Looking back on 100 years
“I’ve always had a weakness for high ceilings and broad halls and when I stepped into Marianopolis, I entered a hall which had all the gracious warmth and charm that only these remnants of yesterday could give.”
A Marianopolis student wrote those words. But it wasn’t in 2008. In December of 1944 the school newspaper published an unnamed senior’s “Impressions of the New College.” Her words resonate today for anybody who walks the, indeed, gracious and warm halls of the stately building at the hilltop intersection of Claremont and Westmount avenues.
Though some characteristics of the College remain timeless, many aspects of Marianopolis life have changed. Among them:
| Then | Now | |
Vending machines |
1968 - The student newspaper's story “STUDENTS TRIUMPH: Acquire cigarette machine!” begins, “No more running down to the corner drugstore or over to the McGill Union to buy a package of cigarettes, girls. You can get the stuff to calm your nerves right here.” |
2008 - Vending machines allowed only in the cafeteria, drinks start $2.25. Any student caught smoking within nine metres of the building is given a $25 fine. A second offense carries a $50 fine. The College has not determined what to fine third-time offenders, as no one has been busted thrice. |
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| 1959 - Under the headline “Students Enthusiastic about New Course,” the student paper announces a class in typing: “By now you have probably seen the new typewriters, shiny and inviting, on their attractive new desks…Drop in and see the students doing finger exercises.” | 2008- Students create video projects for classes using high-tech professional equipment from TLT. They also connect to the world wide web from the College's lawn. |
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| College newspaper | ||
| Name | The Marian | The Arctic Banana |
| Excerpt from editorial | 1944 - “If any one group of Catholic girls seriously tried to imitate Mary in all the duties and in all the diversions of daily life in a humble, kind, detached, docile and constantly faithful way, the transformation of society would be as total in the direction towards good as indifference to Our Lady’s example has resulted in what is generally recognized as modern paganism.
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2008 - “Once upon a time I was a Health student, never leaving the library and sleeping with my calculator, and now here I am, a stranger to myself, trying to promote ArtsFest and carrying an Andy Warhol bag around school. How did this happen? Who is this new girl anyway? I’m still trying to figure it out. All I know is that once I started to become more open-minded to the art world, I was amazed at how it could enrich my life. It’s crazy to think how much I was missing out on and now I can’t get enough.” |
| Literary quote | 1958 - “Man in sooth is a marvellous, vain, fickle and unstable subject.” - Michel de Montaigne |
2008 - “So long and thanks for all the fish.” - from Douglas Adams’ |
