University of Oregon monthly., May 01, 1908, Image 8

U n iv er sit y o f O regon M o n t h l y
ii
associations that spring into one’s thoughts at the very mention
of that magic word. A very different thing it became in the hands
of the busy, pleasure loving Americans; for Commencement is
essentially American today and has, been for more than à hundred
years. Even in Colonial times and in the annals of Revolutionary
days,, we read of the festivities' of Commencement week at Harvard
whén the village green was1 covëred with gav booths, and the
people came from far and near to this,’" One social occasion"1 of the
year. The royal governor' and all his train were present, and in­
deed there was -as much tfvaky over the securing of prominent men
for thebCcasion as there is today We can imagine then the feeling
of exultation and triumph at: Princeton when in 1783 General Wash­
ington, his staff, and the Federal Congress attended Commencement
there. l1W e learn, moreover; '.from old records that the spirit of
revelry ran so high that thé worthy authorities were obliged to for­
bid plum puddings, piës, and distilled' liquors in order to keep
peace.
Times have-changed since then, no longer do the seniors hold
forth in long “disputations,” “Forensic- Disputes,” ahd -discuâêïons
on weighty Subjects beyond the comprehension of the average min’d-
The literary side of Commencement has almost passed'out’-of ex­
istence. Even the'honor sw hich were once | so highly prized 'as
the mark of a ÉjûbcesisfuP collège career have been abolished in many
of the larger institutions. The seniors take no part in Commence^
ment proper and on Class Day, although occasionally- we find a
Class Orator, or a Tree of Ivy Orator, . the greater part of the pros
gram is devoted to humorous bits, of class history, t'o a prophecy
and’perhaps a class',poem. No,j Commencement is not what it once
was ; it has become a splendid and expensive1 social feature; excelled
in brilliance by few festivities.
The lover'of simplicity may disparage the change which Com­
mencement hast undergone ; but it remains what it is, to4>e accepted
or not as you please. The gay round of excitement is, however,
inô'st welcome to the student after long winter months-of digging
and1 r worrying over books; he evidently thinks ^the pleasure and
benefit which he derives well worth the pains and labor they may
cost. Eor'days, and even weeks, before Commencement prepara­
tions are being made ; the campus is put into unimpeachable order,
the flowers brought to thëîr prime' and grasses and- shrubs clipped
Clb'Ség arrangements ■ are rnade for . the Senior “Prom” -or Alumni