East Carolina University - Buccaneer Tecoan Yearbook (Greenville, NC)

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curred at East Carolina. I think that probably 10 or 11 years ago, the real emphasis was physical growth. I don ' t mean to say that we were not interested in improving our academic standards, but there was great emphasis on build- ings and enlarging the student body. I think the emphasis has shifted in the past few years to improving the academic area, raising our standards constantly, providing facilities particu- larly increased library holdings for the benefit of the students in the academic area. I think there has also been a shifting away from being concerned with some things many might not have felt were important, such as some of the rules. There is a lessening of emphasis on different types of rules for students with placing of more responsibility and increased freedom of the student body. Collins; There has certainly been a change in the attitudes of the students. We are less oriented toward the status quo. The few physical changes are not worth observing. Narrator: Well, now what do you think, friends, that or EZU and Greenville will be like in 20 odd years? East: Well, I think by the 1990 ' s that East Carolina will be an institution, it would be my prediction, of somewhere in the vicinity of fifteen to twenty thousand students. I believe that it would have matured into what we commonly call a first-rate university, as we currently use those terms. I think with its increased size will come increased problems, but one of the great virtues will be in- creased excellence. It will, by the 1990 ' s have all the virtues as well as vices of a large state institution. I see its growth continuing, not only in size, but I think the real growth will be in terms of quality and in the terms of the expansion of various foundation programs that have already been established. Alexander; I would expect that in the next twenty or twenty-five years that East Carolina, along with the other major senior col- leges and universities of this state, would become centers of research and graduate studies, at least not going be- low the junior level. I think our commu- nity colleges and technical institutes and some of the smaller senior colleges are going to probably wind up being the first stop along the educational trail for most of our students. And then, those of our students who are interested in pursuing their education toward a de- gree and a graduate degree will wind up at East Carolina or some of the other

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Narrator: What changes have you focalized on in your stretch at EZU, friends? Dynamo: I ' ve noticed a few changes, though not very big ones. Some of them have been right in line with changes that have been happening all over the coun- try. Some of them are a bit behind time, ones that should have been made a long time ago. The students, as a whole, seem to be moving away from the hippie thing. People seem much more concerned with their own affairs and their own immediate circle of friends. The activism is gone, especially political activism. This is something President Nixon ' s reelection shows. It ' s all over the country, people are just tired and fed up. It is kind of a frustra- tion. People just want to get out of here. They are not concerned with burn- ing political issues anymore. Maybe that is one reason why the Fountainhead has degenerated the way it has. If it is any reflection of the burn- ing issues in the student ' s minds, then it shows really sterile minds or minds concerned with trifles. Things are just changing slowly here. The university is not getting any more liberal, it is still way behind times. It will always be behind times, most likely. This school will never be in the fore- front of any change. I think people are slipping back into the mentality of the sixties. They had their little flirtation with intellectualism and involvement, and now it ' s over. The whole move now seems to be to just enjoy yourself. East: East Carolina has grown considerably since I have been here. I came here in 1964 and East Carolina was then an institution of about 6500 students. I think there has been some important changes in addition to this increase in size. I believe that there is a greater per missiveness on campus in terms of dress and in terms of appearance, think there has been too much permis siveness in the area of scholarly disci pline and application. For example there is, in many cases, nearly a tota permissive attitude as far as the ques tion of class attendance goes. This question of permissiveness is one of the most striking things that I have seen. I am not saying that this is confined to this university. I think we ' re simply a part of a whole national culture that has moved in a direction of permissiveness which I think has gone beyond the proper bounds of freedom and moved into a world of license and slovenliness. On the other hand, I do feel that we now have more good students at East Carolina. We have more students that are serious and conscientious in the pursuit of scholarly things. Alexander: In the past 10 to 11 years, there have been significant changes that have oc-

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senior level institutions and graduate schools. I would think that surely a thriving medical school would be in operation and possibly some other professional schools that we do not have now. Possi- bly the need at that time would warrant establishing an engineering or other types of schools for a citizenry that demands a more highly trained techni- cal person. Collins: In twenty years, ECU should not really be much larger, but it will proba- bly be more demanding scholastically with a larger graduate school popula- tion. Dynamo: If I came back to this university twenty years from now, I would expect to find East Carolina University and Greenville still relatively in the same place they are now, but there would be developments. The university would have developed. I ' m sure that it would be alot uglier than it is now. I think the kind of build- ings going up now are a good indication of the functional, sterile, mechanical values that this university stands for. I think I would see no grass, no trees, no flowers. I would see lots of concrete, lots of brick. I wouldn ' t see any out-of-state students because at this time, the tuition for them would have become so high, it would prohibit out-of-staters from coming here. Or else, the N.C. Legislature would pass some sort of law to keep them out. I think there would be a new gym and a new football stadium, no doubt. I would still expect that many of the other departments would still be con- demned to the same delapidated build- ings they are in now, if they ' re still standing. The population would have grown considerably in twenty years, but G ' ville would still be the same town, an out of the way place with backward mentality. Hopefully, there will still be something in the people that attend the university which will make them look at Greenville, look at the university and do exactly what they are doing now, which is either go downtown and get drunk or throw something into their body or head to put them to sleep, at least for a little while.