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CAMPUS MIRROR
3
Interview with Dr. Davidson
Each year the opportunities afforded
the students of Spelman College are
greatly enhanced hy new members of
the faculty and staff who because of
their extensive and rich experience make
positive and worthwhile contributions
to the courses they offer. The two mem
bers of the Campus Mirror staff who
were granted an interview with Dr. Ir-
ville hay Davidson, successor to Mr.
Snowden in the department of classical
literature in the undergraduate and
graduate schools, found Dr. Davidson
not a stranger to Atlanta. He has been
greatly impressed with the growth that
has taken place in both the business sec
tion and residential section of Atlanta in
the last thirty-eight years, also with the
triple increase in population. Recalling
his former experience and his present re
ception here, he says that the tradition of
Southern hospitality is not without foun
dation. for he has found everyone with
whom he has come in contact very kind
and hospitable.
Having been a college professor of
Latin. Greek, and Ancient History prac
tically all of his life, Dr. Davidson is
well versed in the trends which these
subjects have taken in the college cur
riculum. At Bard College, where he for
merly taught, Latin or Greek was re
quired, and most of the students used
to be genuinely interested in these sub
jects because they were studying to be
come ministers in the Episcopalian
church, with which Bard College was
formerly closely connected.
Although Latin and Greek are no
longer required subjects in many col
leges. much enthusiasm is still shown
for these courses. To fully understand
art, drama, law and medicine, one must
have a good Latin background. English
literature, to a great extent produced
by men trained in classics at Oxford
and Cambridge or in English public
schools, is shot through and through
with Latin and Greek influences. Dr.
Davidson believes that everyone major
ing in a foreign language or in English
should know Latin and. if possible,
Greek. Students with a knowledge of
these two languages usually do better
in other courses.
In response to the question of his pref
erence of the two languages. Dr. David
son says that lie likes both languages
equally well; however, the Greek liter
ature is grander and more original than
the Roman literature. The Romans ex
celled in law and in government.
I here are two angles of interest from
which a language can be approached:
first, as a useful tool; and second, as a
good means of enjoying literature. It is
because of this second aspect that Latin
and Greek have lived through the ages.
Miss Read’s Birthday
Dinner
President Read paused long enough
from her busy routine of work to be ac
knowledged on her birthday. November
12. by the student body. That afternoon
the gift, a leatherbound booklet contain
ing expressions of appreciation, was
placed on her desk. In the evening she
was the guest of honor at dinner with
the students; Mrs. Lyons and Mrs. Jeff
ries were also present. After Miss Read
blew out the candles on the cake, some
of her favorite songs were sung by the
students. Miss Read said that the sin
cerity and thoughtfulness and jollity
such as shown on this occasion bring joy
to the life of a college president. The
affair was closed with the Spelman hymn.
Reception For Dr. and
Mrs. Mays
Dr. Benjamin E. Mays, the new presi
dent of Morehouse College, with Mrs.
Mays, was honored Friday evening, Oc
tober 18, from 8 to 10 o’clock with a
formal reception given by President and
Mrs. Rufus E. Clement of Atlanta Uni
versity and President Florence M. Read
of Spelman College in the Atlanta Uni-
versity Dormitory. The rooms were beau
tifully decorated with rich autumn
flowers.
Invited guests whom distance pre
vented from attending were no doubt
mindful of the pleasant gathering, but to
have been one of the 350 who were
present was an experience to recall and
to tell about. Every provision for the
pleasure of the guests was arranged so
conveniently that the air of formality
was lost in the cordial greetings when
guests were received, and from that
time there was no hurry to leave while
they were refreshed with maroon and
white ice-cream, coffee, and cakes, and
chatted with old friends or met new
ones. This delightful event, though for
mal, was a very human expression of
cordial welcome to President and Mrs.
Mays.
And it is because of this same aspect
that all great languages do live despite
the changes in civilization. Although
the French government is not function
ing today, the French language and lit
erature continue and will continue to
exist. The present war situation and
prejudices temporarily affect the popu
larity of a language, but people will al
ways read the good literature of any na
tion and people.
Dr. Davidson shows an intense in
terest in his particular field, and the
students of classics are glad to be able
to continue their studies under a person
of his rich experience in study, teaching,
and travel.
I)r. Cowling at Convocation
President Donald John Cowling of
Carleton College. Minnesota, addressed
the faculties and students in the Atlan
ta I niversity System on Friday. Nov
ember 2. at the first University Convo
cation of the current year.
After being introduced by President
Rufus E. Clement of Atlanta University,
the distinguished educator, who is also
a great religious leader, advised the
students against believing too much and
against being influenced by wrong ideas.
Young people today, he stated, are con
fronted with utter confusion brought
about because they do not know in whom
or in what to place their confidence.
President Cowling stated that the final
and ultimate basis of all right procedure
is to be found in three principles; the
first of these is the nature of the Uni
verse.
The purpose of education, declared
Dr. Cowling, is to know the laws of
the universe and to fashion one’s conduct
in accordance with this knowledge. He
emphasized as the second principle the
importance of the individual in relation
to the vast universe. Individualism is the
main issue at stake in the world con
flict today. Christianity and Democracy
which are both based on the teachings of
Jesus recognize the individual as such,
and. because they do. they should pre
vail over any forces that would subor
dinate the individual. The speaker con
ceded differences in individuals, in that
some have more material things than
others, some are more gifted than others;
yet each should seek to live the fullest
life possible despite any limitations. Un
til the students of today realize that they
are individuals with natural inequalities
and as such continue to develop them
selves, they cannot hope to overcome the
confusion which they now experience.
And then in a comparison of the fields
of science and religion according to their
helpfulness to the individual. President
Cowling said that the field of religion
has one great advantage, the peculiarly
sensitive nature of Christ. The teachings
of Jesus, his sense of values, his feeling
of what is important and what is not im
portant. these things are not merely per
sonal with him. they are not merely con
ventional with his day and generation—
but they are wrought into the very struc
ture and nature of reality itself, and we
have to reckon with them before we are
through.
In his introduction of the speaker.
President Clement mentioned that Pres
ident Cowling is a graduate of 'tale Uni
versity. the institution which gave such
splendid leadership to \tlanta l niversity
during the first fifty years of its exis
tence.
Dr. Cowling is a former president of
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