January 19, 1956

              Skidmore News

Volume Thirty-one	Skidmore College      Thursday, January 19, 1956	Number Eleven

Miss Field Speaks To College On Near Eastern Impressions
    
Next semester’s initial lecture for the combined activities program will be given by Miss E. Beverly Field, of the Skidmore College Biology Department.
    
Miss Field will speak on the impressions of the Middle East she gained during her Sabbatical year, teaching at the American University of Beirut, Lebanon.
  
The people of the Middle East are characterized as charming, polite, hospitable, and relaxed, taking time doing things where we “have no time.” They are proud of their rich heritage, history and very loyal in their family relationships. They are unable to understand that the Point Four Plan, which gives them scholarships and welfare help, does not expect something in return. Yet, Miss Field said, “this area is beginning to awaken to the idea that they didn’t have to be bogged down by poverty, disease, and ignorance, by using education as a weapon against these evils.”
  
Many Countries Represented
 
The American University of Beirut has developed tremendously since World War II. It is composed of several schools in addition to the school of Arts and Sciences namely, Agriculture, Engineering, Medicine, Nursing and Pharmacy.
  
The variety in the University is well illustrated by the fact that, although the majority of the 2,000 are from Lebanon, Syria, Palestine, Iraq, and Jordan, there is a representation from all continents with a total of about 55 countries included. (People from about 25 countries make up the faculty and administration.) The students are required to pass an English examination before entering the University as all the courses are in English.
  
Miss Field will also relate some of her many fascinating experience traveling through Lebanon, Syria, Jordon, Iraq, Cyprus, and Israel.

Holidays in Jerusalem
  
She had the not only delightful experience of celebrating the Christmas holidays in Jerusalem, but also had the interesting opportunity to watch Dimitri Kessel photograph the pictures of the Holy Land which Life used in their spectacular Christmas issue this past year.
  
The meeting of the ‘twain’ of Eastern and Western civilization is shown in vivid contrasts; in dress, the flowing robes and the English tailored suits; in transportation, from donkeys and camels to flashy new cars; and in architecture, from the ruins of the crusades to the modern apartment buildings.
   
Slides Accompany Lecture
 
Miss Field will also show slides during the lecture, choosing from the 1200 pictures she took, those which best represent the people and their way of life.
 
Many of the articles she purchased in the Middle East will be on exhibition in the library. The lecture will explain the significance of such utensils as the colorful and gaily decorated water jug, and the quaint handpounded copperware used for coffee by the nomadic Bedouins, students in Beirut as compared to American students, and the importance of education in stabilizing the Middle East.

[photograph] Miss Beverly Field
 





'Dr. Faustus' Tonight
   
Christopher Marlowe’s “The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus,” is the next offering of the Drama Department in its play reading series. It will be presented in the Recreation Center tonight at 7:30 p.m.








Faculty and Students Approve Academic Society Constitution
 
The Skidmore Academic Society has finally become a reality with the passing of its constitution by the faculty on Tuesday, January 10, and yesterday by the student body.
  
The Big Four presented the constitution to the faculty at their last meeting, when Janet Skinner, president of CGA, read the articles. Questions were raised pertaining to the admission of male graduates as honorary members, the meaning of academic integrity and dues. Mrs. Williams, the alumnae executive secretary, presented a revised program for nominating the honorary members.

Faculty Vote Unanimous
  
After each of these problems had been fully discussed, and votes taken in necessary instances, the faculty unanimously passed the constitution. A provision was included for certain stylistic changes to be made by a committee from the English Department.
  
Legislative Council representatives have gone to each of the dorms during the past few weeks and explained the purpose and working of the society at house meetings. Copies of the constitution were posted on all dorm bulletin boards.
  
Karen Seigfried, first vice-president of CGA, brought the question to the student body for a vote yesterday at Mass Meeting and it was passed by an overwhelming majority.

Students Eligible
  
The constitution states that the purpose of the organization shall be to stimulate intellectual curiosity, encourage creative activity and to honor academic achievement. Juniors and seniors with a cumulative average of 3.3 and a recommendation from Honor Board for academic integrity are eligible for membership. At present there are 17 students who meet these qualifications, eight seniors and nine juniors.
 
The committee which has been working on the society is headed by Janet Skinner, Karen Seigfried, Miss Warren and Mr. Lloyd, and includes Nancy Ryon, Martha Call, and Miss Paulding.
  
At the beginning of the second semester, the committee will notify the students who meet the requirements and the society will be organized.

NEWS Sponsors Contest
  
The Skidmore News is sponsoring a contest to name the society which is open to all members of the faculty and student body. Entries should be put in the Skidmore News box in the mailroom by February 9, and the winner will be announced in the February 16 issue of the paper.
  
The Academic Society committee and the Editor and Managing Editors of News will select the best entries and the final decision will be made by Legislative Council. The prize will be a dinner for two at The New Worden Inn which has been donated by its manager, Mr. Leahy.







Esso Foundation Presents $2,000
 
Skidmore was among the 193 privately supported institutions which received part of the $566,000 distributed by the Esso Education Foundation. The $566,000 was distributed to the colleges in the form of unrestricted grants for undergraduation education. The foundation was set up last October by the Standard Oil Company, New Jersey and a group of affiliated companies.
  
The grants totaled $1,067,900. The largest portion went to privately supported institutions. Two-hundred thousand dollars went to eleven colleges and universities for building and other capital projects, and $99,000 was awarded to ten institutions for research projects in physical sciences.
 
Skidmore’s share of the grant was approximately $2000.







Robert L. Anderson Member of Faculty Receives Doctorate
  
Robert Lee Anderson, a member of Skidmore College’s teaching staff in the Department of Psychology, has successfully completed his course of study at New York University and has earned his Ph.D. Mr. Anderson will officially receive his Ph.D, from the University in February of this year.
  
Mr. Anderson graduated from Northern Michigan College of Education with a degree of A.B., and received his A.M. from Teachers College, Columbia University. Eight years ago he joined the staff here at Skidmore, and in the summer of 1951 began his studies for his Ph.D. at New York University. He obtained all but nine of the necessary credits in summer school, and last year took a leave of absence for the first semester. During this period, Mr. Anderson taught at the University and took the remaining courses to fulfill his credits.
  
Mr. Anderson did his thesis on an experimental investigation of the effectiveness of group counseling with freshmen. The purpose of this experiment was to discover whether a program of this type would be beneficial in helping these students deal with their problems and also to promote academic progress. Mr. Anderson dealt with sixty Skidmore freshmen who volunteered to assist him in his work. The findings of his investigation were conflicting, but the study did show a possibility of a successful group training program. However, he feels that further study is necessary.
  
In addition to performing his duties as professor of psychology, Mr. Anderson hopes to pursue further the subject of his thesis. He intends to continue his survey in the second semester with the help of other Skidmore students.







Photography Exhibit Held February 6-19
  
From February 6 to 19 there will be an exhibit of photography in the drafting room of Hathorn Studio. This exhibit will present student work from the Country School of Photography in South Woodstock, Vermont. This school is under the direction of John W. Doscher, a well-known photographer.
  
This exhibit, which will be put up by David V. Poor of the photography school and Priscilla Talcott, class of 1956, will include both color and black and white prints. The students of the school follow a two year course in all phases of photography, studying black and white photography the first year and color the second.
  
After graduation from the school in March, the students will be qualified to work in any phase of photography. At the school all types of work, including commercial work and portraiture, and landscape photography are studied, In their second year, students learn to make color separation negatives in preparation for the making of final color prints, an extremely exacting process.
  
Although still students, the work of many of those at the school has already been accepted for publication in newspapers and magazines. The work of one of the students will appear in Life magazine in the near future as an advertisement for Pan-American coffee.
  
Much of this work is experimental, and will be especially interesting to art students because of this. Photography students are faced with many of the same problems as art students and this exhibit will demonstrate how these problems are solved in the photographic medium.








Preliminary Winners Announced In Mlle. College Board Contest
     
Four Skidmore girls were chosen from entrants of college students all over the country to be among the seven hundred preliminary winners in the Mademoiselle College Board Contest. Nancy Flechtner, ’56; Jane Kelly, ’57, Lynn Rosenfeld, ’57, and Barbara Park, ’58 were selected for their ideas in various phases of magazine work.
 
These girls now have the status of members of the College Board, which means that they are eligible to be judged on their interpretations of the next two assignments. The final winners may be guest editors of Mademoiselle in June. A record is kept of all the work they do, and may be used as a reference for future jobs.
 
Nancy Flechtner drew cartoons depicting major students of six departments doing their homework in the dormitory. They were art, psychology, drama, biology, home economics, and physical education.
 
Jane Kelly, also a cartoonist, submitted two series of drawings of the aspects of college life. One was a satire on individuality, and the other a satire entitled “Spring Comes to College.”
 
Lynn Rosenfeld’s contribution was a 1500 word critique on the editorial section of the College Issue of Mademoiselle, which came out in August, 1955. Lynn evaluated the fashion and merchandising sections of the issue, the overall coverage of the material, and made suggestions and criticisms on the fashions.
 
Barbara Park did a booklet on a typical Princeton weekend. She planned a wardrobe for the weekend, in which she carried out five points: economy, durability, color scheme, fashion, and “pack-a-bility.” Included in the wardrobe, were clothes for all activities, including a formal and a football game.
 
These four Skidmore students among 700 from throughout the United States, are now required to submit two of the assignments from the group in this month’s Mademoiselle. In addition, a student may contribute any extra articles in college news, fads, or campus activities. Prizes are offered for both the required and voluntary assignments.
  
In the final eliminations, twenty girls are chosen to be Mademoiselle Guest editors for the 1956 College Issue. The final selection is based on the initial contribution, the two subsequent assignments and any extra contribution.







Carnival Plans Revolve Around Tyrolean Theme
  
Plans for the Winter Carnival, to be held February 17-19, have been announced by Thelma Kropper, chairman, DeDe Franklin, Ski Club representative, and Sue Fogarty, Studio Arts Club representative. The theme about which the event will center is a Tyrolean festival.
  
Friday evening’s activities will be initiated by a parade with the candidates for Winter Carnival queen atop the main float, and later the crowd will gather by the bonfire to sing on Griffith lawn. A skating show featuring the Tryolean Hatters will end the evening’s performance.
 
For Saturday’s activities, ski events, snow sculpture competition and individual class and dorm cocktail and dinner parties are planned. A semi-formal dance, the Tyrolean Trot, will feature a well-
(Continued on page six)







CGA Announces Fellowship Fund Drive Sue Flood and Helen Wilson 1956 Heads
  
Fellowship Fund will inaugurate its annual drive on February 8. Sue Flood and Helen Wilson, class of 1957, have been appointed co-chairmen of the drive by College Government Association.
 
In the past, there have been many misconceptions as to the meaning of Fellowship, and it is felt that perhaps because of this, sufficient funds have not been collected. On campus, one drive is held and, therefore, individual organizations are not permitted to solicit the students. The money collected from this drive is divided and certain sums are sent to various charitable organizations,
 
The fact that money collected in this campaign benefits some of our own students is not realized by many of us. The National Scholarship Service and Fund for Negro Students has in the past supplemented scholarships given by Skidmore and thus enabled girls to attend our college. Money has also been given to the Skidmore College Foreign Aid and to the Freiburg Student Aid.
  
Contributions this year will be given to the above, as well as to World University Service, Saratoga County Health Association and several other organizations which will be decided upon in the future.
  
This year, girls have been appointed in each dorm to whom students can give their contributions during the week of February 15. Mr. Fenton Keyes is the advisor of the Fellowship Fund.
      
[photograph] Fellowship chairman: Left to Right, Miss Sue Flood and Miss Helen Wilson.