Davidson--Stress Conformity, Academic Rigor

Davidson College is an educational paradox. Trying to fan the flames of a 116-year-old liberal tradition, the college at the same time demands an almost rigid conformity from each of its 800 students.

An atmosphere of sameness permeates virtually every aspect of student life. It ranges from compulsory attendance at daily chapel, four years of physical training for all, and required R.O.T.C., to a fraternity system where every house contains an identical amount of floor space.

Founded in 1837 by sturdy Scotch-Irish Presbyterians, the school dominates the tiny town of Davidson, in the Pledmont region of North Carolina. The small men's college operates under the belief that its primary aim should be the all-round development of each of its students. For this reason, equal emphasis is placed on the religious, the physical, and the social facets of education, in addition to academic growth.

Presbyterian School

Fundamental to the Davidson concept of general education is the school's connection with the Presbyterian Church. Although the founders of the college proposed "To educate youth of all classes without any regard to the distinction of religious denominations, and thereby to promote the more general diffusion of knowledge and virtue," the student body of Davidson today is half Presbyterian, and religious education plays a major part in the Davidson scheme of things.

All students must attend daily chapel services and a vesper service on Sundays. Courses of Biblical Study are required through the first two years of the school.

Unique Fraternity System

Social education at Davidson is provided through a unique system of fraternity system is an extreme emphasis ternity spirit generated by the closely-knit nature of the college community.

The most distinctive feature of the fraternity system is an extreme emphasis on the part of college officials to make certain that all of the fraternities are, at least on the surface, exactly alike. For this purpose the college constructed Fraternity Court in 1928, consisting of all 11 houses arranged in a small group on the southeast corner of the campus.

Every house was built to look exactly like the others. They are designed in the same architectural style and contain exactly the same floor space, down to the square foot. Each contains a large lounge, a meeting room, a kitchenette, and a lavatory, but no living or dining facilities.

Although the college forces the 70% of the student body who belong to the fraternities to live with their Independent brothers, it permits them to eat apart. Each fraternity has a "boarding house" in town where members eat, an arrangement roughly similar to Princeton's eating clubs.

A twelfth group, the Campus Club, is open to all those who do not join fraternities.

Like their country cousins at Dartmouth, Davidson men must rely on an abundance of spirit to tide them over the womanless days before each weekend. But unlike Dartmouth, Davidson generates its spirit from within, without any aid from Demon Rum, for the college rules state that "any student found guilty of drinking alcoholic liquors, having them in his possession, or being under their influence on the campus, is dismissed."

Cars for Seniors Only

The nearest women's college is Queens-Chicora, located in Charlotte, an hour's drive from Davidson. But this short distance could just as well be hundreds of miles, for only seniors are allowed to possess cars on campus.

Other nearby women's colleges frequented by Davidson men are Sullins, Converse, and the Women's College of the University of North Carolina. But dates for the big weekends are generally imported from the North--mostly from the whole string of colleges and junior colleges in Virginia.

Red-letter day on any Davidson man's social calendar is the Homecoming football game, which this year was last Saturday's game with Furman. College officials proclaim the day a holiday; each fraternity strips off the air of conformity and puts on a papier-mache veneer of garlands and streamers in an attempt to out-decorate the other ten houses. Consisting of a formal dance on Friday and informal dances on Saturday, these weekends usually feature name bands.

Rigid Honor System

All activities at Davidson, social, academic, and athletic, are presided over by a strong Student Government operating with the aid of a rigid honor system.

The fact that the honor system really "works" can be seen by even the casual visitor. Books are left in the halls and under the campus trees in full confidence that they will be there when the owner returns. The word "pledged" on an examination paper is the student's bond that he has neither given nor received aid; as such it is accepted without question. The professor's empty chair and the complete absence of proctors during examinations pay tribute to a tradition of honor which is respected and upheld by all.

Full responsibility for the enforcement of the Honor System has been taken by the Student Council. Any student whom the Council finds guilty of lying, cheating, stealing, or drinking--all considered "honor offenses"--promptly finds that his connections have been severed.

An indication of the relative amount of power held by the Davidson Council is that not once in the history of the college has the faculty reversed a council decision.

Freshmen Wear Beanies

A council of upper-classmen also controls the indoctrination of freshmen. Although all violent hazing was long ago curtailed by school authorities, some mild vestiges still remain. All freshmen are required to wear beanies until the spring term, when the freshman class is formally recognized and beanies are consumed in a bon-fire.

Upperclassmen are still entitled to a certain amount of respect from the freshmen, and violations are reported to a so-called "Court of Control," solemnly presided over by black-robed seniors. It is not uncommon to see a beanie-topped freshman pacing the campus carrying a large sign proclaiming that he "shall not walk on the grass and shall not be disrespectful to upperclassmen."

Athletics Required

Four year participation in athletics is compulsory at Davidson. Every student must take three hours of physical training each week.

Entering students are required to take a proficiency test in physical ability. Those passing the test are allowed to elect any activity offered in the large athletics program, while those who fail are assigned to special exercise classes. Organized sports range from table tennis to wrestling, and expert coaching is available to all students. A recent trend has been towards increased emphasis on golf, tennis, and other sports considered useful after college.

Keynote of this "athletics for all" system is an intramural program as highly developed as Harvard's interhouse competitions. Teams represent the fraternities, the Campus Club, and the Independents.

In intercollegiate competition, Davidson is a member of the Southern Conference, composed of such teams as Washington and Lee, North Carolina State, the Citadel, Furman, and others. Davidson is by far the smallest school in this conference, and has never fared really well in football, although Davidson's teams in other sports have many times led the league.

Subsidized Athletes

The school's small size necessitated the adoption of a program of subsidation of athletes two years ago. Increasingly poor football seasons led an alumni group to band together in the Wildcat Club for the express purpose of soliciting donations and attracting athletes. All funds, however, have been administered through the College Treasurer, and athletes are required to get the same grades and take the same programs as other students.

In spite of a string of poor football teams, Davidson men have still continued to support the Wildcats with the same fervor that marked the hey-day of football at the little Southern school back in the '30s. Everyone goes to the home games, and many men follow the team on the conference road trips.

Whenever the team comes home after a road trip that has been marked by an especially bitter defeat, the student body is down at the railroad station to great it.

Although it is not a land-grant college, Davidson requires all students to participate in at least two years of the Army R.O.T.C. program. Exceptions are made only in cases where a student is physically unfit or is specifically excused by reason of approved parental request made in writing before registration. Graduates of the college's Infantry program achieved an especially fine record in World War II.

Davidson's physical plant is one of the best in the South. Most of the buildings are reasonably modern, but there are still some striking reminders of the past. The most unique are the Literary Society houses.

After the Reconstruction, the Eumenean and the Philanthropic Literary Societies were the center of almost all extra-curricular activities. In the early years, students from North Carolina traditionally belonged to the Phi Society, while those from other states joined the Eu. Rivalry between these two organizations was as fierce as any inter-collegiate rivalries of today. Woodrow Wilson, who studied at Davidson during the year 1873-74, made his first public address from the porch of the Eu Club.

Today, the buildings still stand, but are used by only a small segment of the student body, mute testimony to the unique spirit of aesthetic gallantry that flourished in the South 20 years after the close of the Civil War.

Davidson is constantly looking towards the future. Under the guidance of Rev. John R. Cunningham, President of the college since 1941, the school has continued in its role as a servant institution of the church and the community, and has prospered as never before.

Besides witnessing a tremendous expansion in physical plant, the last decade has seen the endowment of the college double, rising to more than $6,000,000. Salaries have been raised. A greatly enlarged faculty has been gathered to cope with the need created by an unprecedented influx of students during the post-war era.

But in spite of great progress on material levels, Davidson has clung to a brand of education that is almost classical in nature, a brand of education that shuns all trade school ideas and is primarily concerned with the development of a thinking, self-sufficient individual.

Classics Required for A.B.

Davidson is one of the few schools where a knowledge of Greek or Latin is still a pre-requisite for the Bachelor of Arts degree (Harvard abolished this requirement with the class of 1950). Davidson men are required to take two years of Bible study, two years of English, a year of mathematics, a year of a laboratory science, a year of history, and two years of a foreign language. By requiring these courses, the college hopes to provide each student with a common core of knowledge regardless of his field of concentration.

Over half of Davidson's graduates enter some type of graduate school. Approximately 25 per cent of the student body are pre-medical students. Nine Rhodes scholars have been chosen from the ranks of Davidson men.

These figures furnish sufficient proof that the Davidson formula--a liberal arts curriculum coupled with a highly restricted campus life--succeeds in producing the type of man that the founders of the college desired, a man who will bring a disciplined mind and body to bear on the many problems facing an expanding South.The Chambers building (above) is the focal point of Davidson life. Administrative offices, a large auditorium, and various classrooms and laboratories are contained in the structure, built in 1930.