The Undergraduate Chair
Class of 1943, Leaving Hanover December 12, Has Participated in Many Sweeping Changes of Customs and Traditions
DARTMOUTH DOES ITS PART, AND MORE. We were encouraged and heartened to hear of the Allied successes in North Africa. For eleven months now we have been working to win the war, but this was the first time we have had any cause for rejoicing. Churchill's phrase, "the end of the beginning," should carry its proper weight when considered in the light of Representative Maas' recent reminder that we are still losing the war.
But we at Dartmouth in the everyday life that must be ours at this changing and hectic time can have some assurance that in our own, perhaps small, way we are contributing what we can in support of victory now and later in the peace.
The Palaeopitus-sponsored plan to issue a ban on all student cars has been brought in for the period following Christmas, and there shall be no driving of a non-essential nature in Hanover from now on. The new courses in Chinese and Russian Civilization, in World Geography where the war has brought our ignorance into such striking relief, and in War Time Self Defense under the skillful hand of Chick Evans have lent to the College a more cosmopolitan spirit than has ever existed before. The College Chest Drive with its goal of $5000 will be given largely to the Hanover Chapter of the Red Cross. The leaders of the three undergraduate governing organizations, Palaeopitus, Green Key, and the Vigilantes, with the backing of their groups, may have had a direct hand in the successful passage of the eighteen-nineteen draft bill with no amendment for at least one year's training before overseas' duty. They got together to send to Representative May, chairman of the House Military Affairs Committee, a telegram of encouragement in his opposition to the O'Daniel rider. This was done in conjunction with thirty-one eastern colleges all of which sent similar messages. So anyone can see that even though isolated in one sense from the center of world events, Dartmouth is doing its part, and more.
All of us were of course disappointed to hear of the permanent injury, amputation of a foot, sustained by Chuck Bolt<s who was fighting with the King's Royal Riflemen with Montgomery in Egypt. His letters published in the ALUMNI MAGAZINE have been a constant source of interest and information to us all in Hanover and elsewhere.
FAITH IN PRESIDENT HOPKINS
We wish to extend our plaudits to the Herald Tribune Forum in selecting President Hopkins as its keynote speaker. In recognizing him in this way, they are showing that they realize what all of us have always known, that through his thorough understanding of the issues at stake in this war, he is eminently qualified to be a leading spokesman for the United Nations. The entire student body is of course proud that their faith in this man has been further substantiated and reaffirmed.
It seems queer that at this time of the year the traditional senior canes should make their appearance in a Hanover that is already under the snowy blanket of winter. But it is true, and the usual head of an Indian Chief is still there too. It is even possible to purchase rubber tips for them along with the initial-carving gouges, so that is one place where the war has not yet entered the field.
Navy Day, October 27, witnessed another full dress rehearsal on the campus in which the entire Navy Class participated. Captain Briggs, Commander Stubbs, and Dean Neidlinger were on the reviewing stand and personally inspected the officers dressed in blue.
Houseparties have come and gone, and for the third straight year we have had rain. However, this could not dampen the spirits of the seniors for whom this meant the last party of their college careers, and the underclassmen did not seem to have much trouble enjoying themselves to the limit. The attempts on the part of the Administration and the Interfraternity Council to diminish the amount of drinking seem to have been successful, for there were no reported violations of the new rules set up to deal with this problem.
This column wishes to bring to the attention of the alumni body one group that has been doing a splendid job in its quiet way without the applause that it so rightly deserves. That is the Dartmouth Players. This fall they have been hard at work on their three productions under the guiding hand of Warner Bentley who has also taken over the manifold duties of Bob Lang's office in the C.0.5.0. Peter "Slats" Heggie, currently playing Leslie Howard's role in their new play, Pygmalion, is the president of the group and is the son of the late O. P. Heggie. We are anxious to see his destiny with the bright lights of Broadway fulfilled, and we are confident of his eventual success.
The Daily Dartmouth inaugurated a campaign for a more active participation by the students in the classroom discussions which prevail in most courses. Although the plan had a taint of immaturity in its presentation, it might have had its beneficial side in awakening the undergraduate body as well as some of the more routine professors to the danger of monotonous, antiquated lectures. Such lectures based on notes in continuous use for the past decade are particularly inept at this time when the whole course of world events demands a thorough-going change in our ways of thinking and learning.
Essentially, the problem is that most of the student body absorbs on paper the contents of a lecture which may have a great deal of meaning, or on the other hand, and entirely too frequently, little meaning at all. Then in the examinations and tests, these students parrot the words of the instructors without delving into their own minds to look at the questions posed in the course with a critical eye. The result is that much of the educational value is lost because the material fails to become a living part of the lives of these men. Both sides in this problem are probably in the wrong to some extent, for many of the students are not sincere in their quest for the understanding and the knowledge that college can offer. And in turn, the faculty in large measure do not attempt to insert this note into the regular class activities taking it for granted that no one is in college who has not already made up his mind to get the most from the instructive opportunities that are presented. It is an interesting topic, and The Dartmouth deserves commendation for having brought it to our attention.
It is probably customary for this column to register the nostalgic feelings of departing seniors when the time for graduation comes near as it now is so menacingly doing. Perhaps it is wise to point out, however, that this year's class, born after the war broke out in September of 1939, has been through more than any other class in Dartmouth's history in the sense that it has been subjected to a closer scrutiny of the issues that are at stake today. That all of us who are left are fortunate indeed to be able to complete our educations, there can be no doubt. We are also fortunate to be able to understand the failings and the working ideal of the democracy for which we are now fighting. Like no other class, it has been our lot to have passed through college when all the incumbent customs and traditions of the past have been severely challenged in order to determine their essential worth and right to survive. Many have gone; more will follow. But the point is that this class has been trained for realistic and not mystical thinking concerning our social order and our cultural stream from the past. In like manner, it is fervently hoped that more can be expected of them in improving conditions that they see around them today.
