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Vol. 1, No. 6
MONTREAT COLLEGE, MONTREAT, NORTH CAROLINA
February, 1959
Why Not a Senior College at Montreat?
by Mary Sullivan
(Dialette feature writer)
On February 6, the student body of Mon
treat College was told without any previous
notice that because of the lack of financial
support Montreat could no longer exist
as a senior college and must revert to a
junior college.
To us who are now drinking deeply of
her riches and enjoying the blessings of
her existence this news seemed unbeliev
able. We were told time and time again,
“Face reality”. The only reality which I
can face is the fact that, although the Pres
byterian Church is one of the richest
churches, one of her colleges is now having
to take a step backward because she was
not supported.
REALITY. No wonder it is so often re
ferred to as CRUEL reality. What about
the hard, heavy reality of responsibility,
of trust, of faith? I have seen reality in
looks, in words and in actions these past
week—and not the kind of reality that
lifts the heart or spirit.
Yet there is another kind of reality. The
reality of Christian teachers who had the
faith that they could raise one million
dollars—but were denied the right. The
reality of students trying desperately to
think of ways in which they could help.
The reality of belief . . . Belief in God
and His presence here on our campus; be
lief in the necessity of Christian education;
belief in and for the future of Montreat
as a four-year institution of higher learn
ing.
There is also the reality of need and of
worth.
What about the Christian teachers, the
Directors of Christian Education, the miss
ionary appointees, the Church secretaries,
and the choir directors who leave Montreat
each year? Will this supply be cut off by
a lack of support?
Where will young people with limited
financial backing get an education? Will
they have to turn to state-supported schools
where expenses are equally low? Is the
Presbyterian Church going to deny her
Employers Praise Work of M. C. Graduates
The best witness to the right of any col
lege to function is the record made by
its graduates after they begin their careers.
This record speaks for the thoroughness
and effectiveness of the training being re
ceived at the college. From many sources
have come glowing reports of the work
being done by Montreat College graduates.
For several years. Montreat has been
affiliated with the program of student nurs
ing at Memorial Mission Hospital in Ashe
ville. A recent letter from this school of
nursing states, “The Montreat girls who
have been in our Institute have been out
standing from the standpoint of a cultural
and spiritual background. They have all
been good workers in both theory and
practice, and I feel that the education they
have received at Montreat has been a very
good one.” One Montreat student gradu
ated from the University of Virginia Hos
pital in 1952, ranking first in a class of
forty-seven. Her percentile rank on the
National League of Nursing Comprehensive
was 96.7, which indicated that only 3.3 of
the nursing students in the United States
ranked higher than she. She is now one
of many Montreat graduates serving in the
active foreign missionary program of our
church.
Montreat students have made excellent
records while doing graduate work at Duke
University, Western Carolina College, Gen
eral Assembly’s Training School, Syracuse
University, and Virginia Polytechnic Insti
tute. One student at the latter school
ranked 85 in a class of 1042 BS graduates.
One of the strongest departments at Mon
treat College is Christian Education. It
is, therefore, note-worthy to examine the
work of Directors of Christian Education
who have been trained here. The pastors
of many churches have expressed highest
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young people with modest income the op
portunity of a Christian education?
What about commitments made to day
students, to the Juniors and the Sopho
mores?
Consider the fact that there is not anoth
er senior college in the radius of fifty miles
of Montreat College wihle there are already
five junior colleges in the immediate
vicinity.
This is more than a protest from two
hundred students to keep alive a college
which has helped them discover the mean
ing of life and joy of service to a living
God. This is an appeal for the Church to
wake up to its responsibility of Christian
education.
Montreat College is unique in that we
have a ready-made campus with buildings
already here. Furthermore, we are told
that by 1965 the number of applicants for
college will have doubled. This is not the
time to retreat in education and, most of
all, in Christian education. Our church and
our country need colleges with Christian
ideals. Such a place is Montreat, which
also offers an education at a minimum of
cost.
Montreat College is not supported by
the General Assembly; neither is it under
the care of a synod. We must be realistic
and say that she cannot survive without
support. The trustees of the college have
taken this action with deep regret. Lack
of financial backing is the cause of their
action. They hold out the hope of return
ing to a senior college some day.
Our appeal is that some steps be taken
to make the reversal to a junior college
unnecessary. This change will hurt the
present student body, the college, and any
incoming class. We know it will take a
miracle, “manna from Heaven”, but the
age of miracles is not past ... Is it?