Appeal for Our Students
41
much; and when away from the vigilant hands that held the reins of
control harshly, leaving love and mercy out of the question, they have
felt that they would not be dictated to by any one. They despise the
very thought of restraint.
Should not those who have the difficult task of educating these
young people and molding their characters have the faithful prayers
of the children of God? Care, burdens, and weighty responsibilities
must fall to the lot of the conscientious, God-fearing teacher, as well
as that of the burden-bearing fathers and mothers in Israel who reside
in Battle Creek. All sincere Christians, who value souls for whom
Christ died, will make earnest efforts to do all in their power to correct
even the wrongs and neglects of the natural parents. The teachers will
feel that they have a duty devolving upon them to present their pupils
[54]
before the world and before God with symmetrical characters and
well-balanced minds. But the teachers cannot bear all this burden, and
should not be expected to be alone responsible for the good manners
and elevated morals of their pupils. Every family that provides rooms
for them should have rules to which they must conform. It will not be
doing them or their parents a kindness to allow them to form lawless
habits and break or deface furniture. If they have exuberant spirits and
pent-up energy, let them do vigorous manual labor, until weariness
prepares them to appreciate rest in their rooms.
The rooms of some of the students last year bore an unfavorable
record of the roomers. If students are coarse and rude, their rooms
frequently make this fact apparent. Reckless sport, boisterous laughter,
and late hours should not be tolerated by those who rent rooms. If they
allow this conduct in the students, they do them a serious wrong, and
make themselves, in a great degree, responsible for the misconduct.
The rooms of students should be frequently visited, to see if they
are favorable to health and comfort, and to ascertain if all are living
in accordance with the rules of the school. Any remissness should
be pointed out, and the students should be faithfully labored with.
If they are insubordinate and will not be controlled, they are better
off at home, and the school is better off without them. Our College
should not become depraved for the sake of a few lawless students.
The colleges in our land are many of them places where the youth
are in danger of becoming immoral and depraved through these evil
associations.