The Gentleman’s Rule hasn’t been around for the full 175 years of Wabash College, Dean of Students Tom Bambrey said Thursday in his Chapel Talk.
Although the rule as we now know it is approaching 55 years, it has evolved from guidelines established in the 19th Century. The wording and rule has changed wording through the 1900s, and reached its final form in 1953.
But the rule – “The Student is expected to conduct himself at all times, both on and off the campus, as a gentleman and a responsible citizen.” – has had the same basic qualities throughout the college’s 175-year history.
Bambrey told the students the rule is a heavy burden to bear, “to try to live up to the rule. The expectation of being able to balance freedom and responsibility while asking and assessing what it means to behave as a gentleman is a difficult, precarious, almost impossible challenge.
“That challenge is for a student, through his four years here, to look at and assess first his own actions and second the actions of other students. The challenge is to hold out a gentlemanly standard and try one’s best to live up to that standard.”
Hear the full podcast of Bambrey’s Sept. 6 Chapel Talk by clicking here.
Next week Professor of Religion David Blix will give the first of a series of Chapel Talks noting the College’s 175th year.
2 comments on “Bambrey Talks About Rules, Gentleman’s Rule”
For Dean Bambrey: cc: Vic Powell
When I attended in 1957-1961, the rule as I remember it was
“A Wabash Man is a Gentleman at All Times.”
There was no need to explain that if you molested a girl, on or off campus, you were out. If you smashed windows, on or off campus, you were out. A gentleman was a gentleman.
The rule has been weakened, in my view, by adding “on and off campus,” as if someone intelligent enough to gain admittance would still not be intelligent enough to understand the phrase “at all times.”
I believe the change occured well after 1961, because Vic Powel and others spoke of the simplicity of the rule in chapel.
Mead C. Killion, 61, Sc.D.(hon, Wabash)
Dean Bambrey: cc: Vic Powell
P.S. After listening to your talk, I conclude:
a) That was a wonderful talk, and
b) I can only wonder why I remember so strongly the “original” without the on and off campus. You have clearly done the research indicating the change was in place in 1953, and I’ll defer to that.
I still don’t like the additional words.
Mead C. Killion, 61
Comments are closed.