Wesleyan University - Olla Podrida Yearbook (Middletown, CT)

Page 10 text:

.JRR f-- K architecture will be I 4 a constant delight through the ensuing years. The buildings to come as outlined by President Shanklin conceive a University that will be remark- ably handsome. Pro- visions for the erec- tion of the Labora- tory for the depart- ment 'of Chemistry .have been made, and the building will be ready for use inside of two years. The realization of a new Library, a College Union, and a third . modern Dormitory is only a matter of time, and what is now termed the Greater Wesleyan is' rapidly becoming a reality. Great praise is due to President Shanklin for his untiring efforts in this di- rection, and truly, every Wesleyan man feels that the University owes the present state of progress almost entirely to his efficient and remarkable leadership. . Is it no wonder that Wesleyan First is being thought of in a new sense? Can we make Wesleyan Hrst among the smaller colleges of the East? Yes, on one condition. It is the old story of the struggle between the old and the new. At present Wesleyan is in a period of transition. There are still a few men of the college of old that are satisfied and do not Wish to see any new developments. There are still a few undergraduates that are narrow-in the extreme, and who retard the growth of the University. But on the other hand, the majority of the men now entering Wesleyan are of . THE NEW CHAPEL ,.,-- 1918L

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Wesleyan lj 1rst TLSLLYAN First VVhether you 'ue an alumnus or an undei gifiduate what does this signify to you Does it merely mean that we shall endeavor to keep the spirit of the University a unit, or does it imply a broader conception? Does it simply imply that we shall be loyal to VVesleyan first, and to our fraternities second, or is there a greater meaning hidden within these two words? To a great many of us Wesleyan First means something larger and broader than any efforts to do away with the selfishness on the parts of any fraternity groups. Wesleyan First means a Greater VVesleyan, a VVesleyan that will be a leader among colleges, a standard of excellence that is to be looked up to by others. There is a college with many handsome graystone buildings that lacks only college spirit to make it the greatest of small colleges. There are in- stitutions with ordinary athletic teams, others with less renowned facul- ties, others with mediocre equipment, but which are all striving for pre- eminence among themselves. I-n Wesleyan there is embodied a remarkable University. It is re- markable in its splendid faculty composed of men of national reputationg it is remarkable in its undergraduate spiritg it is remarkable in its new buildings that are rapidly transforming the once old fashioned institution into a University that is a University in all that the word implies. Wesleyan spirit has been remarkable during the past year. There are few colleges in the land that are free from political troubles, fraternity feeling, and cliques, but Wesleyan has every reason to be proud that there has been less of this narrowness during the past year than perhaps ever before. The undergraduates should feel gratified that the spirit of judging a man has at last been placed on a system of merit, and that group feeling has been thrown to the winds. Wesleyan has just reason to be proud of the many buildings erected in recent years. The Van Vleck Observatory has opened a department that is filling a long felt want, and the building is fitted with all possible equipment that could be utilized in the department of Astronomy. The new Dormitory for underclassmen recently completed is a worthy corner- stone to the second quadrangle, and the equipment of the building is all that could be desired. The handsome new Chapel with its perfect Gothic . 1' 1 '. L. . I .- ' C 9 ' . . .. 1 . . . S 1918 1

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,J GER, , A I 15 .fl THE NEW DORMITORY the newer school. They are men that are building the college of the future. Wesleyan does not cater to the man of narrow principles, Wesleyan does not wish to turn out men who waste four years in anything but college Work, and further, Wesleyan does not desire to turn out grinds. ' ' What Wesleyan is doing at present is' trying to train picked men. The University does not want a man who only burns midnight oil, grinding out his work for the love of the marks aloneg men of merely athletic prowess are not desiredg men who think Wesleyan is a preparation for the ministry are not desired. What VVesleyan wants is the broadminded man who trains himself for further efforts in the business world 3 who during his four years in college does not restrict himself entirely to studies, or to athletics alone, or merely to social activities, but who is capable of ,engaging in all phases of undergraduate activities. . Is Wesleyan to become the first small college of the East? Is the remarkable undergraduate spirit to continue? Are the eiiorts of the past few years to be carried onward? They must be, and every Wesleyan man must do his share. The little old Methodist college is deadg-long live the newer Wesleyan. ' 1918