Lehigh University - Epitome Yearbook (Bethlehem, PA)

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THE ART OF LEARNING Attending college was once regarded as a rite de pas- sage confined to the intellectually elite, hungry to savor the coveted fruits of knowledge. Today, however, the thought of trundling off to the university seems to almost everyone a natural event in the educational cycle. To some, four years of college becomes an elaborate exercise in avoiding the pursuit of knowledge. To others higher education is a vo-tech training program, where their sheepskin qualifies them to mindlessly perpetuate the status quo. And somewhere in the morass of myopia are the students who are in some way in touch with a vague intuition that they are here to learn — to be enlightened and begin pondering a world fraught with social ills and promising possiblities. But even for those inquisitive minds who embrace each day with a fresh sense of won- der and who are willing to experiment, to take risks, and simply to think, they discover all too quickly the art of learning is an elusive one. Has it ever occurred to you that you read more words than you have time to digest? With the press of coinci- dent deadlines for five courses and the irresistible lure of the day ' s line of bullshit, most readers can plan to retain only the gist of a chapter. Nuance is often overlooked in the hustle to get through a book on time. It takes special effort by anyone scanning other than didatcic texts to sit for a minute and ponder why someone would have bothered to write and publish such pages (besides for royalties, of course). Course work may be regarded as an unending series of chores by students, with simultaneous deadlines necessitating the emphasis to be placed on simply get- ting the work done. Quality is too often sacrificed for quantity. Too often, professors merely require homework or quizzes to insure that the student has slogged through the prescribed muck on the syllabus. Why the student did the work seems to be secondary. Thinking is an ex- tracurricular activity at the university, an activity for the elusive, quiet spare hour which never seems to come, for it is constantly being usurped by never-ending scholas- tic responsiblities. When was the last time you broke the pattern with a meaningful conversation, laced with a profound thought or two. And beyond w hat it takes to get a C, B, A , pat on the head, how much time have you spent thinking about the words you read? Learning should not be considered an inevitable result of four years of college — we would be wise to think exactly the opposite, that unless on our guard we will become programmed rather than educated beings. It takes the energy to open our senses to the subtleties in our environment (the phenomena we read in texts and are unable to recognize in life). It takes the ability to care about getting more than simply the right answer to a test question. Sometimes being wrong is the surest route to learning. But in any event the art in learning is a direct result of committing ourselves to understanding; to question and start formulating answers for ourselves. 164

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subcommittee meeting to protest sweeping changes in res- idence halls policies, including the inclusion of SMAGS in the lottery . . . APRIL ... It was reported the adminis- tration had burned more than 40,000 of the March issue of Lehigh Horizons because of a front-page article entitled, Sexual Revolution: Mostly Just Talk? The article cited a survey of students in a psychology class in which only one of four undergraduates said they had never engaged in sexual relations . . . Fifty West Point cadets were expel- led for cheating . . . MAY . . . Rep. Wayne Hays admit- ted he had had a personal relationship with congres- sional aide Elizabeth Ray, but he denied her charges she was hired to be his mistress . . . Political parties became legal in Spain for the first time since 1939 . . . The worst racial violence in South Africa ' s history broke out in June near Johannesburg . . . The Supreme Court in July up- held the death penalty . . . America celebrated its 200th birthday . . . Israeli forces raided Entebbe Airoport in Uganda and freed 103 hostages who had been aboard an Air France plane seized by pro-Palestine guerrillas six days earlier . . . Viking I landed on Mars . . . The Olympics took place in Montreal under the shadow of political pro- test. Most African teams and representatives of Taiwan boycotted the games . . . Drama division chairman John Pearson died at 39 . . . In a down-to-the-wire finish, the Republican National Convention in August nominated Gerald Ford and Sen. Robert Dole ... A mysterious ail- ment later to be known as Legionnaire ' s Disease killed 28 persons who had stayed in Philadelphia ' s Bellvue Strat- ford Hotel. FALL 1976 SEPTEMBER . . . Chinese Communist Party Chairman Mao Tse-tung, 82, died in Peking and left the western world wondering what would happen in the country he had led since 1949 . . . Lehigh freshm an Robert Wargo died while jogging with the tennis team . . . More than 90 arters Minimi ]5 v musH S tSu million persons watched the first of a serious of debates between presidential contenders Jimmy Carter and Gerald Ford . . . The Episcopal Church approved the ordination of women as priests . . . The reported assault of a woman student on an unlit road behind Dravo gave way to a series of criticisms of campus lighting . . . Rolf Adenstadt, as- sociate professor of mathematics, drowned while canoeing on the Lehigh River ... A campus police office was set up in the U.C., after repeated demands by students . . . OCTOBER . . . Agriculture Sec. Earl Butz resigned after apologizing for the gross indiscretion of making a racist remark . . . Barbara Walters was receiving both praise and criticism as the first woman anchorperson on televi- sion news . . . Like a ghost of the ' 60s, Timothy Leary, dressed in white from his tie to his sneakers, told a Lehigh audience of evolutionary problems ... A straw poll of Lehigh students showed 53 per cent favored Gerald Ford. Only 33 per cent supported Jimmy Carter . . . NOVEM- BER . . . Jimmy Carter was elected president, ushering in a period of blue jeans, sweaters, and fireside chats . . . The unthinkable happened as Lafayette beat Lehigh for the first time in five years. The traditional weekend was without a talent show, which was canceled because of obscene skits the year before . . . The right-to-die issue raised in the Quinlan case took on a new air as con- victed murderer Gary Gilmore challenged Utah to carry out its death sentence. He eventually was shot by a firing squad . . . DECEMBER . . . The administration an- nounced a $275 tuition hike and a $125 increase in room and board fees, despite the $154,000 surplus run the previ- ous year . . . SPRING 1977 JANUARY . . . Centennial I students returned from vaca- tion to find that many personal items had been stolen. The thefts were believed to have taken place while rooms were left open to repair broken water pipes, which had ruptured when the temperature was lowered in the dorm to con- serve energy . . . Jimmy Carter marked his inauguration by taking a stroll down Pennsylvania Avenue with Rosalynn and Amy. One of his first acts as president was to pardon Vietnam draft deserters . . . Arson was sus- pected in two fires in Dravo. The issue touched off con- cern for dorm safety as many fire alarms were found to be defective . . . One of the most bitter winters in history had student apartment-dwellers digging deeper and deeper into their pockets to pay heating bills FEBRUARY . . . Freddie Prinze, 22, star of Chico and the Man, shot and killed himself . . . Increasingly gruesome reports from Ugandan refugees left the world appalled at self-appointed President for Life Idi Amin ' s reign of terror . . . The television version of Alex Haley ' s Roots and the resul- tant press attention had people wondering about their own family trees . . . MARCH . . . After 21 months of dic- tatorial rule, Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi was de- feated . . . The Food and Drug Administration banned saccharin as suspected of causing cancer ... A siege of three Washington buildings by Hanafi Muslims left a radio reporter dead; 134 hostages were taken but later released . . . The Lehigh basketball squad finished with a 6-4 record in league play but lost to Hofstra in the first round of the ECC playoffs . . . Lehigh wrestlers swept Easterns for the third year in a row but had no national cham- pions . . . and the semester went on but our copy deadline didn ' t. 163

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THE SCIENCE OF AVOIDANCE In addition to many academic disciplines at Lehigh, there is one you ' ll never find listed in the catalogue — The Science of Avoidance Mastering avoidance is the key to earning a degree with only a fraction of the effort required of other students. There are several skills of avoidance. Among the major ones are: careful course selection; recycling; setting a schedule (and promptly throwing it out the window), and an unfailing dedication — to everything but work. When choosing courses, there are some guidelines. If greeting the sun is not your thing, register for 8 o ' clock classes only under the following conditions: 1. Tempo- rary insanity; 2. The class is scheduled to meet in Taylor Stadium — your absence won ' t be as conspicuous; 3. The course is entitled Basket Weaving for Non-Majors. Things get nastier when you discover that nearly every required course seems to meet either all at once or, worse yet, on Friday fr om 1 to 4. Those with an affection for pub nights should avoid Fridays altogether, or at least schedule nothing more rigorous than SR 41. Anticipation turns to nausea when freshmen learn that gut courses are not what they seem. Professors being the conscientious souls that they are, a gut is unlikely to remain one for long once the prof, catches on. Should you hear of a course with no exams, no papers and op- tional attendance and dash to sign up, it ' s a sure bet that you (and your 3900 classmates) will be facing three hour- lies, a final, four 20-page papers and assigned seats for attendance. Also, consider the source when choosing your guts. The English major who takes Rocks for Jocks as a gut science course should find plenty of lab material between his ears. True students of avoidance test the outer limits of the grading process by taking advantage of pass fail grading. You can discover that it ' s possible to attend four classes, have a friend turn in your papers and still pass the course. Skillfully used, pass fail can also keep you from joining the Squares Club (your cum becomes smaller when squared). Recycling is an important part of saving our natural environment. It can save your academic environment. One research paper can be used again and again with only minor modifications. The Significance of ' Deep Throat ' will get you through courses in English, Psy- chology, SR, Government, Biology, Marketing and Me- chanical Engineering. To cover more academic fields, you can always collect or trade with friends. Should you be tempted to set a schedule for studying, think of the time it will take you to write it down. You could be doing something more productive, such as reading Hustler. If you really want to avoid studying, there ' s always the main reading room at Linderman. The weeknight social scene centers around there, and it ' s centrally located: halfway between Smugglers ' and Manny ' s. There ' s always a distraction worthy of your time if you ' re serious about avoidance. Think about it: which is more important to your development as a total human being, the details of Napoleon ' s domestic policy or Saran Wrapping a toilet seat? Napoleon would understand. 165