College News, 1930-02-19, Vol. 16, No. 13

              The College News
VOL. XVI, NO. 13
BRYN MAWfi (AND WAYNE), PA., WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 1930
PRICE,   10 CENTS
t
Subject of Tea Dances
Favorably Discussed
A joint meeting of the Undergradu-
ate and Self-Government Associations
wal held at chapel time on Wednesday,
February 12. The first ^estion be-
fore the Undergraduate^Association
was whether there should be a tea-
dance before Varsity Dramatics as well
as before Glee Club. The date of the
Varsity production was named as, the
week-end after spring vacation, while
the Glee Club -performance will be in
May. A vote was taken and the mo-
tion for two tea-dances was carried.
Mis* Baer was elected to choose and
head a committee for the Varsity Dra-
matics dance, and a faculty reception
committee was agreed upon.
The next question up for discussion
wa- whether Bryn Mawr should join
the X. S. F. A. (National Student Fed-
eration of America) this year. Miss
Perkins said that the college had be-
longed to this organization for two
years, although scarcely conscious of
the fact, and that there were certain
definite advantages in it. For instance
by sending a representative to the an-
nual conference we see the problems
of other colleges and keep in touch
with their movements. Many of the
problems discussed at the conference,
however, such as those dealing with
fraternities and cheating at examina-
tions, do not concern us. On the other
band at the last conference in Palo
Alto, our representative, Miss Martin,
was able to make some very valuable
and helpful suggestions to the other
students. After a short discussion a
vote was taken which decided that
Bryn Mawr was to join N. S. F. A.
again, but with more spirit and inter-
est than previously shown. The Un-
dergraduate Association Board was
also empowered to bring the archaic
book of Undergraduate laws up to
date.
The meeting was then turned over
to the Self-Government Association,
but the questions to be discussed were
not brought to the vote since a quorum
wtf not present. The executive board
wished to be empowered to clarify the
smoking rule by rewriting it. A ten-
tative vote on the suggestion that the
rule of no bridge playing in the smok-
ing rooms on Sundays be changed
seemed to favor the change. The third
question brought before the meeting
was whether men should be allowed
in the girls' room's unchaperoned on
weekdays. The ensuing discussion
centered on two points: that of having
special permission for weekday guests,
and changing the hours slightly for the
convenience of those who are dressing
after athletics. The dbject of having
special permission on Weekdays was
pointed out as giving opportunities of
checking up on the male visitors in the
halls. Miss Thompson suggested that
men be allowed to have tea in the
balls on Saturday and Sunday after-
noona without special permission, and
~on afternoons from Monday--to Friday
with permission. No conclusions were
reached on this subject, and the meet-
ing was adjourned.
Education Is Not Offered
On a Silver Platter
Calendar
Thursday, evening, February 20:
The Vanity Players will pre-
sent Spar kin', by E. F. Conkle.
Friday evening, February 21:
Doctor L. C. Graton. Professor
of Mining Geology at Harvard
University, will speak on "How
to Behave Like a Human
Being When a Mile and a Half
Below Ground." This lecture
will be given under, the aus-
pices of the Science Club, in
Goodhart Hall, at a quarter past
eight o'clock.-------�-�
Monday, February 24: The Print
Club of Philadelphia will open
an exhibit in the old music
room in Wyndham.
Tuesday evening, February 25:
The French Club will present
Hernani.                                        .
On Tuesday, February 11. Miss
Millicent Carey spoke at chapel in the
Music Room on the complaints and
criticisms of the students which have
been brought to the Dean's office.
There have been more changed courses
this year than ever before and this
presents an extremely interesting prob-
lem since it shows up the student, en-
lightens the administrator by throwing
light on the curriculum needs, and es-
tablishes certain opinions on what ed-
ucational institutions should give. The
first two points need little discussion.
The complaining student often shows
by her criticisms that it is she who is
lacking, and she is in reality criticizing
herself. Plans are being made by the
Faculty and Student Curriculum Com-
mittees for a complete revision �'of the
present curriculum. In many cases the
student complaints that there is too
much to do in short courses, and that
there are too many lectures' in some
courses are completely justified. The
most common criticisms of the educa-
tional plan are that some of the pro-
fessors are dull, that many courses
contain too much ground work and de-
tail and do not meet the student's in-
terests, and that present courses are
far  too  remote  from life.
It is-a strange and unfortunate truth
that certain students cast the job of
giving themselves an education upon
the college, especially in courses that
have interviews. It is as though they
said to the college, "Well, here I am.
What are you going to do about it?"
This attitude is based on an entirely
mistaken educational philosophy. In
the first place all arguments must be
conducted on the premise that Bryn
Mawr is a specialized! college, and
those who come here know that. The
students are carefully' selected from
among those wanting to do decent,
thorough, scholarly work at college,
and not to sit around and talk about
life and take courses in' which all of
human knowledge is- synthesized.
Bryn Mawr wants to train people with
a scholarly point of view, and ^ feels
that the best education for a student
lies in the honest, hard analysis of the
subjects she is taking. With such an
education she is completely equipped
to do first rate graduate work, and
also best equipped to do other things
since she knows how to think, to use
any materials as tools, and to work
as hard as she can. The objections
to the dull professors do not seem well-
founded, for the teachers have been
chosen as best fitted to present the mate-
rial which the student wants. She has
no right to complain because the profes-
sor does not put over this important
material with high-powered salesman-
ship. Because the teacher does-not in-
spire his class, individual student re-
sponsibility does not end. If a stu-
dent feels that she is getting nothing
from her education, and would be bet-
ter doing something else, she is a mis-
fit and ddes not belong in college.
That ideal educational quality which
the student is seeking must be supple-
mented by her own efforts. Prof.
Whitehead'in his "Essay on the Aims
of Education" sums the situation up
very well: "There'is no royal road to
learning through an airy path of bril-
liant generalizations."
Curtis Program
Singular Success
Miss  Sanzewitch  Charms  With
'Symphonic Variations' of
Franck.
French Club to
Present 'Hernani'
(Specially contributed)
The French Club of Bryn Mawr Col-
lege announce a centennial reproduction
of the famous premiere of Victor Hugo's
HernajiDon February twenty-fifth in the
auditorium of Goodhart Hall. The date
is extremely well-known in literary his-
tory as the culmination of the romantic
theories proclaimed in Hugo's Prtface de
Cromwell in 1827. As such, the first
representation of Hernanit on February
25. 1830, occasioned a storm of comment
and .enjoyed- a popularity accorded to
few plays ,cither then or since.
But   apart   tr-n   thfe- literary   qualities
CoBtlao��>B P�*e Fonr
DON JUAN OUTSTANDING
On Wednesday. February 12, 1930, in
Goodhart Auditorium, the Curtis Insti-
tute Orchestra gave one of the out-
standing concerts of the year. Under
Emil Mlynarski as conductor, the young
musicians showed delightful warmth of
feeling and exuberant enthusiasm. From
the sustained beauty of the second move-
ment* of the Bjihms to the thrilling free-
dom otthV Strauss, the players were
sensitive to the peculiar value oi every
phrase. Remarkable for their oneness in
movement and spirit in the numbers for
orchestra alone, they were equally skil-
ful in combining with solo instruments.
They caught up and developed themes
with fulness and color, and with nice
feeling for the balance between orchestra
and   individual   artist.
The peak of a beautiful program was
undoubtedly the Symphonic Variations
of Cesar Franck, the piano part played
by Tatiana de Sanzewitch. From the
first crisp, clear-cut notes. Miss Sanze-
witch showed herself complete mistress
of her instrument and leader of her or-
chestra^ which responded to her shades
of feeling as if inspired. The aloof'glory
of the piece' caught the young pianist,
body and spirit, until every note was
charged with rare significance.' From
subdued introductions and rising devel-
opments, Miss Sanzewitch swept to bril-
liant climaxes, carrying not only the
orchestra, but her entire audience with
her.
High as was the level of Miss Sanze-
witch's work, the rest of the program
certainly did not suffer from comparison.
The opening number was Beethoven's
Overture to "Egmont." The heroic
themes, although fluent, lacked the vigor
of utterance which was to characterize
the rest of the program, and to dominate
the Strauss in particular.
The first movement of the Brahms
Double Concerto, intellectual and intri-
cate in character, was difficult to handle.
The violin themes of Miss Poska and
Mr. Machula too often were lost against
the orchestra, and the effect, while flow-
ing and thoughtful, was lacking in con-
viction. In the Andante and l/ivace,
however, the orchestra reached the
height which it was to maintain there-
after. Less complex in structure, these
movements were also shorter and easier
('iiiitlnnril on Page Three
Start Now!
The L. C. Page Publishing Company
has just announced a contest which
should be of great interest to Bryn Mawr
people. They plan to publish, in 1930,
a book entitled The CoUtge Girl of
America, the text of which is to consist
of articles written by students of Rock-
ford, Smith, Mt. Holyoke, Wellcsley,
Radcliffe, Simmons, Barnard. Vassar',
Goucher. and Bryn Mawr. These ar-
ticles are to be written on "the college,
its history, traditions, ideals, and their
exemplification in the kind of girl it is
graduating today
A contest is to be held in each college,
and the writer of the l>est article, which
is to be chosen within the college and
then submitted to the publishers, will
receive a prize of fifty dollars. The judg-
ing committee at Bryn Mawr is to con-
sist of Miss Carey, as a representative
of the English Department: Dr. Vir-
ginia Kneeland Frantz, Alumnae Direc-
tor, as a member of the governing board
of the college, and Erna Rice, '30, Edi-
tor of the College News. The winning
manuscript must have been selected by
April first, at the latest, so those who
are interested in entering the competi-
tion are advised to start thinking about
their articles. The judges reserve the
right of awarding no prize, and of sub-
mitting'-none of" the articles to L. C.
Page, and Company if, in their opinion,
none of the manuscripts submitted to
them are worthy of publication.
Mrs. Manning Explains
Tuition Rise
"My main object is calling you to-
gether this morning," began Mrs.
Mannhig in chapel on Thursday, "was
to announce that in December the Di-
rectors had voted that the fee for
undergraduate tuition be raised one
hundred dollars and the fee for gradu-
ate tuition be raised fifty dollars."
Mrs. Manning said that this anounce-
ment was one that might be made al-
most as a matter of routine, since we
are gradually becoming accustomed to
the increased cost of living, It has
been the general policy of the college
in any financial crisis to ask for sup-
port from the Alumnae and the friends
of the college outside or else to bor-
row money. Only when the annual
budget of the collage has proven too
small, and when the inevitable rise in
prices has made it necessary, have the
fees increased. This year, however,
the announcement of the increase in
the tuition fee marks an important de-
velopment in the financial policy of the
college which every student here ought
to understand.
The step has been taken after a
serious reconsideration of the whole
problem by Miss Park and the Direc-
tors. Comparison has shown that the
cost of teaching in Bryn Mawr is
higher than in the other women's col-
leges. It is apparently impossible to
meet the gap between' tuition fees and
teaching expenses solely by increase
in endowment. There are a number
of reasons why the cost-of education
at Bryn Mawr must be higher than at
the other colleges. First of all,, ex-
pensive arrangements have been made
for taking care of students, such as the
system of dining in separate halls;
then, as a small college we maintain
departments�Music and Art, for ex-
ample�which are ordinarily omitted
in the curriculum of colleges of this
size; finally, on the whole, Bryn Mawr
is a residential suburb and thus a very
expensive place in which to live.
However, very obviously these factors
Continued  on Pace Four
Playe
=*r
Freshman Show
Reveals Talent
Series  of   Skits  Devoid  of  Go*
hesion, But Single Acts
Good.
rs to Present
Conkle's 'Sparkin' '
"Sparkin'," a 'one-act jilay, by E. P.
Conkle,' will be given by the Bryn Mawr
Players in Cjpodhart Hall. Thursday
evening. February 20, at 9:30 o'clock.
The play is one of a series which Mr.
Conkle calls "Crick Bottom Plays�
Sketches of Mid-Western Life." "The
author," says Barrett Clark, in his pre-
face to the collection of plays, "based his
work entirely upon the life he knew.
Until he was nineteen he had not trav-
elled .more than twenty-two miles from
his home,  a typical town  in   Nebraska.
"It is perhaps unnecessary to say that
not all the people in Nebraska and its
neighboring States arc like these he de-
picts in his plays. His* interest reverts
to the tillers of the soil who drive teams
of horses and not tractors. They came
from Illinois and Indiana, some even
from Virginia and North Carolina.
Their quaint and sometimes rich idio-
matic speech, like their religion and their
philosophy, have now almost disappeared.
They didn't read much,' Mr. Conkle
tells me. hut they were wise. And they
have now been relegated to the past,
along with their coal-oil lamps, their
spring lmckl)oards, and their homespun
clothes. Their daughters and sons are
ashamed of them. I've known and loved
these people and have thought them
wvrth recording. They shouldn't be
doomed to the great oblivion that II to
engulf the rest of us'."
The cast is as follows:
Cranny   Painsbcrry.
label  Chotttean   Dyer. "31
LaSJIfl   Hanna             Janet   Marshall, '33
Susan  Hanna      Margaret  Reinhardt, '32
Orry   Sparks           Catherine   Reiser, '31
Mary   Polk   Drake,   '31,   is   directing.
It has been found ncces>ary to rai~c
the price of admission to 35 cents in
order to coyer expenses. Varsity Play-
ers  are  anxious that  the charge should
Players have not covered expenses.
ANIMAL  IN  SMALL PART
1933 offered to 1931 and others
liberal entertainment in the form of
their "Palpitating Pinafores." Fresh-
man show was presented with avowed
humility, but it scorned tradition and
ignored the unfortunate animal until
the bitter end. Further, the show was
not a continuous palpitation as the
name implied; it was a series of "skits"
and "specialties," each giving evidence
of careful organization within itself,
but not assisting the unity of the show
as a whole, and quite forgetting the
animal. The faults of the show were
perhaps advantages in view of enter-
tainment; the fact that the animal was
thrust aside, gave opportunity for
greater variation in material; the fact
that the show was broken up into nu-
merous unrelated parts, allowed better
exploitation of talent. Skits are dan-
gerous devices because they are de-
pendent on their witticisms, and should
these be too much for the audience,
as-4hey inevitably are in amateur at-
tempts, the action drags heavily. The "~
modern revue has lessened these dan-
gers By the use of the chorus; the
Freshman show eked out what might
have been otherwise flat lines with
clever, and well-drilled songs and
dances, in evident emulation of the
professional stage. If the progress
was~at times slow and pointless, it was
counteracted partially by the happy in-
sertion of choruses. Specialties are
apt to cheapen a performance.wid, al-
though they were pleasant interludes
and served as fillers-in, they might
have been better introduced into the
action itself. The show could not rely
on spectacle for its effect; the skits
made no particular artistic demands
upon their background, but one scenic
achievement was produced�the im-
pressive (though translucent) wall of
Pembroke (or was it Rockefeller?);
the costumes of the choruses were
effectively designed, but otherwise
costuming was a negligible factor. As
a production, "Palpitating Pinafores"
was ^carried through with smoothness
and assurance", despite the lack of co-
hesion in its parts.
The curtain song was worthy of
note because the words could actually
be heard, and laughter could therefore
be genuine. As to the palpitation of
the pinafores, it was confined to the
opening chorus�a4i original creation of
'33; the pinafores themselves were
white ruffled affairs on blue checked
dresses cut low in the back, and it
WU their movement to the syncopated
song that stimulated the unwieldly
show into motion�if not into palpita-
tion;" one  regretted  that  the  pinafoxea.
< niitinui-il  on Pase'Three
Organ Is Missed in
Musical Service
The Sunday evening service of the
Bryn Mawr League was held in the
Music Room of Goodhart Hall, Febru-
ary 16. The meeting was led by Con-
stance  Speer,  '30.
Due to the teni|>orary indisposition of
the organ, the musical service was neces-
sarily bereft of Mr. Wllioughoyl usually
much-enjoyed  numbers.
The program given-by the choir was
as   follows
Ave Marie                                      Urahms
. "Ave Maria, yratia plena. DomUtUI
tnmn. Benedicts tu in mulieribus, et
benedtctus fructus \cntris tui. Je-.us.
Sancta Maria, ora pro nobis."
Sanduj and Benedict us Tschaikowsky
"Holv holy, holy, Lord Cod of
EioaU, Heaven and earth are full of-
Tin   glOTJ      GfcJTy he RJ  Thee () Lord
\
moat high."    "Blessed i> He that com-
he  as *maU ai ponihlc, but �o^*r tfac4�etb in the name M the >LuM    Hosama
in the   Highest"