Lehigh University - Epitome Yearbook (Bethlehem, PA)

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The Packer Memorial Chapel, center of spir- itual guidance for Lehigh students, rests in quiet dignity under its winter mantle. By ten o ' clock on the morning following a heavy snowfall, these well-packed steps are so slippery that one misstep will send an unwary student on a fast ride. a trial basis. All students in the Uniform Freshman Year, as it was called, would enroll in a uniform pro- gram designed as adequate preparation for any field of engineering study. At the same time these students were to attend a series of weekly conferences conduct- ed by the various department heads, in order to become better acquainted with opportunities in the different fields. The students themselves rated the program as a valuable supplement, and on their recommendation the Uniform Freshman Year became standard for the incoming classes. Developing school spirit and planting the seeds for its future growth is one aim of the orientators during freshman week. Hard to define, but conspicuous when lacking or abundant, spirit is necessary as a morale builder and as a component in the development of 22

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obsenaton ' . a skyline amphitheatre, and isolated re- search buildings. More imp)ortant, perhaps, than impressive facilities and the physical plant, is the maintenance of a teach- ing staff adequate to the needs of the student body. In maintaining such a staif a university is always faced with the problem of adjusting facult}- salaries to make them as attractive as possible. Industry has recog- nized the need here also, and in 1955 the Ford Foun- dation granted S 5 34.000, later supplemented by an almost equal amount, to increase the salaries of the faculty- of the College of Arts and Science. Another grant of S20.000 was awarded for the study of Lehigh ' s engineering curnculums, the object being one of im- provement and increased efficienc) ' . A forward looking program must concern itself with the problems of the individual student, and at Lehigh several important steps have been taken with regard to what is often considered the most important class, the freshmen. In the fall of 1954 a new curriculum de- signed to aid the freshman engineer was initiated on Keeping an automobile free from freezing snow is only one of the many inconveniences during the winter months. The drab entrance to Sayre Park undergoes an unusual transformation when wearing winter ' s white garb. 21

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personal initiative. Perhaps the administration had this in mind when Dravo House was scheduled to become an all-freshman dorm in 1955. When the outcries and protests had finally subsided, several hundred freshmen moved into their segregated dorm under the care of twelve upperclassmen sening in the capacity of proc- tors. Contrary to certain beliefs, the Dravo House fresh- men had done remarkably well by the end of the first semester. Breakage was less than that for a correspond- ing period when upperclassmen occupied the dorm. The Dravo House scholastic average was above the all- freshman average, and leadership potential was brought to the surface as the students elected section presidents and, under the guidance of the proctors, governed themselves. Following two semesters of suc- cessful operation, the plan was expanded to include both Richards and Drmker House, and with the com- pletion of the hew dorms, the freshmen found them- selves successfully managing the affairs of the three houses on the hill. While freshmen were learning to accept the re- sponsibilities of student government, upperclassmen were having difficulties in conforming their ideas with those of an associate dean. Since 1953 the question of revised social petitions, an acute problem, was slowly reaching the point where corrective action was impera- tive. The subject of Houseparty became the point in question, and about it centered all the various minor disputes from both sides, the deans and faculty, and the students. The students, according to the faculty, had failed to maintain certain standards necessary to the continued observance of a Lehigh tradition — Housepart) ' . A seven point grievance list was compiled by a student- faculty investigating committee and presented to the students in the spring of 1956. Take some action, was the ultimatum, or house- party will be discontinued. Hopes ran high as the fall semester got under way, for a new associate dean had taken office and was in favor of a rapid but satisfactory ' conclusion to the whole affair. At a meeting of student leaders several weeks later the grievance list was discussed and the problems solved to the satisfaction of those facultv members The Broun and White, published twice weekly, keeps Lehigh students w ell informed. Philip Milhendler, slide rule engraver for more than twenty-eight years, plied his trade in Lamberton Hall. J ' - ■i 4 ' H V ( . 1 K if S H JN V w 5