All the Men - 1964

T oB eg i n W ith .

Stendhal, the French nove lis t,was once wa lki ng in Rome with a friend when they saw from on e of th e seven hill s the great dome of Sa int Peter 's. "Whatpurpos edo es that serve?" the friend queried in jest . "It serves to ma ke your heart beat faste r when you see it from afar," St endh alrepli ed. No one should ask what purpose a un ivers ityserves . A uni versity is prose in its workaday func tio ns, no t poetry or art. It is an aggregationof stud en ts ,pro fess ors , and adminis trat ors ,purpo sefully ,for cef ull y,and earnes t­ ly fulfil ling their reas ons for bei ng there. At one and the same time it is a compo sit eof the ludi crou sand the sub­ lime . So it is with thi s un ive rs ity . Looked at from an intimateview, the Uni ve rs ityis a complex of three col leges, two seminaries ,librarie s, and adm inis trativebuildings , simil ar in arch itectu re ,varied in character. Th e thi ng that give srichness to the Univers ity, how­ ever, can not be measured by the array of Rena issance- flavored facade s or th e prolific mo saics. By themse lves such structures echo wi th empti ness.More ce rt ainl y,th e mo st impress iveand, to some ,mono ton ouspagean tof all is the one that pas sesseveral times a da y, every day ,be­ tween classes. Coeds, laughing and tal king in smal l, ani­ mated , but byno mean s select groups, gath er in the La rk- -a mutual meet ingground. Intel lec tua ls dail y beat a well- worn and appare ntl y ceasel ess path to th e dust- rouged volumes she lved in the library. Frate rnity bo ys in im­ macul ate slacks and cri sp shi rts boi sterou sly con grega te at the localtavern to resolvethe forthcom ing social even ts . Th e radica l, with self- assured unor thod oxy,vig orously assert s to a group of ad vo ca te sand dubio us list eners his statu s as an indi vidualand dis sen terfrom Th om ism .And the athl ete ,of ten to the crowds sa tisfa ct ion,met es out des tructio n on a vi sit ing team. And fin al ly , nume rou s youngcouples in abj ect ignorance of those around them , talk a deep talk that no one els e wou ld care ab ou t,walk hand in hand to noondayMass, and seek the pr iva cyof a world tha t non e canenter . Life at the I niv ersit yis itself a way of life .