College News, 1941-03-26, Vol. 27, No. 19

              Z-816
The College News
VOL. XXVII, No. 19
BRYN MAWR and WAYNE, PA., WEDNESDAY, MARCH 26, 1941
Copyright, Trutteet of
Bryn   Mawr  College,  1940
PRICE 10 CENTS
Majority Approve
Change Suggested
For New Schedule
Eighty-five Per Cent Want
Reacting Period and
Paper Plan
?             In an attempt to determine col-
lege sentiment on the proposed
changes in the' curriculum, the
News conducted the following poll:
1.   Are you in favor of a sched-
ule of two quiz periods, one before
Christmas vacation and one be-
fore spring vacation; with a two-
' week reading period in place of
mid-years and a three-hour final
exam at the end of the year?
2.   Do you think that such a
schedule   would   be   applicable   to
a.  your major?
b.  all courses?
3.    Do you approve of the
a.  three-hour final exam?
b.  two-week    reading   period
for individual work?
c.  plan  to  distribute   papers
over four specific periods?
4.    Do you believe that opening
the college year one week earlier
would be advantageous?
Of the 334 people polled, 200 fa-
vored the new plan, and  134 op-
posed it.    251 believed it would be
applicable to their major, and 81
said it would not.    58 per cent of
those  polled thought  it would  be
applicable to all courses.    68 per!
cent   approved   of   the  three-hour j
final exam; 85 per cent approved
of   the   two-week   reading   period,
and 85 per cent approved of the
plan to distribute papers over four
specific periods.    Only 46 per cent
wanted an extra week added to the
college year.    60  per cent of the;
language <ftajors favored the pro-!
posed plan, 68 per cent of the so- j
cial science majors, and 48 per cent
of the science majors.
One of the most striking fea-
tures of the poll results was that
of 19 chemistry majors questioned,
15 were against the new plan. The
main objection to the proposed
change was the compressing of the
whole year's work into one final
three-hour    examination.       From
comments,   it   was   gathered   that
Continued on  Page Two
Faculty Coordinates
Defense Committee
For   Investigations
.     ------w*"1^
The Bryn Mawr faculty has or-
ganized an American Defense.
Group id coordinate individual de-
fense activity.' The Defense Group
was  set  up  on  the   basis  of  the
views expressed by Miss Linn in
the News. The Group is organized
in three main agencies: War Re-
lief (is being directed by Mrs.
Broughton; Miss Gardiner heads a
Speakers' Bureau, and Miss North-
rop is directing a Research group.
At present the Research Depart-
ment is divided into seven sub-
committees :
a.  A committee to investigate
current legislation and the records
of Congressmen. Mr. Broughton,
Mr. Sprague and Mrs. Berry are
in charge of this committee.
b.  A committee on propaganda;
Miss Bobbins is drawing up a
guide to the study of current
events to enable persons to know
what is propaganda.
c.  A committee on relief organi-
zations; to gather data on their
policies and programs, sponsors
and finances; under the direction
of Mrs. Hawkins, Mrs. Broughton
and Mr. Cameron.
d.  A committee on Civil Liber-
ties, under Miss Fairchild.
e.  A committee on foreign lan-
guage newspapers headed by Mr.
Lattimore.
f.  A committee to investigate
community organizations, directed
by Mrs. Tennent.
g.  Plans also for research on
general economic and social prob-
lems.
Mr. Broughton and Mr. Sprague
are collecting articles from current
newspapers and magazines and
clippings on such subjects as prop-
aganda, freedom of the press, and
bills concerning national defense.
This material is being filed in the
National Defense room for the use
of the committee or anyone prepar-
ing lectures on these subjects.
The committee on relief organi-
zations will soon solicit the Col-
lege Faculty and Staff for con-
tributions to the British War Re-
lief Society, The Greek War Relief
Association, and The United Phil-
adelphia Committee for China Re-
Contlnued on  Page  Four
Elections
The following elections are
announced:
Self-Gov. Association:
Vice-President,  Mimi Boal
Secretary,    Frances    Mat-
thai�;
Treasurer, Diano Lucas
Chairman of the
Entertainment Committee:
Margot Dethier
Curriculum Committee:
Chairman, Sheila Gamble
Secretary. Lili Schwenk
Basketball Team:
Captain, Margot Dethier
Manager, Frances Matthai
College Magazines Can Be Fresh, Strong,
Exciting; Why Aren't They, Asks P. Weiss
Specially Contributed by Mr. Weisi
A college literary magazine pro-
vides a unique opportunity for ex-
periment and expression. It has
no tradition to uphold, no money
to make�nothing to hinder it from
being alive and fresh, radically
honest in spirit and novel in re-
sult.
Its contributors are at an age
where ideals are still precious and
clear, and experiences, as old as
the ages, have a distinctness which
later sophistication blurs. The
college magazine ought to be one
of the main centers of college life,
at once reflecting and directing the
activities of people at a period of
maximum freedom, growth, con-
creteness and excitement.
The promise of later literature
ought to be found in the college
magazine. Poets and story tellers,
and essayists begin young as, a
rule. In the college magazine they
ought to get their first and best
chance to say what they wish and
can.
But college literary magazines,
instead of leading the way, are in-
clined to follow the traditions that
are just now passing away. They
do not seem to attract those who
write because they must or because
they have something to say, but
those who write for writing's sake
or to repeat the fads of the day.
In the present issue of the
Lantern I think I discern a tend-
ency for the Lantern to assume its
proper function. The story by
Hunter and the poems by Lynd
and Judson have power, originality
and life.
Margaret Hunter's "Birthday
Greetings" has substance. It
moves.   It has a flavor of its own.
Frances Lynd's "Prelude to the
Second War" is honest, direct and
alive. But I am not sure whether,
with the exception of lines 11-22, it
is poetry.
Apart from these two contribu-
tions, there is, unfortunately, very
little in this issue that 1 "under-
stand. All the others are pri-
marily concerned with creating an
atmosphere, unaware apparently
that this is best done through the
medium of internally connected,
specific events, interesting in them-
selves.
I do not understand the end of
Alice Judson's otherwise readable
"Spirit in Exile,,' but the poem in
Continued on Pace Two
Fenwick Will Speak
On Inter-Ant eric an
Relations April 16
Mr. Fenwick, professor of po-
litical science on leave, a member
of the Inter-American Neutrality
Committee of the Pan-American
Conference, will arrive in Bryn
Mawr April 7th for a short visit
during the committee's recess. He
will lecture Wednesday, April 16,
on "Inter-American Relations" as
observed during his work in Rio
de Janeiro.
Mr. Fenwick has recently pub-
lished a report on the committee's
procedure in 1939-1940. In this
first year, immediate problems of
organization and jurisdiction have
been settled. Advisory recommen-
dations touched on "incidents" af-
fecting the neutrality of the Amer-
ican States, such as the scuttling
of the Graf Spee. Although the
committee has laid down some spe-
cific rules for enforcement of the
security zone, no concrete codifica-
tion of a neutrality law has yet
been attempted. The practical
value of such a code in the present
lawless and anarchical war would
be negligible. There is no "fu-
ture" for neutrality, and no com-
promise possible between the rule
of force and the rule of law.
Miss Ward Is Appointed Dean;
Mrs. Manning History Professor
Mrs. Collins Returns
From Tour of Schools
Mrs. Chadwick-Collins, Miss
Lloyd-Jones, and Miss Lehr have
recently returned from a tour of
schools throughout the country.
Their work and impressions are
amply expressed in the statistics
of their trips.' Mrs. Chadwick-Col-
Contlnued on Page Five
Calendar
March 26.�
Phyllis Bentley, In Eng-
land Now, Roberts Hall,
Haverford, 8.15 P. M.
March 27.�
College Assembly, Good-
hart, 11 A. M.
April 8.�
Current Events, Miss Reid,
Common Room, 7.30 P. M.
Mr. Heilperin, The Eco-
nomic Consequences of a
German Victory, Goodhart,
8 P. M.
April 10.�
Philosophy Club, Mr. Cam-
eron, Common Room, 7.30
P. M.
April 13.�
Dr. Mutch, Music Room,
7.30 P. M.
April 14.�
Spanish Club Tea, Common
Room, 4.30 P. M.
April 15.�
College Assembly, Miss
Park, Mr. Nason, Good-
hart
April 16.�
Mr. Fenwick, Inter-Ameri-
can Relations, Goodhart.
Scheduling, Defense
And Paper Problems
Discussed by Council
March 19.�Discussion at the
meeting of the College Council
ranged over coordination of cam-
pus relief work, plans for defense
activity, curriculum problems, pre-
Freshman Show hazing and the
use of Mayday costumes.
It was suggested that relief
work might be organized under the
Bryn Mawr League. Appropria-
tions, formerly from the Peace
Council budget, would come direct-
ly from the Activities Drive. Ex-
tra-curricular defense courses, such
as first aid, motor mechanics, and
a possible statistics laboratory
course might also be coordinated
with the relief work.
Further discussion of defense
activity brought forth the sugges-
tion of a student organization
parallel to the faculty defense
group.
The next step in the process of
reorganizing the schedule of the
college year, it was reported, will
be to send out a questionnaire to
tlje faculty, in order to get infor-
mation on the quiz and paper prob-
lems of each course. The possi-
bility of limiting the number of
papers required of a student was
suggested. Each department might
take more responsibility for the
paper-writing of its majors. Fewer
papers and better papers seemed
a good idea. An extra week added
to the college year in September,
with no addition to the content
of the year's courses, was also dis-
cussed with general favor.
It was felt that the practical
joking and general hilarity before
Freshman Show had got out of
bounds this year. A mass meet-
ing of the Undergraduate Asso-
ciation was suggested; at the
meeting it will be emphasized that
hazing is not a necessary Bryn
Mawr tradition. The present
freshman will be asked not to carry
it on into next year.
Since we have a valuable ward-
robe   of   Mayday   costumes,   and
since Players' Club can make good
Continued on  race Four
Six.    Associate    Professors
Made   in   Four
Departments
At their March meeting the
Board of Directors appointed Miss
Julia Ward  Acting Dean for the
year 1941-42.   Miss Ward, who has
been   assistant  to   the   Dean   and
| Director of Admissions since 1933,
jis-a graduate of Bryn Mawr and
jtook her degree of doctor of phi-
losophy here.
Mrs. Manning, appointed full
professor of history, will succeed
Dr. David as head of the depart-
ment. Other faculty promotions
approved by the Board are Miss
, Bree and M. Guiton as associate
professors of French, Mr. Cameron
and Mr. Lattimore as associate
professors of Greek, Miss North-
rop as associate professor of eco-
nomics, and Miss Frederica de La-
guna as assistant professor of
anthropology.
"I am looking forward to it very
Continued on Pace Six
Song, Women, No Wine
At Fellowship Dinner
On Thursday evening the Gradu-
ate Students are giving a dinner at
Rhoads in honor of the two Trav-
eling Fellows who will be an-
nounced at the morning Assembly.
One hundred and five people are
expected, including Miss Park, Miss
Taylor, the Graduate Committee,
and the faculty of the Fellows.
Mr. Carpenter will be the main
speaker.
Mabel Lang and Elizabeth Puck-
ett are chairmen of the dinner.
The programs are printed in
the form of round-trip railroad
tickets: place of departure, Bryn �
Mawr; destination, Bryn Mawr;
and the entertainers are renowned.
Mrs. Manning and Mr. Crenshaw
will sing "In the Baggage Car
Ahead," and the Sob Sisters will
render "Ballades of Good Counsel"
in parts. An "Illustrated Lecture
on Radnor" is being offered, and a
trial oral examination for the de-
gree of doctor of philosophy.
The Bryn Mawr Public Library Spreads
From Twelve Chairs to Memorial Building
The first library in the village of
Bryn Mawr was started in 1916
with a collection of twenty books
and twelve chairs, both wedged
into one small room of a building
behind the present Merionette
Diner. Even after such an incon-
spicuous beginning, however, the
prestige of the library increased
rapidly. 1918 was a red letter year
�the library moved to a position
on the Pike, the Milestone building,
now the Florentine shop. There
the first paid librarian was en-
gaged. Now there are three li-
brarians always on duty. In 1920,
the library migrated again, this
time to a large room and a por<Sh
in the War Memorial and Commun-
ity House. When funds dwindled
in the early twenties, support of
the- library was accepted, by the
Lower Merion Township. The
present building was erected in
1926 in memory of Ethel Saltus
Ludington, a former director of the
Main Line's  Citizens' Association.
Funds for upkeep and new books
come from the township and the
school board of the Lower. Merion
High School, which uses the library
as a source of information for its ..
students. About the walls are
typed reading lists for the various
grades. Many personal books have
been given to the library, generally
second hand copies from family col-
lections. Twenty-five or thirty
best sellers are presented each
June by the local Woman's Club.
A branch, open once a week, is
maintained in the Bryn Mawr, hos-
pital for private and semi-private
patients. "Not that ward patients
aren't taken care of. They just
don't want us messing around with
them," the librarian explains.
The library has received what
the librarian terms two "outstand-
ing memorial bequeaths." A fund
of $1000 for "readable" books�
"not one of those philosophy booka__Jl
one person in a thousand is going
to pick up and look at." The otheiki
fund is a $500 bequest left by the
first librarian for the purchase of
illustrated classics. The latest ad-
dition to this collection is a richly
colored copy of "The Man Without
\ Country."
Continued on Pace Four
^.