Bergen County
Secretary, 8 Elliot Road Harrington Park, N. J. 07640
Our Club knew that both the two-week Alumni Colleges in Hanover and the special three-day seminars held in a few places across the country had more than hit the mark. But we also knew that most of our membership could not find the time to participate in such continuing education unless it was for just part of a weekend and right in the home area.
Dick Flicker '46, vice president and program chairman, ably assisted by BobLevine '54, began discussions with the College last fall which culminated January 15 in an event that was both an important experiment and one of the most outstanding of our Club's functions: a One-Day Alumni Seminar.
On that date, 85 alumni, their wives, and guests spent from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at the Ridgewood Country Club exploring a vital topic, "The Greening Conflict—Two Views of Freedom and Authority in America." Conducting the Seminar were two superb professors from the College, Alan Gaylord of the English Department and Vincent Starzinger of the Government Department.
Arriving with their homework done (advance reading of Reich's The Greeningof America and Dennison's The Lives ofChildren), the "students" enjoyed two lectures in the morning and two in the afternoon, each set being followed by a 45-minute discussion period... and there were, indeed, many questions from the floor. A hearty luncheon was served in an adjoining room.
Professor Starzinger concerned himself with the problems of freedom, equality, and self-government in what he considers the "all-liberal" context of American society, suggesting there must be a reassertion of certain kinds of authority to be determined by the history and traditions of our nation.
Developing a workable definition of the word "freedom," Professor Gaylord described the dilemma of a thinking individual who is attempting to come to grips with and relate to changing society's continuum of "revolutions."
No one wanted the day to end, but when it finally did, it was the unanimous reaction that: (a) there must be more Seminars like this one on a wide range Of topics (b) the "generation gap" had been obliterated, as all felt they were once again a true, living part of the Dartmouth experience, and (c) the two stimulating, razor-sharp professors clearly demonstrated that the quality of Dartmouth's faculty is first rank in every respect. It may have lasted but one day, but it was a day that would not soon be forgotten.
Professor Alan Gay lord of the English Department lecturing to 85 members of theDartmouth Club of Bergen County, their wives and friends at the RidgewoodCountry Club on January 15. The occasion was a one-day seminar on "The Greening Conflict—Two Views of Freedom and Authority in America."
