|>AGE TWO
MAROON AND GOLD
Wednesday, January 11, igsg
Maroon And Gold
Entered as second class matter at the
Post Office at ^lon College, N. C. under
the Act of March 8. 1879. Delivered by
mail, $1.50 the college year, 50c the
quarter.
Edited and printed by students of Elon
College. Published bi-weekly during the
college year under the auspices of the
Board of Publication.
EDITORIAL BOARD
Gary Thompson Editor-ln-Chiel
Ann Stoddard Assistant Editor
Charlie Oates Feature Editor
Gary Thompson Feature Editor
Judith Chadwick Music Editor
Neil Johnson Art Editor
Reuben A.skew .... Staff Photographer
Luther N. Byrd Faculty Advisor
BUSINESS BOARD
Jack Lindley Business Manager
Ann Stoddard . .. Circulation Manager
Carl E. Owen Printing Advisor
Worden Updyke Press Operator
SPORTS STAFF
Bill Walker Sports Editor
KF.PORTERS
Whitney Bradham George Hall
Doris Chrismon John McGowan
Walter Edmonds Margaret Stafford
John Fuquay Girleta Vestal
Yvonne Winsted Dot Perkins
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 11, 1956
THE YEAR OF 1955
It is time to take a backward look at
1955 and figure what kind of a year it was.
It was, above all, a year of prosperity for
everybody and everything—from the com
mon man to the common cold.
The nation earned its highest income
in history, and loan offices did a land of
fice business. Times were so good that
inmates of an Alabama prison shop even
began making their own money.
The price of pork fell, and every group
ate higher on the hog except the farmers
who raised the pork—and maybe the Re
publican Party.
It was a year in which it became possible
to win $100,000 on a television quiz con
test. and a fellow who bought a new Cadil
lac met the jeer, "What is the matter
Btuppid. couldn’t you answer the $64,000
question?”
It was a year in which the booming
organ voice of Sir Winston Churchill was
^tilled in retireitient. leaving a world still
ttirred with mighty echoes.
It was a year in which a new author,
Harry S. Truman, made his first real bid
for the Nobel literary prize.
It was a year in which, as Hal Boyle
stated. "Santa Claus met formidable com
petition in philanthropy," Santa took care
of you and me, and the Ford Foundation
took care of Elon.
It was a year in which parents learned
why Johnny can't read, but nobody took
the trouble to discover just how many
parents themselves still remember how to
read.
It was the year in which Russian leaders
graduated with honors from the Geneva
charm school, then forgot their lessons and
\^ent right on back to acting like Russians
agam.
It was a year when man finally localized
his major wars down to riots, rebellions
and revolutions, but Mother Nature ran
wild with floods, hurricanes, droughts and
tornadoes.
It was a year in which Kotre Dame lost
a football game and the New York Yank
ees lost a WoVld Series.
It Was a year In which Elon will long
remember because of it's record enroll
ment and building program.
All in all. 1955 has been quite a year,
one with less fear and more prosperity and
laughs than we have known for a long
time. — G.B T.
A PHILOSOPHY OF LIFE
Developing a philosophy of life offers no
choice between the two alternatives of de-
\ eloping a philosophy of life and not de
veloping a philosophy of life. The choice is
between planning, directing, and control
ling your philosophy and letting the pro-
ce.ss take its own course without a con
scious effort at direction. As you think of
these two alternatives, the problem will be
clarified if some thought is given again
t(p the nature of philosophy
As explained in "Successful Adjustment
In College ". a person's philosophy is his
outlook upon the world, his interpretation
of the meaning of the world In which he
lives and his relationship to It. This out
look is determined by his beliefs, attitudes,
and understandings. Now the question that
needs to be answered is whether It is
belter to have these beliefs, attitudes, and
understandings develop without any effort
to control and direct them or to consciously
and purposefully strive to make the be
liefs you hold free from bias and prejudice,
the attitudes you have justified by criti
cal analyses, and your understandings sup
ported by fact. As everyone is entitled to
the
quidnunc
By GARY THOMPSON
AI.KEADY UNDER ROOF IS NEW GIRL’S DORMITORY
IT'S NO DISGRACE
TO BE AVERAGE
A FRIEND WAS TELLING ME the other
day about a talk he had last spring with
the head of a preparatory school which his
Fon was attending. The young man, who
was about to graduate, wanted to go to
one of the East’s old and distinguished "Big
Three ’ universities. But the headmaster
immediately discouraged the idea.
"If I were you." he said to my friend.
"I wouldn’t even think of it. You must
remember that Bill is just an average stud
ent,"
This advice put me in mind of some re
marks by Dr. Phillip Weltner. president of
Oglethorpe University at Atlanta. Georgia.
He once said that he deplored the tendency
of large universities to place a premium on
precollege grades and to accept only bril
liant students and engage in a spirited com
petition for them.
SMALL COLLEGES, he maintained,
have the opportunity ’’to make a powerful
contribution to the democratic ideal and
principle by training, for good citizenship
the average students.”
I feel Dr, Weltner has a sound idea there.
And if, as he says, some universities ac
cept only the scholastically brilliant and
compete for them, I fail to see that the
practice is any more admirable than that
lof other larger universities which compete
for the most brilliant athletes. In either
case, it seems to me, the emphasis is en
the school’s reputation rather than on the
student's education.
Take the case of my friend’s son Bill.
He’s a nice boy and a bright boy, a young
man with a variety of interests. While at
preparatory school he worked on the school
paper, built sets for school plays and did
a lot of other time-consuming things
which, though extra-curricular in the nar
row sense, were all part of the school
program. They cut into his study time, and
his grades suffered. So he’s tagged as "just
an average student."
It’s hard to see that the tag is any dis
grace, even though it automatically ex
cluded Bill from the college of his first
choice. After all, the great bulk of college
students are just average students, just
as the great bulk of men are average men.
And I’m inclined to go along with Frank
lin P. Adams’ once expresed opinion that
the average man is above the average. IF
A COLLEGE NEGLECTS OR IGNORES
ITS AVERAGE STUDENTS, IT IS NE
GLECTING A NUMEROUS AND HIGHLY
IMPORTANT GROUP OF PEOPLE. Sta
tistics show that this average group may
very well include many who are better
rounded people than the academic upper
crust,
I realize that a lot of colleges and uni
versities are crowded, and that they do
not have the funds for necessary expansion,
facts which may mean that they must be
somewhat exclusive for physical as well
as. academic reasons, I also realize that there
are many institutions, of higher learning
where straight A s are not an entrance re
quirement. and we still go along with Ogle
thorpe’s president In deploring the prem
ium on pre-college grades.
An undergraduate school, if it is to serve
its best purpose, should be neither a trade
school nor a sort of scholastic paradise
where only the elite among the grade-
makers may enter. It should, like any other
school, be a place of revelation and de
velopment. And it should, theoretically,
welcome the average studeW who comes,
as Dr. Weltner describes him. "with no
standards, no philosophy of life.” It’s a col
lege’s job to help give him these things.
As a matter of fact, it appears that in
many cases the so-called "average stud-
ents” become the graduates of whom the
college or university may be most proud.
In all too many cases the top honor stud
ents. many of whom have devoted so much
rtme to study as to lack a well-rounded de
velopment. find themselves unable to com
bat the stark realities of life.
More times than not, it is the "average
student" who goes out Into life, well ad
justed to his fellow man. and becomes the
truly successful person. From such may
come the phikanthropists of tomorrow,
the alumni who are financially able to
contribute to the support of his Alma Mater.
Then, at least, Alma Mater will be proud
ot that ’ average student ” who was too
busy with campus affairs to bother with
making honor grades.
fyyrrfg*'
With construction movmg ahead rapidly, the roof was completed before
Virginia Hall, the new girls’ dormitory, wlych stand just north of ^^est Dormitory In
fact, the new girls' residence hall, upon completion, will be linked to t e es
each of the three floor levels. This building is to be completed under terms of the contract
1956 commencement late in May,
Building Program Tops Among ....
Outstanding Stories Of Elon Year
think for himselr and believe as he wishes,
so everyone is entitled to his own philos
ophy. But the soundness of one’s philos
ophy depends upon the soundess of the
thinking that goes into the process of de
veloping his philosophy. G.B.T.
(Continued From Page One)
3. PRESIDENT SMITH’S ANNI
VERSARY — An important fig
ure in the new fund-raising effort
is Dr, Leon E, Smith himself, just
as he has been an important figure
in all of Elon’s progress since 1931.
He passed another milestone in
his long service to the college on
November 1st. when he began his
“Silver Anniversary Year’’ as
Elon's guiding administrator. His
1955 anniversary assumed more
than usual significance due to the
fact that he had requested the
Board of Trustees in mid-summer
for retirement during 1956 or
later, at the pleasure of the board
His request for retirement was
made in keeping with a trustee
ruling to set a definite age limit
for active faculty duty,
4. FORD FOUNDATION GRANT
—This story, telling of a grant to
Elon College of $125,700 for in
crease of faculty salaries, barely
^it the press in time to be classed
as one of the "Big Stories of 1955,”
In fact, the Maroon and Gold got
the "break ” on this grant just in
time to run a small lead story in
the recent Christmas issue, and
followup appears in this first issue
of 1956, However, ,'ince the g.ant
was made in 1955. the story must
be grouped in that year. As Dr.
Smith has pointed out. the effects
of the grant may not be felt for
some time, since the principal of
the fund must be invested and
begin yielding income before such
income can be used. .
5. HIGH SCHOOL DAY — No
event during the entire year
brought a larger crowd to the Elon
campus than did the sixth annual
"High School Day,” which was ob
served on Wednesday. 'February
16th. Although no new record?
we’re set for attendance, delega
tions were present from 68 high
?chools of North Carolina and Vir
ginia. with more than 1,400 Jiigh
school seniors and class sponsors
being guests for the day. Scholar
ships totalling $6,000 were awarded
in a contest held in connection
with the event. An all-day pro
gram was climaxed by the attend
ance of the youthful guests at a
varsity basketball game with Len
oir Rhyne that night.
«. ANNUAL CAMPUS ELEC
TION — There was interest oncc
more in the campus political cam-
laign during the spring quarter,
jnd several stories appeared as
'.he Maroon and Gold gave ample
coverage to the contests, which
were settled by the annual campus
balloting on Tuesday, April 19th.
At that time the students named
Furman Moseley, of Columbia,
S, C , as president of student gov
ernment. Each of the classes also
chosa officers at that time, and
members were named for the Stud
ent Council and Honor Council
7. ACTIVITIES OF ELON
CHOIR — As has been the case
‘or several years, the Elon Choir
came in for widespread attention
during 1955. Although there was
no northern tour last spring, the
student singers drew high praise
for their anuual Easter cantata, for
the commencement music and for
the twenty-third annual rendition
of Handel's "Messiah" during the
recent Christmas season. The Han
del oratorio was sung five times
during a tour of Eastern North
Carolina and Tidewater Virginia.
8 DRAMATIC ACTIVITIES —
I As always the case, the Elon Play
ers received much attention in
Maroon and Gold columns for their
student dramatic productions, and
a new high in campus interest was
reached when the Players began
work under a new director in Sep
tember and had a record-breaking
five-night stand with “Out of the
Frying Pan," Player shows of last
spring were Ibsen’s “An Enemy
of the People ” and Moliere's "The
Imaginary Invalid,”
8, COMMENCEMENT — The
graduation ot another large class
of seniors on Monday, May 30th,
climaxed a long weekend of com
mencement festivities. Always a
big feature of the college year, the
1955 commencement was marked
hy outstanding speakers, the award
□f honorary degrees, an enjoyable
commencement ball and the gath
ering of hundreds of alumni, all
of which received much attention
in the Maroon and Gold in May,
A second commencement at the
end of summer school in August
also came in for attention
9, MAY DAY t'ESTIVAL — As
always, the 1955 May Day Festival
was a big event of the year on
Elon's campus, and many towns
people and alumni gathered to
witness the pageant, which was
built around the beautiful theme
of Peter Pan, There were numer
ous comments from spectators that
jthe 1955 pageant was the most
I beautiful at Elon in many years,
10, ANNUAL HOMECOMING
.DAY — Top event of the autumn
I calendar on the campus, from the
I standpoint of student and alumni
interest and participation, was the
annual Homecoming Day observ
ance on the last weekend in Oc
tober, Getting underway with the
annual Homecoming Ball on Fri
day night, the event continued
through an all-day Saturday pro-
jgram and was climaxed by an Elon
1 victory over Western Carolina in
I a Conference football game.
NEAR ELON’S WEST GATE IS NEW DINING HALL
VM
' -A.'
Standing near the west gate of the campus is tne new McEwen Memorial DiniBg Hall most nearly
complete of the three structures that represented a big story in Elon's progress during 1955 The
dining hall was the first of three new buildings to be placed under roof, with construction advancing
to that stage before Thanksgiving, It was reported some weeks age that the dining hall may be readv
for use before the end of the college year.
Sounding
Off
By LARRY BARNES
The brightly ■ colored Christmas orna
ments have been packed and put away,
the football Bowl games are history, and
Saint Nicholas has retired to his cold lair
for another year. Normalcy reigns supreme
once more on the Elon campus as we look
forward to the birth of a new twelve
months. The pigskinners have returned to
their familiar haunts on the practice field.
Classrooms are again full of students, and
Comrade, the Veep, is working diligently
in the Student Government Office. The
Student Union is full of eager chattering
voices mixed with its trademark, rock 'n
roll music. As usual, Yogi is scurrying
across campus to find out what is happen
ing on the other side. Brer Luther is con
suming his usual ten Pepsis a day, and
Judy is receiving her two hot dogs in a
bucket. The only thing that is not typical
is Square having his own cigarettes.
Wake Forest — Demons or Deacons?
Dissatisfaction and effigy-burning closed
out the old year at Wake Forest College.
The students of Baptist Hollow and the
name of Wake Forest has been spread
over newspaper pages from coast to coast.
The furore began with the resignation of
the football coach, Tom Rogers, and the
athletic director, Pat Preston. All the mass
demonstrations and effigy burning spread
throughout colleges and universities of
the nation. Washington U,, San Jose State
and George Tech had their fling at it, so
Wake Forest is by no means unique in this
respect. It appears to be the latest fad in
the collegiate circle. However, Wake For
est's mass hysteria hit close to Elon and
the North State Conference,
It seems that many students were notice
ably disturbed by the "tossing in of the
towel” by the school officials previously
mentioned. Their resignations caused some
people to act before they thought clearly.
Athletic de-emphasis was their prime con
cern. They were quite sure it was on its
way in at Wake Forest, Many rumors spread
like a forest blaze across the historic in
stitutions grounds. There were many rea
sons that lead to the demonstrations in
front of the President’s home, but we are
primarily interested in one. The hearsay
to which I am referring deals with Wake
Forest’s supposed entrance into the realm
of the North State Conference, This was
extracted from the Wake Forest campus
weekly, Old Gold and Black, dated De
cember 12 of last year, “Another rumor
tnat went the rounds was that one which
said that Wake Forest was to join the
North State Conference, Some stories even
went so far as to say that College President
Harold W. Tribble had papers on iiis
desk that would put the college in that
league. This seems to be the main question
that was presented at the demonstration in
front of Dr, Tribble's home. Yet none of
those who voiced the question stopped to
consider whether or not the North State
Conference would even allow Wake Forest
to come into its circle. With its present
loster of athletics, Wake Forest would
probably take nearly every game in the
major sports in the North State league—
reason enough for the officials of that con
ference to keep Wake Forest out"
There was another item printed in an
extra edition of the above-mentioned paper
that was no so nearly complimentary (if the
quote I used is complimentary at all). It
impressed me as being very blunt and de
rogatory to the North State Conference,
Make Forest seemingly was placed on a
golden pedestal looking down upon the
plebeian beings of North Carolina's small
colelge group, I don’t think that we hold
them in the fearsome awe that they ap
pear to presume, I wonder what President
Tribble was thinking of as his effigy *as
burning in front of him?
Cleaning Out The Odds And Ends With
The New Year’s “Revolutions”
To the student body of Elon College — If
at all possible we may have a big name
band to visit our neighborhood. Tales are
cut that the Sfudei;t Legislature is attempt
ing or will have attempted to acquire either
Tommy and Jimmy Dorsey or Buddy Mor
row for a dance to be held in the spring.
If other colleges can do it, I'm sure that
we can.
To the English professors and majors—
During the year 1956, let us hope that
Christopher Marlowe is not proved con
clusively to be the author of William
Shakespeare’s works. Think of all the stud
ents who have long since graduated and
passed the English tests with the wrong
answers.
It is now time for me to close out this
column. I would like to draw my conclud
ing statement from TV's George Gobel.
even though I do not understand it. Any
way, I’ve got to “go, go, go, like Harriet
Beecher Stowe”.