Bridgewater State University - Alpha Yearbook (Bridgewater, MA)

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ALPHA 1968 Determined to disprove the ideal that a normal school by any other name remains the same, the Class of 1968 set a quick pace for a new generation of Bridgewater students. This new student was to look beyond Fall River and Brockton for direction. He was interested in many things: civil rights and migrant workers; the funding of higher education and student power. Unable to accept the provincialism which charac- terized many facets of our college community, the class began question- ing the traditions and practices of the college. Rebellious, restless, and sometimes reckless, we demanded recogni- tion and attempted action. During our four years this desire for involve- ment remained. However, it was tempered and mellowed by increased understanding of college policy and proper channeling of student energies. Although sometimes less than a cohesive unit, the Class of 1968 rallied often to insure its own prestige. From the construction of our Freshman Class Fortune Telling Booth to our Senior Prom, we have proved our effectiveness. A bit cocky at times, the members of our class wasted little time in becoming active members of the Bridgewater college community and eventually leaders in state, regional and national organizations. We had to assert ourselves to keep pace with the physical growth of BSC. We saw Bridgewater— not the Normal School, but the Liberal Arts College- take shape. We helped christen the Conant Science Building; we super- vised, from start to finish, the Great Hill Dorms, the New Parking Lot and the Newman Center and St. Basil ' s Chapel; we watched the official gold-plated shovel groundbreaking and the unofficial heavy duty ex- cavations of the Student Union; and we have seen the Library through its final plans. Too, we have witnessed the increase of the academic community. New administrators and faculty were drawn to Bridgewater bringing new ideas and new methods. The editors of ALPHA 1968 have tried to capture the Spirit of 68 . Although we emphasize our newness, we must also admit that we have frequently looked to the past for support and stability. Like Janus, the Class of 1968 has faced both the future and the past. Hopefully, we have chosen the best of each. We created new problems, causd many headaches, but most importantly we brought something necessary to Bridgewater— pizazz!!!

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MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT A college like ours derives its character from three different sources. The first source is the history and traditions in American higher educa- tion as a whole. The second source is the history and traditions of Bridgewater State College. The third source is the climate of issues and values in the rest of society. The individuality and personality of an institution are subtle and not easy to define. Yet we all recognize them just as we recognize the individuality and personality of a person. Perhaps the words that come closest to describing what we sense as the special nature of the Bridge- water State College character is the phrase, The Bridgewater College Community. College Community because we are deeply committed to a fundamental proposition; namely, that if the values of democracy, of sharing, of participation, of partnership, of dialogue, of striking a balance between the authentic rights of every individual member of the college community, and of every group of individuals in the college— if all these values of democracy are to be real, we must have faith in them and we must work together to make them vital and meaningful, for democracy is the most difficult of all forms of government to imple- ment. Yes, we are deeply motivated by two convictions at this College. The first conviction is that though democracy is the most difficult form of social organization at a college or anywhere else, it is the best form. The second conviction is that we must make democracy work in a college community like this where, after all, we have so much in common. For how can we go forth into other communities or into the nation or into the world and hope to make the principles of democracy work in those incomprehensibly more difficult and complex situations, unless we have a reasonable measure of success in our relatively homogenous community.