Innieoneninmrestinnemenenengite oe.’ .» Page Two THE COLLEGE NEWS — THE COLLEGE NEWS FOUNDED IN 1914 Published weekly bag be the College Year” (except during Thankegtving; Christmas and Easter holidays, and during examination weeks) in the interest of Bryn Mawr College at the Ardmore Printing Company, Ardmore, Pa.,.and B Mawr Gores. The College News is fully protected by copyright. Nothing that appears in it may be reprinted either wholly or in part without permission of the Editor-in-Chief. EDITORIAL BOARD EINE bcc iodo cece beceeaerevievecenetsosuaey’ Marcia Case, ‘57 TSS po OU Ee ri rere re Renee Epsey Cooke, ‘57 DRM RIPE bo cies ccc assedccveenieccesiocdueends Carol Hansen, ‘57 hcnan, Le LOR or ee ee Yi oeeeeee Ruth Rasch, ‘57 Chief Dissenter Molly Epstein, ‘56 ee ee ee ee ey EDITORIAL STAFF Paula Dunaway, ‘58; Marcia Goldstone, ‘56; Anna Kisselgoff, ‘58; Joan Park ‘59 (A.A. Representative; Helen Sagmaster, ‘58; Leah Shanks, ‘56; Catharine on, ‘58; Harriette Solow, ‘56; Elizabeth Warren, ‘55 (Alliance Representative); Joan Havens, ‘56. Staff Photographers .................: Sue Myers, ‘58 — Amy Heinel, ‘56 Business Manager Gloria Strohbeck, ‘57 Associate Business Manager Virginia Gavian, ‘57 Business Staff: Annanelle Williams, ‘56; Rachel Epstein, ‘57, Christine Wallace, “87. Subscription Manager .........../ aw Swi erin: Lucille Lindner, ‘57 Subscription Board: Norma Sedgewick, ‘56; Polly Lothman, ‘56; Micky Nus- baum, ‘57; Christa-Luuise Vollmer, ‘56; Ann Anderson, ‘57; Leone Edricks, ‘57; Jennie Hagen, ‘57; Betsy Miller, ‘57; Nancy Starr, ‘57. Subscription, $3.50. Mailing price, $4. 00. Subscriptions may begin at ee any time. Entered as second class matter at the Ardmore, Pa., Sa Office, - under the Aet of March 3, 1379. Universal Suffrage “They aré entirely responsible for the Freshman Week program “and we think it goes very well,” said-Miss-McBride -in«substance in her speech on Parents Day. Students ‘who read each year with interest and complete surprise the “elec- tion” of the head of Freshman Week are a little confused as to how far this responsibility extends. The fact is that the student who heads this very important committee that gives incoming freshmen their first glimpse of Bryn Mawr is elect-. ed by quite devious means. Undergraduate board brings up and discusses the names of likely candidates and narrows them to four. These four, who have been evaluated by the administration, are then voted on by Undergraduate Council —that is by part of Undergraduate Council, the heads of the Big Five organizations. This means that four, or sometimes three, students can determine who is going to head the Fresh- man Week Committee. We believe this official should be a representative of the whole student body. We realize*the importance of this posi- tion, and the fact that it is necessary that the student work well with the incoming freshmen, parents, and the admin- istration. At the same time, we believe that a student body capable of electing the President of Self-Government ought to be capable of electing a person for this office. We feel that the election for the head of Freshman Week Committee ought to be included in class elections in the spring, with nominating, narrowing, and electing carried on in the same manner as for all other class officials. Not only is this the only democratic way to choose a person for a job that is held to belong primarily to the students, but it would help to arouse interest in that somewhat vague and uncertain period which covers the first few days before upperclassmen return. This is not only a problem in itself, but it raises the ques- tion as to the election of other of the lesser-publicized but vitally important jobs on campus. How many other elections, we wonder, are held by a few students in important offices, and then announced to the college as a democratic decision by the student body? Dramatic Reading s Are Well Received Judging by the size and enthusi- asm of the audiences, the three? The eleven Russian student edi- dramatic readings from Milton’s; Paradise Lost were definitely suc- cessful. The reading, taken from ‘several books of the work, is known as “The Fall of Man.” _ The part of Adam was played by Ken Geist; Eve, by Erica Lann, and Satan, by Bill Tyson. Mr. Frank Quinn, professor Sf English at Haverford, directed the group. _For_ the first performance — at ee ” ‘Haverford, on March 13, Mr. Quinn acted as narrator. At the follow- ing presentations, April 12 and 14, at Bryn Mawr and Swarthmore, the narrator was Larry Hartmann. Because of the interest shown in| Michigar this type of dramatic production, the reading will be re- ape re sien te A Oe Russians Decline Digit-Prints, Visit tors who were to have visited the United States this spring have cancelled their trip. They refused to be fingerprinted, a requirement for a visa to enter the United States. Bryn Mawr was not among the schools which would have been vis- ited by the editors. These schools were: Columbia University, Ford-, jham University and Hunter~Cot- lege in New York City; Tuskegee Institute. in Tuskegee, Alabama; the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque; Stanford University in California; the University of ‘Chicago; and the University of Wednesday, April 20, 1955 I am enclosing some of the re- sults from the recent question- naire on the election system. Al- though I apologize for any statis- tical incompetence in correlating them, I think they will be of in- terest to the campus. The total response was 49% of the campus (figured on finding list~figures), somewhat less than what we hop- ed for; particularly in the fresh- man class. The 49% breaks down per class as follows: Seniors 46.2% Juniors 55.7% Sophomores 51.9% Freshmen 40.4% Committee Formed By Helen-Louise Simpson and Kit Masella are heading a committee to correlate the suggestions given in the questionnaire. Anyone in- terested in working on revising the election system should see them this week. The results of this work will be presented to Un- dergrad Board and Council in May. Sincerely, Sarah Stifler Yes 1. Are Reports nec- essary? 60.7% 39.3% Are they fair and adequate? 346% 65.38% 2. Are answers by the girl helpful? Are they adequate and fair? 8. Would you like to see reports and/or ansWers cut out? No 78.5% 21.3% 83.7% 66.2% Both 23.4% Neither 45.8% Answers 6.2% Reports 24.4% 4, Would you like class “to narrow? 89.7% 10.2% 5. Do you favor pref- erential order? 22.5% 77.4% All of these statistics were done against the number of people ans- wering particular questions. To the question, “On what basis did you vote in general in the,col- lege elections?”, the following ans- wers were received: Reports. about. girl 22.0% Answers by girl 28.7% Advice from other students 6.6% Personal knowledge of girl 42.6 Io the Editor: We feel that it is time for those opposed to wholesale class discus- sion, particularly in introductory courses, to present their objections. It is here especially, because of the size of such classes, that discussion becomes undesirable, as the major- ity of students can neither partici- pate in nor profit from them. There is an unquestionable tendency for a very few individuals to dominate these discussions, often with points irrelevant to the aims of the course or pertinent only to personal in- terests. ' Consequently much time which might otherwise be devoted to valuable lecture is wasted. Although discussion may prove extremely worthwhile in stimulat- ing constructive thought, this is rarely the case except in small and advanced groups. In introductory courses, where only a few have more than superficial knowledge of the material, it should be the task of the professor exclusively to en- lighten the students (with all due ‘ | respect to our contemporaries). Students Say Discussion In Survey Courses Is Often Irrelevant, Wastes Lecture Time Relevant questions—whether posed by professors or students—are val- uable, but the professor should not be reduced to a mere arbitrator against his wishes. As the Current Events panel on The Value of Bryn Mawr’s Educa- tion revealed, there is widespread desire for increased class discus- sion. We hope that these ideas will not materialize to the extent that the purpose of the meeting of the class and the role of the professor will become meaningless. Sincerely, Mimi Bayer, ’56 Ginny Thomas, ’56 Joyce Kettaneh, ’56. The News wishes to correct an error that appeared in last week’s issue. Samuel Johnson’s Dictionary was published on April 15, 1755, not 1775 as re- ported. A panel discussion on “A Criti- cation” proved the basis for an Room. Mr. Bachrach attacked the issue from the standpoint of good and tem. Among the former he num- bered academic freedom in prac- tice as well as in thought, intellec- tual atmosphere and small classes. He saw as the principal weakness- es the passive role which the stu- dent plays, and an over-emphasis of the weight of authority which is not conducive to individual thought. He felt a number of students leave Bryn Mawr “intellectually passive and submissive.” To avoid this, he advocated emphasis on training for critical thought and a ‘willingness to experiment; even-at the expense of the quantity of knowledge absorbed. Two signal points were iacensain out by Mr. Leblanc. He first “de- plored the tragic gap between the | sciences and the humanities,” feel- -| ing that exclusive training in eith-| 0 er field cannot lead to a real edu-,, cation. Commenting upon the insistence of students gaint vail ba tang, cal Analysis of Bryn Mawr’s Edu- original Current Events session on! Monday evening in the Common! bad aspects of the Bryn Mawr sys-| Letters to the Editor — Undergrad President S. Stifler Announces Campus Answers To Election Questionnaire : se Actors Describe Work In Experimental Drama To the Editor: In last week’s College News Linda Levitt echoed the plea for “a drama workshop, a class in which techniques of acting or. di- recting could be learned as taught by people with background in the theater.” We are happy to tell Miss Levitt and her readers that such a group is now in existence on an experi- mental basis. Since last month a small group of students from both colleges have been meeting Tues- day nights in Skinner to work on technique. This year’s efforts have been of a trial nature, in prepara- tion for more extensive operations in the fall. We hope that interest- ed students will get in touch with the undersigned, so they may share in our plans for the future. Unfortunately, neither of us has a very extensive “background in the theater,” although we have both been associated with the Col- lege Theater for years. Still, there are the books by Russian authors to look to, as well as help from outsiders who are connected more intimately with the stage. In par- ticular, we would mention Miss Claudia Franck, a drama consult- ant from New York, who will b visiting this spring and whose re- marks connecting training in act- ing with undergraduate life should prove both enlightening and sur- prising. The time of her visit will ~ be published shortly with an invi- tation to the whole college com- munity to attend. i Yours truly, ~ Liz Gordon Gerald Goodman. “Menagerie” Cast Begins Rehearsals The cast for Tennessee Williams’ Glass Menagerie, to be given by the Bryn Mawr College Theatre and the Haverford College Drama Club on May 5 and 6, has been selected. Tom Wingfield, the son in the play, will be played by Berkely Harris; Jim O’Connor, the gentle- man caller, will be played by Sam Bishop; Laura Wingfield, tlie daughter, by Caryl Sharlow; and Linda Levitt will play the part of Amanda) Wingfield, the mother. “practical things” in college, Mr. Leblane said one must distinguish~ between large-scale and_ small- scale practicalities. The small-scale ones should be learned before en- tering college; large-scale practi- calities should be our concern while at Bryn Mawr. Whereas Mr. Leblanc suggested a five-course plan of study after _ the freshman year as a possible so- lution to bridging the science-hu- manities gap, junior Gail Ames ad- vocated taking five courses during the first two years. She felt this would be profitable during the be- ginning survey courses. Noting that one can’t disagree with a pro- fessor if one doesn’t have a con> siderable foundation of knowledge, she suggested abolishing.some re- quirements, taking more courses allied with one’s major, and there- by preparing to reach some real |: in required courses stressing facts conclusions, especially during the last two years. | Senior Charlotte Busse noted that one is very liable at some times to, become dissatisfied with the c set-up, and overwhelm- ed Ay the amount of knowledge feels one lacks. Granting that cannot learn everything, she defended the present requiréments and did not favor a_ five-course freshman years. at a period when Professors And Students On Current Events Panel Evaluate Many Aspects Of Bryn Mawr’s Education , one needs to become acclimated to the college community and activi- ties. She felt dissatisfaction with our college years might be allevi- ated by making better use of the college community and nearby Philadelphia, Admittirig that we perhaps lack contemporary cours- es, she felt we shouldn’t “split the field” so as to take part in more, and generally appeared optimistic about the Bryn Mawr system. Sarah Stifler proceeded to “de- fend the requirements, but from a radical ‘viewpoint.” She wanted during the first two years, with in- creased experimentation. For ex- ample, she criticized the first year philosophy course as putting too much emphasis on the individual philosophers rather than the his- tory and development of ideas. - She saw much value being lost and figures rather than the devel- opment of the thinking process, a broader . background preparation | and felt the danger of a student’ graduating without a real method- ology. to be a socal of the. Bryn Mawr system. Miss McBride nalesded the ma- jor field as developing much more. than methodology, and as giving insight into one field which no number of first year courses could eaves aaa a