, 1962-02-24

to bring swift rise in the caliber of instruction and in
the performance of the students. Besides this, DR.. San
chez and the Board Of Education are now examining a
revised system of incentives and certification for the
teachers, so that excellent performance can be adequate
~ rewarded, and so that teachers will of themselves
desire constantly to improve their professional training
and their level of instruction. The college plan, far from
detractlng from the Improvement OF the lower schools,
is giving real impetus to that improvement, because it
gives the lower schools a goal.
It is one thing to prepare students on a limited
basis, and to allow the most gifted ones to go out
of the community to finish their studies. 1t is a totally
different thing to have in your own community a COM
plete school system, including the severe professional
standards Of a college. The whole tone changes. The
whole spirit is a different one. In the earliest days OF
the United States, each new town in the wilderness
would build first a church, and then a school, and even
it a nearby town already had a church and a school
which the new town could use, it was a matter OF the
deepest pride and self-respect to create ones own in
%stitutions. That was how a town ceased to be a surburb
and backwater, and became an entity in itself. We
here in the Virgin Islands are embarked on the adven-
ture OF becoming a proud and Self-respecting entity IN
ourselves, a community with the facilities, the will, and
the ability to run our own affairs. Certainly we are 60
ing to continue to send our most gifted young people to
the great institutions of the mainland for their advanced
studies, just as people in Montana or California will
send their youngsters to Columbia, New York Univer-
Sity, or Princeton; but, meanwhile, there will be a col
lege education here within our own territory for every
O1G wiz Wd11CS y. Fuu you 1SS1S1dtOIS uSIG, Wiz lave
the high privilege of serving at a time when our COM
munity has reached this stage, will achieve a lasting
memory not only on the bronze plaques that will grace
the walls of the college, but in the hearts Of our young
people, and of all our people.
One of the most pressing questions, Of course, was
where to locate the college, and think the BoyceJones
discussion of this problem is convincing. Let me pledge
to YOU that this college, when it is built, will have dor
mitory facilities sufficient for every young person who
wants to attend, no matter which Of the three islands
is his home. | believe, along with DR.. Jones and Mr..
Boyce, that if you accept their recommendation and the
site, in the not too distant future st. Croix will have
either a branch of the college or an institution Of its own.
Meantime, / count it real gain that the college students
of ST. Croix will be able to live here on ST. Thomas, SO
that our people, especially our future leaders, can get
to know each other better and learn to work ever more
closely together. This college is going to be not only the
new cultural backbone of our territory, but also an i'm
portant ~unifying force for all our island citizens.
With these few remarks, | commend the Boyce-
L. H. r s-I-I-