A Student Club with International Flavor
WITH a large number of foreign students enrolled at Dartmouth every year, a relatively new student organization, the Cosmopolitan Club, has come into existence in order to provide an opportunity for foreign and American students to become better acquainted and to profit by the friendly exchange of ideas, culture and knowledge of different lands.
The history of Dartmouth's Cosmopolitan Club is a short but interesting one. After the dedication costume party and a talk by President Dickey, it started off in the fall of 1949 by sponsoring a dance open to the public. Almost one hundred people were present, both students and faculty members, and the great success in this initial venture gave the Club the impetus that any new organization on campus needs. In 1950, under the leadership of its capable president Abdul Bahrani '53 of Iraq and its energetic secretary Edward Fitzgerald '52, an American, the Club grew rapidly. But it soon found that its original name, the Foreign Student Club, tended to discourage the muchwanted American student, so its official title was changed to the Cosmopolitan Club. During the year of 1951 George Slavic '53 of Czechoslovakia took over the leadership and managed the young club as it continued to grow. He was succeeded last year by the congenial Parisian, Daniel Vovk '54. Recently, David Wang '53, a native of China, was elected president.
In reaching its ends of understanding among the young people of different backgrounds and countries and making the foreign student feel at home on the Dartmouth campus, the Club has continually spread its activities over many fields. Though the Club has come to offer great depth and variety to its members' social and cultural life, one of its most admirable features is the services it supplies. Over this past Christmas vacation it arranged to have several foreign students who did not leave Hanover live with local families, an experience of value and enlightment to both the students and their hosts. Last May the Club helped to receive some twenty members of the United Nations Secretariat when they visited Hanover. One of the most pleasant services undertaken by the Club was its collaboration with the National Students' Organization in the spring of 1950, resulting in trips around New England for seven of the Club's members.
To many the most attractive feature of the Cosmopolitan Club is its social life. Although social affairs may be no more than incidental to most clubs, they are especially important to foreign students, offering the chance to socialize to some who have lacked the opportunity or confidence. After all, the scarcity in Hanover of the opposite gender can be very discouraging. In its few years the club has adopted the tradition of holding a dance each spring; student nurses and local people have been delightful dance partners and conversation-makers. Other dances have been sponsored for the Club, such as the dinner and square dance held last year at the White Church. More recently the Club journeyed to Smith College for a weekend to attend their international dance. Fourteen colleges were represented in the group of about 250 students. Needless to say, such social activities contribute to the personal happiness and mutual understanding of representatives of different nations. Perhaps more functions like these, in a gay and informal atmosphere, would build a happier world for tomorrow.
The third major function of the Cosmopolitan Club lies in the realm of culture. Affairs in this line are so numerous and varied that it is scarcely possible to mention everything. The Club has held several readings in the Tower Room, where students lead poetry in their native tongues. Professor Flint of the English Department has been very helpful, reciting English translations of the poetry. Another cultural activity is the talks, usually informal, that students or professors deliver to the Club. The most recent gathering heard Professor Emeritus Bradlee Watson relate some of his interesting experiences while teaching in Turkey. These talks, often illustrated and followed by question periods, are devoted to such subjects as the art, music, architecture, or philosophy of different peoples. Panel discussions and movies are also sponsored.
These activities have all helped to nourish the Cosmopolitan Club so that at present it has about 65 members, representing more than fifteen countries. The Club is open to all students and considers the ideal proportion to be half American, half foreign. A list of the present officers should illustrate the varied membership. President is David Wang '53 of Shanghai, China; vice-president, Jack Mendelsohn '56 of Chicago; secretary, Art Feinstein '55 of Brooklyn; and treasurer, Wolfgang Thumb, an exchange student from Vienna, Austria. These officers help to run the Club in cooperation with its faculty adviser, Professor Herbert R. Sensenig, and Warner Bentley of COSO.
The Cosmopolitan Club has covered a lot of ground, but we realize that we have a big job ahead of us, that there is a great deal to be done in the future. There are still friends to be made, understood, and helped. We continually hold the hope that we can enrich the life of the individual here at Dartmouth and that our small bit of fellowship and goodwill can be someday reflected in the lives of all mankind.
PRESIDENT OF THE COSMOPOLITAN CLUB, David Wang '53 of Shanghai, introducing Prof. E. Bradlee Watson '02, at his left, at a meeting in Dartmouth House. Next to Prof. Watson are Prof. Herbert R. Sensenig '28, club adviser, and Arthur Feinstein '55, secretary.
