Diaries

     I am resting in bed after the excitement of the morning at beginning College life....  As the Calendar said simply, "classes will begin at 9 am. Monday 18th".  I wondered where my English was to be taken.  Some girls walked up behind me, & one of them tried to make me feel at home.  I looked over groups of shoulders & saw lists of names for lockers - mine being 192.  So I asked someone where lockers were, & she said 3rd floor, so I went up the rather spiral staircase - & found mostly boys at their lockers on floor 2, & mostly girls at our lockers on floor 3.  Then I looked out of one window, as everyone was standing about talking.  A buzzer went, & we all crowded into the large top room - & sat anywhere.  Rows of seats with large paddle shaped armrests for "desks"!  I made friends with a Chinese girl...on my left.  When the staff, with black gowns over their shoulders, & the rest of the students, had all settled down, the head stood at a funny leaning-post-desk & gave us a mild speech of welcome & warning.  The Pres. of the Students' Council followed - a boy who spoke with no fervour thro' his nose.  Then the staff went off, & the 2nd year, & the Registrar, Mr. Cunningham gave us a mild lecture.  He was followed by the Librarian, Mr. Pettit - another lecture.  All very novel....  Then we trooped out.

     I had to rush to get to College by 8 pm. for History lecture.  I liked the Professor (Mr. E. Stanley Farr, B.A. L.L.B. (Toronto) - white smooth hair, and colourless, almost expressionless face - wide bluish eyes & a full pale mouth - & a right arm only a stump to the elbow.  I liked him, because he didn't talk down to us or make feeble remarks - & had a really beautiful smile at intervals - which he turned unexpectedly onto some one, like a rising sun.  He generalized & also mentioned that he would not be at all angry if none of us came to a further lesson, & he didn't want to teach History I this year (about the last war).  After him, we had a Prof. Wallace, Robt. T. D. - a B.A. of U.B.C. - quite young, a bit pallid w. protruding dark eyes.  Found him quite lucid and rather slow....  I thought Miss Ruth Humphrey B.A. and M.A. (Oxon) was going to be slow and femininely pointless - but she got warmed up & was interesting.  Learned something!  After that went to Library for 1 1/2 hours, studying, and looking round, and borrowing Lewis Carrolls' "Collected Verses of."

     Yesterday the College students went to Victoria High School Auditorium & listened to an inaudible series of remarks from Prof. Elliott, some more varied oddments from the women on the staff who were obviously representing Something, & saw the visitors claim their scholarships.  Mr. Elmore Phillpott spoke then.  He bends forward, limping with two canes, his eyes making very noticeable sideways movements to see what is happening, in order to prevent his neck from turning (which it evidently doesn't).   He spoke quite straightforwardly, his own 1913-14 College days.. world wars 1 and 2 ... and our duty to be supporters of the democratic army so that it sh'd lay the foundation stone for the new unified world.  He believes in Union New (as Clarence Streit has called and defined it)