Lehigh University - Epitome Yearbook (Bethlehem, PA)

Page 17 text:

Another aspect was added to the intellectual life I the University with the formation of a Cooperative Lec- ture Series made up of a number ol Lehigh organiza tions for the purpose of bringing to campus men who were both noted scholars and able speakers. The pro- gram got oil to an auspicious start with Dr. George W ' ald of Harvard speaking on Theories on the Origin of Life . [FC Weekend was turned into a winter carnival as an unexpected March snowstorm buried the campus in fifteen inches of the fluffy white stuff. Richard Maltby ' s orchestra provided the music while the stage-money roulette wheels clicked merrily throughout the Monte Carlo Dance. Shortly before Spring Vacation was due to begin, thirty heroes came down with the measles which brought joy to the whole campus when the Adminis- tration decided to extend the Vacation to prevent a full-fledged epidemic from breaking out. This unprece- dented shutting down of school gave hundreds of Le- high men an additional week to bask in the warm sun of Florida, Bermuda, and points South. Tragedy marred the vacation when Peter Ferngold and Herman Feldt were killed on their way home from New Orleans in a head-on collision with a tractor-trailer. These were the events of 1955-56 at Lehigh, at least the events that were unusual, unexpected, or signifi- cant. Through all of it the academic life of the Llni- versity went on with scarcely a ripple in the process of educating men to take their place as responsible mem- bers of our society. An institution is not easily disturbed by day-to-day happenings — and Lehigh is no exception. Spring Houseparty gave Lehigh men a chance to dofj their bucks anil don their best; for a brief and pleasant weekend the campus went coed. As evening shadows fall, the men of the ROTC head for the base of the hill and the forming grounds of the Armed Forces Day Parade, secure in the knowledge that this is the final parade of the year.

Page 16 text:

Although the Bach Festival is not a University junction, it has nevertheless made for itself a place in Lehigh tradition. first of three Lehigh men to be killed in auto accidents during the year as his car rammed a telephone pole when he apparently fell asleep at the wheel. The issuance by the Dean ' s Office of a list of rules for Spring Houseparty containing several significant implementations of University social policy precipi- tated an incident which will, no doubt, in years to come be described in terms ranging from a student gather- ing to a full-fledged riot . Whatever may be the judgment of time, the fact re- mains that on Friday the 13th of January 1956 over 500 chanting, sign-waving students marched from Sayre Park through campus to the President ' s house. Finding Dr. Whitaker not at home, the phalanx invaded Grace Hall minutes before a group of Irish singers was sched- uled to entertain an SCL audience and, cheering and demonstrating, they proceeded to do a bit of entertain- ing on their own before finally dispersing. Attempting to ascertain the causes of the apparent student dissatisfaction, the Deans held several meetings with student leaders and interested Faculty members after which a special committee was appointed to work out an acceptable set of social regulations, which was subsequently adopted. Upsetting what had become a Lehigh tradition, the Music Festival Executive Committee decided one month later to cancel the 1956 Music Festival because of a conflict with the Dean ' s Office over questions of policy. A Lehigh Sounds Weekend was substituted which consisted of two operettas, a joint Band-Glee Club Con- cert, a dance, and an organ recital. Special efforts were made to turn it into a Spring Parents ' Weekend. On Parents ' day, visiting mothers and fathers were treated to a tour of the campus, a free luncheon, and the Lehigh-Buckuell football game, which Lehigh won 27-20. 12

Page 18 text:

Graphic Impressions of Lehigh Nights of work 14