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4 CAMPUS MIRROR Irina Skuriatina Visits Spelman On February 3. Irina Skariatina, dis tinguished author and lecturer and mem ber of the Russian nobility, came to our campus. 1 be few students who were able to meet her that afternoon were im pressed by her friendliness and vivacity. That evening, before an interested group of students and people f r o m the community, Mis> Skariatina delivered a lecture about Russia. She talked of her parents and of the particular influences in her childhood which broad ened her outlook and gave her a keen interest in her fellow countrymen. Her mother was a Russian princess and her father a nobleman of Tartar descent. Her father had very decided conservative opinions, and she told the audience of the violent debates that he had with an old tutor of hers who was progressive in his views. The Countess attended the University in Petrograd where she took her degree in medical science. With such training she was able to go to many places and see numbers of things that were denied to other students at the University. Countess Skariatina gave the history of the Russian people since 1861. when the period of serfdom ended. She told of the series of conflicts beginning with the intellectual revolution in the hands of the college people, through the period of Karensky. then of Lenin, and of pres ent day regimentation under Stalin. She told of various incidents in the struggle of mass against class, and of her father whose outward defiance of the new situ ation cost him his life on a dusty Rus sian street. She told interestingly and charmingly of her stay in a Bolshevik prison when she was forced to use the Hindu custom of concentration that she and her brothers had learned, in order to keep her equilibrium during solitary confinement. Miss Skariatina talked for a while of present day conditions behind which is the philosophy that the great masses of the Russian population don’t know what is best for them and must be directed in their thought and action until they can stand upon their own feet. She believed that in spite of the fact that the situation seems to be one of hopeless chaos, that her people are slowly but evenly pro gressing. that they will some time have the institutions and comforts that they see and admire so greatly in other lands. In Sunday School the next morning. February 4. the Countess told of some of the religious practices and supersti tions in Russia, and of her life in court as the maid of honor to the Empresses Marie Teodorovna and Alexandra. At the end of her talk there was an oppor tunity to ask questions, as there had been the night before. The Countess is a charming person, vivacious and sincere, and the force of her personality plus the tremendous amount of authoritative in formation in her possession made her visit to our campus seem far too short. Registration Day Upon entering the Atlanta University Library on registration day one might get a picture of either gaiety, satisfac tion. despair, disgust, anger, or heart break of varying degrees. Students, hun dreds of them, bustling about, upstairs, downstairs, in line here, in line there, but everywhere—students. A line at the door, a line before the treasurer, a line before each teacher, a line before the registrar. Despite these numerous lines, the treasurers, Mrs. Stanley and Mr. Gassett hold the record for maintaining the longest lines throughout the day. Nevertheless, amusing and humorous things happened. For example, there was student No. 1 who, while she was standing in line, heard the “Prof” tell student No. 2 in front of her to “see Miss Jenson, the Registrar,” before he would sign her card. Student No. 2 then said anxiously to the same “Prof,” “I wonder if you would sign my card.” To which the instructor replied, “I won der what you wonder!” Then there was that delicate bee-like creature who saw written on the instruc tion sheet. “Miss Mather and Staff”; this cherub went flitting about hither and thither looking for “Miss Staff.” After long efforts to make schedules come right, the instructors were divided into four categories: those who smiled and signed your card; those who smiled and said you barely passed; those who smiled and told you that you were con ditioned; and those who smiled and told you they were sorry. At 5:30. there were no lines, or even many reasonable suggestions of lines. Likewise about 99% of those hundreds of students had gone, and the Reference Room gave a sigh of relief as the place was cleared of posters, ink wells, and other tools of registration. Coming Morehouse Founders Day—February 18 and 19. Sir Hubert Wilkins—February 20. Maurice Hindus—February 24. Student Dance Demonstration—Feb ruary 23. “Wise is the man who has a cage ready for the bird in hand.” Dr. Steere at Prayer Meeting At the weekly prayer meting service on February 1. Dr. Steere spoke to the students and a number of faculty mem bers on the subject of “Roots.” He spoke of several items from his expe rience in which tlie roots of certain plants were the only things that saved them from complete destruction. These examples included the hardy pines of New England and the water lilies in a pond whose roots get much tangled in a storm but arrange themselves in their natural pattern after the disturbance is past. Dr. Steere said that in our lives, reverence as shown in prayer is the tap root which gives us stability in condi tions that threaten to shake our foun dations. In our busy world, it is often difficult to find time to pray, and even more difficult to get into the mood for rever ence. The first essential is a place with at least a degree of quiet. Then the in dividual must concentrate upon what he is doing. Do not fight your distraction, Dr. Steere said, but rather acknowledge its existence. In deep concentration, dis tractions can serve as aids in bringing about a closer communion with God. A fierce wind, for example, may moti vate one to pray for a cooling of one’s soul. It is not necessary to kneel while praying, particularly if one is conscious of the hard surface; but most people find that closing the eyes helps to shut out distractions. Prayers may be of all kinds and for all purposes, but one must not pray for others unless one is ready to drop every thing to go to aid them. Prayer serves as a source of strength and courage. Jesus, Dr. Steere concluded, is the su preme example of one who received power from frequent prayer and medi tation. Penguin Hop Echoes The Penguin Hop was greatly en joyed, and will be written up fully in the next issue—but until then here are a few echoes: Mr. X. to teacher: Did you say I could have one of these pygmies to take home for a souvenir? Mr. Y. to teacher: Is it all right for me to take one of these pigeons home? Miss Z. to teacher: I am sorry I did not get to help paint the penguarns. Mr. S. looking at what was supposed to be a representation of an Atlantic iceberg: What you’all got them sheets up there for? What’s they hiding? So there really was need for the ex planation which a certain young lady tried so hard to give during intermis sion. but with little success.