description:
Page ninety-eight Page ninety-nine Terrapins in Act WATER CARHIVAL AND GYMNASIUM EXHIBIT WE associate carnivals with bright colors, shrill whistles, gay voices, and the clink of silver coins. We visualize a kaleidoscopic array of figures, intermingling, now riotously, now symmetrically, with the rhythm of the dance. This is the street carnival, popular in European cities and carried out in our own country in the southern Mardi Gras. Not unlike it was our own Water Carnival, with its brightly-costumed performers, its soft music, and the splash of crystal water in the pool. The theme story of the carnival, which was presented by members of the Terrapin Club, was The Dream of the Ancient Mariner. Thick shrubs and ferns lined the sides of the pool and on one side rested the mariner's boat. The performance opened with the shooting of the albatross, a slim, graceful creature poised on the diving board. The sea creatures rose in fury at the crime, and to the horror of the mariner, a terrific storm arose, the lightning flashing ominously on the bright, excited figures in the water. He fell asleep, and the water spirits continued their demonstration, gracefully, skillfully, seeming bewitched in the half-light. Remarkable endurance was evident in the tandem swimming and there was real beauty in the fancy dives, cool, poised, charming tulip dives, breath-taking running back dives, and clean-cut front dives. Excellent form was displayed in the group swimming and the w'ater formations, notably the revolving circle and the star, and the wedge swimming was a triumph of skill and strength. A dash of adventure was achieved in the dives for jewels, which were brought to the raft and placed in the treasure chest. As the spirits drew the gift-laden raft toward the boat, water fairies awakened the mariner to receive it. The final demonstration was, perhaps, the most striking. Treading water and bearing lighted candles aloft, the swimmers moved from end to end of the pool, forming the letter M. The gymnasium exhibit was another demonstration of physical prowess, unlike the carnival, yet quite as entertaining. The members of the various gymnasium and sports classes joined forces to present a program of graceful dances and trim military drills, skillfully executed to music accompaniment in the college gymnasium. Throughout the year the different teams had given evidence of splendid work in the various tournaments, but their work in class gymnastics might have gone quite unnoticed by students who have fulfilled their physical education requirements, were it not for the exhibit. Perhaps, too, some of the inherent horror which not a few students feel toward the dreaded gymnasium drills was lessened when the audience experienced the inevitable thrill produced by march music, and was swept along in spirit with the regular marching figures, which culminated in the living pyramid. The rhythmic steps of the flower dances lent a note of variety to an unusual and quite delightful program. e Tower A Ride in the Park RIDIHG CLASSES COOL, clear days of early spring, a velvety black ribbon of new7ly broken turf, the exhilarating tang of clean winds against her face and Miss Mundelein, garbed in the smartest of tiding habits, canters down the bridle path on her earth-bound Pegasus. Horseback riding has become one of the most favored of college sports, for it is an undeniable fact that the skilled horsewoman possesses a distinct advantage in the matter of poise and bodily coordination over her less athletically inclined sister. Then, too, outdoor sports possess a charm peculiarly their own, and perhaps of all open-air activities, the most fascinating to the initiate is horseback riding. The unfettered freedom of spirit, the sense of achievement, the verve and joy of mastery that the student experiences as she gains in technique, are ample compensation for some of the more difficult phases of college life. The famous bridle paths of Lincoln Park, winding through cool avenues of overhanging trees and long sunlit spaces, are the scene of equestrian activities for the Mundelein girl. Very trig and fetching she looks on her sleekly curried horse, as she sets out from the stables for her weekly lesson. Under the able tutelage of the riding master, even the novice becomes an adept in handling her mount. With rapidly growing skill comes an added zest for equestrian exercise. Each instruction gives her greater facility in the approved tech nique of horsemanship. She learns to mount her horse gracefully, to maintain an easy and correct position in the saddle, to use the spurs judiciously, and to draw the rein at the proper time. As she gains in skill, the jog trot that once seemed such an achievement to her loses its charm. Fleetness and surety in action become her aims, and she feels that she has really accomplished something when at last she is able to swing down the avenue at a brisk canter, or to loosen the reins for a swift gallop across the green, confident of her mastery over the animal that is so responsive to her slightest touch on the bridle. Skill in horsemanship has always characterized the gracious gentlewoman. In the gay nineties, we find her a poised and colorful figure in her scarlet riding habit and jauntily feathered hat, following the hounds over shadow-dappled English meads. In America, too, traditions have grown up around paddock and track and bridle path. The cultured woman is often as much at home on horseback as in the drawing room. Surely her charm and social grace are accentuated by skill in this most graceful of outdoor sports. Accordingly, it is to fit the Mundelein girl for more gracious and complete living, as well as to give her the full vigor of health and the grace that comes of healthful exercise in the open, that horsemanship is included in the list of her college activities. f 19 3 1
title:
tower1931049
publisher:
Women and Leadership Archives http://www.luc.edu/wla
creator:
Mundelein College Sisters of Charity of the Blessed Virgin Mary
description:
There are eight total Mundelein College yearbooks: 1931, 1932, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1971, 1972, and 1985.
relation:
Mundelein College Collection
description:
Reading Room
type:
Print
rights:
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