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• • • • • • VOLUME II
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. . Jj~llUARY
1~16
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ST. YAL:CiJTTIU';
Tune:- St. Joles. I
St. George uf Englund sleu a fierce dragon, St. Michael forced $lucifer out of Heaven, · st~ Patrick drove the snakes from old Ireland, St. Louis fought Saracen battles seven, St. Bonifo.c·e \7on the German heart, St. Nicholes dowered three moidcns fair, But of all the Scints in the calendar, There's none can VI i th our 0\m oor;:pare 1 St. Valentine'. St. Valentine! Kindliest suint of a glorious line! The saint tlho made ti1e blind to see, The sc.int 17ho hec.led the broken heart, ~he saint vtho fostered humnn hopes, The suint who escaped Death's fiery dnrt. II
St. Vt.lel'ltine \7us Bishop of Eor.1e, In the days of the Emperor Claudius I!, . r!ho \7ickedly orderea his death at the stake, A deed th~t his hirelings could not do, For u storm arose and quenched the fire, And Phen his pinus friends returned To olc.im from the ashes his bones they found ;-.. throbbing heart. but no body burned. St. Valentine~ St. Vfl lentine! Sttll lived to mcke the blind to see. Still li~ed to heel the broken he a rt, Still 1 i vee to foster lmrnan hopes, For he had escaped Denth's fier y dL:.rt.
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PATRON SAINTS . .For centuries .it has been t h e cu stom. for countries, cities . and even individu~ls, to h2ve p~tron s a ints. The choice is usua lly founded up~n some special service rendered by the saint in question. Even back 1.n ·the days of JeV7ish history S2..int Hicht>.el tJas honored a s the one who had at henrt the interests of the Chosen People, for he un.s credited Pith ho.v~ng driven Se,tcn ont of He even together with t h e 11hole train of rebell1.ous nngels. I:l ore than this he vms supposed to have been the one who prepr.red for the return of the Hebrewa from the Persian oaptivity, who led the valiant Maccabees to victory, and Tiho rescued the body of ~~oses from the Evil One. St. Goorge has .been honoree. for many centuries as the guardian of En~lRnd and his · re d cro sf was long shown on the British fl a g. Combinea w1.th the white saltire of St • Andrew::: of Sootlc.nd, together v1i th the red crosses of St. David of :-r2.les o.nd St. Patrick of Ire lund, it forms the well-known "Union Jo..cl:" · St. Louis, Crusader and King is supposed to exercise the san e i7atahful oare over the French today as he did in the 13th century. St. Boniface, the DP-vanshire lad who carried the c r oss to the Pegan peoples dwelling in lands alon g the Rhine, is regarded us the specia l protector of Germany. St. Hicholas, patron s n int of Russia. who restored to life three little children who hacl been murdered, and VJho re. s cued three maidens of noble birth from a 1 ife of shmoe by dowering them and thus enabling them to get husbands, is rega rclfed in most Christian lands as the special gua rdi an of youth in distress. Our ovm. St. Valentine was also credited v:i th a very speci ~ l interest in youth. It vms he r;rho made sight possible to the blind 9¥eS of the lovely Row~n maiden, Asteria, and who converted both herself and her father to Cl1rist i ani ty as a result of the m'ira cle. It \'::'aS he who comforted and encou r a ge d the hundreds of Christian youths condemned to die by flame, by s vmrd; by wild beasts, in the reign of Claudius II, who used this means frequent;¥y to make the :Romans a holiday. One of the fe w pictures of St. Va lentine, a.nd one of the lov.liest, represents him in a Roman dungeon, administering comfort to those vho are to die on the morrow. In one h~n& is a ligh te d c and~e, in the other a golden chalice, for the celebration of the Su. crcment. It was while engaged in these k;indly offices tha t St. Vc-.lentine was a pprehende as a Christian also, a fact which soon led to the Emperorrs order for his execution. . · There are several conflicting reports concerning his de.a .th, some historians claiming that he wa s behea de d on February 14th, 270, others that he escaped de a th as told . in the PHOElJ IX of l ust year and i r:. the song sent out this week. ? hese chroniclers state that he l~ved many years to comfort and encourage his fl 0ck thru all the troubleas days of the Emperorrs reign. ASAs who have been introduced to the histoTy of his Majesty, King Asa, and wha unde r stand a bout his being taught to escape dissolution by the1rwise PhoeniK, are incl irred te a gree with those historians who claim that he es·cape .a martyrdom. ASL: believe that ~3t. Va lentine v~as King Asa in the fctrm a ssumo a by thut monarch in the third century. ·'L'he a bsence of the bo dy and the pres.ence of the glmving heart among the -quenche d embers, to gether 'VJi th proof pas i tive that LOVE never has died in all the centuries since, a n. convincing evidence to every loyal ASA that St. · Valentine still liv es. If you ''rere to go to Rooe ., hor.f'e ver, ~rou 17oulcl be shorm in the Church o£ st. Praxedes a golden casket containing some relics of t h e u ellbeloved Saint, and you u ould be directed to a gate once known a s the Vale ntine Gate, but now c a lled the GD.te of the People. It i s t o be re,O'retted that this gate no longer be a rs the name of St. Vc lent i n e, b11t the change ~n n c;.me is -perhapsonly n a tural; for the k i n91Y Sa int held close to h1s he ~ rt the interest of a ll h1s people • r1ch or poor.
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P ATROl&;s SES
Patron Saints are very good possessions to have or to acquire, bu~ Pat:onesses are ~ike~i~c most desirable, as all sorority chapters 1n ex1stenc€ ~ny length. of time 111ould be only too ready to te s tifY: Every chapter 1n Al-pha S1gma Alpha that has not already secure cl the 1nterest and sup-port of influential women should promptly procee d . . The number of Pa tronesses should never be less than two to do so. nor more ~han eight. In mak:ilng a selection, it is v1ell to choo8c s~roo facu~ty w1ves, because of t11eir rather intimate knm-;ledge of social oond1tions in the school or college, and some prominent to-,7n vJomen, becaus~ of their possible ~ider o~tlook and larger opportunities al on g. some l1.nes . The Patroness should be a woman to IThom a member or the group as ~ vrhole,. could go freely for advice and suggestio~, not only about soc1.al affa1rs, but also about any problem or interest that m ign~ arise. Every effort ·should me made, by the adti~e girls anQ by alumnae, to establish an intimate relation betv7een the patroness and. the in· dividual members, both past and present. The custom of using })a tronesses merely as chaperones at a dance, or other social affair, is not a wise plan. ~here should be the close, personal, vital interest of the older ~oman in the active girls, and this interest shoulG be secured. at all costs. Vurious nethods have been evolved to attain this end. Mcny chapters assign to certain r.1enbers each 17eek the pleasant task of making a social call on tlle Datroness, for the purpose of acquainting her with the group r s 11ork and plans~ Some chapters make .a pruct ice of calling in a body on Sunday afternoons for a thing of college ~nd sorority songs. Still others huve little afternoon teas, tramps, qr picnics, for the purpose of getting acquainted. L. girl away from home very often needs the advice of o.n older w~man. The pc.troness Plan makes it possible for every sorority girl to feel perfectly free to go for · that advice when needed to someone "'hr. has her best interest at heart. Quite aside frop the advantages to the girls themsel""es of having several such friends avnilable at all tioes, there can be no question whatever but i7hat it is un e~cellent iden to have townspeople interested in the local Normal School or College • . The interest of fac ul ty wives is something to be expected, but tovm VTorncn are not always in close touch with sttident conditions. Even uhere these v ornen a re no ":'!holly indifferent. they often are aware of n o V.'ay of puttin g themsel V E in touch \-;i th student 1 ife. The Patroness Plan hns opened the wa;.r in the past for securing tuoCollege or IJormul School much l oca l support and a more extended social life. Finally, it is uell for young girls to be frie nd ly uith olde r \/Omen, especiully ,...,ith ,-, omen of culture, refinemc::.1t, charm nnd spiri~u · a.li ty, and it is, moreover, equally importnn t that older r·omen of th1s type should be on intimate tel"TJ1S VJ ith young girls. Age and e :J..o:pe ri en c ·~ are splendid possessions, but youth and visions are also valuable. 7hen youth and nge nnite, the resiilts co.nnot fail to be those \;hings that make 1 ife v;orth the 1 iv ing to botb ynung and olG.. "Study hard.. think qu_iet~7, tall::. ger. tly, a ct frankly; listen to stars 2nd birds , babes and s ages , .,-,ith open heart; bear all chee rfully, e., a.ll brnv8ly, a',7ai t occasions, hurry never; in a ':;ord, let the spiritual, unbidden ~~nd unconscious gron up tbru the coD-· mon." i·.'r,l. Henry Channing
64. S m.L • VALElrTINE 1 S t_:1he ~ext P.ED ~T'L:R DAY on the />.SA Calendar will be St. 7al 3~tine's. _rt.1~ expectP.n, . thereforP., · tnat Chapte rs , Alnmnoe Asso ci atlon s a~d ~nd1v1d~~l AS~s shall celebrate thi s day in SQme sp~cial va~. The Ins1en~a Comrrnttee l,S ~repared to offer snt;gesti ons along the l i ne
of.r decorat1ve for vhapters desirous nf su--h ·· th. . shhemes . ~ .... help . Th'"'r Cha 1· rrr.a!.l o~ ~s comrn1 tt~e , 1s _1-~ rs ~ ~c.ul :Dysart Hi gbee and her add rP.ss is 515 :~· I_Ilgh St .. , K1r.K~v1lle, Mo.. Anyone .rho wishes &rti s tic ide r. s f or :1oe 1n ASA may fe e .t free to call upon her a t uny t ine.
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One of the new 1916 plans is to assign some s necial ASA
'7Jrk to ev~ry A~umnae Association. Tha t is how it has come t o pass that the ~1rksv1l~e Graduates are putting their he c.ds to gether on that
Installat1on_outf1t. If any Alumnae . Associati on has a predil ec ti on for any part1cular phase of Nati onal Work it shoul d' communicate with ;~e. Nl;lti~nal l?res i~ent. One C..oe'S' not need, h owever, to belong t o an .lOJs1ciat1on to be 1n National \/o rk. There is need of even the isol a te { lS~. Let her only come forward with an offer of time and service.Every fl$ A ~lCT!VE is the slogan for 1916, remecber~ so let each and every one do something to make it not only a glorious possibility, but alsc a glorious :reality. Here 1 s to il916. our ',70NDER year.
* * * * A lette:r from Kirksville g ives fuller particula rs abou t t .1e Reoeption at Rita Husted's. According to our co~resvon C. ent, the hout:ee was artistically dec orate d with great bunches ·of n a rcissus in every nook nncl oorner~ In the dining roor.1 the col or scheme of r~c. anc:. white was usea. Pink and white ice·...:cream, wafers, tea and coffee, ) ink and vrhite I'ilints were served. The ro oms were lighted b y c an cl}as. ~:us ic was furnishe rl by the best orchestra in town~ and j ust before ' le aving taP.re ;;ere s on gs by Vir g i n it> Vict or. . This s a~e co rrespondent w rite~ th~t Alpha Beta has four new :1le C:.[;es. Em ilie Hickerson, a BSO at Central Co l le s e, V'ho will c;raduate in the 120 hour cla ss this year. Le t 8. Yov'e ll, wh o is E1.1ilie 1 s roomnate. Ruth Stone, who h a s tw o SSS sisters and Eliz a b eth Frazee. This makes _ten pledgos in all f or A lph~ Bet a this tGrm. · Cne Saturday a fternoon recently a bunch of twenty Al ph a Be t ~: pledges and rushees, - ~ ent for a b : > b sled ri c1EJ. No sleigh ri de_ is ever quite c omp lete without a s pill, a n d that of. Alpha Be:ta was rl oubly p erfect, because it n ot only had the spill but it had FOUR g irls so h o~ ore ~. -'~ side boar d broke a n d the g irls f e ll out backwa r ds. 'L'ho se n. iihe sleig h we re so e x cite d· thc.t the y e r a?bcd at the first thi~ e the:r ~ ' and t h is hap}.Jene a. to be feet. The f ou r r. e ads , of co ur s e, wen 't bwnptybump .,y.,er every cl od in the road. Fo rtuna te l;y n o b o <~~l ViD. S re n l:!.y he.;.2t; :md theybumps were soon f or go tten when ~h ss _Jewett se rye c1 hot ch o c o l f'. ~L -:. ::n d V-"a fers in her r ooms npon the · return of t ne :o~rty. Al phats new initi2 tcs a r e Elvira C3.klin, Salli e ~av: lin c s , :.e claire Zin g , n.n Ci Kr:te ~ drnund s · . . _ . Alpha Al ph c 1 a ne w s irls ~ re C ~ ther1ne Arbo ga st. Henr1ett a Armstrong , Hortense Be rkheimer~ Le t a Br1ner, ~ut h ~onnelly, ~ l o r a Duke, ::.o rna Duke, ~:c.thryne For c1 , Irene '} o"J d~ll, He len Halme, He len King, J l ndys Landman, and GQil 7rombo. Put~oness