A WOMEN GRADUATES' REUNION

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 541, 23 June 1909, Page 5

A WOMEN GRADUATES' REUNION

.-.The council of the Women's Students' Hostel takes a keen interest in the affairs of .the University and their hostel has ... proved great:.-influence S'in 'tho . lives or-.the Victoria College students, -short , though its lifo has yet bejen• Last night, at-the hostel, the-cpuncil gave,a-supper'forewomen;graduV ates in .honour, of the/Victoria College graduates of v the yeaT. About forty graduates wiare present, ~ and.! nearly' , all-; of them wore academic ' costnmo, the" pinks;,and whites of .the New Zealand . arts' graduates' , hoode, sof - course, ■■, being ■ the. most numerous, though there were dark reds-and purples from; the far north] tb lend a more sober; touch to the scene. 'Pink and .white hoods are charming, but no one can pretend' that they in any way symbolise the severity of the mentaleffprt by, which they have been attained. There were among.the graduates four lady doctors, and several Bachelors; of Scronco. .The'graduates : from other universities were: Mrs., Picken,M.A., Glasgow ;-'-Dr:. Edith Huiitley, M.D., ; Brusselt;,: Dr. Elizabeth M'Donald, M.8., St. Andrews; Dr. and B.Sc., Sydney; and Miss-:Holden,,B.A., Sydney. One guest, to whbse degree special interest attached,, was Mrs. Evans, who -, gradnated in Auckland many years ago, .and was the first woman, in'the'Einpire. to whom' a 'uni-', yersity degreewasvever , granted. ■'■ '■ -■', :■■■' ; Various toasts were proposed. Mrs.; Wallis, who came, first with the toast of. "The King and ; Qnjen,"' pointed _>.out .that - Queen Alexandra -deseryod'..special.'recognitioo by. uDiv.ersity.women, not only ;bebanso:she-her-solf was a graduate-r-a' dpctorof becauspshe, the highest Mdy # in' the-landj was ,so fine .an eiainple'of: womanhood, and'.;so e'ypipaUietic vrjth women in overy class; Yesteraimiversary of the accession of the late; Queen .Victoriay-wJio: possessed in -a ?.very greif'-degree .tho.insight and intuition':that ware, suppoeedito be peculiarly; feminine attributos,- and who .had,.'by means of the' hard I stu'dy/of-history, r and. : through 'her*own' personal gifts;■ become very. wise in.; the knowledge i bi-.inankind;;-/-' :;.' ' r/S Y.:. -~y : - T ! ■''■'-i':; , ;-.:";. .-.'. The.:toast -of ."The.',Grad;iates'':.':was• '.proposM'.by. Miss McLean;, principal: of. Welbngtqn! Girk' College. Ajdegree; conferred on a wbrikin-, - was. ; she'.said,: r a-.challenge to. : her- to show; .what'sho:'couldldb. .Greati things shad been done-for'the ;wprld,by;icarjjed iwbmen, 'and.tibo,.day^was ,'passjng;. : when the;:learned wbrqaii,was looked'-upon '.as , talkative, .petty perßon'.'-'Tbat.'reputaticm'had-'been'.due, aot tosthe-extent;of her-.knowledge;, 1 but-;-to its 'superficiality., . The'.oldiobjection' that women, by :'hard..stndy,'.''lessehecl ;their. been',disnrqyed,.'and f boro'-.-no''.';weight; Geofge-Eliflt ;ha'd'.:saidYthat, .the :am\6i < all learningvwas-to, makei'v'u'/i!'knowrhdw'.to,love human , ■ oreatrire* •■better.! .;• .One, danger-to": he found in :the" Higher education was" that' it might' tend to loosen 'homo ties, : but it 'lay with'thegraduates,: 'themselves te guard ; against ■ this;, and' in ■ those days: there wore few women who knew'or cared nothing about domestic virtucs.A;. : ■-~■; ■':■'■■>. ! . ■'. •■■ ■'■•■

"Miss Meia Gibbs responded on bohatf v bf tb'a graduates. ! 6f'the year.; '; The degree,'she said,' was'the; : result of;a.certain- amount of hard .worl^,;but it was most;'cherished because it;.was.the badge\of a;' university.life. \ The. hostel .had, .hecorao'-.V'*e. ■ contre 'of-.. women , graduates' life, and they tbanlsod the Hostel Council for it

• Miss-E.~ Johnston;" in ,, proposing ""Tho Hostel Council;" spoke of tho ;■ difficnltiee whioh it had ,had to encounter, and paid a tribute to the kindness shown by '.■Mrs. , Thornton tqtbo students of the-' hostel. i Mrs. Salraond, secretary of the council, in responding,made an excellent maiden speech, fluent and effective. ' She said that, tho .'intention of the council had been to. assist in' the development of a healthy and vigorous, womanhood, and to send out into tho world woinen of activity—some to take up.profos-: Bionsjjqthors'togo.to.the.narrower sphere of domestic duties. Their ideal was to make the hostel, .in. the' truest sense, academic. It was a great pleasure to them to see such! a gathering.. , . - , '.-,■'■''. • •:', ; .-^ : Dr. Agnes Bennett spoke of the university as it affected,the life of the undergraduate' and of the community, the privileges it bc-'j stowed; and the opportunities of association' it gave, and , the responsibility-of the graduate to the community, in which: sho lived.. Graduates should be able:to militate against the' commercialism of the times.: Tho youth of New Z^land-presentod-many possibilities to'its-universities. . .-. . ' .• , -.'"■'.. ;'■ . • Mrs/; Evans, responding' for : the': univcrsi-, ties, made,a ;very interesting speech, reminiscent of her early .undergraduate da'yethirty- , five yearßi:ago, when, sbo studied .in Auckland in "a little, old,' dark, plain building ;like a prison,, and then went down ; to' Canterbury College,, where there were, only two class-; rooms, and no appliances, and only, half: a dozenor so students.'. There wore only : three students in her M.A. year, herself, her sister, and. Dr. Innes (now in Blenheim).- '■■:■ There was'a'danger in accentnating the intellectual side of onas nature.' The great thing was to choose a wise method of study, toCkeep in mind the great aim of education^—the allround development of one's mind. Then nothing but good could come. Mrs. Evans said that she 'could not bear 'to' hear'people express: regret- when ■ a _ brilliant, student..-mar-ried. .There was no higher career for a woman., The lifo of Mrs. Macmillan ißrpwn' stood ontas'an instance of a "most brilliant student making an ideal manager-, of the. homeVand fainfly.' .K should above 'all .tilings' thatall training was part of thergr'eat purposeforf the.development: of humanity. j.-"_' - '■■' ;,.' : . . . '~'.'.':/.-.'.'!■ ,