Haverford College - Record Yearbook (Haverford, PA)

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HERMAN M. SOMERS Anyone who has taken the op- portunity to listen to a ward lead- er or precinct committeeman soon discovers that the low man in the American political party heirarchy likes to talk. He wants to talk about his job. of which he is proud. He wants to elicit a little understanding and admiration for his efforts and his svstem. so often the object of abuse. He wants to educate his listeners. He might even philosophize a little. In a sense. Red Somers is a ward leader with a forum, a man wlici puis the trut hs of American pnjitirs in terms a Cdljege stu- dent can understand. He has suc- cessfully bridged and integrated two worlds. There emerges from this dialectic a most profound ipw of what social man is and liow he should be governed. One ran get tlie impression that l!i-(l Idiiks nil tlie academic world as a mission field for the salva- tion-bearing message of the poli- tician. The religious metaphor is Page 9

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FACULTY Sometimes fervent, sometimes desultory and almost unnoticeable, the long-drawn struggle of the Senior Class to overcome its own ignorance and prejudice could only end in relative victory. Some fine team-work and flashes of in- dividual brilliancv. a good deal of ineffectual wavering and plodd- ing perseverance — our Haver- ford education. Frequently it was felt that activities on the Haver- ford front lack a unified and comprehensive strategy, but. gen- erally speaking, victories have out- weighed frustrating impasses. What facts we have learned are less significant than the prejudices we have unlearned and the values we have begun to uncover, in our- selves and in our work. Four years is not too long a time to work out our personal orientation, the most valuable yield of education. For what personal cogency and integritv we have achieved here, we are particularly grateful to the example of the faculty. We have had four years of contact with men and women interested in de- veloping us — not weighing us with facts or oppressing us with dogma, but showing us the struc- ture of understanding. We thank the faculty for guiding us to many of the questions we must ask: we will remember their example. Page 8

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unfortunate, because if there is one message that Red would have his students receive, it is that politics should not he a religion. In the spirit of real American pragmat- ism. Red is quick to point out that, politically speaking, it ' s the saints who have caused all the trouble — the boys who will die — or kill — for an idea or a cause. Human nature being what it is. peace is a possibility onlv when all submit to one. Rather than pa so high a price. Red would have men wage war peace- fully. Virtue lies in tolerance, mut- ual respect, compromise and recognition of the fallibility of yourself and others. Virtue is made possible by institutions that allow for human fallibility and make peaceful war possible. The politician, for whom ideas are necessarilv of first importance as they help iir hurt his chances of election, provides the buffer be- tween the battling idealists. For all his protests against the men who are consumed by ideas. Red emerges as an idealist of a sort, or at least an enthusiast. The object of his enthusiasm is denmcracy. toward which he demonstrates a faith that is some- times shocking to budding intel- lectuals whose confidence in their own infallibility is unknowingly accompanied by an assumption that the power to make decisions should He in their hands. (It comes as no surprise to learn that Red was nurtured by the La- Follete Wisconsin politics of the ' 30s.) There is some comfort for the academv. Some specialized activi- ty is necessary to truly define the alternatives from which all men choose, and so Red will subsribe to the idea that education is of some value, as . . . an article of faith — an unscientific obser- vation because I ' m in the racket . Proof of this faith lies in his efforts in the field of social in- surance, efforts that have achieved for him enormous stature as an expert . And beyond this work is his inestimable service as a teacher. In accordance with Red ' s un- inflated evaluation of man ' s ca- pacities, his students are not cod- dled. The carrot is implicit: the stick, in the form of persistent cjuestioning and a little book, is most explicit. One has the feeling that o ne would have preferred to outrank Red in his Army days. On the other hand, no student of his can fail to realize that both teacher and pupil are fighting the same battle and are on the same side. Another characteristic of the man in the classroom is his fre- quent indulgence in the use of experience as teacher. Anecdotes abound, rarely lacking significant powers of edification. Classes with Red often become a combination of anxiety (if you haven ' t done the reading), outraged humor and a smug delight in being told the inside story. Perhaps the best measure of the man lies in the sense of privilege and opportunity his students feel in their exposure to him. Red is an educator in the widest sense of the word. He purveys not only information, but an understand- ing and admiration for democracy that is contagious and which goes far beyond the limits of political life. Haverford can consider it- elf fortunate in its association •vith this latter-day gadfly, who. while often destroying the old gods, replaces them with newer and wiser ones. Page 10