Paae 4
THE CHARLOTTE COLLEGIAN
February 18, 1955
FRESHMAN PROBLEMS
(Continued from page 1)
one is obtained only through the
initiative and ambition of the in
dividual. Many of us are able to
accomplish almost any given task
if we are willing to adapt ourselves
to the requirements of this ac
complishment. What better founda
tion could there be than that of a
self-gained education? The knowl
edge and experience acquired
through one’s own efforts will
definitely be a reliable source for
the more demanding and challeng
ing prospects that life may hold.
College Students and the Military
Service
National policies and the world
situation have made this the hard
est period in recent years for col
lege or draft age males in the
United States. They find it harder
to make decisions concerning their
future education, for they do not
know whether they will be attend
ing a history lecture tomorrow or
making history in a distant coun
try. Even if each of these students
finishes school, where does he go
from there? Should the individual
start into his chosen field, only to
be drafted soon afterwards ? Should
he enlist just to get his service
over with? I shall try to point out
some possible answers on the sub
ject as I discuss some of the
approaches to the problems.
First, this college age male can
find an inviting ROTC (Reserve
Officers Training Corps) program
in almost any school he would like
to enter. This program is indeed
attractive because it offers a short
cut to the higher ranks in the
service. This program states that
its graduates will be commissioned
officers in some branch of service.
“Our graduates will have excellent
pay, quarters, and will be ‘leaders
of men’.”
The people who make those
statements neglect to tell the pros
pective officers what the attitudes
of most service personnel toward
them will be. They will forget to
say that there is a tendency among
enlisted men to look on such an
officer as a "book taught” soldier.
There will he a reluctance on the
part of the enlisted men to follow
an ROTC officer. Even their su
perior officers may feel jealousy
or contempt for the schoolroom
officers. In any case, the ROTC
officer will have to prove himself
to both his superiors and subordi
nates before he is accepted as a
leader. The fact that a reserve
officer is a soldier for life is also
a drawback to this course of ac
tion.
What happens if the student
does not finish the ROTC course
for some reason, and he is drafted ?
I say that that person will be very
unhappy. He will feel that his two
or three years training should make
him a little better than the average
recruit. This is not so; he will pull
KP when his time comes. Guard
duty will never pass him by be
cause he was once training to be
an officer. However, his ROTC
training will not be competely over
looked. His superior officers will
look to him for a certain amount
of leadership in the enlisted ranks,
but they will show no special
privileges for any leadership he
might produce. This man will be
come one of the bitterest of
soldiers, and he will resent his
service completely.
The third, and possibly best,
course of action is entrance into
the service immediately upon
graduation from high school. Any
one who follows this course will
have no worries of an interrupted
college education if he decides to
go to college. He will be better
able to evaluate his aims in life
and will go to college with a clear
idea of what he wants from life.
He will go to college with educa
tional, not social aims, and will
make a better college student be
cause of this purpose.
Is College Worth While?
The most disheartening thing
about college life is the monotony
of the daily routine. In my case it
is necessary to arise at seven each
morning in order to arrive at work
on time. This is particularly hard
to do after an evening of hard
study. The lack of sleep becomes
more pronounced as the week pro
gresses. Remember how the hy
giene teacher in high school em
phasized the necessity of eight
hours of sleep? If she could see
me now!
My job entails sitting behind a
desk all day shoving papers from
one side to the other. The boss
throws a letter in front of me and
says, “Type that up to go out
right away.” A gentleman comes
in and asks if his car has come
in yet. Before an answer can be
given, the phone rings. The books
don’t seem to balance for some
reason. All of this on top of my
lack of sleep!
Time for school to begin. The
psychology professor begins and
immediately calls on me. “Mr.
Blank, would you give the class
your opinion on the proper train
ing for infants?” Remember? This
is supposed to be a snap course!
From psychology I go to social
science. This is an interesting sub
ject, but so hard to absorb. Now
I am sitting in English. I am
wondering why I didn’t try a little
harder in high school in order that
I might give a correct answer once
in a great while. This is my tough
subject; so I have to dig in and
really study.
Finally, I am back home once
again. After I eat and read the
paper, it is time to study. I have so
much homework to do and so little
time to do it in. None of it can be
saved for the daylight hours be
cause there is much work to do at
my place of employment. It is mid
night and my eyelids won’t stay
open another minute; so it is off
to bed I go.
There is always a constant strain
on my social life. The wife wants
to know why we can’t go to a movie
once in a while. The church has
just called and wants me to come
down and sing in the choir Sunday.
This means that I must go practic?
on Wednesday night after school.
\ friend has just called and wants
the wife and me to come over for
dinner some evening. How can I
meet all these obligations ?
There are always the financial
difficulties encountered in going
to college. I must have a car to
travel between home, work, and
school. There is no greater expense
than driving an automobile. Rent
and food are certainly high these
days, but lucky for me my mother
has a large house. Even with the
government paying me to go to
school, it is expensive.
The part-time job I have isn’t
entirely satisfactory, but I can’t
complain too much. I am the one
that wanted to go to college. I am
no great asset to any company
working just eight hours a day. I
am using the job only as a means of
support to get me through college.
The boss doesn’t like to catch me
studying on the job; he is paying
me to work not to study. That small
check that I draw once a week is
considered pay!
Despite the monotony of my
daily routine, the strain placed on
my social life, and the financial
difficulties encountered, I know
that college life is worth while.
My philosophy is “the best things
in life are always the hardest to
obtain.”
The Prime Purpose of College
Inconceivable though it may
seem to those of us who believe
that the prime purpose of attend
ing college is to learn, people enroll
at institutes of higher learning
for diverse reasons. There are
those who, attending not of their
own volition but rather because of
parental ambitions, trudge half
heartedly from one classroom to
another. Others, taking college ed
ucation for granted because of
affluent families, worry more
about their school wardrobes and
their fraternities and sororities
than about acquiring an education.
Social life, as well as athletics, is
of course, an integral part of col
lege life, but both become detri
mental when overemphasized.
Then, too, there are the few who
attend merely for the sake of hav
ing a college affiliation.
I am grateful that I honestly
believe I do not belong to any of
the aforementioned groups, for I
came to college solely and unequiv
ocally to study and learn. The
expression “The light of learning”
has been used over and aver again.
I like to think of learning as a
light—a light which illuminates
our lines with interest, depth, and
understanding. Sometimes I think
of life as a long dark corridor. A
new-born child is born into this
utter darkness, but with every
fragment of learning a new light is
turned on. Just how bright, inter
esting, and enjoyable we make our
lives depends on each of us and to
what depth we are able to learn.
Yes, I came to college to learn.
To me this does not mean studying
with a minimum of effort in order
to secure a barely passing grade.
Moreover, it does not mean study
ing for high grades. While
zealously striving for A’s may ap
pear commendable, I believe learn
ing this way is superficial. One
retains a potpourri of unrelated
facts until after the final exams
and then proceeds to forget most
of what he has learned. Also, the
grades themselves may become so
important that the real reason for
learning may be lost. The final w’ay
to study is simply to learn: that
is to understand the subject as
thoroughly as possible, to correlate
the facts, and to feel that every
thing learned is another step
toward a goal. In studying in this
manner, grades are incidental but
logically should remain well above
average.
To conclude, while at college. I
shall endeavor to learn as much
as I can about as many subjects as
I can in order to make my life more
full and more interesting contrary
to what some believe, learning need
not be prosaic. It can open the
door to fascinating discoveries and
can lead to exciting mental ad
ventures.
RHO GAMMA ALPHA
Recently elected officers of the
Rho Gamma Alpha Sorority are
as follows:
President Patsy Hartsell
Vice-President Joanne Hovis
Secretary June Sherrill
Treasurer Martha Voyles
These girls, along with the other
members who are Betsy W’ilson,
Margie Clark, and Kanela May-
danis, are making big plans for
the remainder of the term.
Along with a work project an
informal social is planned for the
new girls who are interested in
joining the sorority. Mrs. Hoyle
is faculty advisor.