Haverford College - Record Yearbook (Haverford, PA)

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college in the final analysis depended largely upon a certain element of grind in their psy- chological makeups. Usually by the end of his first semester the average student is so well integrated into the repetitive cycle from desk to library to lab to class and back to the desk again that nothing about the process strikes him as being strange. Elsewhere in the world people tend to lead nine-to-five lives, yet what student, after the initial .shock, regards it as odd that at least one study lamp keeps the lamp of learning flaming atop the ivory tower twenty-four hours every day of the school year. This academic realm, as might be expected, eventually filters into and becomes the central topic of most discussion on campus. The password for admission to such conversation is }rressure, one of the most extensively used words in the Haverford ocabulary. E cryb()dy studies, and everyone is under pressure, yet few people brag of their studies, while most exaggerate the pressure. To appear to take academics seriously could lead to becoming a social outcast. Of paramount import- ance is that the carefree, don ' t give a damn image be presented at all times. No one dare say he has completed the next day ' s assignment. I lowever, his invitation to the in group is assured if he hasn ' t slept for six hundred years and still has over half of the library to read by nine o ' clock tomorrow morning. Many students silently believe that Haverford is the last hope for culture, civilization, intel- lect, and learning in the Western world. They are defensive when compared to other schools, and are firmlv con inced that their admission to . . . per ' ades every- corner of campus life. ' Page 9

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Too often the college yearbook, in its con- cern for comprehensive reporting, tends to gloss over the one phenomenon which manages to in- fluence, in varying degrees, every phase of col- lege life. The physical plant, the school spirit, the informalia of extra-curricular activity — all are important; but the dominating factor continues to be composed of the world of classes, labs, assignments, reports, examinations, books, more examinations, and more books. Everyone at school talks about the academic element, but few yearbooks do anything about it. The published result generally is a potpourri of nostalgia, criticism, and literary expression. All well and good. But one needs a main dish before beginning to garnish with photo- graphic reminiscence, baste with tradition, and perhaps sophisticate with a hard-cover binding. Haverford is not a unique example as colleges go, but this dominant theme, despite controversy, continues to be the oft-neglected, sometimes over- rated, yet generally-tolerated world of formal learning. The academic atmosphere, for better or worse, pervades every corner of campus life. How else to explain the omnipresent book or sheaf of notes before the student, be he at his desk, at the dining room table, in a whirlpool bath, in Fifth Day Meeting, on vacation, or on the team bus to a varsity game. for better Students are classified according to their in- volvement, or at least the image of involvement they present , with regard to scholastic pursuits. Those seemingly dedicated to books with a con- centration that permits no diversion are dubbed wienies or grinds. Yet the fact remains, and curiously enough many Ha ' crfordians seem un- willing to admit it, that their admission to the Page 8

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Haverford was one of the most influential moments in their careers, But . . . Try to find the man who admits that he continues to return to Ha erford for intellectual challenge. J-Iis existence, if such there be, is drown- ed out by a resounding chorus of rationalizations led by the soloists screaming, I keep coming back because I like the guys; or I ' m going with a girl from Bryn Mawr; or Mv parents made me come back again. Still everyone deri ' es some satisfaction from contact with the scholastic germ. How else to explain the satisfied feeling one experiences after hours of work when a neatly-tvped paper, bound well, and prefaced by a good tit le lies before him, ready to be submitted. Regardless of the quality of its content, a sense of craftsmanship acts as a narcotic on the sleep-deprived brain and lulls the author into a feeling that his work not only is one of labor and lo e, but more importantly, probably borders on genius. Not to say that this state of academic satis- faction embraces every part of Haxerford life. There remain those moments of truth when one suddenly realizes that the paper he has written or the examination on which he has just scrib- bled his name is not worth the paper on which This academic realm, as might be expected . . eventuallv filters into Page 10