Student Prexy
On the morning College officially opened, a men's store on Main Street had an early visitor. Samuel Bell '61, president of the Undergraduate Council, was speaking shortly after 10 o'clock that morning to the entire student body and faculty at the exercises opening the 192nd year of the College. And Sam, on getting dressed, had dis- covered that his only pair of white pants, part of the traditional dress of members of Palaeopitus, were ready for the cleaners.
Lesser men than Sam might have panicked at this point. Besides the imposing and skeptical Convocation crowd at 10:15, and a class from 9 until 10, he had the exceedingly difficult task of trying to purchase a new pair of white pants on Main Street before 9 a.m. His speech was made on schedule, and his delivery was that of a seasoned politician. From the point of view of content, it was one of the most provocative and mature student addresses in recent years (the full text appears in this issue).
The case of Sam's pants illustrates nothing more than that Sam is a busy undergraduate. Though friends like to kid him about being an easy-going, casual Southerner, Sam is not easy-going at all. But he is southern and likely to remain so.
Born in Charleston, West Virginia, son of a Methodist minister, Sam's home is now in Daytona Beach. In 1957 he graduated from Ft. Lauderdale High School, having been very active in student government. As a member of the high school organization, Key Club International, he was selected at the national convention to be an international trustee.
Sam's thoughts turned to Dartmouth in 1957 because of a certain warmth that the whole College seemed to display to him through admissions mailings and talks with Florida alumni. To this lad from the sunny South, Hanover has been another world, offering new fields, new horizons. Though Sam is fond of the North Country, he plans to return to the South after graduation. However, for the moment, that day in June seems a long way off. As president of the Undergraduate Council, Mr. Bell has a big year ahead. He has his sights on a fruitful year in student government, and has placed much of the responsibility on the committee system of the UGC. Sam knows these committees well, for last year he headed the Elections Committee and was a member of the Student Government Committee. As a junior, he was president of his class and a member of Green Key. A year earlier, he served on the Sophomore Orientation Committee. He is also a member of Palaeopitus, Casque and Gauntlet, and a brother at Kappa Sigma.
Sam Bell considers that his most important college experience, his "academic awakening," came last spring when he participated in the "Boston Project." Six Dartmouth men joined the same number of M.I.T. students in Boston for an urban studies research program in Boston's South End. Living for the term in a settlement house, Sam's particular project covered the "Political and Governmental Aspects of Sanitation." Here he was able to delve into basic problems at the "grass roots" level of government, meet the people concerned, and study their lives and motivations. In retrospect, Sam still stresses the importance of empathy for the people concerned. This, he holds, is a basic point whether in student government or as far along as the international level.
And Sam may come face to face with these thoughts again. His next step after graduation will be law school in the South. After settling into practice, he hopes to take a look at the possibilities of a political career. Sam has the desire, a welcome smile, and much ability. If his Convocation speech is any indication, he will make an excellent "stumper" and can go far.
Samuel P. Bell '61
