First War Class Graduates
444 "Men of 1942" Receive Degrees at Commencement Exercises Closing 173rd Year; College Honors Ambassador Hu Shih and Four Others at Earliest May Graduation
WITH 80 PER CENT of its 444 members already in military service or expecting to begin active duty within the month, the Class of 1942 joined Dartmouth's alumni ranks on Sunday, May 10, at the College's 173rd commencement.
Advanced five weeks by the accelerated war program, the graduation exercises were combined with the traditional Baccalau- reate for the first time. Despite the earliest graduation date in Dartmouth history, it was possible to hold the exercises out- doors in the Bema, where President Hopkins delivered the principal address and conferred honorary degrees upon five distinguished men, among them Hu Shih, Chinese Ambassador to the United States, Cyrus S. Ching of the National War Labor Board, and Chief Justice John E. Allen '94 of the New Hampshire Supreme Court.
Alumni reunions for all "2" and "7" classes were scheduled for the week-end after commencement, and 37 members of the graduating class were granted their bachelor degrees in absentia. Nevertheless, Hanover was filled with an unexpectedly large commencement throng, and extra dormitory accommodations had to be made available. The simplified, two-day program, held amidst New Hampshire's burgeoning spring, was a pleasant, family occasion, all the more impressive because of the pervading awareness of the war and of the active role which Dartmouth's "men of 1942" were about to assume.
With acceleration so much in the air, it seemed only natural for the Board of Trustees to hold its traditional "June" meeting on Friday evening, May 8, signaling the start of the commencement season and giving official sanction to last-minute developments of tremendous importance to many an individual in the graduating class. Biggest news coming out of the Board meeting, however, was the election of Nelson A. Rockefeller '30, Coordinator of Inter-American Affairs, as Alumni Trustee of the College, succeeding Philip S. Marden '94, former editor of the Lowell (Mass.) Courier-Citizen, who next month completes the limit of two five-year terms.
Aside from discussion of vital problems related to the war, the Trustees covered a routine docket devoted largely to faculty matters (reported in detail in the College News section). Of special alumni interest was the voting of emeritus rank to William F. Geiger '92, Professor of Education, who retired last June; and to James A. Winans, Evans Professor of Public Speaking, who ended his active teaching career on Commencement Day.
While the trustees in Parkhurst Hall were dealingwith College affairs, the earlier arrivals among the commencement guests filled up most of Webster Hall to hear the Dartmouth Glee Club, finalist in a national contest, give its annual commencement concert. Originally scheduled for Saturday night, the concert was moved ahead to provide an attractive opening for the week-end and admirably filled that role.
Saturday morning started off in learned fashion with the annual commencement meeting of Phi Beta Kappa. At 10:15 the Class of '79 trumpeters, playing from the Baker Library tower, summoned the black- robed seniors and their families and friends to the campus for the Class Day exercises. Because the ground was still too damp for comfort, the program was held in Webster Hall, except for the traditional smashing of clay pipes on the stump of the Old Pine at the conclusion of the exercises.
War was inevitably the keynote of all the class speakers. In welcoming the guests of the seniors, President Dale Bartholomew pledged the members of 1942 to fight for their ideals. 'While at Dartmouth," he said, "we have thought about the ideals and values that a democracy stands for; those ideals will be fought for."
Walter B. Elcock, in his Address to the Class, spoke of the memories of Dartmouth which the Seniors would take away with them, of the things learned, of the faith acquired. "We have learned that there can be no happiness in a world of oppression, and that freedom is the most cherished right of man," he stated. "We go forth grateful for the years of happiness which lie behind us, and confident in our strength to meet the tasks before us."
In the Class Poem, entitled The Winds, Robert A. Myers declared: There is a wind blows on us all which, though we try, we cannot fix in any season, time, or place. And, were we leaves, and that may be, its force would whirl us all away. Yet, hoping to be more than leaves with better strength to hold a branch, we brace against it, feel its rip, and set ourselves to battle gales. Perhaps a thing we've never learned, and some may fail, and yet.... we'll try!
James S. Erwin, in the Address to the Old Pine, pointed out that 1942 would perhaps be the last class to graduate as a unit for some years to come. "The war we leave here to enter is a blind tunnel through which no man can predict a safe passage for himself Let us all remember that the twenty-odd years we have lived have been full ones because they were enriched by Dartmouth. A man can live longer and die less fortunate a man than any of us today."
Also heard during the Class Day program were James L. Farley, the Sachem Orator, and Thomas W. McElin, whose Address to the College is printed in full elsewhere in the MAGAZINE.
Class Day was followed by a buffet luncheon in Thayer Hall, given by the Board of Trustees for seniors, their fathers, and the faculty. The crowd moved to Webster Hall for the speaking program, which was featured by an unscheduled and informal talk by Ambassador Hu Shih, who declared that the civilized world could not survive another war such as the present one and urged that attention now be given to the sort of peace which must be made to endure in the post- war years. Other speakers of the afternoon were President Hopkins, Mr. Ching, William W. Grant '03 for the Board of Trustees, and Proctor H. Page Jr. '42, secretary- chairman of the senior class.
President Hopkins spoke mainly of the curriculum changes which the College must make in keeping with the new role of the United States in world affairs, while Mr. Ching talked briefly of the contributions which labor and management must make to the national war effort and particularly of the need for new attitudes. In one of the most warmly applauded talks of the program Mr. Grant reviewed some of the political and intellectual fallacies since the last World War and asserted that lip service is paid to democratic ideals but that true democracy cannot exist except on a Christian basis.
A band concert and the Dartmouth- Harvard tennis match provided diversion for Saturday afternoon, and in the evening The Players' presentation of Out ofthe Frying Pan and the Commencement Ball made up a busy social schedule. The two latter events were preceded by the graduation and dinner of the second-year class of Dartmouth Medical School, which awarded diplomas to 24 men, nine of whom have been commissioned Ensigns in the Naval Reserve and permitted to finish their medical studies.
Sunday morning arrived with alternate sunshine and threatening clouds, and with a spring nip in the air, but conditions steadily improved and it was possible to gratify almost everyone's desire to have the final exercises in the outdoor amphitheatre of the Bema rather than in Webster Hall. The Class of '79 Trumpeters and Baker Library chimes heralded the start of the colorful academic procession from the campus, down the tree-arched walk of College Park, to the Bema. President Hopkins and Governor Robert O. Blood '13m led the procession through the split ranks of the graduating class. Behind them, escorted by Trustees, came the five honorary degree recipients: Mr. Ching and Chief Justice Allen, who received the Doctorate of Laws; Ambassador Hu Shih and John Livingston Lowes, emeritus professor at Harvard, who were awarded the honorary Doctorate of Letters; and Frank B. Sanborn '87, engineer and inventor, who received the Doctorate of Science. Trustees, Deans, Governor's council, and faculty followed through the senior ranks, which then closed and filed into the Bema behind the Stars and Stripes and the flag of Dartmouth. Coxswain James J. Mulligan '42 of the U. S. Coast Guard, back for graduation, had the honor of carrying the flag at the head of the procession. A few other uniformed men were in the senior line, but most chose to march in cap and gown.
After the opening hymn and invocation, Charles M. Pearson '42 of Madison, Minn., Senior Fellow, Phi Beta Kappa student, and football and basketball captain, mounted the Bema platform to deliver the valedictory of his class to the College (the full text of which is printed in this issue). "Do not feel sorry for us," Pearson told the Bema audience. "We are not sorry for ourselves. Today we are happy. We have a duty to perform and we are proud to perform it The new order—our new world—is in our hands. We must not, we dare not fail."
DR. HU SHIH WARMLY RECEIVED
Then followed the conferring of bachelor degrees upon the 444 members of the class and of the Master's degree upon Chester R. Berry '40 and Robert Levine '40 of the College faculty. Dean Bill presented each Of the honorary-degree recipients, whose distinguished achievements were cited by President Hopkins in prelude to the placing of the Doctors' hoods over their heads. (These citations are printed in full in this issue). The presentation of Ambassador Hu Shih called forth a spontaneous tribute to the Chinese scholar, who was characterized by President Hopkins as the "representative of a people whose indomitable courage, whose dogged persistence, and whose miraculous achievements against overwhelming odds have gone far toward saving civilization in our time from extinction."
President Hopkins then delivered the address and Valedictory which are reported in full elsewhere in the MAGAZINE, and with the Glee Club's singing o£ DartmouthUndying the 173rd commencement exercises were brought to a close.
For those remaining in Hanover through Sunday afternoon, another Band concert and Dartmouth movies were provided, and at 4 o'clock the Baker chimes sounded a welcome to the garden reception held at their home by President and Mrs. Hopkins. Sunday evening permitted more family gatherings in the dormitories and fraternity houses—for those not undertaking the hectic job of packing up the accumulations of four years. Amidst the closing scenes of the senior week-end a few alumni put in their appearance, the vanguard of the Hanover Holiday "students" and of the reuning classes. For many in Hanover this was a doubly welcome continuity, not allowing one to think entirely about the void left by the "men of 1942" going off to war.
DARTMOUTH BOARD OF TRUSTEES At the Commencement meeting of the Board, all members were present. Shown above, firstrow, left to right, William W. Grant '03, Edward S. French '06, Philip S. Marden '94,Ernest M. Hopkins '01, Governor Robert O. Blood, m'13, Dr. Arthur H. Ruggles '02,John R. McLane '07. Second row, left to right, Victor M. Cutter '03, Harvey P. Hood'18, Dr. John Gile '16, Dudley Orr '29, and William J. Minsch '07.
