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PAGE TWO
Do Handicaps Bother You?
Handicaps need not stand in the way of our
success. Great men of history have had handi
caps. Caesar had fits, but he was the master of
Rome; Beethoven was deaf when he wrote his
best works; Stevenson had a weak body, but he
gave us Treasure Island; Lincoln was born in
a log cabin, yet he is now idolized. These men
of the past had their handicaps, but they over
came them. We do not have ot go to the record
of the past or to the lives of great men to find
examples of fine courage. It takes quite as much
courage to rise above handicaps today as it ever
did. Joe Jones can tell us that.
Joe works magic with a pair of scissors. He
cuts pictures of lions and zebras, of forests and
jungle life; yet he has never seen any of these
for he had not walked since he was a few years
old. Joe says, “The finest place to see beautiful
things is in your mind’s eye. As long as pictures
paint themselves there, and stories act them
selves out, you don’t have to worry about being
entertained. If you encourage it a little, your
mind’s ear will provide you with almost as much
amusement. Why. on the hottest day in August,
I can lie here and hear the swish of rain on the
roof, or maybe the beat of the waves go against
the cliff. It’s really wonderful fun to train your
mind to do stunts for you.” The next time I feel
like quitting or saying that something cannot
be done, I shall remember Joe Jones.
To train the mind to work for us is our chief
problem. In fact, failure to do so is one handicap
that should give us occasion for questioning. We
can extend the usefulness of our strong right arm
so that it can do the Work of two; we can banish
doubt and worry and fear by doing our work
with zest and with faith; we can outdistance
poverty; and we can discover our own treasure
island, if we will just train our mind to work
for us. Training pays. Faith pays, too. When we
learn to work with faith in our hearts and with
out doubt in our minds, handicaps will be step
pingstones to better things.
Mr. Kwoh Writes
You will remember Mr. Kwoh, the Chinese
that visited our camps a few weeks past. He
gave several interesting talks to various groups
of students expressing the feelings of the Chinese
people toward America and better acquainting
West Georgia with the World Student Service
Fund.
Since his visit he has written the following
letter in regard to the World Student Service
Fund wherein we, as students, are concerned;
Dear Students:
This brief letter will bring our thanks to you
and other student leaders for what you have done
and are going to do for the WSSF. On behalf of
those who will receive aid from us, I salute you!
If you have any question, or any publicity
material you need, please do not hesitate to write
to our New York office. Let me hear from you
personally!
Wishing you a successful Book Campaign.
Dean Gunn told me this morning that he wishes
to see if there will be another finanical campaign
in the spring as many of you have not participat
ed in your last drive for the WSSF last February.
You may discuss this matter over with Dean
Gunn and other student leaders, and do anything
which seems best to you.
With warm regards.
Very sincerely yours,
Edwin Kwoh.
You Have a Duty ,
Duty in the abstract is a deadly taskmaster.
Quite often people have said that their daily
round of duties was dull and unexciting. As long
as they looked upon their tasks in this light, they
doubtlessly drifted along in a joyless fashion.
When they weakened to the concrete evidences
of opportunity opening before them, they could
do those same duties with enduring enthusiasm.
In the schoolroom a student may look almost
with distaste on the daily grind of study; but if
he could realize how surely this day’s duties in
an office, he would change his attitude decidedly
and determine to direct his best efforts toward
the development of his diverse capabilities. Only
through such determined direction can he gain
dominion.
The West Georgian
WEST GEORGIAN STAFF MEMBERS:
•
Sara Davenport. Editor-in-chief
Nell Ruth Davis Associate Editor
Charlotte Cantrell Business Manager
Robert Moore Circulation Manager
Marie Campbell Faculty Adviser
**
Art Editor Edith Phillips
Women's Sports JCathleen Mize
Men’s Sports Waldo Jones
Published Monthly by the Students of West Georgia
College, Genola, Ga. Printed by Frank T. Thomason,
Printing, Carrollton, Georgia.
Subscription Rate:
$l.OO Per Year
Member G. S. P. A.
The Importance of Modem Foreign
Language in War and Peace
BY GEORGE C. S. ADAMS
During the campaign for North Africa one of our four-engined
bombers was forced down in Tunis in a region some distance from
the battle sector. The plane was immediately surrounded by
natives who knew no English. One mqmber of the crew knew
enough French from his year’s course in high school to be able to
convince the natives, French colonials, that he and his pals were
friendly and enlist their help in contacting their base. In the
same campaign a group of Germans surrendered to an American
sergeant. As they didn’t understand English, he was unable to
tell them what to do or give them directions of any kind. Luckily
a private came upon the group, and his meager knowledge of Ger
man saved the day. Other incidents could be related from which
a simple conclusion could be drawn. A smattering of a language
is more useful than a proportionate degree of many another skill.
In numbers of instances in the war the ability to be even only
slightly conversant in another tongue may mean the difference
between life and death.
Vice-President Wallace has put in long hours studying Spanish
and has become enthusiastic about it. With Latin Americans he
is probably the most popular of our travelling representatives,
official or unofficial. He has been able to address the people in
Spanish and they have warmed to this manifestation of his respect
and interest. No one could honestly argue that Mr. Wallace’s
popularity in this part of the world is due entirely to the fact that
he speaks Spanish, but it is obvious to those who know that his
linguistic ability has helped immeasurably.
Whether the objective be in the interests of cementing friendly
relations with other countries or in forwarding the aims of the
military, the ability to use a foreign language has been recognized
as an important weapon. In a recent issue of “Education for Vic
tory,” official publication of the United States Office of Education,
Mrs. Franklin D. Roosevelt is quoted: “The more languages you
know the more welcome you are in any of our fighting units” (Feb.
15, 1943, p. 4). In the same issue: “Edward Murrow, C. B. S. com
mentator in England reported a frantic search for men who could
speak French.” With American soldiers scattered over the face of
the earth the Army and Navy continue to be acutely aware of the
need for men and women who have had modern foreign language
experience, and they are always on the alert for those so talented
who turn up in their classification divisions. There exists and will
exist a demand for men and women with a knowledge of Russian,
Japanese, Chinese, Arabic, Burmese, Hindustani, and many of the
other foreign languages with which our schools are less familiar,
let alone Spanish, French, and German, long familiar to the cirricu
la of schools and colleges, and Italian and Portuguese, which are
steadily gaining ground in the colleges.
The “Area and Language” training included as a part of the
Army’s Specialized Training Program bears witness to the above
mentioned. In November, 1943, about 12,000 students in fifty-five
colleges were enrolled in this program with the chief emphasis
on foreign language study. Anyone who has read the Reader’s
Digest article on the subject must realize the imperative need that
has warranted the rigorous training such picked students receive.
These intensive courses occupy the full time of the studenf. In
each course there are generally fifteen hours of classroom instruc
tion a week, plus fifteen hours drill with a native speaker, and
from twenty to thirty .hours of individual preparation. Two or
three six-weeks sessions of this type broken by short rest periods
have given gratifying results. In fact the results have been so
favorable that in times of peace it is reasonable to expect that
certain phases of this training will find their way into college and
school language programs. Grammars, text-books, phonograph
records, dictionaries, etc., all contribute to these service courses.
For a far greater number of students in the A. S. T. P., Navy
V-12, and Aircrew Training Programs the study of language is
optional. In the issue of “Education for Victory” previously cited
appear the following statements: “Modern languages are important
to the Victory Corps Training Program . . . Teachers, especially
teachers of foreign languages, administrators and other school per
sonnel can inform their students soon to be inducted that the Army
and the Navy, too, will see that they have an opportunity to gain
a speaking acquaintance with the language of the countries in
which they are stationed.” (p. 11).
Some have made the audacious claim that if we as a nation
were competently versed in the language of another country, we
would never have misunderstandings with that country that
would lead us to wars. Such a claim is equally as absurd as that
(Continued on page 5)
THE WEST GEORGIAN
Member
Associated Gofle6*cde Press
Campus Spotlight
ARCHIE GALLMAN
President Student-body, President W Club,
Vice-President Melson Hall, Circulation Manager
and Sports Editor West Georgian , Dramatics
Club, V. R. A. Council, Officer’s Club, Varsity
Basketball Team, and Varsity Football Team.
Union Grove, Georgia, boasted one more red
headed armful after January 10, 1926—Yes, they
really started the New Year right. The Gallmans
later moved their brood, including little Archie,
to Dalton. Valley Point High School lost him to
West Georgia in June, 1943. His list of past oc
cupations consists of everything from cooking
in a cafe and teaching school to working in a
filling station, a grocery store, and a dairy. His
ambition is to be a big businessman (big shot,
eh?). *
He can truthfully be called Downwind, Jr.
(little black book and all), his list of little de
icers including such names as Loraine, Betty,
Kat, Maggie, Angel, Irene, etc. He loves reading,
swimming, hitch-hiking, camping and fishing,
bein gstictly a man’s man as well as a ladies’
man. When asked to describe his dream girl, his
eyes took on that glazed expression and he be
gan to elaborate such details as: brown eyed
brunette, well-built (woo! woo!), friendly, and
about five feet six inches of dynamite.
He is “a hog about,” loud socks and moccasins,
rolls his own cigarettes, likes to “swoon croon”
—plans to get a G. I. haircut as soon as the
weather gets warmer. He prefers his T-bone
steak rare (boy, and is it rare!)
The library is his favorite spot on the campus
—ask him how he arrived at that decision. He is
an ardent movie fan, especially about Lloyd
Nolan (gun and blood) and Bette Davis. (In
cidentally this does not refer to the aforesaid
Bette in his “hand book.”)
Dalton’s loss was G. G. C.’s gain when she
gave us Archie Lee Gallman —five-feet nine in
ches of typical All-American.
NANCY McCLURE
This independent gay gal, is definitely a
bright spot on the campus. She is a tiny gal with
intringuing green eyes, and auburn hair that
curls just right even when it rains. Nancy takes
an active part in all the campus “goings-on” and
is particularly outstanding in the Social Science,
Dramatics, and Alpha Psi Clubs.
Besides managing her studies Nancy finds
time to look after her responsibilities as presi
dent of Mandeville Hall (and that’s no easy job!)
Nancy giggled and blushed a bit when she
said her first dirty deed came when she (as a tot
in Blue Ridge) set the house on fire. Since then
her dirty deeds have been chalked up by the
dozens, for she and Claudia (her roommate)
haven’t stopped playing tricks on the girls in
Mandeville. Together Nancy and Claudia keep
the dorm in a laughing uproar.
If you are paging Nancy you will find her
propped on her bed with a Humanities book in
one hand and a cup of coffee in the other. A
delicious aroma of coffee can always be traced
to Nancy’s room—the coffee pot is always on
the hot plate.
Hobbies: splashing around in a swimming pool,
studying people, Home Economics, and day
dreaming.
Likes: good hot arguments, 10 cups of coffee
a day—everything with a dash of salt.
Dislikes: sweet potato specials in the dining
hall, chemistry, biology.
Ambition: Interior decorater. To graduate
from W. G. C. and work in the chemistry lab at
Copper Hill, Tenn. Her crazy ambition is to be
a lawyer.
Pastime: Would like to fly. By the way.
Nancy has four brothers (take note girls) two
younger ones, and two serving overseas. She
is always sending boxes chucked full of goodies
to James and Johnnie.
Say, Nancy tell us more of the inside dope
on “Rabbit” from Gordon. We’re in the dark'
P. S. I couldn’t worm out any information on
this subject.
FRIDAY, APRIL 28, 1944