The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, May 14, 1926, Page PAGE FOUR, Image 4
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Entered at the Columbia, South Carolina Poetoff ce on
November 20, 1908, as Second-Class Mail Matter
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J to 6 p.m. on Wednesday, and 10 to 11 a.m. or
2:30 to 5 p.m. on Thursdays.
NEWS STAFF
W. L. T. CRocxa...................Editor-in-Chief
J. V. NIIgSgN, Ja............,.....Associate 2ditor
W. 0. VARN.......................Associate Editor
H. S. KING..........................Sports Editor
MISS ORA MAt JACKSON............ Co-Ed Editor
ISADOR* POLltR.....................Editorial Policy
FEATURE WRITERS
Robert Ingram, Fred Minshall, Jimmy Baldwin and
'helma Lee Horger -
REPORTERS
W. J. Thomas, Harold Hentz, O. L. Warr, W. A.
Brunson, H. S. Heyman, E. W. LeGette, Elizabeth
Lindsay, Elizabeth Hardy, Catherine Phillips and
Ted Surasky.
BUSINESS STAFF
C. W. ScoT ............................ Manage,
J. R. PAS ...............................Assistant
R. B. HILDEXRAND ........................Assistant
SAM R*ADY ............................Circulation
FRIDAY, MAY 14, 1926
WANTED---A MAN !
Thursday the board of trustees meets to consider
a man to occupy the presidency of the University
of South Carolina. They must elect a man to suc
ceed William Davis Melton-choose a man in every
sense of the caliber of the president who moulded
the University with knowing hands and unlimited
vision so that it has become the vitalizing influence
not only in South Carolina education, but in the
larger social life of the state. Upon their decision
will rest the future of the University of the state.
Upon their wisdom will depend the maintenance of
our rightful place among the universities which
are breathing new life into the South. We will
more and more render invaluable service to the
citizens of the state by providing their children
with splendid educations and developing the extra
campus service of the University.
It is incumbent upon the student body to ex.
press appreciation of the work that Dr. Melton
accomplished at the University and point out most
clearly the qualifications they have come to
recognize and appreciate as fitting a president.
No body of men and women arel more cognizant
of these facts than the fourteen hundred students
who were at all times influenced by him. That
the opinions of these young men and women should
be presented to the trustees of the institution must
appear to every citizen of the state as both appro
priate and highly desirable.
Already there is much talk in the highways and
by-ways of the state concerning the next president.
Every weekly is nominating a favorite son and the
names of opliticians are thick in the alr. Possible
candidates for the presidency are on the tongues of
South Carolinians from one end of the state to the
other. Everyone Is interested in seeing so-and-so
elected-and is busy blowing that particular horn.
Most of this talk, to judge it briefly and fairly,
is of the same type that attends the election of any
political candidate. And because it is of the type
it can hardly bo regarded as a proper criterion iof
the needs of the University. In fact the persons
mentioned have been, for the mest part, considered
for themselves-wIthout regard to their fitness for
this particular position.
South Carolina should realize, and realize clearly
that the next president of the University must be
capable of takIng up and prosecuting the work of
Dr. Molten. South Carolina should realize that
the presidency of the University Is not to be held
as a berth for some retIred political figure nor I; it
an honor to be conferred upon some good citizen.
South Carolina mnust measure the next president
by the highest standards of knowledge of the re
quirements of the positIon ad abIlIty to meet -
-and accept no man who does not measure up to
them.
Four years ago the task might have been easier.
The University was at that time hardly pRominent in
higher education in the state.' She shhrd that
honor with other schools. But today she has more
than fourteen hundred men and women studying
in her halls. Her growth is a clear indigatioa that
under the proper leadership she will very joon pass
the two-thousand mark-and gq on fur*r..
In all her branches the University -Of South
Carolina has raised her standards of scholarship
(the first essential of sound education). She. has
extended tlhe scope of her work so that more future
citizens may receive the benefits of educatioe--end
prepare their lives for service to ,the .state.
Through her extension service she brought to
gether the high school of the state and elevated
their standards in all departments. Nor has she
ever counted her work done but has ever sees new
ways to' benefit the state.
Under the guidance of Dr. Melton the *ame of
the University of South Carolina has came to be a
power in the education of the South. She has out
grown the standards of her own borders asd has
attended - the position of a peer among ' American
universities. She began the large and hard tusk of
establishing securely a beacon to guide and raise
South Carolina to her rightful status in the com
munity of states.
It is necessary to point out these facts that we
may see clearly what the next president must take
up. The administration of the University is a task
second to none in importance and difficulty. .It
requires a man who can continue, broaden, develop.
strengthen the work of the school.
Upon the campus of the University of South
Carolina there is a whole-hearted realization that
the president must possess executive capacity
which must be further defined. Executive ability
as .no of the measures of the president of the
University does not mean solely ability to distri
bute funds-it means the capacity for understand
ing the problems of administration of every depart.
ment of the University's work. An executive who
is an iron-handed business man will not be able to
evoke in the student body the response that
William Davis Melton was given and is foredoomed
to limited success.
Combined with executive ability-though none of
the qualifications can be conceived as separate and
distinct-must be appreciation of scholarship. Au
appreci'ation of scholarship is not to be understood
as pedantry. It signifies an understanding of what
is a university, the standards it must maintain
the field it must develop. . We can not leave to
chance whether or not a successful financier can
meet these demands-we must know before he is
elected president of the University.
Where is the man to be found? Who is he?
Would he accept the offer? These are the ques
tions that must arise after we have determined the
standards.
We must remind ourselves that the problem
does not have to be settled in a few days or weeks
-the consequences of the decision are too far
reaching. Nor should we be contented to gun for
small game-they are the last resort. Among the
South Carolinians in this state or in other states
there is a man who can fill the place. Or if there
is no South Carolinian, there are figures in the
world of American education that can give the
state the servant it needs.
South Carolina must find that man. She has
sons who leave attained positions of prominence in
large institutions and others who have shown their
leadership in educational and social service. There
are others-whether or not they were born in this
state. And we must seek among their numbers for
the new leaders.
No one should view the expression of student
body opinion as in any sense dictatorial. It is
given as a true representation of how the men and
women who loved Dr. Molton will measure the
man chosen to fil his place. The students realize
that the trustees of the institution are confronted
with a difficult and trying task-and the student..
feel that their expression will not be regarded as
impeirtinent or untimely. . Their interests are in
extricably woven with the future welfare of the
University-can there be a truer test of sincerity?
-USC
Bravo! Juniors!
College men and women have a habit of making
and unmaking precedents with equal facility. While
some of the older heads are usually worried over
any change there will hardly be any timid souls to
under-evaluate the present junior class. In suc
cessfully promoting the annual junior-senior *an-.
quet at their own expense the class of '27 has made
history.
This affair, usually one of the leading events of
the spring social season in the state, is also one
that is costly. And to the rising seniors must
go the honor for the courageous undertaking they
have inaugurated. Under the leadership of various
committeemen they are endeavoring to put it
across alone. This can be done only with the co
operation of members of the junior class, and if
that co-operation is forthcoming, the banquet will
be a success. The class of '28 will have the op
portunity to sanction'and establish a custom that
is creditable to the University.
When Is a, Catalog? -
This business of publishing a University catalog
seems to have become a habit-because the yearly
issue seems hardly more than a rehash- of:the Nrevious
ones, and a poor one at that. For the most part, the
1925-26 catalog is. a reprint of the 1924-25 with the
exception of courses that have been added and some
more publicity given to the. Young Men's Christian
Association. And we are not surprised for the Uni
versity catalog displayed no nfore than'its usual inade
quate knowledge or appreciation of th' oe of stu
dent activities.
The Gamecock has no objectiun t' nake for the
bountiful s'pace ailoted to the.(A but we h rdly
see that organization in such an iclu$ive and vital
position as the 'catalog naturally lead3t the -new stu
dents to infer. Since the catalog Is of necsitr the
students "bible" it should give a teliable ,impression
of extra-curricula work-aid that should be done
either by adding more page;t6tlt,cataloi (.et,oiling
down some of the prent h)ghly-teted 'or apiza
tions and providing space or Mhes r.
tant.7
The .catalog which is set to:h scfl6ob is not
a complete representation o the tvk beidoie by
the students. of the Universityr. rit:s aIs ij;oaltidt of
editorial minds which are satis l with iregginting
year after year a deplorably..inadkquatd' survey of
student activities. The catalog is 'iritten by:igang
ing the name of professors who are away on leave'
of absence or who have been added to- the faculty;
of moving up the dates to fit the calendar for the
next year; and inserting the new courses. But the
equally important question of what organizations on
the campus further and complete the work of the
University, the holy document is silent-or rather
speaks in a squeaky whisper.
Despite the fact that two important stuident organ
izations the Economic Forum and Cercle 'Prancas
have been out of active existence for two years, they
appear in the new catalog (to the extent of being
mentioned). And mention is all that is given to nine -
student orgnizations that are as vital to the Univer
sity as the iiterary societies and the Y.M.C.A. They
are vital because the work done in them represents
the extension of student interest from the class rogm
to lives of students. Instead of these organizations
receiving the publicity due them, not for their own
sake but for the sake of the University, they are
described generally as "Other Literary and Scientific
Organizations."
Consistency is the one jewel in the editorial crown
-the same treatment is given the several clubs which
play an important role in the law school. No, we
exaggerate, they are not mentioned. Faculty members
of the Debate Council are honored with their names
but the student members who share the work are
omitted as usual-though they would not have nec
essitated any extra space-but would have calied for
rewriting two lines of the sacred document of the
previous year.
Although through the generosity of Dean W. W.
Ba-l two medals are offered for work, on The Game
cock, no mention is made of the fact-probably be
cause things have to become hoary with age before
they may be inserted in the traditions. And though
7'he Gamuecock occupies the status of the best college
newspaper in the state and ranks among the foremost
college weeklies in the country it is not mertioned
by name. Though it is the organ of student opinion
and the historian of University life the newspaper is
suggested generally as one of the publications of
the literary societies. That The Gamecock is mailed
to the high schools of the state and gives them the
students' viewv of the University the catalog is silent.
It is not so silent on the 'gublications of the
Extension Department.-elthough the student body
is almost entirely uninfluenced by them. But The
Carolin,ian which is the literary publication of the'
students of the University is mentioned only inci
dentally-in connection with certain prizes. About
the most consoling thing we can do is laugh-laugh
long and hard at what purports to be the catalog of
the University.
Honorary scholarships, according to the catalog,
will be conferred with public notice and recorded in
the catalog. The public notice was given by The
Gamecock whose news staff is at least more wide
awake than the catalog which left out the elections
although publication in the catalog is specifically re
quired by the action of the faculty.
The College Night edition of The Gamecocie
carried the announcement that a chapter of Phi
Beta Kappa would be installed at the Univeristy.
That was in September and subsequent issues have
carried the story of the completion of the first
year celebration. But the catalogue, which ap
peared during the latter part of April, does not
mention the achievement- of an honor which was
mtade much of in the newspapers in the state. Cer
tainly there was plenty of time to insert a compre
hensive section on the recognition accorded the
schoharly sa,ndards of the University-- we know
nothing about the business of editing.
Yes, this is not all. lBut it is an indication of the
fruitful field for work. It is no accomplishment to
get out a catalog that does not truly represent the
Untiversity. The next one should reveal some intel
ligent work and not the labors of the copyist. We
wondler how long such work wvould remain unehanged
in a newspaper--even one that is not mentioned ir.
the catalog Not long
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