is composed of all the little things, and a few big things too, that the RPI student puts his hand to or comes in con- tact with during his education- al lifetime. As strange as these things appear, and as un- related as they seem to the fundamentals of college life, they are, nevertheless, impor- tant elements in conditioning of spirit and development of the brighter side of human- kindness. iJ JSJ:J J 10