The Lutheran Pioneer St. Louis — 1923, Page 50

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50

The Lutheran Pioneer.

Well, it seems that our Synodical Conference must
have had that remark in mind for the past years
with regard to Immanuel College: for this insti-
tution has not much more than a “log” besides the
faculty and the students. And if the Synodical
Conference actually did think that the Immanuel
faculty would see its way clear to do good work
and turn out graduates properly equipped for life’s
work, even if they had little by way of equipment;
I say, if Synodical Conference did think this, their
faculty of spirited and faithful teachers at Greens-
boro fully came up to expectations. And the
Colored people of North Carolina realize this too.
Though Greensboro has a _ well-equipped State
school, the Agricultural and Technical College,
our poorly equipped Immanuel College has more
than half as large an enrolment as the State school
with its excellent buildings and up-to-date equip-
ment. The Colored youth of North Carolina know
that we have a corps of teachers at our school that
more than discount by competency and faithfulness
the physical advantages of the State institution.
For this reason they have been willing to bear with
all manner.of inconveniences and even hardships
and have come to our school.

But is the equipment of Immanuel College
really so very bad? Let me tell you what we found.
We found the dormitories of the male students in
the attic, directly under a slate roof. Temporary
“beaver board” walls, some of them all “out of
plumb,” served as partitions for these rooms.
There is no provision made to heat these dormi-
tories in winter and practically no lights are in-
stalled. The furniture of the classrooms is such
that our poorest congregations would refuse to have
it in their day-schools. The male students study
in these classrooms at night, though in some of
them I found only a single light bulb of about forty
candle power. All the classrooms are heated by
stoves, and these, as well as the pipes, show the
ravages of age. ‘There is scarcely a room in the
whole main building whose walls and ceilings are
not in need of repair. ‘The classrooms are utterly
too small to accommodate the students, and not
a few of them are so dark that half of the students
must ‘find it difficult to read from their text-books
during the recitations. The most necessary teach-

_ ing apparatus is lacking. Aside from a number of
theological books the volumes in the library are
_ practically useless. ;

_ he female students are housed in the former
mission-school on the college campus. A very

hopeful elementary school with three teachers had
to be. closed to afford room for the girl students
of the college. One of the former schoolrooms now
serves as a study for girls, while the other two
rooms have been partitioned off into bedrooms and
furnished with single iron beds. But though the
beds are single, they are each occupied by two girls!
Just think of it: two girls in each narrow bed!
Do you think it is right to expect this of these
girls?

And these conditions will continue to obtain
another year if something is not done at once.
The Mission Board has tried hard to awaken our
people to see the needs of Immanuel College. It
was largely because this institution stood in need
of so very much that the Board made such strenuous
efforts during the past year to interest the whole
Synodical Conference in the Jubilee Collection.
However, its efforts were most disappointing as to
results. Instead of the $150,000 needed to carry
out its building plans, the Mission Board has only
about $30,000 at its disposal. Immanuel College,
which needs — yes, needs — at least $30,000 to put
it into proper condition, was given an appropriation
of only $7,000. The Board is not to blame, since
it cannot give what it has not in its possession.
Neither can we expect the Board to borrow a suf-
ficient sum of money to make the necessary im-
provements, for its experiences in the past in this
respect have been so sad that it has practically de-
cided never to borrow for building purposes again:

So, then, it is up to you and me to do something
if past conditions are not to continue another year,
and if we do not want the dread eventuality to come
to pass of seeing our college closed by the author-
ities because of certain unsanitary conditions due
to overcrowding and other causes.

Fellow-Christians, can we Ict this matter go on
any longer? Can we afford to let these young men
of the faculty, who are so willing to work, continue -
to labor under such difficulties? Is it right for us
to expect them to waste their energies so unncces- -
sarily because we selfishly withhold from them what
we owe them? Ah, brethren and sisters, I am
proud of our young teachers at Immanuel! I re-
joice to think that we still have young men who
are willing to sacrifice their health, their energies,
and their comforts in the service of the Lord.
I should be delighted to climb to the very house- —
tops and proclaim it to the world that our sem-
inaries are sending out young men filled with such
zeal and heroism to do the Lord’s work.