2

as a way to further the student’s

Page Two



8

THE COLLEGE





EWs



Wednesday, November 7, 1951



ICG Group Hears
Henry Ellis Speak

“We don’t preach; we don’t
teach; we create the atmosphere in
which to study politics”. Mr.
Henry Ellis, Penn student and Re-
gional Director of Southeast Penn-
sylvania, gave this slogan as a
conclusion to his remarks made at
a tea held Tuesday, October 31 in
the Common Room.

The Bryn Mawr I. C.G. club was
host to a group from five colleges
that is working with the Inter-

_ collegiate Conference on Govern-

ment. It is interested in partici-

pating in the Harrisburg Conven-
tion and local political affairs.
Jane Caster introduced Mr. Ellis
who outlined the structure of

I.C.G., which has six regions in
the state with general headquar
ters in Harrisburg. The conven-
tion to be held this year is a model
political convention patterned af-
ter an actual party convention. In
contrast, last year’s meeting fol-
lowed the plan of a model con-
gress where practical politics in
action were observed.

In the regions of Pennsylvania,
every active club can have unlim-
ited membership but only twenty-
five are eligible to vote in Harris-
burg conventions. A briefing con-
vention of just the region members
is held preliminary to the State
conventions.

Following Mr. Ellis, Bushka
Zabko and Jane Caster explained
the practices of the A.D. A. and
poll-watching groups with which
Bryn Mawr girls have worked. Bo
offered her impressions as those
of a foreign student looking at the
American government in action
and seeing the supposedly non-
partisan A.D.A. buying votes for
the Democratic party. Student vol-
unteers work with the Committee
of Seventy and the police in the
poll-watching, guarding against
illegal procedure at the polls.

The final comments were made



Students Briefed
On Poll-Watching

A group of politics students,
accompanied by Miss Gertrude C.
K. Leighton, were briefed for poll-
watching in the Philadelphia city
election on November 6. They re-
ceived their instructions at the
offices of the Committee of Sev-
enty in Philadelphia, Wednesday
afternoon, October 31.

At this meeting, a committee
member, Mr. Butcher, demonstrat-
ed the use of the voting machine,
and Mr. Robert Cooper, another
member of the Committee of Sev-
enty, explained what their work
would entail on Tuesday. He told
the girls to look for bribery, intim-
idation of voters, and illegal as-
sistance at the polls. Special em-
phasis was placed on illegal as-
sistance. Evidently it occurs quite
often, when voters are hesitant in
making their decisions, that a pol-
itician walks into the enclosure
and offers to “help”.

The girls were stationed in pairs,

at polling places all over the city
of Philadelphia Tuesday.



by Rae Warner who explained the
series of five lectures now in prog-
ress at Villanova. Last week’s
speaker in this series was Eliza-
beth Bentley, a Communist for ten
years in the U. S. Miss Bentley
pointed out that one can be drawn
into the Communist party to such
an extent that it takes years to
get over the effects. It took her at
least a year to get out and read-
justed after her decision. Next
week’s speaker is the author of I
Was A-Bombed, the priest who
survived the episode at Hiroshima.

Rosemont, Penn, Haverford,
Beaver and Bryn Mawr were the
five colleges repesented at this
the first I. C..G. meeting of the five
college groups. Its purpose is to
strengthen the voting and repre-
sentation of this region in Harris-
burg.



Pres. McBride Analyzes

Three Major Problems

Relevant to American and European Universities

Continued from Page 1

with the student’s interests and
through them leads toward the
subject. Bryn Mawr stands on the
second principle because it is not
only the most effective method, but
also the most honest. She does. not
believe that the students are ba-
bied by this plan. It also avoids
what is sometimes called “the rig-
id academic routine of the little
Ph.D. factory”.

The second point, the relation of
the student to the university, Miss
McBride also divided into three dif-



ferent phases. She cited the case
of the university providing only
professors, of the university that
provides housing and limits for
student conduct and activity as

well as professors, and finally she
mentioned the position of the in-
stitution—and this is the position
of Bryn Mawr—that supplies its
students not only with professors
and examinations but also with
consultants and services which
may be valuable in the student’s
development. It also encourages
thereby the development of the
community in which the college
may take part. There are several
reasons for Bryn Mawr’s choice of
the third alternative: it is effect-
ive, it saves waste of student
time, and it typifies the concept of
college education not only as a
means of intellectual growth but



development as a citizen by ma-
turing him to be more able to han-
dle himself socially, financially and
in regards to people, responsibil-
ity, and his own health. The prob-
lem lies in the question: what
constitutes the favorable sur-

roundings to produce this state?

Bryn Mawr believes in “advice
not direction” of the student while
other colleges may differ in the
emphasis they give to this matter.
The American and European ways
of life differ here; generally the
European child suddenly switches
from absolute control by the fam-
ily to no control at all, while the
American parents exercise a more
subtle control gradually leading to
full independence and responsibil-
ity.

Miss McBride’s final point con-
cerned freedom of speech. The
ideal is fairly definite but the dif-
ference comes in the criteria in-
spiring and maintaining that ideal.
A Bryn Mawr professor can say
what he thinks both in and out of
class, and is expected’ to be re-
sponsible not only in forming, but
also in presenting his views. Miss
McBride firmly believes that vari-
ous types of institutions provide
a variety of ways to preserve free
speech—institutions such as col-
leges, the state, private groups,
and the church. She thinks we can-
not let this ideal relax in our own
universities and colleges, and es-
pecially not at Bryn Mawr since
we are potentially the leaders of
the country and perhaps even of
the world.

\Cowles’ Paintings
Displayed in Phila.

Especially contributed by
Elspeth-Anne Winton, °52



The most outstanding feature of
the Russell Cowles exhibit at the
Art Alliance in Philadelphia is the
wide scope in both subject matter
and technique. He has said of his
work, “I like to paint everything.
I want to take the whole field of
life”. This he achieves by paint-
ing the spiritual as well as the ac-
tual world. ‘Whatever your taste

in art might be, there is probably
something among these paintings
which would appeal to you.

In technique, Cowles shows an
understanding of earlier masters
as well as an affinity for the great
painters of today. His still-lifes
are. patternistic, combining the
compositional qualities of earlier
periods by the use of colour with
the more modern cubist forms. His
solution of the problem of vitality)
in inanimate objects is a happy
one, since through his carefully
manipulated brush and sometimes
palette strokes, he imparts supple-
ness and grace.

All his work shows a predomin-
ate sense of design which is at-
tained by the actual composition as
well as the colour. Blue Jays is a
symphony in blue much in the
manner of Whistler with a strong
oriental flavor. The design is care-
fully handled in order to achieve
a variety of interesting and pleas-
ing shapes; and the actual birds,
due to the restrained modelling,
are well integrated into the sur-
face pattern. Gradually in this



work, which summarizes in many

Henry Fund Grants
Oxford Fellowships

The offer of four Henry Fel-
lowships for Americans to study
at Oxford and Cambridge Univer-
sities in England during 1952-
1958 is announced by the Amer
ican Trustees of the Charles and
Julia Henry Fund.

Four American students, either
men or women, will be selected
for the Fellowships, which pro-
vide a grant of 650 pounds to each
Fellow selected. The Trustees will
welcome applications from quali-
fied students in all parts of the
United States.

Recent college graduates and
students who will be graduating
from American colleges in the
spring of 1952 are eligible to ap-
ply for the awards,

Applications for the Fellow-
ships must be submitted on or be-
fore January 15, 1952, to the Of-
fice of the Secretary of Yale Uni-
versity or to the Secretary to the
Corporation of Harvard Univer-
sity.

American Trustees of the Henry
Fund are President James B.
Conant, Dean Wilbur J. Bender
and Mr. David W. Bailey of Har-
vard University and President A.
Whitney Griswold, Dean William
C. DeVane and Mr. Carl A. Loh-
mann of Yale University.



respects the totality of the exhibit.
the actual shapes take on a three
dimensional character which adds
to the interest.

The bulk of ‘Cowles’ work is done
in a modified cubist tradition. His
paintings are varied and display
a developed understanding of val-
ues. The exhibit is not extreme,
and therefore can have a wider
range of appeal to a lay public.



Continued from Page 1

have been such great figures as
Dante and Marconi, and on the
other, the illiterate and superstiti-
ous masses. To give an example
of peasant life in Italian villages
and to illustrate how far it is re-
moved from intellectual life, she
read a description of a peasant
house. It consisted of one room
with a stove in one corner and an
immense bed in the other. The
whole family slept in this one bed,
except for infants who were not
yet weaned. These latter were
suspended in hanging cradles over
the bed, while chickens and other
animals lived under the bed. To
complete the scene, there usually
were two pictures hanging over
the bed; on one side, there was a
rather stern madonna and on the
other, the picture of a benevolent
Roosevelt. Occasionally, the two
were united into a sort of mod-
ern-day trinity by the presence, in
between, of an American dollar
bill.

‘Under the {Italian Constitution
of 1947, education is free and com-
pulsory for eight years. Gifted
youngsters have the right, how-
ever, to higher education. Al-
though progress has been steady
and the number of students in-
creasing every year, Italy is still
suffering from the destruction of
schools, universities, and libraries
during the last war. Some schools,
indeed, are still being used to
house displaced persons. Educa-
tion in Italy is directed and partly
financed by the state.

Miss Avitabile then proceeded to
follow a student throughout his
scholastic career. First, the stu-
dent goes to a grammar school
composed entirely of boys or of
girls for five years; then he enters





W heaton Professor Discusses Italian Education
In First Talk of Continental Comparison Series

junior high school which is coedu-
cational. After three years there,
he has five more years of senior
high school. (Up to this point, the
curriculum is ‘fixed and there is no
choice, except in foreign languag-
es. Then, in order to graduate, the
student must pass a state exam,
beth written and oral, given by a
professor “imported” from anoth-
er town. “Mortality”, as they say
in Italy, is high in all exams, but
especially in those at the end of
high school.

At a university, the student
chooses a field of concentration;
here he has some required courses
as well as some electives. Depend-
ing on his field of specialization, it
takes four to six years to get a
degree. Written and oral exams,
plus a dissertation in front of
eleven professors, complete the
course. ‘College life as we know
it here at Bryn Mawr does not ex-
ist; there are practically no extra-
curricular activities and little con-
tact between professor and stu-
dent outside of the classroom.

The Italian Constitution pro-
vides for freedom of thought, re-
ligion, and the press. The Catholic
Church, however, holds a privileg-
ed position as the state religion.
Under the Lateran Treaty of 1928,
anti-Catholic propaganda is for-
bidden. ‘Also Catholicism is taught
in the schools. Freedom of thought
is upheld, however. Professors are
chosen by competitive exams; sal-
aries are low, about one hundred
dollars a month. Although there
are few, women are accepted as
university professors. A profes-
sien is not easy for an Italian
woman; traditionally, she is dedi-
cated to the home and family.
There are women physicians, how
ever, Professor Avitabile added.
She concluded her talk by assert-
ing that education is not static in
modern Italy and the Italian is
constantly trying to improve it.

Dr. Cam Probes English.
National School System
Continued from Page 1

nineteenth century did the govern-.
ment become concerned. In 1870
the state provided finances for ele-
mentary schooling, which was
shortly followed by the introduc-
tion of the compulsory education
doctrine.

In 1944 came the first attempt
to look at education on a national
basis. Richard A. Butler, a con-
servative and presently Churchill’s
chancellor of the exchequer, was
responsible for the drafting of a
comprehensive education act. This
means that it carries no stigma of
socialism. How far this plan has
been realized has been due more
to external conditions than to the.
policy of the Labour government.
External obstacles are primarily
1) limited finances, 2) adverse
parental attitude, and 3) limited:
ability on the part of the child.

The act represents an attempt
to combine two traditions, that of
selecting the gifted and training:
them to the highest degree, and:
that of more democratically of-
fering equal educational opportun-
ities for all.

In practice, under the laws of
the Education Act every private
school, of which there are a large
number, must be inspected and:
registered. They are subject to
the jurisdiction of the Minister of
Education, just as the public
schools are, and often receive fin-
ancial aid. The Minister of Edu-
cation does not play as direct a.
role in the system as he does in
France. Authority is more active:
on a local scale and it is the re-
sponsibility of the local official to
see that there are enough schools:
in the area to provide sufficient fa-
cilities for every age and every
ability. Responsibility is also plac-
ed upon the parent for sending his:



child to a school which most fully
measures up to the child’s abilities.

Religious education is an inher-.
ent part of the act. It represents;

|}a’ working compromise between

previously embattled _ religious.
sects. The school day begins with
collective worship and _ religious.
instruction of a non-denomination-
al, non-sectarian kind. Denomina-
tional schools still exist for those
who desire that type of education.



. The United Service Fund at |
present totals $4,175.95. About
78 percent of the. student body }
has. contributed. Although this |
amount is larger than last |
year’s $3,681.50, so iis the college, |
so that perfect cooperation with
each student giving $10 would
mean a $6000 total. Students |
who still want to hand in pledge |
cards should give them to Lita
Hahn, Rhoads. F







The primary schools, financed
by the state, are for children up to
eleven years of age. After elever
there is a threefold division into
grammar school, for those inter-
ested in books; technical school,
for those interested in things; and
modern school, for those interested
in people, public life and service.
Psychological factors have worked
to make the former more socially
desirable and the latter least de
sirable, which is one of the diffi-.
culties with this system. The oth-
er problem is to prevent the sys-.
tem from becoming too rigid.

A provision of the Act of 1944
is that educational facilities must.
be provided for every citizen
through .his eighteenth year. Vil-
lage colleges, which are being
built, are an important way of
providing these courses. Voluntary
adult education is being provided
by extra-mural college classes. Six
residential colleges, where train-.



Continued on Page 8, Col. 1