Page 22 - To Dragma May 1930

M A Y , 1930 I"

a tea in the theatre, to which friends of the college and of the students
are invited. The Associate Alumnae also give a reception at the end of
the academic year to welcome the new graduates to their number. Other
general college entertainments are the plays. The most important of
these is the Undergraduate Play, and the Sophomore Play easily holds
second place. Many of the class and society entertainments also take
the form of a dramatic performance, so that the girl with histrionic ability
does not lack opportunity to develop her talents. The other annual en-
tertainments are those welcoming the Freshmen to the halls of Barnard,
and the farewell of the Seniors in Commencement week. Of the first
there are three functions. The Christian Association invariably wel-
comes the new students as soon as possible after the opening of college.
Then there are the attentions of the Juniors and Sophomores, differing
somewhat in character and acceptability, but both equally inevitable,
and largely attended. Chief of the commencement festivities is Class
Day, which, beginning with 1898, has followed the form common to
most colleges, and is held in the theatre in Brinckerhoff. Besides the
Senior Dance and the Alumnae Reception already mentioned, there are
the gatherings attended by the graduates of both Barnard and Columbia,
including the Baccalaureate Sermon, the President's Reception, the meet-
ing of the Alumni of the university on Commencement Day, and, most
important of all, Commencement itself. Many of the Barnard Seniors
also attend the Columbia Class Day exercises and dance and invitations
to each of the Class Days are sent to the graduates of the other college.

The most important student organization at Barnard is the Under-
graduate Association, founded shortly after the foundation of the col-
lege itself. All undergraduates are members of this society, which regu-
lates the affairs of the student body, including the adoption and enforce-
ment of the rules for self-government. The presidency of this organi-
zation is perhaps the greatest honor that can be conferred by the stu-
dents upon one of their number.

Of the societies organized to foster the study of some particular
subject, the oldest is the Greek Club, founded in 1894. The member-
ship in this society is more limited and the character of the work more
serious than in any of the other clubs for language study. The Deutscher
Kreis, the Society Italiana, and La Societe Frangaise are enthusiastically
supported by students interested in the study of German, Italian, and
French, respectively. At all meetings of these societies, whether busi-
ness or social, no other language is used than that to the study of which
the society is devoted. Usually, the Deutscher Kreis and La Societe
Francaise entertain the college by giving a play some time during the
year. The Botanical Club, organized in 1897, is the oldest of the scien-
tific societies. I t differs from the other clubs in numbering many alumnae
among its members. Four meetings are held during the year, one of
which is a tea in the Botanical Laboratories. One of the other meet-
lngs is also open to those who are not members of the club, and is usu-
ally addressed by some prominent botanist. The Early Bird Club, which