Bethel University - Spire Yearbook (St Paul, MN)

Page 26 text:

Psychology at Bethel is: smelly pigeons and gerbils in the Psych, house basement, no fulltime professors, a house next to the tennis courts, feeling more at home at Hastings State Hospital than at Bethel, being able to take every psychology course the department offers in two years, getting hypnotized by Mr. Mauger in Problems of Psychology, being frustrated by those blank statistics, having acute attacks of anxiety over Dr. Lewis's tests in Developmental Psychology, learning the characteristics of paranoia and then recognizing them in your room mate, wishing that Dr. Vern Lewis wouldn't go back to Biola, having to read 1500 pages of extra readings in every course that Dean Muck offers, cramming 200 years of Psychology into one General Psychology course, writing papers, papers, and more papers, taking the UGRE and wondering if you've been wasting four years of your life ... and understanding people for what they really arc, but loving them anyway, learning to know and accept yourself, learning to be sensitive ... AND realizing how wonderfully God has made man! Julie Amelsberg Myrna Chaddock Psychology

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This Thing Called Interim: A Review by the Director of Interim Interim '71 was a mixture of the experiences of over 800 Bethel students and the faculty members who shared in the student planned courses such as Symposium and the Apologetics of Francis Schaeffer, and faculty planned courses like Pacifism: The Forgotten Option, and Structural Analysis in Chemistry: Spectroscopy. Some students spent the sixteen days on the Bethel block, where as others traveled as far as Israel. For all students there was an intensive experience shared with other students in their class and with their instructor. Close friendships were formed or enhanced. Intellectual horizons were broadened for many. Students expressed their feelings in such phrases as You have time talking to people, and getting to know them , I'm learning a lot. The first mention of an Interim term at Bethel college occurred during curriculum revision discussion, a report was given concerning the 4-1-4 program which had begun at Florida Presbyterian College in the first year of their operation (1960-61). At a faculty meeting during which the calendar for the 1969-70 academic year was being discussed, Dean Virgil Olson recommended the inclusion of an interim term during January as an experiment with the concept. This recommendation was adopted by the faculty and Interim '70 was born. About 600 students attended the first interim on a volunteer basis. Pass-fail grading was instituted as part of that plan. For Interim '71 the program was revised somewhat. Student exchange programs were begun with Calvin College, Tabor College, and Augustana College. The fail was changed to nocredit. A greater variety of courses were available. The success of the interim program has given facul- ty confidence in the 4-1-4 concept so that in a vote on the academic calendar this year a substantial majority of the faculty supported this academic calendar concept. Bethel College will be using the 4-1-4 schedule in 1971-72. In the 4-1-4 concept, fall the spring terms arc separated by a month long term in January. Typically the January term emphasizes independent study, interdisciplinary projects, intensified work in specialized areas of study, all-college study topics, community involvement, experimental courses, and study tours here and abroad. Experiences gained and ideas germinated in this term frequently influence the courses and procedures in the other terms. In our case for example, the concept of a Freshman Colloque for the new curriculum is an outgrowth of the Symposium idea used in Interim. Like a young child, the Interim term at Bethel is developing new patterns each year. Discussions are under way now to expand the student exchange program with other colleges and to develop courses which are jointly sponsored by several colleges especially study tours. Besides the Institute for Holy Land Studies, some Christian colleges are planning to establish a similar type of center for European studies in the Netherlands. There is also a possibility of students coming to our campus from several other Christian colleges to study areas of common concern and to develop position papers on these subjects. The most exciting thing about Interim is that many of the constraints of the fall and spring terms are missing and wc can try out our academic wings in fresh and exciting ways. interim