Columbia University College of Pharmacy - Apothekan Yearbook (New York, NY)

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Doc Halsey was blessed with us again the following year. His little darlings had a smattering of information about worms, frogs and cats and now had to learn a little Physi- ology. We proceeded to learn as little as possible — about Physiology, that is. We en- joyed watching Doc writing on the board with both hands at the same time. Wonder why he never marked our practical final? With both hands working at the same time, it should have been easy, it would be still easier if he had two heads; come to think of it, the way he proctors exams maybe he has. The Doctor is the only faculty member in school who gives reading assignments in the text and then marks you wrong on examinations because he disagrees with the author. On second thought, he has company in that category, but we won ' t mention her name. Frank, sometimes known as Prof. Pokorny, among other things, was dismayed to have to face us again in Plant Histology. He must have regretted that in a moment of light-h eadedness he passed all of us. But we were big-hearted about the whole thing. We accepted the course with equanimity. Plant Histology was a compact, ready-to- take-home course on the cell structure of plants, so most of us took it home and left it there. The main regret was that we did not stay home to keep it company. In spite of everything, we still think that phloem is something you cough up and that ducts are web-footed animals. The outstanding event of the term occurred when a student tried to prove to F. J. P. that his microscope was broken by falling stone cells. Not many of the gang took First Aid, but to those that did, the informal easy-going lectures of Dr. Redden were a pleasant change. Our first contact with Professor Hart was in Pharmacognosy. This was not her chosen field, but if for no other reason than to display her versatility, she pinch hit for Professor Pokorny who had his hands full with teaching the lower classmen, commonly referred to as the children. In the micro work we ran into bigger and bet- ter stone cells; fortunately, none of them fell on any microscopes. The seeds and fruit in macro provided excellent ammunition for intra-mural warfare. Prof Hart brought out some amazing background material. We never realized that Valeriana smellifera was first discovered by Pocahontas, who subse- quently passed the dope along to Hia- watha ' s paternal grandmother, Running Water — and that ' s how diuretics were born. It wasn ' t until Bacteriology that we felt free to call our teacher Fanny, among other things. Here the abbreviation N.F. took on a new meaning — Mot according to Fanny. As the course wore on and the nerves wore down, we began to realize how important Bacteriology is to the Pharmacist. How else would we know whether Grams Iodine was a 4% Tincture or an 8% Solution? G.C., we were taught, did not refer to General Clean- liness. The College bulletin claimed that the lectures for this course were one hour long — who were we to argue? The reservoir of all our previous training in the Biological Department was the Dean ' s course in pharmacology. The showing of slides might have been a good idea if Dr. Ballard didn ' t turn out the lights. The ace lexicographers of the class were at a temp- orary loss — The Dean insisted that we use simple terminology. Dr. Ballard didn ' t see how we could ever finish the curriculum in time, but unfortunately he discovered that we had a couple of free hours on Thursday mornings, and the problem was solved. The department, for all of our levity, really did teach us something. We ' re still trying to figure out just what that is, but we MUST h ave learned SOMETHING. 15

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BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES The first discouragement in our four (?) year servitude as embryo pharmacists was a course presided over by the sloe-eyed martyr of the Botanical sciences, Professor Frank J. Pokorny. The course was resplen- dent with such choice diversified activities as colored lantern slides of flowers, leaves, sepals and petals. However everything has iis compensations and Botany had two: the facial contortions, complete with sound effects, of Professor Pokorny and pleasant walks through Central Park learning about the Ginkgo tree. A trip through the park is equivalent to cutting class while your buddy answers present to your name. Then, of course, there is the educational consideration. We learned to identify on sight (or hearing) the genus Bolognaceae. We also were given the opportunity to study first hand and in its native habitat the pre- mating behavior of Homo Sapiens. Speaking of such biological activities brings us to Dr. Halsey and Zoology. The good Doctor explained in pool room English a small bit about the inner workings of worms, cats et al. He punctuated his lectures with his own inimitable brand of philosophy. We were taught never to wipe our hands on our lab coats — the main trouble was that very few of us wore vests. The general concensus of opinion is that more was learned from Der Doktor after class than during class. Wonder what he meant by that crack, Stop looking out of the window, Sternberg, she doesn ' t live there any more. Besides, how did he know about it? 14

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CHEMISTRY DEPARTMENT Most of us had Chemistry in High School and this course was going to be a snap. The first few lectures in General Chemistry were a fast review of the highlights of what we already knew and the majority of the class jusl leaned back and smiled. When the course got a little deeper, we did not have enough sense to stop resting. Mr. Anzelmi, who initiated our explorations into the mole- cule, was a quiet, easy-going sort of big brother to his students. With treatment like . this, the anions and cations drifted by pleasantly enough. The rude awakening came in the sopho- more year. Professor Liberman caused many stout hearts to wain in his first lecture. He ranted and raved through the first 30 minutes and spent the rest of the period telling us how stupid we were. This naturally caused a good deal of resentment on our part. Where did a mere Professor of Chemistry get the audacity to call a class of full fledged sophomores a bunch of incompetent nincom- poops? After taking the first exam in quali- tative analysis, we felt that a point had been proven. We were incompetent nincompoops. After several months of listening to this abuse and threats to send us back to grade school to learn mathematics, a short three or four years in the service came as a welcome relief to many. When the hardened veterans returned, they faced Professor Liberman again, now in Quantitative Analy- sis. Things had changed. According to the Professor we had experience, we were older, and the service had changed many — from incompetent nincompoops to blundering idiots. This made everybody very proud. The class felt that any change in the Prof. ' s original opinion must be an improvement. Instead of acting like a teacher to a bunch of school kids, he now behaved like a commanding officer reprimanding subordinates. Gallon bottles too! Professor Liberman insisted that it was impossible to titrate material spilled on the desk, heh, heh. A few extra c.c ' s of sample multiplied by the compensation factor turned many a ruined titration into a passing grade. Moreover, one analyst borrowed the step-ladder and putty knife from Horace to scrape a portion of his sulfate sample from the ceiling. (His results were perfect, of course.) We suffered through the calibration of weights, dirt in our crucibles, leaking burettes, and after a tough struggle, we finally emerged into, of all things, Organic. . Dr. August A. Di Somma presided over this course. Never before had we encountered a man who gave lecture notes at such a 16