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THE COLLEGE NEWS

Wednesday, March 5, 1958



THE COLLEGE NEWS

FOUNDED IN 1914 + a
Published weekly during the College Year (except during
Thanksgiving, Christmas and Easter holidays, and during examina-
tion weeks) in the inierest of Bryn Mawr ‘College at the Ardmore
Printing Company, Ardmore, Pa., and Bryn Mawr College.
The College News is fully protected by copyright. Nothing that appears
in it may be reprinted wholly or in part without permission of the Editor-in-Chiet.
EDITORIAL BOARD



Editor-in-Chief .........-+++ Ne PENAL TARE AAETT CE Eleanor Winsor, ‘59
Copy Editor .........-sscreceeeeereeeererseeeeeerees Gretchen Jessup, ‘58
Managing Editor ............ssesecee eee eeeeeeeeee reece eees Janet Wolf, ‘59
4, Make-up Editor .........-::esseeeeeeeeeeeseererereces Miriam Beames, ‘59
Member-at-large .......--:.eceec cree eeeeeeeeeneeeees Betsy Levering, ‘61



Gather Ye Rosebuds...

For the second time this year the News is publishing the
tabulated results and summarized comments of a student
poll concerning a so-called controversial area of college life.
For-the second time, the results are not radical, but signifi-
cant. The ultimate defense of tradition in the undergrad
questionnaire surprised some, cheered many, disappointed
others. The junior class poll on the schedule can boast no
such conclusive opinions, but where it it less definite than the
non-academic questionnaire, it also strikes deeper. Its mass
of opinion, seen at first, hand, assumes an order which can
attest its general validity as a representative statement. By

roposing a few answers, it indicates several trends. The

emands for a longer year, more time for papers, and a read-
ing period indeed show that the question of the schedule
an immediate one—and not so much even in its direct effect
on the present population, half of whom are automatically
excluded, as in its implied issues and their associations. In
this region the poll answers hint at other questions perenially |
under. discussion on other contemporary campuses—those- of
the student and the academic tradition.

-. Although an awareness of and concern for the strain of
work-under the present distribution of academic pressures
was.uppermost in nearly all minds, this was not accompanied
by: any. suggestion for changing the. amount of this work.
Despite complaints we are basically satisfied, and in the long
run willing to give whatis demanded. These comments on
pressure, requests that reading assignments be lightened
during the paper-writing season, or the hopes of longer vaca-
tions for work or relaxation do seem to indicate, however,
that many feel that they do not now have time to explore
their special intellectual interests, or pursue bits of knowl-
edge outside the fixed academic program. The present con-
centration of work already absorbs all the interest and energy
that the individual can offer. And thus people may be said
to feel that the changes in the schedule should be academic
changes—in the sense that they are directed toward improv-
ing the efficiency of, and expanding the work program, al-
lowing fresh time, rest and enthusiasm.

This is after all, exactly what ought to be hoped; and
yet we wonder about these unexplored interests. While their
neglect: is not really a result of the work pressure, which all
the time is creating valid interests of its own, it is probably
with it. Special interests are never really excluded,
but they are often not included, and we suspect a great many
people on campus might be, or might like to be concerned
with a great deal more than they presently seem. As a sub-
stitute for actual ideas we are perhaps developing what
may be termed an intellectual conscience about areas in which
we should have ideas. Perhaps this is a key to a problem.
We are, as students concerned each with changes in a small
world of direct influence and concern, but the actual contin-
gency of this world and its changes to other worlds and their
changes must be forcbily brought home to us before we are
willing to give those other worlds our concern. |

On the other hand we can be deeply and intimately bound
in an academic life without this special world or department's
stimulating any active interest, thought or action. This is
liable to be true if we cannot see the relation or relevance of
outside events to our close academic studies. We may resent
what is actually at this time an advantage, the fact that we
are not called upon to apply thought and action to the prob-
lems which concern the average person, and in this we ignore
the opportunity of dedicating ourselves to a particular action,
or calling upon our resources’te develop disciplines which may
sométime be applied to a wider field.

- Finally, however, all pressures should themselves gener-
dte the spirit necessary for meeting them. They may in ad-
dition formulate their own ideal circumstances, by forcing
change and modification of the existing circumstance. This
should be the relation between the intellectual tradition and
the technical problems of the academic schedule. Existing
disciples, such as the succession of papers and examinations
in the semester have been acknowledged as valuable already
by many juniors answering the poll. What was requested
was less a general ruffling up than a smoothing of present
mechanical obstructions, whcih may in the long run prove
intellectual stumbling blocks both in specific and general
areas. More time, the students seem to feel, wuold allow
them to tie loose ends, to grasp the semester’s work a: little
‘more closely and also to relate it to other fields.

___. This relation to other fields is no doubt a hopeful begin-

~~ ning for the wider contemporary concern we have discussed.
_ It is certainly an enriching, not a watering down of the aca-

n; and one evidence now present of this ten-
number of interdepartmental majors or
eee pp




a *



the work: of lumns wre represented a8 p70
ds | shado dows, and eventually a vista
t|style emerged, with views of dis-

Off The Bookshelf

“THE SILENT GENERATION”

by Betsy Levering

Last spring Otto Butz, a Ger-
man - born, Canadian - educated
young man, currently an assistant
professor at Princeton University,
approached twelve Princeton sen-
iors with the proposal that they
each write an essay, for anonymous
publication, dealing generally with
these questions: “What do you
want out of life? What do you
want to contribute to life? Has
your background affected you in
this? ‘What do you think of hap-
piness, success, security, God, edu-
cation, marriage, family, and your
own generation? What, if any,
moral problems have you encoun-
tered or do you expect to have to
face? How do you relate yourself
to America’s -future and the fut-
ture of mankind in general?”

The eleven completed essays re-
sulting are juxtaposed by editor
Otto Butz in a volume entitled
The Unsilent Generation (Rine-
hart, $2.95).

It might be wise to enter a cave-
at to the effect that this collection
of essays is not an essentially lit-
erary effort. As is true in any col-
Iction ‘or. anthology, the writing
is uneven—some of the essays are
over-colloquial, some, at the op-
posite pole, are ponderous, Others,
however, are highly literate, eru-
dite, and occasionally brilliant; the

general level of the writing, indeed, |

is high,

The purpose of the essays, and
of the collection taken as a unit, is
soul-searching. That this is the
purpose of the individual essays is
clear from the questions, Mr.
Butz, in his introduction, says that
he hoped that articulate intro-spec-
tion and self-examination by in-
dividual members of this genera-
tion would to some extent serve
to lay bare the thoughts and val-
ues of the generation as a whole.

Anonymity has led to what is at
once a fault and a virtue of The
Unsilent Generation—the fusion
of the ideas and personalities of
eleven Princetonians into an im-



pressionistic picture of the rising
young man, and what he thinks.
The pronoun “I” has much to do
with the mechanics of this fusion,
since it is at once the only re-
course of the individual essayist
for identifying himself, and the re-
course of all of them. The lines
become blurred: the reader will
have a hard time remembering
whether it was the future Army
Career Man or the boy from the
exclusive suburb of a Midwestern
city who vehemently attacked
“loosening morality.”’ . But the
positive value of the fusion is that
the book speaks, nd speaks well
and clearly, of, if not for, what is
somehow a glum and amorphous
generation. ; ;

The essays themselves fortunate-
ly varied in their approach. Many
tackle their opinions and values
autobiographically. Again, for-
tunately, the essayists are not all
Protestant exurbanites, so their
backgrounds, religious, economic,
educational and social are various
and interesting. However, no one
spoon-fed from Some Came Run-
ning,, Battle Cry, et al, is going to
find the personal details very lur-
id. Others do less of this grotind-
work: less preface and more phi-
losophizing. .One final senior deals
with his background not at all, but
concentrates, with lucidity and in-
telligence, on his generation. This
essay, the last in the book is a
poignant critiqge on the other ten.

The surprise element in the pro-
fessed philosophies and values of
these seniors is that they are es-
sentially not radical, not shocking.
The essays are on the whole hon-
est and mature, indicative neither
of devotees to great causes, nor of
harum-scarum rebels, but of indi-
viduals who have faced up to the
fact that 99% of the issues are
grey, and not pearly grey at that.

As thought-inspired as these es-
says are, they can scarcely miss
being thought-provoking. The Un-
silent Generation is surely rec-
ommended, though not required,
reading.



Professor Trendall Discourses On Four
Syles of Wall Paintings In Pompeii

“Pompeiian Painting” and the
development of ancient wall paint-
ing were discussed by Professor
A. D. Trendall, Master of Univer-
sity House, Canberra, Monday
night in the Common Room.

In his lecture, Professor Trend-
all stressed Rome’s artistic influ-
ence on Pompeii and its develop-
opment of four styles: incrusta-
tion, illusion, screen, and a com-
bination of illusion and screen.
The first style, a variant of
traditional Hellenistic wall deco-
ration, is not found later than 80
B.C., and is \jspread throughout
the Hellenistic world. Its basic
characteristic is a tripartate rep-
resentation of architectural struc-
ture, with a cornice, dado, and
base. The cornice was often deco-
rated-in stucco relief, later sup-
planted by painted frieze. Large
figured mosaics (such as_ the
Alexander Mosaic) frequently ac-
companied by . the encrustation
style to create a feeling of space.
The use of painted columns..to

the second style. Gradually the

jecting from the wall and casting



give an illusion of depth heralded

were applied against landscape.
Flat surfaces, a reaction against
the impressionism of the second
style, were reintroduced in the
third period, characterized by
slender architectural elements, con-
centration on detail, and soft
coloring. A wall might well be
decorated with screens, columns,
and framed vistas.
_ The fourth style reconciled the
conflict between the complete illu-
sion of the second and the partial
illusion of the third; many of the
best-known examples of Pompeiian
painting (the House of the Vettii
is representative) date from this
period, redecorated after the
earthquake of 62 B.C. The early
Christians adapted this style for
the catacombs until its resurrec-

tion by Constantine.

Despite some difficulty with the
slide operation, the audience was
able to appreciate the beauty of
Professor Trendall’s brilliant
slides, many of which covered un-
published materia].



Notice
_ Students interested’ in living
in a French or Spanish House
“next .year: should consult Miss
Gilman o:









Letters to the Editor

Reader Claims. Remarks
OnNasserPre-Conceived

To the Editor of the College News:

Your editorial of Feb, 12, entitl-
ed “Remarks on the Near East”
was one that no college such as
Bryn Mawr should have in its
weekly paper. It was not written
by an enlightened and unbiased
student, but it is an article that
could have been put together by
a bitter small-town editor from
material gathered from a series of
city editorials. It seems to me in-
credible that a student living in
such troubled times as ours should
not make an effort to understand
the conditions of other countries,
by. using her own mind to_ think
originally (instead of sitting back
and using other people’s well-worn
ideas), and: thereby ameliorating
the present prevailing conditions
of misunderstanding.

The whole editorial was based
on a pre-conceived notion:. Nasser
and his followers are grasping,
cunning, ferocious, and dictatorial.
I personally doubt very much
whether the writer of the article
had thought very deeply on the
validity of this concept., Besides,
are not all these terms relative?
What may seem cunning to one
party might be thought of as
shrewd to another party. No effort
was made by your editorial to
grasp the relativity in the problem
of the Egyptian situation. You
used such well-used phrases as
“ |. . we have a strong suspicion
that Nasser is better at surprise
attack than sustained, battle’ (a
suspicion I am sure you heard
someone’ else exclaim) and
“ ... it looks as if Nasser will be
this year’s coup-of-the-year-man.”
(Time Magazine?)

Here lies one of the most basic
problems of today’s world. Few
people are willing to put aside
their preconceived notions and
prejudices and make an effort to
understand another country’s char-
acter and necessities. Nasser is
often seen in the U. S. as a “sec-
ond Hitler” mainly because, taken
out_of context and placed into an
American frame of mind, the two
men seem to resemble one another.
But with a little thought and
effort one can find no basis of
comparison when one places the
two men into their respective
background and countries. The his-
tory and culture of Germany up
to the 19380’s is so far removed
and different to those of Egypt
that it is nearly impossible to
find a common ground on which to
base this so-called similarity. To
the American mind, democracy is
taken for granted as an essential
part of life, and anything less is
abhorrent and is a dictatorship. To
the Arab mind, however, democ-
racy has little or no meaning and
importance. It does not count at
all in the Arab’s system of values.
Consequently, it does not appear
fair when Americans speak of
Nasser’s “dictatorship” as a point
against him: They think too much
in their own terms, and make little
effort to understand the bewild-
ered Egyptians who have recently
been given a freedom which they
have not had for centuries, and
which they are not yet sure how
to use most correctly and advan-

Continued on Page 4, Col. 3

Latin Student Sends

Glad Thanks to News
Dear Editor:

I_-wish to-thank “you very much
for your Latin editorial. Before I
came here, eyerybody ‘had told me
Bryn Mawr was very classical, so
when I came I enrolled in Latin.
But nobody on campus seemed
really to appreciate classics and
I wondered if I had come to the
right place. I can’t tell you how
thrilling it was to get out my dic-
tionary and work through such
modern thoughts in an ancient
language. You have restored my











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