University of Kansas - Jayhawker Yearbook (Lawrence, KS)

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PERU FINLAND CZECHOSLOVAKIA SOUTH AFRICA PAKISTAN JAPAN NEW ZEALAND From Four Corners., by DEREK SCOTT 11 the world ' s a stage. Upon this stage every student plays an important part. But my script is lim- ited—I have to stage one particular international scene. The foreign stu- dent steals the footlights with the lead- ing part. The location is Lawrence, Kansas. The setting is the University of Kansas. Even the year is academic 1953-54. Already the curtain is up. But first I must go backstage awhile. For if there were no selectors, there would be no players. If there were no pro- ducers, there would be no scene. The selectors: the foreign student scholarship committee. I wish to in- troduce the chairman, Dr. J. A. Burzle, a person more international than many of the students themselves. In Europe he studied at Munich, Dijon, and Paris, and a period of teaching at the University of Manitoba in Canada preceded his arrival at KU in 1945. His year is full of foreign student activities—whether the student is ar- riving at KU, in transit through KU, or is going as a foreign student from KU. For in the spring each year he is chairman of the foreign student schol- arship committee, in the summer he is director of the orientation course for foreign students held at KU, and dur- ing the autumn he is Fulbright ad- viser. No interview with Dr. Burzle can leave any doubt as to the great assist- ance which is afforded him by the other members of the committee and 15

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474.11 b . abounded with shady places to study . the elusive elements of what makes government tick. Art and music campers made life more in- teresting for everyone — particularly did the baton twirling class, practicing near Haworth hall, lighten the days of the med students there. And a passing parade of guest conductors, roam- ing the campus for several days at a time, often treated the outsider to shows of superb long-hair eccentricity. But did anyone really study at summer school? There seemed many diversions. Our friend looked all about him, searching for the answer. Of course there were lots of other things to do— but students did manage to get things done, he concluded. shimmering-heat-ieebies Some of the most inspired papers of the sum- mer were whomped out as the writers basked in the sunshine at Lone Star Lake. No one who stayed on the Hill in the sizzling afternoons seemed to get past the shimmering-heat-jeebies enough to apply pencil to paper, or mind to thought. The new freshman thoughtfully ex- plained the phenomenon to the upperclassman: The reason it ' s so much hotter here than any- where else is ' cause KU is on a high hill, and that means we ' re that much closer to the hot sun than other places are. Whatever the reason, the heat was terrific. And the only relief from it, if one had to stay on the Hill, was to walk through the sprays left around by the Buildings and Grounds men in different areas. Such a practice brought sus- picious glances from more conventional passers- 14 by, so the spray walker had to develop a crafty look of surprise as if he had just happened to be walking by when all of a sudden—Swiiish! the water was turned on, and now he was fright- fully wet, but it really did feel good. A fellowship or underground movement of spray-walkers grew up, electing to meet at night when there weren ' t so many people to notice their unorthodox behavior—and also more sprays to walk through. Of course, some of the sprinkling wasn ' t planned at all. People just weren ' t warned when the sprays were laid out on the grass and when they would be turned on. Result: an innocent walk across the green might be turned into a nightmarish flight from an unrelenting deluge. union refuge Class at the Union became a favorite, and incidentally, a very hard-to-engineer pastime. Even when students magnanimously offered to have class in one of the meeting rooms, foregoing the pleasant clatter of the Hawk ' s Nest, teachers seemed unwilling to walk the short distance in the heat merely to reach the coolness of the building. Yes, summer school is all of this—but much more that is hard to describe. One can ' t pin down the beauty of the campus, or the more relaxed classroom atmosphere, or the unhurried- ness of campus life without the flood of regular- term extracurricular activities. The very heat and discomfort in summer school seem to form a bond of unity between underclassmen and graduate, professor and janitor, which isn ' t so much in evidence during the regular school year. No, it ' s not bad at all. See you here next summer? . . a constant stream of visiting delegates . .

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in particular by Dr. John H. Nelson, dean of the Graduate School, wherein most foreign students are placed. not all scholars But foreign students are not all scholars. For the normal entrants, the foreign student committee acts as an advisory group for undergraduate ad- mission. The foreign student commit- tee, however, plays an even greater part in caring for the interests of the foreign students and assisting them to make adjustments to the University and life in America. Dean Alderson is chairman of the foreign student committee and sits around the committee table with Dr. Burzle, Mr. Butler, Clayton Crosier, assistant professor of civil engineering; Miss Maude Elliott, assistant professor of Romance languages; Miss Mary Peg Hardman, assistant dean of women; Oscar M. Haugh, associate professor of education; James K. Hitt, registrar, and Franklyn C. Nelick, assistant pro- fessor of English. Where there is a production com- mittee there is always a stage manager and in Room 228 Strong hall a visitor will always find the doors leading into the office of Mr. Alderson and Mr. Butler left open in friendly welcome. Mr. Alderson has been foreign stu- dent adviser since 1948 and this year received a new appointment as dean of men. Mr. Alderson, who has never stepped outside America ' s shores, has not only been interested with the im- pressions which foreign students give him of their own countries but also with the impressions they have of the United States. He hopes to travel himself some day. Mr. Butler was appointed assistant dean of men this September, and his experience in the department of hu- man relations and Navy service in Australia, New Guinea, and the Philip- pines have helped him in the friendly understanding which he offers all for- eign students. I have introduced the backstage management. The play is now the thing. Throughout the summer foreign students have arrived in the United States from far other worlds, far oth- er seas. Some attended one of the twelve orientation centers in the Unit- ed States to acquaint themselves with the English language and the Ameri- can way of life. dual role At KU a foreign student lives and learns a dual role in University life —as a foreign student and a Kansas Man. Our clothes, our accents, our experience, our backgrounds; in short, our individu alities demand that we should remain markedly different. If we did not remain so our stay would be valueless. The foreign student pro- gram is a two-way affair. We wish to teach you about our ways of life: we wish to learn about yours. The International Club is an inter- national centre. Cyrus Samii from Iran is our president and Ramesh Premgi, India, and Miss Olga Zilboorg, Mexi- co, serve on the committee. Our ac- tivities include dances, lectures, and banquets. Our keywords are friendship and international understanding. Last year as many American students at- tended as foreign students—this year we welcome you all. tallyho, soccer! On the intramural football fields many have been surprised to see a round instead of an oval ball. Already we have formed a soccer team and hope to arrange matches against for- eign students on other campuses. Our team will be international — our na- tionalities will be as varied as our sporting dress. The foreign student speedily falls into the campus routine and becomes a Kansas Man. Mrs. Brand, well- known to foreign students for the friendly and patient manner in which she cares for our mail in the foreign student adviser ' s office, said to me one day that all too soon the foreign students settle down and forget to visit her. This is significant and yet not sur- prising in view of the friendship and assistance which we receive. Above all, the generosity of the organized houses —some 30 of which now fully or par- tially support foreign students—have helped us to settle into the American way of life. We are most grateful to share your community life. I wish now to introduce individual foreign students as representatives from every continent of the world. On the far side of the globe in the foothills of Pakistan close to the bor- der of Kasmir, Imtiaz Khan was born. Educated in India at Bihar and in Pakistan at the Forman Christian Col- lege in Lahore and the University of AUTHOR SCOTT of England dis- cusses the foreign student pro- gram with Mrs. Catherine Brand, Dean Alderson, Mr. W. R. Butler, and Dr. J. A. Burzle.