> THE COLLEGE NEWS Page Three O inion False Interpretation of ISS Conference Corrected; *~ Help "Aske Although I am now an almuna, I am exercising my rights as a sub- scriber and addressing this letter to you because I feel the writer of your last article on International Student Service may have created a false impression among readers ___.of the. News. In the News ‘of Sanuavy- ‘15, it was stated that although I. S. S. was formed for the purpose of pro- viding relief for European stu- dents, it is today a “hot-bed” of political harangue.” Such a state- ment is far from accurate. International Student Service to- day is one of the foremost agencies in the field of refugee placement. Since the fall of 1938, upwards of three hundred refugee students have found scholarships in the United States through the efforts of this organization. In Europe today I. S. S. and the World Stu- dent Christian Federation are the two prominent organizations work- ing for the relief of student prison- ers of war, internees, and political refugees. The work of I. S. S. is recognized by students in this coun- try as a valid effort to preserve in- tellectual leadership to the rising generation despite the vicissitudes of war and international anarchy. Many colleges contribute annually to its support. Bryn Mawr is one of them. Those who have worked for I. S. S. over a period of years have felt, however, that there is a crying need in this country today for an organization which is not a pres- sure group, for a non-policy organ- ization which ‘will bring students together for an exchange of veiws on current problems. That is why we have sponsored unbiased, im- partial, non-resolution conferences. These conferences have gained in popularity among students today. At our most recent conference, the one on “How Youth Can Serve De- mocracy” at New Jersey College for Women, there was a definite at- tempt on the part of one well- known student pressure group to “pack” the meetings because the conference seemed significant and because it Was a good opportunity to attempt to indoctrinate liberal students with one point of view. The I. S. S. committee was forced to take drastic steps to prevent this from happening, but unfortunately a large group of people gained the impression that I. S. S. was becom- ing. a political center with various groups trying to gain control. Through it all the staff and the committee have maintained a reputation for impartiality and we hope that we shall not become in- volved. in a similar problem again. We hope to dissipate the rumor that we are now actively engaged in po- litical manouevers since it has no foundation in fact. The article in the News had one other inaccuracy to which I am obliged. to call attention. The con- ference was not called. to perpetrate a merger between I. S. S. and the National Student Federation of America. This merger was pro- posed by members of the Board of N. S. F. A. after the joint meet- ings had been planned. The reason for the joint meetings was one of mutual convenience, since the over- head involved in opening a campus during the holidays is high and competition for prominent. speakers | 5 for- student gatherings is. great,| The proposal for merger was made: by N.S. F. A. Ft was approved | by such prominent educators.as Dr. | 3 - Stephen Duggan of the Institute of |:3 ducation and Presi- |S International & dent’ Morley of: Haverford, among others. I. S. S. agreed a i Hie i . Square Dance On Saturday at 8 in the Gym, All are invited, alone or with , him To play and to prance At a merry Square Dance; Just to sing, run and stamp For the Bryn Mawr Summer Camp. For ladies and gents The admission is 35 cents. merger failed by nine votes. The issue was somewhat confused by the fact that the N. S. F. A. voted to disaffiliate.with _ the _ American “Youth Congress at the same meet- ing. It is interesting to note that the most active opponents of the merger with I. S. S. were the most ardent advocates of continued affili- ation with the American’ Youth Congress. “J. S. S. will continue to sponsor student conferences in the belief that only by an impartial presenta- tion of various points of view and by an unbiased discussion of all problems will — arrive at in- telligent opinions on’the issues of the day and contribute to their so- lution. We shall need the support of sensitive and alert thinkers on every campus to succeed. ' We should not ‘like to feel that Bryn Mawr had a false impression of our work. The integrity of our committee and the staff who carry out its dictates cannot be doubted. LovuISE MorR.eEy, ’40, Conference Secretary, International Student Service. Are We Building Democracy? What Steve Hutchins said at the Undergraduate meeting about a college focal point, and what our representatives at the Student Union Conference said about pre- serving democracy gave me a good start toward saying something I have been wanting to express, in continuation of this idea. We think a lot about democracy, of course. We believe in its value and in doing everything possible to preserve it. We want the United States to have real democracy. Can it have that if the democratic spirit is not a very vital thing to every- one who makes up this country? Before a country can have this strong democratic spirit, its indi- viduals must have it. Let’s think about ourselves, here, at college. Are we really demo- cratic in our attitudes? I believe democracy is like the proverbial charity—it begins at home. De- mocracy emphasizes the dignity and value of the individual, every indi- vidual, and it seeks to bring within his reach an abundant life. Are we giving this idea the greatest sup- port of which we are capable? If we cannot be really democratic in the relatively narrow. sphere of college, how can we expect to be of service in a far bigger world? Democracy is not a passive thing; it is not one of those things that is the absence of its opposite. De- mocracy is active and vital, and it calls for real action in its preserva- tion. Behind every action is a fundamental motive, and behind the motive, an attitude. To act right we must have the right attitudes. We talk a good deal about preserv- ing our country’s democracy. But don’t some of us overlook, perhaps, the very places where we as indi- viduals ‘can help to strengthen de- mocracy?. I am not talking here about the things. some. people are doing with democratic organiza- tions, war work, or other charity yuan (" ‘(a -Ph.—D.—at-Columbia-in—-the-same ‘with the same people, sometimes. But if we concentrated more Mrs. Algor Succeeds As Labor School Head The Board of Directors of the | Hudson Shore Labor School has | announced the appointment of Mrs. Marie Elliott Algor as direc- tor of the School. Mrs. Ale geiey (c. succeed Hilda Smith who was forced by illness last year to re- sign from the position. A graduate of the University of Nebraska, Mrs. Algor took her M. A.*in Economics at Columbia and has completed her course work for field. In the professional field, she has been a ¥Y. W. ©. A. industrial sec- retary and for three years was in charge of the cafeteria and _resi- dence. of the Kensington, -Philadel- phia branch. Her teaching .exper- ience in workers’ educational direc- torship for eight months of the International Ladies’ Garment Workers in Philadelphia, and the position of supervisor of leader- ship education in the Philadelphia W. P. A. where for the last few years she has headed a staff of 15 supervisors in various. fields, including workers’ education. work. That is fine; I am not criti- cizing it at all. I am thinking about our own attitudes, right in college life itself, toward one an- other. Here is where I want to bring in the focal point. When the discus- sion about having Big May Day came up, someone mentioned how good it would be for us to have a focal point, like May Day, where | every single person would throw herself into it, enthusiastically and wholeheartedly. I think we need a focal point, too, And the one I sug- gest we try is working toward mak- ing our college into a little democ-, racy, a unified body of people who are working together, as friends, and not separated as strangers or as antagonists. You say, “but we are that way! Look at self-gov- ernment, etc., etc.” Well, perhaps you are the people who are really democratic, because there are a lot of people who are. I am, however, speaking of something deeper down than the plan of our government, clubs, and other organizations. T-think we ought to change our attitudes toward people we consider different from us because of race, creed, social class, economic class, etc. We say we do not believe in such barriers; we oppose violently Hitler’s expulsion of Non-Aryans from Germany. Yet are we not sometimes violating our own. real principles and ideals in the way we think of some people right close at hand, among us here, whom we consider inferior for no other rea- son than that they differ externally somehow? I do not agree with those who hold that people should not have best friends and should not be closer to some people than to others. But don’t we go around disliking people a good deal more than we ought to? We don’t even get to know them; we just say we don’t like so-and-so, and let it go at that. Is that helping the cause of democ- racy? I do not advocate that we suddenly start feeling terribly af- fectionate towards everybody in col- lege. I advocate facing facts and breaking down prejudices. There is no denying, that we do have cliques; and go around too much on “MALADY: _— = | 2 F peu: Eunch poe Relaxation and Good Food THE BRYN MAWR COLLEGE INN Dinner - Tea Radnor Walky (With apologies to Lewis Carrol -and, Others) "Twas brillig and the Swindler Chew’d A Sprague of Herben. in the Park; All Therrien were the Broughton brood— Ro eard the Robbins bark. Nahm were the Crenshaw and the Carpenter, And dumb the Soper’s moan: Northrup from his Lehr the wily Taylor came, A-hunting for the Sloane. The Miller crouched in the Reids To watch the onslaught vile, And Kraussly Shultz the Wheeler Weiss For trying-not to smile, Gray were the Ash-y Stapletons, The Manning fled like any Dietz,— He would not stay to face the foe And Keator for the eats! The Taylor stirred the Forrest Wells, And gave,a little cough,— Pouf!—in the Fenwick’s murky depths The Cameronian Schenk made off! The Sloane swam round and round and round, Like a sick and Leary tuna; The Taylor reared, and lunged,— and then Fell in the Delaguna,, RADNOR. - looking for the good side in those “outsiders” and concentrated less on clever ways to get rid of “ob- jectionable” people, we would be spending our time to advantage and doing something constructive and not destructive. Our whole American system is built on the idea of working to- gether... We cannot do that unless we are unified. We cannot be uni- fied unless we are willing to work with people and not merely in spite of them, I think we all would like to feel that we, as a college, are Mr. Michael Heilperin Lectures in Series on “The New Peace” Mr. Michael Heilperin will open the series of lectures on The New Peace with: aietetas, ‘jointly by Bryn "Mawr, Haverford and Swarthmore colleges. Mr. Heilperin’s subject, Economic Fac- tors of the New Peace, will be fol- lowed by a lecture on the legal prin- ciples involved to be given by Dr. Frances R. Fussell of Swarthmore. Later there will be a discussion of. The Institutional Framework of the peace presented by Dr. Benjamin Gerig, of Haverford. Mr. Heilperin will discuss the question of international monetary stability, the problem of counter- acting economic nationalism, and the possibility of attaining inter- national stability within the frame- work of a reorganized League of Nations. His lecture will be given at 8.15 in Roberts Hall, Haverford. The series will be presented at Haverford college, and bus trans- portation will be arranged. The program will be repeated at Swarthmore, with Miss Helen Reid presenting the lecture on Legal principles. more unified and more conscious of working together. That is. why that person brought up the much- welcomed idea of a focal point. ‘But we do not.need Big May Day in order to have a focal point. There are plenty of focal points ly- ing around just waiting to be taken up, and the one I suggest is an ex- ample of something I think we | could do. And if we all wanted to do it, and all worked together on it, we would be sure to succeed! ANONYMOUS. “THE MANNA - BAR” Where the Elite Meet to Wine and Dine 23 East Lancaster Ave. ARDMORE’ | BEST & CO. MONTGOMERY & ANDERSON AVES., ARDMORE °¢ ARDMORE 4840 TRINITY 4750 — aati ~~ Our FAMOUS NADA in pure silk UR exclusive young classic shirt is mote important than ever, now . that a big “suit Spring” is predicted for campus. Beautifully. tailored in pure-silk, it comes in a rainbow of soft, flattering colors. Note especially the very 1941 long --~ented * = —sleeves and smart French cuffs! White, yellow, light blue, pink, or navy. Sizes 12 to 20 Reg. U. S. Pat. Off.