Assumtion College - Heights Yearbook (Worcester, MA)

Page 9 text:

But fall came again, and brought on the fourth stage. With them returned many of the same conflicts, unresolved decisions and future plans. More important however, we have found truth and value in our own lives; And together we ' ve worked long and hard to reach this discovery. As a result, we have learned that with self-determination and willingness to accept one ' s capacities and limitations. The truth of oneself in time will dawn at the front porch of understanding. Then, the early morning fog disappears and day begins. For this reason. The Year 1971 is special to us. We have reached the dawning of a new age, TOGETHER.

Page 8 text:

The new stage confronted us with new and different conflicts. Words like escalation and war Seemed to be turning the world into a state of bitter anxiety; A time of decision on the part of all Americans, as well as ourselves. We felt life come upon us Like those experiencing the hard reality of a bomb falling in a far-off country. We were troubled, but determined, to let nothing prohibit each his individual growth. Our oppression was relieved somewhat by this determination; And also by the appearance of the male counterpart on campus; now life on the hill . As time passed. It seemed many times that the world existed on borrowed time. Won by the patriots of long ago.

Page 10 text:

Is This The Dawning of The Age of Aquarius For Assumption? At its earliest beginnings Assumption College was analogous to a village with its priests. Then it grew into a town — a one industry town — with its intellectual and spiritual oligarchy. Now it is like a city of infinite interests, activities and problems. Today, we are being made more and more pain¬ fully aware of the crisis in our cities. So too, there is a crisis at Assumption. Will it learn to channel and control its diversities and conflicts or will it finally collapse from lack of an all encompassing and inclusive central structure based on the strength of its ideals? To attempt to answer the question might destroy or obscure the why and how we came to this point of uncertainty. With this thought in mind, I would like to focus the remainder of this article on one segment of this community of infinite variety — the STUDENTS. Today ' s student population presents some real challenges to a college trying to accommodate their wide range of interests and needs. It would appear that more students are pushed into our colleges by parental pressures, the growing necessity to present degrees, the draft, peer pressure or sheer apathy, than by intellectual curiosity. What do you get when you put such a heterogeneous grouping into a church affiliated institution that is striving to prepare men and women for life? As the Dean for Students, I have seen how quickly the student becomes disheartened and disenchanted. I have seen the speed with which learning in the classroom and learning out of the classroom become two separate worlds, each one hermetically sealed off from the other. The need for higher education to keep pace with the changing realities of the here and now is obvious. So is the fact that it is not doing this. The feeling that something must be done is almost overpowering here at Assumption. However, the question of exactly what it is we must do seems to be receiving little consideration. For me, the fundamental task for Assumption is to let the sunshine in again - to help, or forc e us all to become more responsive to the varied needs of students. We need to open up the system so that its most repressive and destructive characteristics are mitigated, if not eliminated. Further, we must remember that students, too, are human beings who deserve to be treated with as much dignity and respect as other humans. We must keep clearly in mind that our objective is the development of students, not the preservation of the institution. Yes, it would be a shame if Assumption had to close, but the real catastrophe would be the prospect of total moroniza- tion, dehumanization and the manipulation of the individual. It seems that deciding to save the world is much easier than deciding where to start the job. The Age of Aquarius lacks imaginative projec¬ tion: the capacity to channel the ideals of the world-savers to meet the needs of the individual. This is why we must find more permanent ways of preserving the stature of the individual and accept the challenge of this new role. The role will require us to teach students not what to learn, but how to learn and not solely what they would be committed to, but the value of commitment. The problems, tensions and diversities of life in today ' s cities are focusing the architects and residents to re-examine what they are doing. So too, it is time for us in higher education to stop tailoring the students to the system and to begin tailoring the system to the individual. Particularly as a church related institution. Assumption must not leave the consideration of the individual behind on the road to the dawning of the Age of Aquarius, for we may sadly find that in attaining the Utopian Dream, we have destroyed our capa¬ city to dream any further. — Richard Wotruba Dean of Students