Page two
THE TWIG
Mays, 1961
CAMPAIGNS-GOOD OR BAD?
The recently manifest concern of the nominating committee for determin
ing tlic feelings of this student body about elections is gratifying, and the
questionnaire issued in assembly contained a number of pertinent ideas.
One question, that of whether or not to have campaigns for elections, is a
basic and important decision in any election; there is more to be considered
than whether campaigns are “fair.”
One factor to be noted is the simple fact that any kind of campaign lets
the students know that there is an election going on and who is running.
Especially in a school such as Meredith, contacts are made among students
mostly within the framework of classroom, separate organizational activities,
and dormitory halls. It is, therefore, easy for even highly qualified po
tential leaders to be unknown even by name, and certainly as to ability and
character.
Advertising proves daily that people will find out whose a name is if they
see it often enough. On the other hand, the best products are not always
most advertised and most bought, and the advertisements do not always
give a true picture of the product. Still, some picture of two persons running
in an election is better than none at all; and usually the person who is
original, discriminating, and elficient in the campaign will be so in filling
her office.
Competition, the life-stuff of many an American project and program,
would definitely keep up interest in campaign-preceded elections. The ques
tion is whether or not competition is good. Certainly, as the president of our
college pointed out in the Student Government installation service, voting
for leaders in carefully thought out concern for who is best for the position
is a far better way than voting to gratify the urge for victory of a group or
Individual. However, without campaigns, is there enough interest in elections
to insure that votes as a whole have been carefully thought out, or does
the final issue, after all, become a matter of whom we know or like best?
The issues are not clear-cut. One thing is: elections demand candidates,
and they demand voters. The method in which both should be approached is
a matter which all of us should consider.
H. M.
WHO HAS RESPONSIBILITY?
To assume responsibility is no easy task. Each newly elected campus
officer is quickly realizing the challenges she will encounter during the
following year. Old plans must be carried out, but new ones must be made.
What is adequate one year will not suffice the next. Advancement is neces
sary for keeping up with the world about us, but the pushing forward cannot
be achieved by merely the few leaders on campus. The President of the
United States would be powerless without the backing of the people. Like
wise, our officials mean nothing if they are left to stand alone.
Each year when our leaders assume their positions, they make ardent
pleas for student support. How much do we give them? Once we have
elected them we seem to feel our responsibility has been completed. Now
they are on the stand, and we sit back in our arm chairs to watch them
squirm. “Sure am glad I’m not in her shoes,” we say; but we are the ones
who arc responsible for placing her in such a position. Yet, we feel that
whatever she does is her worry, not our own.
To be a good follower is a much greater task than to be a good leader.
A leader is expccted to meet the demands placed before her with diligence,
while today a follower is expected to do nothing. The major officials on
campus take on oath of office during their installation. We do not realize
that by being made members of the A.A., B.S.U., and S.G. upon our
arrival at Meredith we are also installed as supporters of these organizations.
It seems that the time has come for us to realize and assume our re
sponsibilities if we expect to malce any advancement in the coming year.
L. K.
MEMBER
Associated Collegiate Press
EDITORIAI, STAFr
Linda Kirby
Associate Editor i-jjitja Mancss
Managing Editor Dianne Simmons
Feature Editor Joaii McGranahan
Music Editor ; Susan Leathers
Sports Editor Peggy Leonard
Columnists Rachel Dailey
Velma McGcc
Photographer Kappic Weedc
Reporters—Sandra Walker, Jean Hege, Judy Grayson. Marcia Davis. Mar
garet McGuin, Kay Burns, Niclcey Childrcy, Carol Wood, Frieda Farmer
Faculty Sponsor Dr. Noima Rose
BUSINESS STAFF
Business Manager judy Purcelle
Advertising Manager Patsy Bryant
Circulation Managers Brenda Payne and Sylvia Nash
Mailing Editor. Owen Picklcsimcr
Chief Typist .Linda Hales
Typists—Joyce Collie. Harriet Rivers, Seleda Camp, Judy Voung, Kilty Pruitt,
Jean Burrell, Billie Jean Jones
Advertising Staff—Carolyn Nicholds, Pal Taylor, Lou Perry. Jane Lawrence.
Pal Leggett, Patty Steen
Faculty Sponsor Miss Lois Frazier
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home economics.
Since 1921 the institution has been a member of the Southern Association of Colleses and
Secondary Schools. The eollegc holds memhership in the Association of American Colleees
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AS A REALIST
HARDY CLAIMS
HIGH REGARD
By SANDRA WALKER
Written in 1891, Tess of the
D'VrberviUes stands at the peak of
Thomas Hardy’s achievement. The
novel adopts as its theme the popu
lar story of a young girl forccd to
make her own way in the world,
then exploited by her employer’s
son. In his earlier works, Hardy’s
female characters have been rather
superficial, but in Tess he creates
as the heroine of the tale a “pure
woman” victimized. ^
As a novelist, Hardy takes his
place with the philosophic realists
of his age. Making no attempt to
hide the ugliness of the world, he
presents his characters in real life
situations. None of the misery of
Tess’s plight or of Angel Clare’s
tormented mind is minimized. Com
bining this realism with a certain
amount of sensationalism. Hardy
moves the reader into what Forster
calls a “willing suspension of dis
belief.” Although 'the reader knows
that the blood of Tess’s murdered
lover cannot pass through a ceiling
in only a few minutes, he yet ac
cepts the fact that Mrs. Brooks ob
serves the stain a short time after
the murder.
The scientific upsurge of the nine
teenth century influenced Hardy in
his concept of nature. Throughout
Tess of the D'Urbervilles, Hardy
presents a personalized, malignant
Nature, a fate from which there is
no cscape. Tess is seen finally re
signed to this power as she willingly
gives up her life, contented after
her few days of bliss as Angel’s
wife. Angel, himself, echoes this
feeling when he revises Browning’s
original statement to read, “God’s
not in his. heaven; all’s wrong with
the world.” This pessimism under
lies the entire novel with its con-
fuscd mixture of Greek paganism
and distorted Christianity.
Into a setting of natural beauty
and ugliness. Hardy inserts his
characters; pure, simple Tess, suf
fering because of others’ guilt; im
pulsive Alec D’Urberville, relent
lessly seeking personal gain; and
idealistic Angel Clare, constantly
searching for intellectual peace.
Hardy takes his readers into the
minds of his characters and divulges
their thoughts. Perhaps it is this
ability to project one into his
characters’ roles that gives Hardy
his universal appeal.
MacLeish^s J.B. Falls Short of Its Source
By HILDA MANESS
The current heightened interest
among us at Meredith in Archibald
MacLeish’s play J.B., occasioned
especially by the “Friends of the
College” presentation some time
ago and by various discussions of
church and other groups, offers one
a chance to hear the opinions of
religious and literary thinkers of the
city -and to form ideas of one’s own
concerning the new version of the
oldest drama.
The tendency today seems to be
to read all the “modem” religious
writings but to never have time nor
patience to read the oldest, the
Bible itself, where Job first made
the soul-filled questions of our exist
ence that arV part of J.B. One may
profit by comparing J.B. with his
earlier counterpart. Job, like J.B.,
“blamele5s and upright,” was pros
perous in such material blessings as
goods and family until he was
stripped of all possessions, prestige,
and almost his very body, by a
series of disasters. Likewise, in each
account Job and J.B. are restored
to prosperity.
TTie differences in the two dramas
come then not in the events but in
the question and answers of the two
plays. J.B.’s great question seems
to be the old agony, “Why do the
righteous suffer?” Through all his
torture and despair it seems that
he would be comforted if only he
could find justice in it all; there
fore, his prayer throughout is,
“Show me my guilt.” His wish is
to be found guilty of sin in order
to prove God just.
Finally, he realizes, however, that
God’s justicc cannot be understood
in human terms.
J.B. and his wife, symbolizing all
human loves, are left at the end of
the play, questions unanswered, to
rebuild life, to take whatever bless
ings comes, and to endure any
disasters with the heroic courage
that belongs to them as human
beings.
It is in the final emphasis on the
courage of man that MacLeish
most radically leaves the book of
Job, even though he himself does
not seem to realize his departure,
for he states in his introduction to
J.B. that the end of the play be
longs, “as in the Book of Job it
self, to the courage of a woman
and a man.”
Job, however, asks a bigger ques
tion than “Why do I suffer?”
Granted, with great courage, man
can endure all disaster even with
out knowing why it has come. How
ever, men do not have great cour
age of their own making, no matter
how much they may wish it. Great
courage comes only from great
dedication to a vital purpose. Job’s
question is not just “Why must I
live and endure suffering?” but,
“Why must I live at all?” The fail
ure to give any kind of answer to
the question makes J.B. the less
profound of the two stories.
Like J.B., Job comes to know
that the justice of God cannot be
searched out by man. The two
men come to such an awareness in
different ways; for J.B. comes to it
by his own limitation, while Job is
told of it in a gloriously colorful
and majestic picturc of God’s
height, which shows him not only
his own limitation but also the
splendor of God. Therefore, he
acknowledges his smallness and his
dependence on God. When he sees
himself in his proper relation to
God, he is overwhelmed and sub
dued by the glory of God and sees
a purpose in living as part of the
glory. Then only does he gain cour
age for living, courage from God,
not of himself; and only then are
his goods restored.
J.B. does not really accept his
dependence on God at any time;
and in the end his greatest comfort
is his fellow sufferer, the rest of
humanity. Together they will find
a better life.
As the 1961-1962 Twig staff as
sumes the duties so magnificently
handled by the 1960-1961 staff, we
realize the vast amount of work and
responsibility that faces us. Al
though words seem quite inade
quate, we would like to express our
sincere thanks to Suzanne Lcath
and her staff for a job well done.
We hope that we can carry on the
high standards that have been
maintained during the year and
show advancement equal to that of
the 1960-1961 staff.
WHAT’S NU IN STU-GU
By VELMA McGEE
The new President of Student
Government in her Installation
football season when lunch is being
served at the houses and at any
time when girls are invited to watch
I speech reminded us that changing television, such an addition to the
‘‘ ‘ *■ ■ rules concerning fraternity houses
would be particularly helpful. Al
though all details have not yet been
worked out, the Council hopes that
an agreeable solution can be
reached,
Appointed at the Council meet
ing on May 1 was a committee to
study the set-up of S. G. There is
a need for the Council to have
inore time to work on student legis
lation, but first the body must be
relieved of some of its judicial re
sponsibilities. The new committee,
(Continued on page four)
times call for a change in policies
and rules. Many members of the
student body are well aware of this
fact and, more important, have
ideas which would be welcomed.
The S. G. Council invites everyone
to attend its meetings and hopes
that people will take advantage of
this opportunity.
A measure is being worked on at
the present time by the Council. It
will allow Meredith girls to go to a
fraternity house on Saturday after
noons, provided there is another
Meredith student there. During
Mere Dither
By RACHEL DAILEY
I sat by the window in the li
brary and watched a maternal
pigeon settle herself upon her pre
cious eggs. I listened to her purr
and gurgle, and I thrilled that, had
there not been a window pane, I
could have smoothed the iridescent
feathers and touched the delicate
warm eggs. Suddenly, I knew it was
Spring!
I walked quickly through the mud
and water, and I held my head
down against the wet little bullets
of the wind, and wondered when
my umbrella would prove a traitor
and turn itself inside out to the
wind. 1 glanced up enough to see
if there were other umbrellas
coming, and saw — a lovely purple
iris, vibrant, royal, graceful, and I
remembered that it was Spring!
Now I feel the warmth of shade,
the searing heat of sun, the sure
and sultry humidity of rain, the
color of flowers and the fertility of
endless green, and there is no doubt
in me that it is Spring!
But now I feel something else,
for there are dancers practicing in
the court, and there is music coming
from somewhere, and near the gym
an ugly duckling pole is being
miraculously transformed into a
bouquet of rainbow colors, tipped
(Continued on page four)