1951 Hanover Holiday
Annual Alumni College Lectures in June Will Have "Defense of Freedom" as Theme
ONCE again we extend an invitation to alumni and their families to be in Hanover for the Hanover Holiday, June 18-21.
The twelfth annual Hanover Holiday will follow recent precedent in taking as a central theme a great issue confronting our society. For this year we have chosen "The Defense of Freedom." On the international front America is taking the lead in defending the principles of freedom against the aggressive policy of a nation that uses the slogans of freedom and democracy in order to subjugate whole peoples. A discussion of various aspects of this struggle will occupy the first two days of the Holiday.
In the roster of speakers we are leading with our ace. President Dickey will open the program at 10:00 a.m. on Monday, June 18, the day after Commencement. We have not pinned him down to an exact title for his talk. The international situation is highly fluid, and he will speak to an issue that will seem to him at the time to be most germane. On Monday evening at 8:30 we are fortunate to have as a speaker Prof. John Pellenyi of the Department of Government. He will talk on "The Role of Western Europe in the Defense of Freedom." Prof. Pelenyi's qualifications are indicated by the fact that before his appointment to Dartmouth he was the Hungarian ambassador to the United States.
On Tuesday two experts will discuss individual countries. Prof. H. Gordon Skilling of the Department of Government has been a close student of Czechoslovakia, and has just returned from a visit to that unhappy country, now behind the iron curtain. His topic will be "Czechoslovakia: A Case Study." In the evening Wing-tsit Chan, Professor of Chinese Civilization, a favorite of the Hanover Holiday audience —and of many other audiences—will discuss "The Chinese Spirit and Communism." Professor Chan was in China in 1949 when the forces of Chiang were being defeated by the communists.
What of our freedoms at home? To what extent must we sacrifice freedom for security, not only against foreign foes, but against forces within our own nation that threaten us. The radical fact of science and its impact on modern life has been held to be both the greatest hope and greatest danger to our civilization. One question often asked is, "Would it have been better if we had never allowed scientists to probe into the secrets of atomic energy?" On Wednesday morning Prof. Lawrence Hadley of the Department of Physics will take up the broad topic of "Freedom in Science."
Every college alumnus, every citizen, is concerned with the question of freedom in teaching. Should teachers or textbooks severely critical of the orthodox American point of view be allowed in our classrooms? There are few men better qualified to speak to that question than Edward Chase Kirkland '16, Professor of History at Bowdoin and former President of the American Association of University Professors. In that office he had a great deal of experience with that issue and has given it years of thought. We have persuaded him to come and give the Wednesday evening lecture.
What of economic freedom? Certainly a burning issue for many years, and now with economic controls once more coming into the national picture, perhaps even more so. Prof. James F. Cusick of the Department of Economics, one of our most stimulating speakers, will handle that topic on Thursday morning. There ought to be a good question period after this one.
For the final lecture of the series we are delighted to announce that Justice Amos N. Blandin '18 of the New Hampshire Supreme Court will speak on "The Judicial Protection of Freedom." One of our pleasant recollections is Justice Blandin's address on that subject in the Great Issues course.
The June lecture series should be one of the best Hanover Holidays yet. One of the great issues not only of the year, but of the century, will be discussed in various aspects by eminent authorities. Bring your wives and friends and once more participate in the intellectual life of the College. In between classes you can relax by swimming at Storrs' Pond, playing golf or tennis, or just enjoying life.
The Program
MONDAY, JUNE 18
10:00 a.m. President John Sloan Dickey (A topic in international relations) 8:30 p.m. John Pelenyi Professor of Government, "The Role of Western Europe in the Defense of Freedom"
TUESDAY, JUNE 19
10:00 a.m. H. Gordon Skilling Assistant Professor of Government, "Czechoslovakia: A Case Study"
8:30 p.m. Wing-tsit Chan, Professor of Chinese Civilization, "The Chinese Spirit and Communism"
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 20
10:00 a.m. Lawrence N. Hadley Jr., Assistant Professor of Physics, "Freedom in Science"
8:30 p.m. Edward Chase Kirkland '16, Professor of History, Bowdoin College, "Freedom to Teach"
THURSDAY, JUNE 21
10:00 a.m. James F. Cusick, Professor of Economics, "Economic Freedom in This Decade"
8:30 p.m. Amos Noyes Blandin '18, Associate Justice, New Hampshire State Supreme Court, "The Judicial Protection of Freedom."
HANOVER HOLIDAY SPEAKERS: H. Gordon Skilling (left). Assistant Professor of Government, who will talk on Czechoslovakia in the Alumni College series, June 18-21, points out that internationally im- portant spot to James F. Cusick, Professor of Economics, whose Hanover Holiday lecture will deal with economic freedoms of the present era.
