Haverford College - Record Yearbook (Haverford, PA)

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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

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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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and becomes the central topic it is ictortlcil. The hand gnarled with writer ' s ciainp is tempted to affix to the honor pledge: 1 didn ' t reeei e any help on this and Cod knows, I couldn ' t have given any. Academic in olvement is manifested in my- riad a s. It is isihle in the way eyes, searching for inspiration, lollow the mo emcnts of The liohhysox iMiise as she saunters the length of the reference section in the lihrary. It presents itself in the group scene of a harried student, dictating his completed project paper to a battery of typists, inspired by a united pledge to help their suffer- ing friend meet his deadline and by the fact that their suffering friend is paying them twenty-fi e cents a page. One sees it in the rapt attention at a tutorial session as freshmen hang on e ' ery word in the sneering retort of a Geiiens or search for hidden subtleties in the latest well-turned Satterthwait ianism. Possibly it is manifest in the slightly-em- barrassed smirk on the face of a senior caught in the act of purchasing copies of the College Outline Series. Paul Desjardins on the trail of a recalcitrant student, Stark Jones hiding from Paul Desjardins; this too is part of the scene. More seriously, deep involvement with the academic atmosphere can be of most discussion on campus. Page 11