Boston University College of Practical Arts and Letters - Sivad Yearbook (Boston, MA)

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ead [ WALTER HENRY MECHLER, PH.B., Ep.M. Lecturer in Methods of Shorthand and Typewriting Professor Mechler may be considered a living exponent of the theory that ‘‘a good razz does everybody good’’. No more convincing evidence of this is necessary than the fact that his continual “razzing’’ prevents his Saturday morning class from becoming an awful bore. It would seem that anybody who traveled such a long distance weekly to conduct a three-hour class in the presentation of “‘that wonderful sys- tem” of English as she ain’t’” on a Saturday morning—of all days !— would evince some of the after-effects of his journey, but not Professor Mechler! His cheery introduction, ‘‘Good-morning! Let’s go! Two angles —circle goes where?’’ is characteristic of much more life and enthusiasm than his students show. And for what other professor could we exist in one chair in one room for that long period and not show signs of distress and fatigue? “A teacher may be late, but a student never!’’ he tells us, but may we remind him that the reverse is also true. That’s not sarcasm, Professor Mechler, that’s razzing ! ELIZABETH WOLVERTON CARVELL Instructor in Secretarial Studies Miss Carvell tells us that one of the most important axioms for us to remember is to “keep a stiff upper lip and a smiling heart throughout life’. She says that a misfit in the teaching profession not only makes herself unhappy, but the irritability which is the result of such unhappiness re- fiects unfavorably upon the personalities of her students. One thing she thinks so splendid about our teachers’ training course is that it prepares a girl for two walks in life. If, upon the conclusion of that course, she finds teaching unpleasant, she still has the opportunity to enter the business world. I am sure we shall all agree unanimously that Miss Carvell’s delightful personality has won our love and admiration, and that she is truly ‘‘a round peg in a round hole’’. HAZEL MARION PURMORT, A.B. Instructor in Secretarial Studies “Of all the years of college life the best, to my mind, is the Junior year. Then the student has passed successfully through the storm and stress of the Freshman period with all its various adjustments and heart- aches, its wars with the dread Sophomores; has fought through the Sophomore invasion, criticising the running of the universe as severely and indiscriminately as the mode of dress of the professor in the classroom ; and has at last arrived in the comparatively safe waters of the Junior year with all the good qualities of the two preceding years to the fore; all the bad cnes so polished up as to be hardly recognizable, and the prospect of a life of hard work still over a year away. “All hail, then, to the P. A. L. Juniors of 1928! Their Year Book ecan- not fail to be a suecess, and a welcome addition to the P. A. L. students’ library of well-loved books.”’ [ 28 ]

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Donassswwnnhku ds NORTON KENT, A.B., PH.D. Professor of Physics Professor Kent has given us much practical advice in the laboratory, but also many delightful, informal, and interesting soliloquies when he advises us to “Go West, Young Traveler.” “Many are lured by the relics of the past, and seek and find enjoyment in touring Europe and the Far East. To me, more attractive by far is a journey West, in which one may study the growth of a new world midst Nature’s glories, in spots quite untouched by the destructive hand of man. “If you do go West, go or return by automobile, in a touring ear, so that you may see easily the crags and mountain tops; and do not fail to visit, besides the Yellowstone and Yosemite, the less known wonder realms of Zion and Bryce Canyons, and the Kaibab Forest, and also Estes Park. Touring by ear gives the traveler a most vivid impression of both the vast- ness and the beauty of our own good land.’’ HAROLD LIVINGSTON PERRIN, ALD AVL lilb-» bbe Mian Pa. Professor of Commercial Law We know that Dr. Perrin likes to fish. He would like something that had a “eatch’’ to it. In fact, he had just secured a fishing license the day that the SIVAD interviewer saw him, and was extremely good-natured. But whoever saw Dr. Perrin other than good-natured, jolly, unperturbed —one might even say happy-go-lucky? For here at last is one professor who doesn’t take himself or his subject too seriously—to say nothing of his P. A. L. Law students struggling to comprehend his profound discussions on the law in Massachusetts, New York, and elsewhere. We do enjoy his law classes—and we do learn something (even if he does not think so) by his painless process of education; a system all his own, based on a bubbling, contagious sense of humor and common sense which he seems to possess in unusual abundance. Oh, if only he weren’t so modest! HAROLD JUDSON SMITH, B.B.A. Professor of Accounting and Head of the Department of Secretarial Studies Mr. Smith has two occupations at P. A. L. that he simply could not forego. The first, teaching Accounting, is his greatest joy. Nothing pleases him more than to tell his students the incomparable pleasure de- rived from finding errors in an unbalanced trial balance. And what is more, he insists that the game of working Profit and Loss Statements is equal to, if not greater than, that of bridge. Whether or not his students agree with him on these points he does not say. But, at least, I believe they will agree with me that the Accounting hour is never dull. The sec- ond occupation, which is almost as delightful, is the daily trip to the lunchroom, and the subsequent dish he indulges in. His diet system must be unique; not many of us could stand the luxury and not show the re- sults. Just as I was going out the door, he said, “Oh, yes, tell the girls how much I enjoy their dances, too!” [ 27 J

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LOUISE HENRY SMITH, ED.B. Instructor in Secretarial Studies Elbert Hubbard used to say: “The world was discovered in 1492 by Columbus. “Man was discovered in 1776 by Jefferson. “Woman was discovered in 1874 by Remington.” Miss Smith adds: “The secretary was discovered in 1919 by Davis.’ Miss Smith, like many other modest members of our faculty, did not wish to say anything about herself, but we learned the interesting fact that in 1919, P. A. L.’s first year, she had all the Typewriting classes here. Perhaps the remarkable success of that department is partly due to its having had such a good start. is still maintaining her high Typewriting standards is shown in the monthly contests in which several of her pupils have captured the awards. We do not wish to be selfish, but we hope many more such honors may come to our College. Evidence that Miss Smith HELEN LOUISE BELLOWS, B.S.S. Instructor in Secretarial Studies Miss Bellows is one of our fortunate graduates who has been able to return to her Alma Mater to teach. She feels that P. A. L. from a student’s viewpoint and from a teacher’s viewpoint are rather different ; however, now that she is placed in the latter grouping, the chief thing she has noticed is that the girls here now are even nicer than they were when she was a student. Miss Bellows’ winsome smile and good nature have won her many ad- mirers in her classes. She is one of our instructors whom we feel we know quite as well outside the class room as in it. Have you ever noticed the smiles she gets when she walks down the corridors? Just follow her some day and see! ’ WINIFRED ROGERS MERRILL, A.B. Instructor in Secretarial Studies Another member of our Secretarial Department who never planned to teach Shorthand. A graduate of Radcliffe, her parents opposed to her entering any field of endeavor, Mrs. Merrill was indeed handicapped when one day she learned she would have to seek employment. To teach the subjects in which had been trained would mean considerable “brushing up’’ in order to compete with the teachers already in the field. At the conclusion of a short course in a business college, she spent several years teaching—and “here I am!” Firmly convinced that the teaching profession is not the easy road it once was, she believes the traveler will meet with many difficulties ere she reach the City of Success; that there will be many sign-posts and de- tours advertised as ‘‘short-cuts’ ’ to the final destination, but only the cheerful plodder, who falls not by the wayside, will attain her goal. One question we neglected to ask Mrs. Merrill was if she believed the professional woman made the better home-maker, for, of course, you know she is filling both positions. [ 29 ]