Brown University - Liber Brunensis Yearbook (Providence, RI)

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AS A WRITER. one must be an honest person, says Jeffry Ordo- ver, one who recognizes that he doesn't understand himself, and who's fighting to understand. Writers are good if they face the problems of life in their work, he adds. But few people stick their necks out far enough to come to grips with life. A prolific writer of short stories, descriptive essays, and plays while an undergraduate, Ordover has found his greatest satisfaction in the English Expression Honors program. He discovered more room for creativity in this field than in any other. Through his studies, Ordover met several pro- fessors who have influenced him deeply. They are men who commit them- selves to students. Writing a full length play for his honors project, Or- dover has found that what has made him most content with his college experience is finding that man can do anything he wants to do. Among his writings, several plays were produced on campus, and his Slightly Doric column appeared regularly in the Supplement. Aside from his academic experience, Ordover's four years at Brown have been con- cerned with finding out about people in the raw and being confident in myself. His future plans are extremely varied, ranging from medicine to further writing. AS A JUNIOR at Brown, Axel Kornfuehrer was an honors student in international relations. Now an American citizen from Minnesota, Kornfuehrer was born in Germany and raised in a family greatly interested in history. His specialty is the history of World War II and of the Third Reich. In his Junior year, he examined the contemporary Soviel historical viewpoints about the German-Russian Non- Aggression Pact of 10939 for an independent study project. Honors work in his senior year led him into an examination of the Nuremberg Trials with emphasis on the three men who were acquitted and reasons for their acquittal. The fact that Brown possesses a complete transcript of the pro- ceedings was, of course, a great aid to his research Reading documents in Russian and Cerman is sceond nature to Axel who is a well-traveled polyglot. He has visited Belgium and Russia during two of his undergraduate sum- mers, adding to his already impressive background. History will continue to be Kornfuehrer's main interest in graduate school, where he hopes to find the same personal contact with the faculty which he found so valuable at Brown. And in defense of Brown institutions, Kornfuehrer jokingly com. ments, Pembrokers aren't half as bad as Brown men say thev are

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BOUND FORa medical career, Yale Kablotsky has spent his most fruitful hours in biological research at Brown. His experience with laboratory work began in his freshman year and has continued with increasing independent work through his senior year. Even his summers have been spent on campus engaged in aiding professors with research, and pursuing his own interests. For two years, Kablotsky has been doing honors work involving original studies on the salt gland of the duck, a topic about which very little is known. Using about fifty ducks each semester, he has under- taken the project on his own with the guidance of one pro- fessor in the biology department. He is pleased with the opportunity for independent study, but says that the pro- fessor 'has to be there to catalyze the reaction. Kablotsky has also found this to be true in his other area of independent work, one which indicates his diverse interests. Working with the Religious Studies Department, he has studied the Talmudic marriage laws under Mr. Fre- richs and the Dead Sea Scrolls and Gnositicism under Mr. Schoedel. A consistent Dean's List student and president of the pre-med society, Yale plans to study and finally to teach medicine in his post-graduate years. TROUBLE was encountered in the independent studies project of Raoul Smith because of the wide gap which lies between computer science and linguistics. Concerned with the problem of machine translation, Smith divided his work into four parts: an historical introduction, a linguistic anal- ysis of the problems, and engineering analysis of the prob- lems, and a survey of Russian projects. Planning to enter graduate school and to continue his research, Raoul extols the facilities available to the student at Brown. As he indicates, there are only about ten institu- tions in the country, including private firms, which are doing any work in this area; and thus, information is at a pre- mium. Being able to work with Mr. Kucera, a man of end- less talents, and to have the IBM 7070 Computer at hand, left me in an enviable position. As an undergraduate, Smith majored in Slavic Languages leaning toward linguistics, and completed his degree re- quirements in January. He stayed on al Brown during the second semester, however, taking several courses as a spe- cial student. Echoing the words of most who have partici- pated in the Independent Studies or College Scholar Pro- grams, Raoul states that the opportunity afforded him through his research was invaluable, that it introduced an entirely new realm of ideas to him.

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THROUGH HIS EXPERIENCE with American Literature, Steve Dashef found the Independent Studies Program: the best excuse that exists at Brown for self-development in whatever way one wishes. He al- so points out that such programs offer one the chance to become conversant with a certain field in depth. Such was the result when Steve pursued his interest in psychological conditions affecting Negro authorship in Ameri- ca. Reading the works of James Bald- win, Ralph Ellison, and Gwendolyn Brooks, he had the perfect oppor- tunity to meditate on wider philoso- phical issues, to consider problems of psychological identity, to listen to the music of Bessie Smith, and to get course credit for this pleasure. He A came to know the instructor, my- self, rather well, through his paper on Negro authorship and his honors thesis. The latter dealt with prob- lems of personal identity in the works of Robert Penn Warren and other southern writers. Although his studies have little to do with his future medical career, Dashef surmises that both medicine and literature meddle with people and their problems. Studies did not prevent him from finding time enough to dabble in varsity track, Tower Club, a dorm proctorship, and Brown Youth Group functions. He also served as vice-chairman of the Brown Charities Drive. Still, he was able to talk to anyone who had some free time or would make some and even learned to appreciate Pembroke. A JUNIOR Viee i SEATT d ow intimately with the re- search for Larry Small's independent studies project, an investigation of The Poetic Evocation of Andalusian Folk Music in Selected Works of Fredrico Garcia Lorca. His time in southern Spain was spent in listening to and recording the deep song or Flamenco music of the area's folk vocabulary. The analysis of poetry depended on primary sources rather than being derived from secondary materials. In this, he was invaluably aided by his faculty advisor, Mr. Alan Trueblood of the Spanish Department, who, through his greater experience, was able to direct Small's disunified thoughts without imposing his own opinions. Small believes that independent studies are truly valuable for those stu- dents who have a strong desire to probe deeply into one specific area. He stresses here the excellence of the faculty guidance at Brown. His academic honors are many. He is a Francis Wayland Scholar and a consistent Dean's List student. Extra-curricular activities include a stint on the freshman hockey squad and participation in the Production Workshop and Pi Lambda Phi fraternity. On at least one important question concerning life at Brown, Larry is somewhat of an iconoclast; and that is the present status of fraternities. He supports the system as it now stands, believing that fraternities give one the opportunity to meet a diverse group of people having certain com- mon interests. This combination has made possible, at least in his own case, a great quantity and quality of friendships. U