Miami University - Recensio Yearbook (Oxford, OH)

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ACADEMICS Four years of college represented a huge step to the in- coming freshmen. Suddenly arriving at Miami for sUmmer registration, they were faced with the bewildering choice of courses that offered everything from archaeology to zoology. Even the common curriculum courses stated at least three different choices. The average Miami freshman entering college last semester took his place in the ranks of the class of 1968. He had scored in the 68th percentile of the American Col- lege Testing Program tests required of all Miami students. Dr. Robert Brown, director of the Student Counseling Service, reported that, iithis is well above the national norm of the 50th percentile on these tests? So the well-above-average, average Miamian arrived in Oxford and attended the first in a series of meetings to decide on his courses for his first year of college. The freshman who planned to major in a held in the College of Arts and Sciences found group requirements almost as numerous as the common curriculum. Language requirements for the A8LS major meant four- teen hours of a language, including the second year. Lan- guages offered for this requirement were Latin, French, Spanish, German, Portuguese, Italian, and for the really ambitious, Chinese, available for the first time in 1964-. Included was East Asian literature, also begun during this past year. 2.7.. PrOSpective government majors could look forward to their senior year. Dr. James Woodworth, Acting Depart- ment Chairman, added a new seminar for advanced stu- dents. The informal seminar, which met at Dr. Woodworthls home, offered studies in all phases of govern- ment and politics for those who managed to last four years in this department. Students majoring in the biological sciences were not forgotten this year, as anyone who had classes in Upham could attest. Ground was broken for the new wing to famous Upham Arch and the new laboratories being con- structed were scheduled for completion in time for classes in September 1965. Not everyone in the freshman Class was enrolled in the College of Arts and Sciences, however, and the other schools at Miami offered varied programs. Applied Science students spent a good deal of their time in Gaskill Hall putting in hours finishing lab work or sales-service Charts. The women in Hanna House were also part of Applied Science, but their late hours were tilled with other things. Home Economics majors lived in this new building on Spring St. which was both a classroom and a residence hall. The kitchen was always in use as the women put into practical application what they had learned. The second floor was covered with bolts of cloth, as the latest in home decorating became the decor of Hanna House.

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Foreign students came to Miami from many plac'es that, to Americans, are scarcely more than points on a map. They came from tiny towns and large Cities; from Brazil, Cuba, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Lebanon and Liberia. From Iraq, Sierra Leone, Vietnam, Taiwan, and the Republic of the Congo. Some of these places had never been looked up in an atlas by American students. Most countries had only one to three representatives on campus, but Japan had seven, Greece six, Iraq five, and Hong Kong, Korea and Nigeria each had four. The United States government encouraged foreign ex-- Change programs through its Institute of International Education. One of the most complete programs was the African Scholarship Program of American Universities. This program sent high-ranking students to the United States by drawing travel money from the home government. tuition fees from the American university of the student's Choice, and maintenance costs from the United States Government Agency for International Development. Many of the foreign students were employed on campus. Some like P. K. Subramanian of India were working toward graduate degrees and taught courses in their major helds. lVIr. Subramanian, for example, taught Math. Others had less scholastic jobs on campus and uptown. Nagib Saliba of Lebanon was a resident assistant at Hepburn Hall. International Club was the most popular activity for Miamias foreign students, but, in 1964, other organizations composed of students from regions sharing similar cultures began to spring into existence. The two largest groups were the Arab Students Union and the African Students Union. These Clubs sponsored parties, speakers and suppers. Students came to the United States both to partake of our culture and to share theirs with us. They tried to absorb as much as they could of the American way of life without losing their national identity, and what usually resulted was a third cultureea new individuality peculiar to that student. Such organizations as People to People and International Club attempted to draw students together on more significant levels than could ever have been achieved at mere teas and dinners. Perhaps symbolic of this mixing of cultures was Miss Deepa Biswasl regular campus outfit - a Miami sweatshirt under her delicate silk sari. The seniors, both American and foreign students, had to be pretty certain of what they wanted to do, and 38 per cent of the graduating Class went on to graduate school. Of this group, 64 had graduate assistantships, 24 had fel- lowships, and 21 were awarded scholarships. The largest number of students did their graduate work in education, but law, English and business were also popular fields. To prove that Miami life agreed with them, ninety of the 406 students who went on to do further study stayed right where they were. Of course the first few weeks of a term were a big adjust- ment, but Miami students were supposedly well-prepared. All entering freshmen were required to take the ACT tAmeriean College Testing Programl tests. The national norm on these tests was the fiftieth percentile, but the ciaveragei, Miami student placed in the sixty-eighth per- centileean eighteen-plaee advantage. However, this didnit have much effect on the Thveragell studentls uncertainty about what held to major in. As usual, over one-half of the freshman Class ended up Changing their majors. That many Changed their major was no surprise, considering the diver- sified interests of the student body. That many Chose to continue their work through graduate school was also no surprise, because undergraduate training was only a be- ginning in the studentis struggle for understanding. ZI

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S pring Street passes Hanna House on its way to meeting Route 27. As students walked east they came to Culler Hall, home of Miamils computer. There, systems analysis students learned the 0-1 code for computer punch cards and were on their way to becoming the fingers that pushed the buttons that ran the world. In Laws Hall, business students found that what happened yesterday was as important as what happened today. To keep students abreast of the latest developments in the national and international business world, seminars for advanced majors were added to the regular curriculum. The basic program of business students followed the standards set up by the American Association of Collegiate Schools of Business. Dr. D. R. Cawthorne, Dean of the School of Business Administration, said many executives feel llMiami has one of the top three business schools in the Midwest? Besides the faculty seminars, business students had opportunities to attend lectures by visiting professors on the many phases of business and business administration. The growing school of business attracted more majors than it lost, and also received a $500 scholarship started by the National City Bank of Cleveland as well as a new grant instituted by Standard Oil of Ohio and a $500 grant from the Mellon National Bank 8: Trust Co. of Pittsburgh. Whether in business or zoology, everyone was sure to put in some time at the Alumni Library. The importance of llface-timel, at the Libe was quickly learned by new stu- dents, but some actually went to llthe building with steps and columnsll to study. If all the books necessary for a term paper were not available, they were probably among the 670 volumes loaned to other libraries during the past year. The compensation was that the library received from other schools 465 books needed for research by the faculty and graduate students. Undergraduates had a fairly adequate 400,000 books available to them; special permission opened the pages of some 150,000 more which were microlilmed. Periodicals, some no longer in print, totaling 900 could also be found in the library. The 25 daily newspapers brought almost everybody who cared to read them up to date with the latest news from back home. he more interested students, or those who changed T majors during the last half of their junior year, could be found in Oxford during the summer. A total of 5,170 education-minded young adults attended the two sessions of Miamils summer school last year. Summer school fell under the direction of Dean Earl Thesken, who was also Dean of the Academic Centers. Thus, the increased facilities and new courses joined the incoming trimester system and the construction of resi- dence halls to meet the problem of increasing enrollment. Miami still had a llsmall school atmosphere in a small town settingll in 1964-65, but in a few short years Miami may have to numerically join the ranks of the big schools. 7'3