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Wednesday, March 7, 1962



THE CoLLecr. NEWS

.

Page Three



- German Visitors Offer Opinions
«On Berlin, American Students

' By Valerie Schoenfeldt
and Chris Whitehead

On Sunday, March 4, Bryn].
_ Mawr campus played host to three
visitors from one of the hot spots
oe the Cold War — West Berlin.
Dr. Otto Wenzel, President of the
Young. Berlin Socialists, Herr. Udo
Loewke, Representative ‘of the So-
cial Democratic Students, and Herr
Peter Mudra, President of the
Student Parliament of West Ber-
lin, arrived here at noon for a stay
which included dinner in Rhoads,
a tour of the campus, and an infor-
mal, tea with their hostesses and
Mr. Kline of the Russian and
Philosophy Departments. Dr. Wells
of the Political Science Department
contributed to arrangements’ for
the visit.
Thesthree gentlemen are mem-
bers of a group of ten, all leaders
of various German student organ-

izations, visiting the United States |

-. for two- weeks to explain conditions,
“in the divided city, present the Ger-
man view of its problems,—and-to
become better acquainted with the

«country and people “in whose
thands we are.” Dr. Wenzel, Pro-
fessor of History at the Free Uni-
versity of Berlin, is a dry-humored
scholar whose contributions to the
conversation lent .a note of preci-
sion and expertise. Herr Mudra,
genial and self-assured, combined
perceptive insights with ironic wit.
Herr Loewke was characterized by

_.@ relaxed charm and impressive
political acumen.

One purpose of the gentlemen’s
visit was to clear up the many
misconceptions of America held by
Germans. Their stay in this coun-

“try is ‘brief, but they “have learned-|~

much and have been favorably im-
pressed by the American people
and institutions with which they
have come in contact. “On their
part, the visitors were also very
informative about-the German poli-
tical scene. Herr Loewke is confi-
dent that Berlin Mayor Brandt

"(Socialist Party) will play an in-
creasingly decisive role in German
politics. \

Herr Mudra explaiiiad the ‘aferta
of West Berlin students to help
East. Germans, separated from

-. their families by the wall, to es-

cape tothe West. He could not. dis-

cuss the situation in detail because
of the danger of revealing crucial
_ information, but he described the
feats and sacrifices of students who

risked their lives to free their im-
prisoned countrymen. According to
_ Herr Loewke, more than half of
the two thousand West Berliners
caught on the wrong. side of the
wall on August 13th have been re-

_. turned to their families with. the
' aid of students.

.In. answer to many questions
about the morale of the West Ber-
lin population, Herr Loewke ex-

: plained that the flight of residents
into West Germany has created no
great problem because the West
German government offers advan-
tageous conditions (subsidies, low-
er rénts, job opportunities, etc.)
‘which are designed to attract vig-
orous young: people to the city.
This program has been so success-
ful that there is not only an influx
of “new” people from West Ger-
many, but also people who had al-
ready left the city are —
in large. numbers.

Perhaps most interesting of all
were the gentlemen's well thought~

_ out criticisms of aspects of Amer-
jean students’. political attitudes.
Herr Mudra expressed some sur-
prise over the way in which NSA
a neglected and underrated in the

U. §. and wholeheartedly advised

tion that the corresponding organ-
izations in Europe enjoy. These
not only bring about the formation

{with the future of international af-

of better scholarship seoueands and
an increase in student exchange
plans, but are at present involved
in a struggle of international sig-
nificance. For example, the stu-
dents of the new African nations
are beginning to organize, and
since the statesmen of Africa will
be drawn directly from -a— small
group of educated elite, their affili-
ations in the student world will-be
of primary jimportance in determ-
ining Africa’s position in the
East- West conflict. Herr Mudra
feels that any students concerned

fairs should take advantage of the
political potential of .an Racin
student body.

The students whom the German
group has encountered seem to
have a good grasp of the basic pre-
cepts of Marxism-Leninism, but
Herr. Mudra feared that too many
of them based their anti-commun-
ist sentiments on an unanalyzed
image of the Communist Bogey
rather—than~-on well-thought-out,
ahseayive decision

eatch a ‘plane to ( icago, having
already visited New York, Wash-
ington and Philadelphia and con-
ferred with Governor Rockefeller
and President Kennedy. Their busy
schedule has included press confer-
ences, television appearances, and

—__ formal give-and-take between -stu=}



panel discussions with students at
Continued on Page 6, Col. 1

Exchange Students . . .



Bryn Mawr Students J udge
Aspects of Visited Colleges

Panel Cites Discussion,
Honor System Problems

Four stray Bryn Mawrtyrs
have returned to the fold
from their visits to nearby
colleges under a program of

student exchange, and, last Thurs-
day, they participated in a lively
panel discussion, moderated by
Ellen Corcoran. Meg. Porter and
Paula Pace, who spent a week at
Sarah Lawrence, traded impress-
ions with Vivian Brodkin and. Lin-
da Newman, the Swarthmore ex+
change visitors, before an inter-
ested and articulate audience which
seemed to realize the value of this
type of exchange program to the
Bryn Mawr student body.

Individualism, observed Meg and
Paula, sets the keynote for life at
Sarah Lawrence, both at the aca-
demic._and_.social__levels. Classes |.

jare small and are often conducted |

in round-table style, with much in-

dents and professors. Faculty ad-
visors act almost in. loco parentis
to their advisees: - —

The only required course is the
freshman “exploratory” course,
which may be in any discipline,
not necessarily in one in which the
student is especially interested.









%

“By Ann’ Witman

Each member of the Tri-College
Chorus is fully aware that the be-.
hind-the-scene activities of an Or-
mandy concert often eclipse the
actual performance. A_ polished
performance necessitates ‘a great
deal of serious preparation. tkyn
Mawr and Haverford began Meir
work just before Christmas while
Swarthmore. used the music, Bach’s
Mass in F Major,’ dor its 7
mas program.

Our first joint rehearsal ante 250
enthusiastic voices in Clothier Hall
at. Swarthmore on Ferbuary 7. un-
der the direction of “William Smith,
Assistant Conductor of the Phila-
delphia Orchestra. Mr. Smith man-
aged to exact lovely tones from a
chorus too hoarse to speak that
rigorous Wednesday evening. His
wry sense of humor kept the re-
hearsalfrom becoming entangled
in the complexities of Bach’s in-
tense contrapuntal music.

The joint. rehearsals are excit-
ing for freshmen and upperclass-
men alike. Old friendships renew-
ed, new friendships initiated, this
joint effort always is one of the
most successful exchanges among
the colleges. It would be interest-
ing to speculate on the number of
times.a thought such as “I wonder.
who that boy in the grey sweater
is?” flashes across the minds of
the coeds, or vice versa! In any
case, the relaxed social situation
is: fostered by the common bond
of music appreciation.

Concert. time itself sneaks up
and the chorus members find them-
selves~enguifed-in-a-were..oflastl.
minute rehearsals and tedious de-
tails. What. about. the bus that
broke down Thursday morning, or
those hot, hot lights? For the
freshmen there ‘is the added fasci-
nation of the backstage df the Aca-

curious, gerne
ad BUSS concealing whe
be Egyptian mummies!—high ceil-
ings and white-washed walls cov-





The Muses
Amuse Us

ithe backstage world into the eyes



ered with masses of ropes and ta-

-
°



I

bles—the narrow staircases leading:
to newly-decorated dressing rooms
—precarious bleachers and the, con-
stant warning of “Don’t take your
shoes off!”—the hot-air vents back-
stage that. either swoosh \up a
skirt or catch an unsuspecting high
heel. .

And then Mr. Ormandy hinwaall
—an artist in every way. His small
stature and tremendous talent im-
mediately captivate and enchant the
chorus, which soon learns. to re-
spond to his slightest gesture.

Thursday’s rehearsal] is finished
—another one Friday morning—a
hectic box-lunch or a hamburger
at-that drugstore across the street
—Dr. Reese warming up Haver-
ford in a remote room far above
the stage—last minute checks. on
seating arrangements—Mr. Good-
ale’s smiling face as you pass from

of an eager Friday afternoon au-
dience of wealthy dowagers, lady
shoppers, and students. ;
From our vantage point on the
stage, the audience seems strange-
ly unreal. Perhaps it is only a
painted flat beyond the proscenium
arch, but then a ring flashes, a
throat yields a cough, and one
knows that there is: humanity be-
yond Mr. Ormandy’s figure. A final
lifesaver and we stand up ata

pre-arranged—cue:—For—the—brief} Swarthmore7as the crow flies, I Had

moments’ of actual performance
there is nothing but Mr. Ormandy
—the orchestra and the modulated
tones of the other voices fade
about you .... then it is over —
applause—faces flushed from ex-
ertion and pride smile unconscious-
‘ly. a

Saturday... night’s..challenge.. for!
an improved performance is in -no
way. anti-climatic, and then it_real-
ly is all over. Yet in the- minds of
most of- the. chorus members _is
the image of the infinitely-express-
ive face of Mr. Ormandy. Art em-
bodied Ang manilesiea, heightened
by ‘the fa¢e which, sadly enough;
the audience never sees-at the mo-

ments of its greatest expressive-.

*!munity,” which results, according

|student life,

has very little power or function—

4+seem to be treated as adults.

Yorkers. .will excuse..the.term, mid-

phere its—cosiness..Coming - from

Concentration in the arts—music,
painting, dance—is common, and
Paula noted a great interest in
languages. Science departments are
small, however, and Classics cour-
ses almost non-existent. Exams
are not given systematically, and
“grades” consist of short com-
ments by “each professor,-measir-
ing the student against her own
potential rather than against any,
objective standard.

From the great ernphasis on the
individual, however, several dis-
advantages arise—a lack of “co-
ordination” in extra-curricular ac-
tivities, a tendency among students
to express views ~without—strong
backing in fact, and the general
breakdown in the sense of “com-

to one Sarah Lawrence student, in
the impossibility of establishing
an effective honor system on the
Cae

Both Meg and Paula, ‘mat ‘that
the strong Curriculum Kommittee

andthe frequent opportunityfor| Whieh-we—value—at-Bryn—Mawr-so

diseussion-- with faculty were -as-;
pects of Sarah Lawrence life that
should be imitated on the Bryn
Mawr campus.

The main différence between
Swarthmore and. Bryn Mawr, and
the principle advantage enjoyed by
the former, were both summied up
by Vivian in-one short “but over-
whelming word—“men”!. Dynamic
class discussion is encouraged by
co-education (althotgh the —boys;
remarked the . visitors, seemed to
be more willing to express, their
views than the girls). The \same
dynamic; “alive,” feeling is” no-
ticeable in almost ‘all facets of
from active argu-
ments at thé convivial soda-foun-
tain (a great aid to the intellectual
life) to the annual one-act play
competition. Ellen. mentioned _ the.
recent disarmament conference,
beautifully organized bby three
Swarthmore seniors, aS an ex-
ample of. the political .awareness
and initiative: of fhe students in
general. ‘

Academic pressure is intense,
but the excellent two-year honors
program offers an opportunity to
make creative use of knowledge.
The Swarthmore Student Council

in general, according to Linda,
Swarthmore students, in spite of
their intellectual maturity, did not

Swarthmore impressed Linda and
Vivian as being more “class-orien-
ted,” and less “dorm-oriented”
than Bryn Mawr.

The question-and-answer session
with the panelists. gave the audi-
ence a clear insight into some. of
the advantages, as well as the
disadvantages, which we enjoy at
Biyn Mawr.

Linda Newman Ponders
Delights of Coeducation

by Linda Newman
Although Bryn Mawr is . only
twenty automobile minutes from

never been ,there before my week as
an exchangé student. This may. be
due to the fact that I don’t fly, and
the Penn. Railroad has arranged
it to be a day’s trip at least. Upon
arrival I was immediately struck
by the natural, down to earth, fam-
ily, wholesome, and_ if you New

western atmosphere. I think it is
the addition of the male to formal
education that gives the atmos-

the Bryn Mawr nunnery, I had
never seen a male before, and you
may imagine’ my~surprise when I
appeared at breakfast in my bath-.
robe and found them all staring at
me over their real scrambled eggs.



ness; °



Actually, I have done some care-

4

ful retrospective observing, and
they ‘are not much different from
us, though they talk in lower voi-
ces and their hair is longer. To add
a word about the dining room: it is
very large, accomodating the en-
tire college cafeteria style, really
very loud and pleasant. What's
more, ofe can eat lunch at 11:20
and dinner at 5:20, if one so desires.

Swarthmore impresses me as be-
ing both serious academically and
lively extracurricularly. The main
difference between the classes at
Bryn Mawr and Swarthmore’is\the
amount’.the students talk. Having
the chance to rehearse the art of
conversation ‘by _ using the verna-
cular in social situations, the
Swarthmore’ students coittetbute a
great deal to the class discussion.
and continually challenge their
professors. Naturally, from _ so
much. activity, in the. classroom,

|the girls’ knitting suffers consid-

erably, but they have learned’ to
sacrifice the domestic ‘ pleasures

highly...At_firstI_would wonder

which persén was the professor, -

but soon learned that he was usu-
ally the quiet one sitting nearest
the door. Swarthmore has an inter-
esting honors program, for which
they apply at the end of their
sophomore year on the basis of
academic achievement. The _pro-
gram is again geared to oral ex-
pression and. satisfaction, consist-
ing .of weekly four-hour. seminars
of about six people at the profes-
sor’s house, where coffee and cakes
are,always served at tea ‘time: The
Swarthmore library is marvelous
for studying because it is so noisy,
There are. telephones ringing,

‘doors’-bangirig;and*at~ the lorig, "~

well-lighted “tables ‘one ‘gets. the
feeling that there are other human
beings alive in the world.. When I
am: sitting in the tomb-like cavity
of a Bryn Mawr library stall, my
mind begins to wander from my
wee spot of 40 watt light: in- the
darkness to the depths of the un-
derworld, and I am*always hoping
that someone will at least fall over
backwards in: her chair ‘so that I
will just know: that somebody is
around, ae

Swarthmore always—has—sorme-
thing going ona concett, a_play,.
a meeting, a debate, a fraternity
party; the frustrating part is that
these things are all going on at
the same“ time. As illustrated by.
the recent tremendously success-
ful disarmament conference,
Swarthmore is very alive politic-
ally. In fact people are so politic-
ally oriented that their conversa-
tions consist mostly of strings of
initials; FICDAC being the con-
densed name of the, disarmament
conference. In order. to learn -the
new. initial lingo, I quickly read
Milton’s Apology for Smectym-
nuus. In the girls’ dorms they have
another useful set of initials Which
symbolize telephone: messages. A
sheet by the phone will say either

FNM or MNM. Naturally, MNM -

is infinitely preferred to FNM, not
because it would be a more sym-
metrical: towel monogram -but_ be-
cause it means Male No Message.

My week at Swarthmore could
not have been more varied, more
interesting,:or more fun. Although
Swarthmore a self-sufficient
community in itself, I wish that
there .would “be more interchange

is

ad Bryn Mawr, which seem bound
together in the college. catalogues

only. It would be worthwhile for
the- eolleges—to—sponsor-a station

wagon shuttle’ system for lectures
and social activities. In conclusion
I would just like to say that
“Swarthmore swings” and recom-
mend, for the consideration of: all,
a new coed college called Brynford
or Havermawr.

a at

x. eee

&MOn-g Swarthmore, Haverford, _—_——————