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The Campus Mirror
Commencement Program
1932
Saturday, May 28
Alumnae Dai/
3:00 p.m.—Business Meeting of the
Alumnae Association — Laura Spelman
Rockefeller Hall.
8:00 to 10:00 p.m.—President’s Reception
to Graduating Classes, Alumnae and Guests
— Reynolds Cottage.
Sunday, May 20
3:00 p.m. Baccalaureate Service (Joint
service with Morehouse College and Atlanta
University)—Rev. Reinhold Niebuhr, Pro
fessor of Applied Christianity, Union Theo
logical Seminary, Editor of The "World To
morrow—Sisters Chapel.
8:00 p.m.—-Vesper Service and Organ Re
cital—Sisters Chapel.
Monday, May 30
Class Day
8:00 a.m. Chapel Service—Sisters Chapel.
3:00 p.m.—Class of 1032—Howe Memo
rial Hall. Symposium on College Majors—
Senior Class. Farewell Ceremonies—Oteele
Eloise Nichols. Recessional to Campus.
Planting of Class Tree—Rubye Louise
Sampson. Class Poem -Marjorie Alexandre
Stewart. Farewell Songs.
Alumnae Procession with the classes led by
Spelman Granddaughters, with the College
Students as Escort of Honor.
6:30 p.m. Campus Sing—Laura Spelman
Rockefeller Steps.
Tuesday, May 31
8:00 a.m.—Chapel Service—Presentation
of prizes and awards—Sisters Chapel.
Wednesday, June 1
10:30 a.m.—Commencement Exercises:
Conferring of Degrees. Address—Arthur
Davis Wright, President of the .Jeanes Fund
and the Slater Fund—Sisters Chapel.
Reinhold Niebuhr Preaches
Baccalaureate Sermon
Rev. Reinhold Niebuhr, professor of
( hristian Ethics at 1 nion Theological Semi
nary in New York City, preached the
Baccalaureate sermon for tin* graduation
exercises of Spelman College at Sisters
Chapel, Sunday, May 29, 1932, at 3:00
o'clock. Mr. Niebuhr was pastor of Bethel
church in Detroit. Mich., from 1915 to 1928.
Since that time he has been Professor of
Applied Christianity at Union Theological
Seminary. He lias also received considerable
recognition in the field of theology through
his writings. Mr. Niebuhr is editor of the
Ward Tomorrow, contributing editor to the
Christian (rut ary. Atlantic Monthly, and
several other magazines. He is the author
of Does Cinlieation Seed Religionf Leaves
from tin A otchook of a Tamed Ci/nic, and a
large collection of other religious articles.
Mr. Niebuhr is a popular platform lecturer
on the new social order as well as one of the
most outstanding leaders of liberal religious
thought in America. His home is in New
York City.
Tree Oration
The Tree—Its Quest for Life
Rubye L. Sampson, '32
Why do we plant a tree as a symbol of
human life? To one who has observed and
knows the tree in its struggle for life, this
question seems unnecessary. When we see
a tree covered with its unattractive hark,
do we think of it as making a real quest,
or as a poem within itself, or a miracle of
human life? A tree carrying on its life
processes and fulfilling the conditions that
enable it to survive, presents a struggle as
profound as that of higher forms of life.
Below the surface of the earth, or barely
showing above it, lies much of the body of
the tree—its precious roots. Like many fin
gers clutching the soil with firm grasp and
defying the pull of wind and storm which
would compel them to release their hold,
the roots of a tree grow and expand their
grasp, in proportion to all the needs of
keeping the tree upright and growing up
ward. These clutching fingers do more than
hold the tree securely in the ground, for from
the first rootlet of the acorn or date seed
to the mighty tap root of the oak or the
palm, every root is growing in quest of
water. This quest is at once the drive of
an inner urge and a response to a call of
life which keeps the roots forever exercised.
It is, therefore, by way of the roots that
water somes from the soil, bringing with it
its own life-giving power and mineral salts.
Well-balanced indeed is the tree, for it is
both deep and lofty, digging far into the
ground for the fundamental elements neces
sary for its development, and stretching high
into the air to meet the sunshine and to gain
those elements of beauty which delight our
aesthetic sense.
The roots, however, are scarcely visible.
All that the tree can ever express of external
beauty is in the leaves. The tree draws upon
all its resources to make its leaves beautiful
indications of the deeper life within. From
the sun they obtain their rich coloring—no
leaf is denied the privilege of looking upon
the sun. Regardless of numbers or position
on the tree, each leaf turns its proud face
to the sun in order that it may be made
beautiful with green cosmetics and that it
may he nourished with starch. Proud in
deed are these little leaves, nor do they try
to imitate each other. No two leaves are
identical, although they are similar. Each
one is able to say, “I am myself.” The tree
may well be proud to exhibit it- leaves.
The tree is thrifty, but not miserly. Not
withstanding the prodigality with which it
scatters its leaves everywhere, the tree i- not
extravagant. Through experience in contact
with cold winters trees have learned the
habit of shedding their leaves. The live,
green leaves, before they fall, are full of
a valuable substance which a tree can ill
at fold to spare; a delicate matter called leaf-
pulp. The thrifty tree undertakes to with
draw the leaf-pulp before winter comes and
destroys it. It draws the pulp from the
veins and margins and sends it into the
ea.th. ('risp, dry leaves fall, in which there
is nothing but waste which the tree can well
3
Commencement Exercises
Professor Arthur David Wright, of the
Department of Education of Dartmouth
College and President of the Jeanes Fund
and of the Slater Fund, will be the prin
cipal speaker for the commencement exer
cises which will he held in Sisters Chapel at
10:30 o’clock, June 1, 1932. Mr. Wright
has long been interested in the education of
Negroes. Since he became Supervisor of
Negro Schools in Virginia in 1915, he has
been an active worker in expanding and
impi o\ing the means for better education
for Negroes.
1 he Association of Colleges and Second
ary Schools for the Southern States at their
meeting, held at Lexington, Ky., in Decem
ber, 1929, began an important piece of work
ioi Negro Education. This association had
previously been considering the question of
how to aid Negro colleges in developing
institutional standards and eventually set
ting up an approved list of Negro colleges.
At this December meeting it was reported
that, sufficient funds were available for
carrying out this program. Accordingly a
standing committee on the approval of
Negro schools ivas appointed with power to
employ such expert assistance as it might
find necessary and with authority to pro
ceed to inspect and rate such institutions
for the higher education of Negro youth as
might apply for such inspection and rating.
Pursuant to the instructions of the asso
ciation, this committee arranged to have the
services of Air. AVright to serve as Execu
tive Agent of the Committee and to carry
on the necessary inspections and other field
work. Spelman College was one of the first
se\-en colleges to be accredited as a result of
this survey. Professor Wright has also as
sisted in the recent survey of public education
in Florida, having charge of the survey of
Negro schools. His sympathy with and
understanding of the problems faced bv the
Negro colleges is Avell known to those Negro
educators who are acquainted with him and
various individual Negro educators assured
the committee of their approval of this
selection of an executive agent.
His books, Principles of Vocational (ridd
ance and Readings in American College edu
cation, have introduced his name into the
literary Avorld.
His headquarters are at Washington. D. C.
afford to be rid of. Even this waste is used
—both as a blanket of protection in winter
and to enrich the soil.
’frees are able to withstand storms, wind,
and even loss of limbs. There is only one
natural way to kill a tree that is. to girdle
its trunk, thus exposing a substance to the
air, between the bark and tree-proper, which
is tin* vital element of the tree. The lon
gevity of a tree is greatly due to its ability
to adapt itself to its environment. If trees
are growing close together, as in a forest,
they grow tall not wide; send their roots
deep and do not spread them. They seem to
icalize that there is just mi much space below
and so much air above to be appropriated.
There is no time to loiter or grow fat no
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