UNIVERSITY WOMEN.

Auckland Star, Volume LXI, Issue 140, 16 June 1930, Page 11

UNIVERSITY WOMEN.

NEW GRADUATES HONOURED.

The Auckland branch of the Federa- j tion of University Women on Saturday ' evening gave their annual dinner in honour of the graduates of the year There ■ were graduates of many overseas universities present, including: Mrs. Shepherd and Miss Stewart, Dublin; Dr. Warnock, Edinburgh; Miss Sandford, Cambridge; Dr. Montgomery, Glasgow; Miss V. Hay, Miss Found, London; Dr. de Cowey, Brussels; Miss Begg, Columbia; Mrs. Mardon, Washington; Miss Priestman, Toronto; Miss Yuki Kimura, Kyoto; Miss Clouston, Dr. BuckleyTurkington, Sydney; Miss Yates, Brisbane. All four of the New Zealand colleges had members present. In welcoming the new graduates Dr. Buckley-Tur-kington said that young people nowadays had so many opportunities for experience that they were often quite old when they were still quite young. Old people, on the other hand, were determinedly young. In this ideal state of affairs, surely young and old had an opportunity of appreciating each other as never before. She congratulated the graduates upon the wealth of opportunity before them, and said that while the contact with youth was certainly an amazing stimulus to an older generation, she hoped that the new graduates would gain something from the friendship of those who had gone before.

Mrs. A. E. Mulgan (who spoke for the federation in Miss Louden's stead, Miss Louden being unable to come at the last moment), said that since women had won so many, fields for their activities, she did not herself favour the ultrafeminist movement which seemed to some extent to be destructive of much that was good in society as it now existed. She rather favoured a setting to work to cultivate those fields that were open. In" that work there were so many opportunities before women that the good that might be done in the building up of the social, artistic and musical life of the community seemed almost infinite. Women might use their privileges of education not so much m struggling for new and more varied careers, but in beautifying ordinary life and making it more worth living. • Miss Yuki Kimura assured New Zealanders that there was grave danger of their becoming forgetful of all the privileges they enjoyed. In Japan a woman might pass examinations, but she received no degree.' She had no vote, nor the richt to represent her country. On the other hand she had many opportunities of helping her fellow women and "undegreed" graduates might be seen in the teaching profession, in positions of responsibility, in banks, offices and shops and as matrons in large factories, but women in Japan must have still more power for the development of then- best interests. Miss Potter, speaking on behalf of the new graduates, said that the months following a graduate's last year at college were often hard months to live through. The world seemed a br"-e°and lonely place, compared with the°narrower, friendly circle of students, and she thanked Dr. Buckley-Turkington for the hand of friendship offered to them by those who had gone before. Miss "Sandford, of the Diocesan High School, made a very witty speech, con-, trasting the life of the woman of 1830 with that of the woman of to-day. She quoted from the "Life of Miss Emily Davis," that courageous and able woman who founded Girton College. Submission rather than self-development seemed to be the highest aspiration of the woman of 100 years ago. She must surrender her will to circumstance, to her husband, to God, but she must on no account seek to develop herself into an independent personality through the education of her intellect. That would be an offence, indeed, to the social code of her time-. Miss' Sandford urged the women of the New Zealand University to cany on the wood work begun by the educational pioneers of 1830, by doing everything within their power to bring about residential universities in this country. JJr. M. Chainptaloup gave a brief summary of the good work done by the New Zealand university colleges in their 60 brief years of existence. Among those, present as guests were: Miss Yuki Kimura, Dr. M. Champtaloup, Dr. Latter,- Dr. Ivory, Dr. Smith and Miss Eennie. The new graduates who were entertained were: Misses N. Whitelaw, E.. Owen, L. Gilmour, E. Johnstone, Fotheringham, Phillips, Potter, Creedon, McCallum, Camrie, Adams, Allum. Others present were: Dr. Warnock, Dr. Eowley Mesdames Thomas, Scott, Shepherd, Shove, Page, McDonald, T. Gray s Gaukrodger, Entrican, Asile:, and , the MissS Astley> E- Bouillon, B. Bouillon, Be«« Bentham, Currie, Clouston, Camp--3 Cranwell, Davis, Edgerley, L Moore, Sen, Pouk B. Smith Salmon, Stewart, Sandford, Taylor, Warnock, E. wSaw Wynyard, Wright Young, 'Hay.