Haverford College - Record Yearbook (Haverford, PA)

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SOCIOLOGY Sociology is the most nebulous of the social sciences, and it is the one most susceptible to interpretation with a flair. Such an interpretation is given by Ira DeA. Reid. He is of impressive stature both physically and intellectually, and his eloquence at the seminar table reminds his students that he once wanted to be an actor. They are particularly impressed by his original ideas and his initiative in backing them up. For example, imagine the astonishment of last year ' s seniors when Reid asked them if, during the school year, they would like to sneak off to the Virgin Islands for a couple of weeks. Work and pleasure were combined in this particular project. Both the department and its name grew this year. Edw.ird B. Harper joined the staff to teach anthropology, and the offi- « cial title became the department of sociology and anthropology. Harper is sharing his talents (and his knowledge of the culture of the Indian subcontinent) with Bryn Mawr. John W. Smith, already a member of the French department, made a partial shift and devoted some of his teaching time to the introductory sociology course. His quick insights into problems of many varieties have gained him an outstanding reputation on campus. MUSIC No, no, no . . . Impossible! . . . Simply can t be done! This familiar plea will regale the ear of anyone brave enough to venture into the Union on a Tuesday or Thursday evening or into Goodhart on a Wednesday night, yet somehow it al- ways does get done. Even Wild Bill Reese ' s side activities do get done with the same high level of performance that char- acterize all his concerts such as the Stravinsky at Swarthmore or the Morart Concerto with Agi Jambor. Unlike his associate, and in the best artistic tradition, Alfred J. Swan remains discreetly aloof from campus politics. Indeed he is known to most of us as that man with a white beard and a boyish walk who emerges every spring to preside over the stu- dent music collection. Possessor of a cool Parisian wardrobe, English wit, Russian education, and considerable patience, he is ideally equipped to cope with that inveterate aesthete and seeker of universal truth, the student composer. IRA DE A. REID EDWARD B. HARPER JOHN W. SMITH ALFRED J. SWAN WILLIAM H. REESE

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ENGINEERING CLAYTON W. HOLMES THEODORE B. HETZEL NORMAN M. WILSON HiUes Laboratory, home of the Micrometer Men, appears to one as a building both low-down (with respect to height) and removed (with respect to the gravel road in front of it.) These features, however, by no means symbolize the quality of Haverford ' s engineering facilities, faculty, or students. Hilles is a huge building, though, and while its basement machine shops remain the sacred and unchallenged domain of the micrometer men, its ground floor (especially Room 2) is invaded by such non-electrical disciplines as economics, Quaker philosophy, and history of art. The engineering majors admittedly do not emerge after four years with cither the breadth or depth of knowledge of M.I.T. graduates. Their proficiency should not be underestimated, however, for one must consider Haverford ' s liberal arts orientation and the comple.xities and accomplishments of modern earth-satellite-era engineering. Clayton Holmes, chairman of the department, is a typical gruff New Englander whose crisp and full New Hampshire accent would un- doubtedly carry even from a sputnik. Professor Holmes specializes in mechanical engineering ( this problem is simply elementary fourth- grade thermodynamics ) and in scheduling classes at the unholy, un- popular, and unforgettable hour of eight in the morning. A very good craftsman, he conducts each winter the non-academic course in cabinet- making. Theodore ( Ted ) Hetzel is a quiet and shy man, and rarely tells tall tales, pardner, despite his affinity for Western-style, rancher-cut clothes. He teaches with patience and precision ( don ' t forget about the bridge that collapsed because the engineer misplaced a decimal point ), but out of class is usually seen rushing about, perhaps in a ti;-y because of his unique worries (water fights, festive nights, students ' rights) as chairman of the student afi airs committee. During autumn Saturday afternoons he may be seen at the soccer field, braving the cold and windy weather, and beaming with fatherly pride as he photographs his swift-footed son, Hennic Het;el ' 60. Professor Hctzel is responsible for sundry photographs appearing in this journal. Norman Wilson may be described as truly a craftsman ' s craftsman — a man equally at home photographing Biblical pottery, repairing a Cadillac transmission, cleaning a rifle, or demonstrating the fine points of machine and lathe technique to his first-year students. A man of patience, humor, and generosity, Wilson advises and helps all students with electrical or construction problems, and devotes many an afternoon to teaching non-academic courses in photography and metal work. Dur- ing the 1957-58 academic year he also assumed the duty of chairman of the arts and services program. TH ' e.ity- oiir

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ru LAURENCE W. WYLIE MARCEL M. GUTWIRTH MICHAEL SHAW m ' MANUEL J. ASENSIO r ■ JEAN-LOUIS CURTIS ROMANCE LANGUAGES The academic year l V- iS meant for Laurence Wylie, head of Franco-Haverfordian activities the return of wanderlust or more properly e?ii ' ie de voyager and a subsequent departure for the Gallic spiritual homeland. Here, we assume, he has found a sociologically pure petit village which is destined to be an incomparably fascinating study for future generations of French 13-14 scholars. Li the interim that learning which falls under the banner of the tri-couleur is being managed by Gut- wirth, the French department ' s perennial enfant terrible. Al- though far from being an en ant, the mature use of a brilliant and warm intelligence always in evidence, he is for many aspiring French majors the cause of severe self-examination as to whether his rigorous standards can be met. Terrible in ex- actitude and terrible for those who expect to coast through a demanding and thoughtful literature course, Gutwirth is cap- able in many areas of some of the most original and yet well schoiiled thinking to be found on Haverford ' s campus. In return for M. Wylie !a Re ' publique has loaned us Jean- Louis Curtis, Prix Goncourt novelist and affable instructor here on the more recent results of French literary effort and the more ancient traditions of linguistic syntax. Often to be seen strolling down the campus boulevards in veston de sport tres tres chic and lunettes verts or pausing to discuss le mot juste in French or equally well in English, Curtis always impresses as one truly at ease with his great intellect, someone who quietly knows what existence, existential or not, is all about. Another member of riotre equipe is Michael Shaw, a Frenchman by research. Judicious observer of literature, gram- mar, students, violins, and fast automobiles, he comes to us from Swarthmore with all of that institution ' s deadly earnest. Eager to opine and most often correct, he was once reported caught in the act of smiling. Haverford promises not to hold it against him, nor to let it detract from its respect for unusual powers of analysis and criticism. 7 Jotre e ' qiiipe frangais, technically the Department of Ro- mance Languages, strives to represent fairly all peoples from La Manche to the straits of Gibraltar. As a mildly dissatisfied civil engineer in Spain, Manuel J. Asensio — our one-man Span- ish Department — dreamt of politics and teaching. After fortune granted him a taste of the former, the Spanish civil war and his own bold action brought him and his wife to Haverford to a fulfillment of the second dream. Tn a handful of years he has established Spanish House (la Casa to the natives) as a Gib- raltar-like institution in sharp contrast to la Maison Frangaise shifting will-o the-wisp fashion with every new crop of fresh- men. Through his years at Haverford, too, sound scholarship and heart-felt interest in every student have earned for Asensio the respect of everyone who comes within his ken.