Dr. Smith Speaks to Class of 1922 (1922)

[An article from the 1922 Ring-tum Phi summarizes an address delivered by President Smith on the importance of loyalty, friendliness, and honor as well as specific college student foes to avoid. For more information, please visit W&L Special Collection.]

(President Smith | Source: NCpedia)

The freshman class met in the chemistry lecture room at 1 o’clock Friday, Feb. 7th, to hear a talk by President Smith. Dr. Smith expressed his great pleasure at meeting the freshman and said that the purpose of his talk was to give them some pointers, born of long experience, which might help them to get the most good out of their college course. He said that the first year of college life was by far the most important of the four, and that it generally determined the success of a man’s career both in college and in after life.

Dr. Smith pointed out to the new men the three cherished ideals of the Washington and Lee campus—Loyalty, Friendliness and Honor. He showed just what was meant by each and explained the importance of preserving these ideals in the smallest particular.

He then named what he considered to be the four worst foes of a college student. The first of these was excuse-making. This is such a general fault and so often leads to untruthfulness that it should be carefully guarded against by every student in the University. The second is gambling. There is no business in the United States that will employ a man who gambles, so that a person who is addicted to this habit not only wastes his money, but, in the eyes of the business world, ruins his reputation as well. The third foe is the loafing attitude which is so prevalent among the college men of today. Last but not least is campus cowardice. This is one of the worst foes of real manhood, and many a man has lost all strength of character by simply “going with the crowd.” It is easy for a man to do what everybody else is doing, but it takes real will power for him to oppose what he knows to be wrong.

Dr. Smith then told the class by what an overwhelming majority the students had pledged their efforts to have the assimilation of the new men placed in the hands of the student body as a whole instead of the Sophomore class alone. He suggested by way of carrying out this program, which a large majority of the class had already voted for, that the class of ’22, next year’s Sophomores, turn this task over to the student Executive committee, who shall appoint a Vigilance committee from all three of the upper classes.