Northwestern University - Syllabus Yearbook (Evanston, IL)

Page 31 text:

Public speaking majors, the progeny of Mr. Cumnock's original idea, have an opportunity to participate in debates and discussions. They, with those interested in speech re-education, supposedly have little interest in the theatre. A certain amount of work in oral in- terpretation is necessary for graduation. After two years of study, each student is ,,:'-.7 Ma- , f - f ,... T VX' -': .' .f ,.- I. I., T- , rw,- fsfe ' A-.1-.Jw K Nfl--. .4 'rl-lf Q' A,w.,x1'. Y - 1-gf, 1 A-,X L, XJ I , .,, ,f Q A--,.1 V, 5, ,,. ,H .5 Wg, pn -.N,,.,,-FIT, rp,-ff, Hu, ,,1,!,, rf ,-A . ,-M f' 1, l 'kxiuiaflz IN :,,,-f ,Z-'A A hx ETA xX1f-fi,ltX- lv'Qvi,. f'e,'i l W l ,fx fb, -256.1-',!., V- X X- f S gf K , 1 'aw ' -' if fx ---ee 1 i l l Nfl- V' 1 4 val - e l li? jizvgii j iN. ' ' ii-'i'l.-- V - l x f K .V , -- I Iik, - l -A H .1 ---..-. f, l x , - V I .-ggpggir 5 'ici pew I rip f7 4 if HVMAQ- f- . 1 - 1 f , ,f.,. 1 ' . .ig --- . -T ' e. A ' ,?Q:fi P ,--l 1 gg: 1.1, ,, I Q. XX---L , R I Ex- .N ' if NN li-x -i X I li .5 l l l'-..-., ., .... l ll -QNX . P1 - l Li , gl Xgyl Y Jr-E H l .gl l , - ff HX. , QU x-:'fc 4X-3 Qlf lljil? gggkggjiliilii expected to give a fifteen-minute platform test which is judged by the faculty. Sub- jects have ranged all the way from Dorothy Parker satires to readings from Ibsen. Not only are these juniors graded by their teachers, they must also submit -themselves to the critical scrutiny of lower classmen who are required to hand in written reports. The lack of male actors has become so apparent it was feared the program of plays for the year might consist solely of The Women and Girls in Uniform , repeated every quarter. This was not, fortunately, the case. One all-female show, Cry Havoc , was produced, but the other dramas such as The Affairs of Anatol and Candida included men in their casts. Where, in the university, they were found is the well-guarded secret of the Theatre staff. As an integral part of the social life at Northwestern, the Theatre gave a per- formance on Saturday night during the run of Beggar on Horseback to enable men in the armed forces stationed on campus to attend. This departure in policy was coupled with an innovation in Work- shop organization. The Workshop theatre is composed of Speech students who direct and act in short plays. It provides an opportunity for those who want to act, and acquires a part of its audience from the ever present workers' in B4O. Eager to try new and unusual methods of presentation, a group of students have organized a branch of Workshop known as the Experimental Theatre. Tryouts are open only to those on the casting list of the mother organization, and parts are awarded on the basis of auditions. Black drapes and startling lighting effects characterize the serious efforts of the experimenters. Actors are given still another oppor- tunity to practice their art, along with stage managers and crew heads, in Children's Theatre. Winifred Ward's specialty is pro- ducing juvenile plays with casts drawn from Evanston schools supplemented by North- western students who are members of Thalian. Among the classics performed have been Treasure Island , Peter Pan , and Tom Sawyer . Although not so widely known as the 'various theatres, speech and hearing clinics and laboratories provide diagnosis and treatment for many types of speech deviations. Qualified students observe and may even treat patients under faculty super- vision. One of the trademarks of the laboratory is a large larynx which, after a little careful practice, obligingly comes apart into its sections. The Student Senate, composed of two members from each class, is a clearing house for student opinion on school affairs, and makes the administration of its policies as democratic as possible. If one has really learned the principles of persuasion, he may even convince the powers that be to add another party to the social calendar. Excep- tional students are awarded membership in Phi Beta and Zeta Phi Eta. i . 25

Page 30 text:

been enhanced by the advent of servicemen to the campus, because many of the courses required by the army and navy are in Liberal Arts. The government has requested that the servicemen be included in 17 of the 22 de- partments. This should be suHicient en- dorsement of the need for Liberal Arts colleges, even with the emphasis put on specialized training for these men. With such increased stress put on pro- fessional schools in recent years, there might also seem to be a tendency for liberal arts to slip beneath the notice of professors of those schools. But, on the contrary, these professional schools-journalism, speech, medicine, commerce-want a solid back- ground in the liberal arts courses for their students before beginning specialized work. Thus, not only the college itself, but service groups on the campus, professional schools, and students believe that upon an acquaintance with the general field of human endeavor the student should erect for himself an education of his own, fitted to his personal tastes, enthusiasms, and capacities. -ir SCHOOL OF SPEEC I f Robert L. Cumnock were to return to the School of Speech, he would hardly recognize the institution he founded as the School of Oratory in 1878. In the Speech lounge on the first floor, harried students from the five departments of the college practice their Stanislavsky, debate, and smoke c'garette after cigarette. The lounge is an oasis where re-ed majors escape from their laboratory in the base- ment of Mineralogy to listen in amazement to future Norman Corwins who, having staggered up from their radio studios, talk about being on the nose. In that small room, with its modern- 24 istic chairs and indeterminable wall seats, Alvina Krause's students read their lines in competition with public speaking majors determined to persuade someone about something. With hands vaguely describing arcs and lighting angles, Theodore Fuchs' disciples plan the production for the next University Theatre show. Bewildered freshmen, over- whelmed by Cornelius Cunningham's vo- cabulary, decide to concentrate on the dictionary and perhaps someday fully understand the meaning of aesthetic dis- tance. From his oHice on the second floor Dean James H. McBurney gazes in amused ap- preciation of his varied crew, and ably coordinates all the departments of the school. Students are introduced to him by the Tuesday Speech assemblies where they and faculty members as well as emi- nent guests present interesting and enter- taining programs. To those who love to hammer and paint, Fundamentals of Theatre Practice, fondly known as 1340, provides an opportunity to display their talents. To others, the two- hour labs and work on production crews for University Theatre shows are necessary evils. The School of Speech not only sets up universal requirements in its own curricu- lum, but asks for certain Liberal Arts subjects such as psychology and English. One of the strangest sights is to see some- one crouched backstage during a show, mouthing Chaucer While waiting for a light cue. Students in sequences other than theatre also have an opportunity to get practical experience. Those taking radio courses produce, direct, and act in their own shows, as well as broadcast weekly over WJJD. The culmination of this activity, which replaces a final exam, is radio day. Then the program for a day of broadcasting is carried out, with nervous students reading lines, signaling from the control room, and playing sound recordings.

Page 32 text:

SCHOOL OF JOUR ALI M cmted-THIS YEAYR . . . 4700 Journalism grads to ease newspaper personnel shortages! And most of these must be drawn from the ranks of WOMEN. F orty-seven hun- dred petticoated figures are needed in news- paper city rooms throughout the nation. Such was not the case in former years- Up to 1939, newspapers relied upon journ al- ism schools for 1400 replacements a year, and most of the jobs were for men. The above hue and cry set up by news- paper publishers and editors over the United States has arisen because of the drain of man-power from their staffs during the past three years. At a critical time when bigger and better stories are making the wires hum, only a scanty news corps is available. Since the establishment of the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern in 1921, until recently, a program of graduate and professional courses 01101 was offered to students, following preparation of three years in Liberal Arts or Commerce. In 1938, following its operation as a division of the School of Commerce for 17 years, Medill reorganized as an inde- pendent professional school. The program set up at that time provides the student with three years pre-professional training for background courses and beginning jour- nalism, and two years professional work, ending with a degree of Master of Science in Journalism. A year ago last fall, a survey was taken by the National Council of Professional Education for Journalism, liaison group between newspapers and schools. This was done through Kenneth E. Olson, dean of Medill and secretary-treasurer of the Coun- cil, through which the tremendous problems already described were found. Representa- tives of leading newspapers met with the 26 dean to set up accelerated programs for many journalism schools in the country. To do its part in wartime Northwest- ern's journalism school introduced the four- quarter-a-year War Emergency Program, primarily for three-year college students, offering them a solid year of training for a degree. With this twelve-month course on the quarterly system, the school turns out a crop of graduates every three months, thereby easing the acute shortage. Two years ago, newspapers realized that the need for women would arise because of the drafting of men for armed service. In the past, Medill boasted 80'Z, men and 20'Z, women in its classes: now the ratio is practically reversed, partly due to recruit- ing campaigns of newspapers for women to fill the emergency programs. This year, our I-School opened with as large an enrollment as in peacetime, but with 882 women! We may be running a female seminary this year, said the dean, but we have selected top-notch women and we are con- fident they will measure up to the respon- sibilities of the men's jobs for which we are training them. All courses at Medill are interesting, varied in scope, and, above all, practical. f l c 9223? V.-4314i ,ff '42, ,V ,' ff' f 51,5 mn . . K A . Wa f QQ, A 'QPU X ,l f l,i j Xf f ff- f ffm ,4 . QQVY' I If , N! . ffl X..--ff Harifrirai- 4 2 l .er 1-'-W -,L-wK,,,-:fi-if w X-, 1 M9 3' 1' wg ,fr 'L X Y? 12. l. ' ya- 2-if WZQQH' 1 ,F-,N illlugh- V' I H ,.15:7'A' f ...wh ' Iii' ' X ' 'Y ' 'N c X .gf-f .1-J., fvzygf' -'jf Nc! XXX, 1' Laboratory work constitutes a large part of class-time in many of them, and practical application is made of the theories learned.