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THE TWIG
May 24, 1957
COMMENCEMENT
... Through a Senior’s Eyes
The time has come to think of leaving. We who will graduate face
ourselves and each other now with emotions more than mixed. Deeply
we are grateful to those who have made these four years possible, to
those who have made parts of them bearable, and those who have helped
to make them rich. . . . We think of our own part—have we played it
all well? Remembering the moments of inspiration, the hours of anxiety,
and too frequent weeks of aimless busy-ness, it finally reaches us why
we have come. Not merely for knowledge, for comradeship, or for the
development of our individualities, we came seeking a way of life that
would unify and make meaningful our experience; we came to fill our
spirits with a faith that springs from glimpses of the everlasting truth—
truth that is God.
Immature and human as we know ourselves to be, we know we have
not found truth. We did not expect victory so soon. But we have found
new tools in these years at Meredith: we have learned patience and
humility of mind, as well as courage of thought; we have met inspiration
in flesh and blood as well as in print; and we have known happiness that
comes with understanding one another.
We have not so soon found meaning; we have not solved mysteries;
we have only begun to try. The wonderful and strange thing about life
is not its countless endings, but its equally infinite store of beginnings.
In June we begin anew.
Jo Ann Selley, Class of ’57
A Vacation ... From What?
... Through a Junior’s Eyes
Breathlessly we pant toward the close of another year at Meredith.
Though it may be the middle of the summer before we- recover sufficiently
to take stock, surely we will want to. At the end of a junior year I can
realize for the first time how brief four years can be. A trip into the
stacks of the library or an hour spent tasting of the seemingly boundless
knowledge of a favorite professor becomes a rather saddening experience
now, for I cannot consider the pitiful little I do know for fear of despairing
over the endless oceans of knowledge and wisdom I have not sailed upon.
College becomes not a means to an end—the almighty degree—but a
hopelessly small minute in which to equip oneself for all the hours to be
spent in a world of people most of whom do not know and do not seem
to care. We shall go out not with a degree so much as with a responsibility.
As a junior (for I can only speak as a junior), I am aware of another
important opportunity which may be fleeting by. Perhaps the chance to
know—to understand and to love—all sorts of people is the most im
portant part of this equipping process called college. I have one more
year in which to remedy the situation of ‘T wish that I had .... How
long do you have?
N. M.
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EDITORIAL STAFF
Fditor Joyner
Assistant Editor Nancy McGlamery
Managing Editors—Marcia Allen, Bobbie Conley, Bob Earley, Mary Fran
Oliver, Page Sink
Drama Editor ,Susan Moss
Columnists Kay Johnson, Juanita ‘Swindler, Louise White
Reporters—Mary Ann Brown, Lela Cagle, Lelia Davenport, Cynthia Denny,
Lynda Evans, Ann Finley, Joy Goldsmith, Sue Matzner, Janice Morgan,
Salty Newton, Annabel Ray „ v, n
Faculty Sponsor Dr. Norma Rose
BUSINESS STAFF
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Entered as second-class matter October 11, 1923, at post office at Raleigh,
N C under Act of March 8, 1879. Published semi-monthly during the
months of October, November, February, March, April, and May; monthly
during the months of September, December and January.
Ths Twig is the college newspaper of Meredith College, Raleigh, North
Carolina and as such is one of the three major publications of the institu
tion the other two being The Acorn, the literary magazine, and The Oaic
Leaves, the college annual. , , „
Meredith College is an accredited senior liberal arts college for women
located in the capital city of North Carolina. It confers the Bachelor of Arts
and the Bachelor of Music degrees. The college offers majors in twenty-one
Helds including music, art, business and home economics.
Since 1921 the institution has been a member of the Southern Association
of Colleges and Secondary Schools. The college holds membership in the
Association of American Colleges and the North Carolina College Conference.
Graduates of Meredith College are eligible for membership in the American
Association of University Women. The instituUon is a liberal arts member
of the National Association of Schools of Music.
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By MARGARET PARIS
“Three months to forget about
the books!” This is perhaps the atti
tude of many of us about the forth
coming summer vacation; we plan
to close our books and our minds
for three months, both to be reopen
ed next September. Our rationaliza
tion—“But we need a rest”—is a
comforting excuse to waste much
valuable time during these months,
when demands will not be as strenu
ous as they have been in the school
months. A summer job is not com
pletely time-consuming; neither is
summer school. Too, there are many
wasted half-hours or even fifteen
minutes in the day. With time such
a precious thing in our hurried,
mobile society, a few extra minutes
a day are not to be treated lightly.
It is the advice of this writer that
these “few minutes” be spent with
a book. Several few-minutes periods
can equal a summer of profitable
reading. One need not feel obligated
to plunge into De Tocqueville or
Sartre to do some profitable reading.
Every college student experiences
the frustration during a crowded
semester of wanting to read a book,
but not finding the time to do it.
With some background, lingering
from the past semester, as a point
of reference, some comprehensive
and enjoyable yet stimulating and
thought-provoking books may be
chosen to form a summer reading
list. Too, there are “those books”
which we’ve always meant to read,
and really should, that may be in
cluded: Crime and Punishment,
War and Peace, Look Homeward,
Angel and An American Tragedy—
to mention a few. (Even a whaling
expedition has some lulls when a
book is welcome!)
Why? (One of the college stu
dent’s most frequent words when
mental activity is suggested.) Sim
ply: We are college students; we are
in the process of obtaining a formal
education; yet an education does
not stop when June 2 comes and be
gin again when September 18 comes.
Everyday life is a part of our edu
cation. Why not relate nine months
to three? Why not give the formal
a place in the informal, the daily
routine? A satisfactory, rewarding
way to do this—through books.
Lou's Remarks
By LOUISE WHITE
Six chapel cuts! Nine church cuts!
Six call-downs! It is impossible!
But it is not impossible; it is a hard,
cold fact, supported by hard, cold
numbers, and another girl joins the
strict-campus club. Immediately the
wail goes up, “How can I exist with
no dates, no phone calls, no trips
down town, no anything?” This, of
course, is the \vrong attitude. The
girl should rather welcome the week
as an opportunity to do constructive
things with no outside interference.
The one who is campused has un
limited study time. Her afternoons
are not spoiled by phone calls; her
nights are not consumed by dating.
She can thus read ahead in all sub
ject, finish collateral for the semester,
or review for exams. She has her
best chance to become a pale, wan,
intellectual-looking creature. Also,
strict campus is the best money
saving device at Meredith since it
eliminates all bus rides, shopping
trips, and telephone calls. If the
campused student just must spend
money, she can drink five Bee Hive
Pepsis for the price of a trip to town.
But how can anyone look intel
lectual while drinking five Pepsis?
Maybe she had better buy coffee.
Strict campus week is the ideal time
to be creative. Think of all the possi
bilities for paintings on the Meredith
campus. And, if the ungrateful girl
persists in being bitter and depressed,
she can give vent to her feelings in
better, depressing poetry and estab
lish a reputation as a poet. Since the
blessing of strict campus falls to
almost every student at least once in
her college career, perhaps talks ex
plaining the numerous pleasant ways
to spend Ihe week should be in
cluded in freshman orientation.
Musical Notes
By JOYCE SKILLMAN
It was observed by Dr. Cooper
a few weeks ago that one by one the
haggard expressions of the junior
and senior music majors changed
overnight. And now that the last
recital has been given, this trans
formation is complete, and many of
the recitalists are even smiling
again. As those of you that attended
them know, these last recitals have
been just as well done as those given
earlier in the year. On May 6, Faye
Wheeler presented her senior organ
recital. On May 11, a junior recital
was presented by Pat Greene in or
gan and Clara Hudson in voice. On
May 13, Margaret Anne English
gave a piano recital as part of her
requirements for a Bachelor of
Music degree. On May 21, Peggy
Holland presented her senior voice
recital.
You may have heard Pat Greene
relating some interesting experiences
about a recent convention she at
tended. Pat traveled to Atlanta,
Georgia, for the Southeastern Re
gional Convention of the American
Guild of Organists. She represented
the Central Chapter of this organi
zation in a student contest held dur
ing the convention.
The SAI’s have been kept busy
this month. On May 8 the members
presented a Modern American Music
recital. On May 20, the initiation
service was held for the pledges,
who presented a musicale following
the service. Also this month the
SAI’s have chosen Mrs. G. Ernest
Moore as their advisor for next year.
Mrs. Moore, of Raleigh, is a pa
troness of SAI, and has been presi
dent of the Raleigh Music Club,
The Green Room
By SUSAN MOSS
Congratulations to Katie Joyce
Eddins of Zebulon, Kitty Holt of
Greensboro, Ann House of Sanford,
Edith Johnson of Raleigh, Annie
Ransome of Enfield and Donnie
Simons of Hartsville, S. C., on being
tapped into Alpha Psi Qmega Dra
matic Fraternity. These girls truly
have “excelled in dramatic en
deavor” and are responsible for
much of the success of the Play
house. Meredith’s first national
honorary society. Alpha Psi Omega,
welcomes you new members. By the
way, every Meredith student is eli
gible for membership in Alpha Psi,
so plan to help in the fall production
of the Playhouse and begin to ac
cumulate points. (Takes only fifty.)
“The play’s the thing ...” Shakes
peare declared. What plays would
you enjoy seeing produced next year
at Meredith? Each of you, as an
associate member of the Playhouse,
is urged to express her opinion to
Miss Peg Qorsage, our director, or
to any Playhouse member. The pur
pose of the Playhouse is to provide
you, students, faculty, and people
of Raleigh, with good drama. The
work is meaningless and useless if
we do not have your interest and
support.
^Momenls
... to amuse you
By KAY ELIZABETH JOHNSON
Do you ever feel like the character
in Shakespeare’s Midsummer Night’s
Dream who said.
What revels are in hand? Is there
no play
To ease the anguish of a torturing
hour?
If you ever are at loose ends like
that and have nothing to do and
wish to be amused for a short time,
John Steinbeck’s Sweet Thursday
would be the ideal book to amuse
you. Basically amusing, this novel
also has an underlying theme of
happiness and good will toward
man.
Characters from an earlier novel.
Cannery Row, live again in this de
lightful novel. His characters come
to life vividly and joyously in a way
which makes the reader bubble in
side. There is Doc, the marine biolo
gist; Suzy, the girl with no home
who makes her home in an aban
doned boiler pipe; Flora, proprietor
of the Bear Flag; and Joseph and
Mary Rivas who have taken over
Lee Chong’s store. Steinbeck writes
about these characters in a vein of
broad comedy with notes of rowdy
humor and satiric thrusts.
Sweet Thursday is an entertaining
comedy—bawdy, sentimental, and
sometimes unbelievable—but also
charming, whimsical, and delightful.
One critic called the novel Stein
beck’s “lyric to the vacant lot.”
Written with obvious gusto, the book
occasionally kicks over conventional
traces.
Gaily inconsequential. Sweet
Thursday was made into a hit
Broadway musical. Pipe Dreams.
One of the tunes from the show is
“Everybody’s Got a Home but Me.”
One example of Steinbeck’s de
lightful humor describes the thinking
of a not-so-bright male named—of
all things-—Hazel. “Thinking is al
ways painful, but in Hazel it was
heroic. A picture of the process
would make you seasick. Imagine a
gray, whirling furor of images,
memories, words, patterns. It was
like a traffic jam at a big intersec
tion with Hazel in the middle to get
something to move somewhere. . . .
Hazel’s thoughts were not compli
cated. It was just remarkable that
he had them at all.”
After you have read Sweet Thurs
day, listen to the records from the
play. Pipe Dreams. They are delight
ful. It will be interesting to follow
the adaptation of the book to the
play through the music.
New of interest from the outside
world—Variety lists the most popu-
state president of the N. C. Federa
tion of Music Clubs, and is the
author of N. C. Musicians: A Selec
tive Handbook. I’m sure the SAI’s
are looking forward to working with
Mrs. Moore, even though they will
long remember the many ways their
former advisor, Miss Axworthy,
gave of her time and assistance.
lar movies for the month of April:
1. The Ten Commandments
2. Heaven Knows, Mr. Allison :
3. Around the World in 80 Days
4. The Seven Wonders of, the
World
5. Funny Face
6. Designing Wontan
7. Cinderella
8. The Shrinking Man
9. The Tattered Dress
10. Twelve Angry Men
The late Eugene O’Neill’s plays
are enjoying a successful run on
Broadway this season. Long Day’s
Journey Into Night, an autobio
graphical play which Time calls “the
season’s outstanding dr^ma,” has
recently been awarded the Pulitzer
Prize. The Iceman Cometh is
“flourishing in its second year off-
Broadway as a revival”; New Girl
in Town, a musical version of
O’Neill’s Anna Christie, opened
May 14; and A Moon for the Mis
begotten .opens next month. A
Touch of the Poet, in which O’Neill
explores the theme he used in The
Iceman Cometh—a man needs to
dream—will come to Manhattan
next season making the O’Neill re
vival livelier yet.
To each of you I wish a happy
summer—filled with drama!