Haverford College - Record Yearbook (Haverford, PA)

Page 21 text:

Ted lietzt ' l explains tu Bill HiiiKham and in unidentified head: The construction )f the bridge over the river Kwai was erv difficult because . . . about American Indians and the theory of vacuum systems, as a result of his many sum- mers of social work and winters of professional teaching and practice. Stashed midway between these opposite areas of Hilles is the office of Clayton Holmes. Hours: 7:00 A.M. to 4:00 P.M. (one hour for water and fuel, please). During the day the l)attlements resound with students ' tortured groans and New England accents. The daily visitors undergo several million cycles of stress mnually before reaching their endurance limit. Analysis of the load source indicates a high surface hardness and resistance to external bending, l)ut his inner fibres show general flexibility antl malleability under environ- mental influences. Although highest efficiency is reached in New Hampshire rural areas, there is adaptability to industry and cal)inetmaking. PHYSICS Whack ! A piece of chalk flies across the room, and another physics student is introduced to the mysteries of parabolic motion. The source of the deadly projectile is Aaron Lemon- ick, ex-Army sergeant turned physicist. This demonstration is part of the daily routine of the depai ' tment ' s most lucid, impassioned lec- turer. The legibility of Dr. Lemonick ' s hand- writing is inversely proportional to his enthusi- asm, as evidenced by the hieroglyphics on the blackboard when Maxwell ' s equations are dis- cussed. This enthusiasm is quite infectious, and his students have carried aw ay their due share. In the basement of Sharpless resides T. A. Benham, :ui electronics expert and frustrated debater. Using a perfectly fiendish Socratic method, he reduces carefully-worked-out prob- lem solutions to a shambles with frightening ease. In the evenings he and Ann conduct a perpetual open house, where the faithful may procrastinate over a cup of tea. Generally the topics range from antisymmetrized Hermitian operators to the relative merits of Shakespeare and Mickey Spillane. It has been a pleasure to know T. A. as both teacher and per.sonality, in- cluding his touch of Satan incarnate. Perhaps the most unforgettable character on the Haverford Campus, Fay Ajzenberg- Selove is a physicist e.xcellent and woman ex- traordinarv. Her classes will remember her Aaron Lemonick and Fay Selove are skeptical about Tom Benham ' s newly-invented hair dryer. enthusiastic lectures with pleasure and her seven-hour labs with horror. The feminine influence on campus was a welcome one indeed — witness the delicious cake she brought to class the day before one Thanksgiving and the succulent ham cooked for a physics department picnic. Also unforgettable is her .seeming in- ability to do arithmetic silently and in any language other than Russian.

Page 20 text:

ENGINEERING At the bottom of Fort Hilles, situated on the south end of campus, we meet the affable and talented Norman Wilson. While keeping the machine shop equipment from decadence and unworthy hands, Norm also maintains a fine sense of humor and well-cared-for Cadillac. His has been a varied life, going from arti.st to radio operator to ■ machinist to teacher, and lately to College photographer. At the top of the medieval staircase, the Fort ' s cold atmosphere is broken by the warm greeting and friendly smile of Theodore Het- zel. Patience and charity characterize the per- sonality of this family man and good Samari- tan. Mr. Hetzel can speak with equal authority MATHEMATICS Cletus Oakley is one of Haverford ' s most colorful faculty members. When not teaching math, he performs in brush-clearing expedi- tions on Campus Day or fondly reminisces about the good ol ' days in Te.xas. Mr. Oakley has also been known to give half a lecture in the last five minutes of class and then leave his stunned students through the East Math Room window. His pet project is po.sting obtuse math problems on the bulletin board (accompanied by promises of huge prizes) to divert diligent students from their regular assignments. Cluttering up bow-tied Cletus Oakley ' s office are Bob Wisner, Dave Harrison, and a tea kettle. Although Robert Wisner ' s freshman classes liave a high mortality rate, upperclassmen seem to build up an amazing immunity to his unique teaching methods: irregular class meetings are a hard and fast rule; ten problems one night and none the next is normal ; and proofs flow from his chalk so easily that the student blinks and exclaims, Why didn ' t I think of that! Chances are that if he did, Wisner would find a mistake in it. Although this big wheel on the Academic Standing Committee deplores bon- fires, pep rallies, and other collegiate foolish- ness, it is rumored that he stole into Philadel- phia one night just to hear Tom Lehrer. David Harrison arrived on campus with his rain-hat full of gamma and lambda functions. Alternately confusing and enlightening his stu- dents, he followed sermons on the necessity for rigor with speeches on the merits of intuition. A.lmost any hour of the day he can be found in his Hilles retreat amid piles of books, prov- ing the nearly unprovable and dreaming up easy tests. Yet Mr. Harrison is quite versa- tile : he can balance an arbitrarily small daugh- ter on one arm and write out an unbounded sequence of proofs with the other. Only one problem remains unsolved : Why is he leaving Haverstraw — the mathematician ' s paradise?

Page 22 text:

HUMANITIES BIB. LIT. Perched on a hipfh stool behind the lecture desk, John Flight attempts to get his class underway. It is a while before the quiet voice pierces the rumbling of chairs and the crum- pling of papers: Ramey? Ramey? Oh, I thought you sat in the next row. Before the weary eyes of his students and their wearier minds, he lays bare passages of the Holij Bible. Dry and subtle humor in the Dead Sea scrolls seems to intrigue scholars John Flight and Bob Horn. Quotation upon quotation lies within easy reach of his memory. This point can be further illus- trated by Genesis 14:2, which you will remem- ber says . . . But who else does remember so well? Comparative Religion class ends with a note that modern man may not be so far ahead of the primitive as he sometimes thinks. After parking his ever-faithful Saab and ascending to the Museum, congenial Robert Horn assumes his position at the head of the seminar table. Pulling his texts from his brief case (a Hebrew Old Testament, a Greek Neiv Testament, and a German source book), he be- gins discussion with a question that bewilders the three seniors for the next two hours. He increases their suffering by diagramming their heretical ideas on the board and then intro- ducing new factors that shatter their argu- ments before their eyes. Yet, as his victims stagger out, they can ' t help feeling deep ad- miration for this young scholar and the vibrant insights which he has salvaged from their confusion. ENGLISH John Lester is caught with a rye expression as leads a discussion of Salinger ' s religious novel. he Head of Haverford ' s largest department, Ralph Sargent is a recognized scholar in fields ranging from the Elizabethans to James Joyce. With a compelling smile and contagious en- thusiasm, he reveals subtleties of off-color ma- terial as easily as he offers intellectual justifica- tion for symbols and ideas. This cheery scholar, articulate in all subjects from the quality of physics books to interesting sidelights on the maids, infuses the shyest students with literary confidence. John Ashmead? No, I wouldn ' t bother him. He ' s hard to talk to — too many proper names. What ' s he like? Sort of a large-noodled Mal- volio, cross-gartered in cross-references. He psychoanalyzes freshmen in class, strangles people who mark up library tomes, and button- holes J. Lester for more books. Seeing things in patterns, he ' s divided the English depart- Eighfeen