THE SKIDMORE NEWS October 6, 1966 Page Two FRUSTRATION The Board of Trustees’ refusal to permit religious groups to meet on campus has seriously discouraged and frustrated religious interests at Skidmore. This long standing rule is an anachronism when communication and discussion are the key words for peace and understanding. Several times in the past few years students have approached the administration requesting permission to hold meetings of national student religious groups in a room on campus. They have been willing to open the organization to all members of the student body, thus excluding no one, and to welcome the entire college community to their programs. Perhaps forty years ago a religious group might have fomented turmoil; but today, students hope to use these clubs as centers of information and learning rather than focal points of opposition and antagonism. Each time they have sought permission, they have been refused this privilege with the argument that the Board of Trustees does not approve of religious groups meeting on campus. No discussion. No rational explanation. A flat rejection that religion is an important institution in our American society. This is certainly a joke when one stops to consider other campus policies. Every night at 6:15 p. m. Skidmore students recite in unison: “May the Lord bless this food to our use and us to his service. The Lord make us grateful for all his mercies and mindful of others. Amen.” At Convocation last week, as on many other occasions, we heard Miss Norma MacRury, Dean of the College, read the Founder’s Prayer which contained many references to God. And within the past several months the Board of Trustees approved the appointment of our new chaplain, the Reverend Mr. Thomas R. Davis, who was faced with a congregation of approximately 500 at the first Chapel service last Thursday afternoon. Although places of worship in Saratoga Springs have offered their assistance to Skidmore students by providing meeting places for these organizations, student efforts have been frustrated largely because of the distance and inconvenience involved in getting to these centers. We are living in a college community where all of the religion courses offered this semester have been filled and their registrations closed. Many students who hoped to study religion have been disappointed. We have become a community limiting our education by ignoring a controversial area which is an important part of many of our lives. Several years ago the Newman Club was forced to dissolve when it faced this obstacle; and now the Hillel Club, which is trying to organize a student program, confronts the same problems. We urge the Board of Trustees to reverse this meaningless ruling. Why limit learning to the classroom? The heterogeneity of this college makes it an ideal place to gain knowledge about religions: their histories, beliefs, and traditions. A constructive student group with an interest in religion is just as valid an organization as one which studies drama, English, or psychology. In his first sermon the Reverend Mr. Davis expressed an enthusiasm encouraging religious interests. Unless there is immediate action to approve student meetings of this sort the spark of interest which has arisen will smother and die. S.S. EXCHANGE COLUMN by CAROL SCHREDER '68 Exchange Editor Dear Parents: Contrary to popular belief and wide rumor, the administration does not allow students to sign-out to men’s apartments overnight.... Although our parents usually receive letters from the College announcing tuition increases and the like, this past summer the parents of Pembroke students received a letter similar to the one just cited. Overnight sign-out procedure has caused some confusion at Pembroke College. In an attempt to clarify the situation, Dean Rosemary Pierrel announced recently that the ban on overnight sign-outs to men’s apartments was not “a change in policy.” She further pointed out that a misconception developed when the administration approved a Student Government Association suggestion that students sign-out to where they might be “most easily reached” instead of where they were actually staying. The thought behind this suggestion was that a student leaving the Providence area might not know where she was staying before arriving at her destination, or she might not be where she was staying until quite late at night. As such, the student could sign-out for the residence of the person she was visiting, provided she did not actually spend the night, and be reached through that person in case of an emergency. The popular notion arose, however, that students could also sign-out for a man’s apartment in the Providence area. According to the Pembroke Record, “This practice became very popular last year.” Most girls apparently believed signing-out to a man’s apartment in Providence was not an offense. One version of the origin of this misconception is that although the administration thought they had been explicit with regard to the overnight sign-out, the Senior assistants in each dorm seemingly received no specific pronouncement from Pembroke Hall about overnight sign-outs to men’s apartments in Providence. Plagued with questions about this procedure and no answer from “above,” the Senior assistants took it upon themselves to decide that juniors and seniors could, and freshmen and sophomores could not. Another more intriguing version came from last year’s student government officials. Apparently the administration implied to the school hierarchy during a closed meeting that students would be allowed to sign-out to men’s apartments regardless of their location. This information was not to be circulated and the Senior assistants would tell only those students who had taken the trouble to inquire about the ruling. It was assumed that such a girl had seriously considered her intended actions and arrived at a mature decision. However, too many students exercised their new freedoms. In order to quiet these conflicting interpretations and to relieve the administration in questions of morality, Pembroke Hall has firmly and explicitly banned overnight sign-outs to men’s apartments in the Providence area. However, the irony still remains: a student may sign-out to a man’s apartment out-of-town provided she does not spend the night there. As a recent Pembroke Record remarked: “You can hang your clothes on a hickory limb, but don’t go near the water.” LETTERS Greetings... Editor’s Note: The following letter, received by the News this week, is a personal welcome for our foreign students. Dear Friends: We welcome you in the name of all those who have also come to Skidmore from abroad and already feel at home here. It might make you feel more secure when you realize that others who have been in your place have "survived” the difficult and often bewildering first weeks of school. We would love to advise you how to best approach your new situation but, as you will realize, such advice would be almost useless; only through your own experience will this new world become a part of you. But remember, whatever your difficulties may be, you can always find someone that will help you. Your advisor, your professors, head residents or fellow students are all eager to understand you. Furthermore, you may always come to us with problems that we, too, may have encountered, and perhaps find the key to their solution. May this year be a wonderful experience for you and may you grow as much as we did. Fillia Makedon (Greece) Yvonne Witzinger (Switzerland) Theses... To the Editor: Is there any valid reason why sources of information remain locked to the Skidmore student? I am referring to the practice of our library concerning the senior theses. These papers could be a valuable resource to the entire community, except that they are inaccessible unless one has the key. I am sure that plagiarism would not increase significantly if all students could read theses. Very often they would provide a workable outline, suggestible bibliography. Senior theses are no more prone to plagiarism or thievery or destruction than any other works in the library. Locked away, they have become the Dead Sea Scrolls of the College Let us not wait several millenia before we rediscover the work of our own sages. Anne Francomano ’67 WELCOME We congratulate the staff of WRUC in Schenectady on their new broadcasting station which provides the members of Skidmore College with another dynamic facet of communications media. In spite of many drawbacks in setting up such a closed circuit radio station, this group of students from Union College has successfully installed a fine communications system to service our college. We welcome their broadcasting services to the college and feel confident that the community has gained an efficient source for news dissemination. Test dates for the National Teacher Examinations will be January 7, March 18, July 1, and October 7, 1967. These examinations may be taken by college seniors preparing to teach school. On test days, prospective teachers may take Common Examinations, which measure professional preparation and general cultural background. They may also take one of 13 Teaching Area Examinations. Information and Registration forms may be obtained by writing placement officers, school personnel departments or directly from National Teacher Examinations, Box 911, Educational Testing Service, Princeton, New Jersey, 08540. PEANUTS [comic] 10-6 Charles Schulz TM Reg. U.S. Pat Off. - All Rights Reserved 1966 by United Feature Syndicate. Inc. Skidmore News Editor-in-Chief SUSAN SPEVACK ’67 Associate Editor WENDY SHAPIRO ’67 Assistant Editors DORIS DANZIG ’67 and MADELINE KWITTER ’67 Business Manager ..................................... WENDY PRANGE ’68 Advertising Managers............ JOAN BLACKWAY ’68 and CAROLE SMITH ’67 News Editor ........................................... ANNE KANTOR ’68 Junior Coordinating Editor.............................DEENA MILLER ’68 Exchange Editor..................................... CAROL SCHREDER ’68 Feature Editor....................................... JANICE BROPHY ’68 Photograph Editor................................... LIBBY WILLIAMS ’68 Cow Editor............................................ PAULA LEVINE ’69 Nursing Correspondent ................................. NORA STEELE ’69 Copy Staff 1968........................................LOUISE FRESCO, SUSAN HIRSCH 1969............ 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