This video is part of a series of videos that document presentations given by students at the end of the Elon: Past, Present, and Future course. Specifically, in this video students give a 10 minute presentation on major topics that include: the history of Elon Commencements from 1891; academic regalia was first worn in 1893; in 1896 the first alumni activities took place during the commencement; due to record keeping, the Christian Sun could not determine the actual 25th anniversary of Elon College; in 1916, President William A. Harper presented a bible to each of the graduates as a chart and compass of their life’s voyage and a soul anchor; in 1916, the benediction was given to the oldest living Board of Trustee, the Reverend James (Uncle) W. Wellons, at the age of 92 years old; in 1923, the year of Elon’s great fire which destroyed most of the campus, there were 42 graduates; May 25, 1940 was the golden graduation anniversary of Elon College with President Leon Edgar Smith holding a reception in Mooney Hall; the Elon community was invited to discuss with the students their 50th wedding anniversaries; at the Golden Anniversary dinner the invocation was given by H. Shelton Smith; 10 graduates received private pilot certificates in the 1940s; Ralph Garner, a blind student, graduated in 1940; the newspapers could not agree upon what year Elon College’s actual Diamond Anniversary occurred on and there was more evidence that 1965 was the 75 anniversary; the 100th anniversary was a cause for differences because the Class of 1989 felt they were the Centennial Class; but the Class of 1990 actually had this honor; the Centennial Class graduated with the largest class of 532 students with J. Earl Danieley giving the graduation address; the Elon College Student President of the 1990 class, Greg Zaiser (employed by Elon University in the Admissions Office), addressed the graduates; there was one deaf student graduating in 1990 and Elon College brought in the first deaf interrupter; the 111th class graduated on May 17, 2001 from Elon College and was the last class to be known as Elon College; the class of 2002 graduated as Elon University; overview of Elon College’s Fire of 1923; January 18, 1923, William B. Terrell (who lived in the old power station on the second floor) woke up at 6:00 a.m. in the morning and saw a light at the Main Building; when Terrell got to Main Building, he tried to ran upstairs to ring the bell, but the smoke was too thick; he ran back to the power station and called the Gibsonville and Burlington Fire Departments and by the time the fire departments arrived it was too late to put out the fire; the next step was stopping the fire from spreading on campus because there was a really strong north wind; one building that was in fire danger was the Young Men’s Club across the street; students tried to rescue as much as possible from the Main Building saving a few typewriters; all papers from former administrations were lost in the fire, along with the church bell that fell to the ground; there was never a cause determined for the fire; although, there were two theories: a) a gas jet was left on in one of the labs and when the electricity was flipped on that created a huge combustion, b) a defective wire caught fire in combination with the wooden floors; President William A. Harper ordered a meeting at his home at 10:00 a.m. in the morning; Harper requested a meeting of faculty and Board of Trustees on January 24, 1923 to decide what was going to happen to Elon College; the January 24, 1923 the meeting decision was to move forward with Elon College in raising funds to re-build the college; the local newspaper printed articles to assist in raising money; from the Burlington Daily News excerpt stated, “30 years Elon College has been sending forty young men and women into the world to serve. Today, she stands wounded and bleeding and appeals for help. Her cry will be answered. We believe that the news will go forth to the world that she will arrive forth out of her ashes. Quick for greater opportunities for work and with a plant that will stand as a monument to love and what confidence can do with the cry of help comes;” Out of the newspaper articles, the Elon College Board of Trustees decided to build four (4) new buildings that included the new Administration building (known as Alamance), Whitley Auditorium, Carlton Library, and Duke Building; the next presentation was about the Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson attending the 73rd Founder’s Day Celebration; preparations of the arrival of Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson were completed by Elon College and Secret Service Security; over 3,500 individuals attended the Lyndon B. Johnson speech in Alumni Gymnasium; Lyndon B. Johnson was presented the honorary degree of Doctorate of Law by J. Earl Danieley; Lyndon B. Johnson attended a formal dinner at Elon College that included decorations of Yellow Roses of Texas and he drank buttermilk; the next presentation was interviewing alumni from the 1930s including Esther Cole Kernodle and Edith Brannock; male students lived in East or North Hall and female students lived in West and the Ladies Hall; students had to send laundry home because there were no washers and dryers; Ladies Hall was located where Sloan Dormitory is currently located on campus; most students (both males and females) dined in West during the 1930s with assigned times and seats; there were strict guidelines for the female and male students; in the Alamance Building, originally, there were two separate stairwells for females to walk up one side as the men walked up another; if student’s wanted to date, the dates had to be chaperon by faculty or senior staff; Oma Utley Johnson (class of 1915) was the librarian who was responsible for keeping the male and female students separated in the library; males and females had the opportunity to talk in the 11 organizations, sports, 4 sororities, and 4 fraternities; in 2001, there were 4,000 students from 44 states and 36 countries and organizations had increased since the 1930s; in 1898, Mrs. Mary Brannock received her diploma (Edith Brannock’s mother); the next presentation deals with the Dean of Women who had to be strong with much compassion; the responsibilities of the Dean of Women demanded a lot of attention with long hours resulting in a high turnover of Dean of Women; the Dean of Women was referred as the house mother and required locking the doors and ensuring all the women were in their rooms by certain times; there was a love hate relationship between the Dean of Women and the female students, says the student presenter; responsibilities of the Dean of Women was to instill pride, tradition, good-will, and morals in the women students; the Deans of Women served as department chairs or faculty members of Elon College; in 1939 was the first Dean of Woman at Elon College; there were 15 Dean of Women that resided as the Dean of Women at Elon College; Dean of Women became the Associate Dean of Students which was changed by J. Fred Young’s Presidency. Some notable names include: James (Uncle) W. Wellons, Leon Edgar Smith, J. Earl Danieley, Greg Zaiser, Cooper family, William B. Terrell, William A. Harper, Lyndon B. Johnson, (James) Terry Sanford, Cliff Hardy, James O’Kelly, Edith Brannock, Ester Cole Kernodle, Callie Barrett, Ned F. Brannock, Oma Utley Johnson, John A. Newman, and Mary Brannock.