Plymouth State University - Conning Tower Yearbook (Plymouth, NH)

Page 26 text:

“The stagnation factor of the valley bothers me”. “Here as much as anywhere I’d say quality is relative”. GD (Z H z w Q O H c 3 W o cn I've had a drastic change in philosophy about Plymouth in the past three monthes. Changes arc in the power of the individual to go beyond the power of recognition. There used to be some super high people here who were'nt interested in letting other people know about them, they were doing it for themselves. Perhaps the change is just a further evolution of my ability to see. I'm mostly affected now by one individual in particular. The stagnation factor of the valley bothers me. People are still dreaming and thinking of the same. (I'm talking about Be Here Now dreams). Between apathy and stagnation it's not quite the center I thought is was. Perhaps I was by a theory, I thought more was going on here than is. Now I see it's Just a small New England town in a state headed by Thomson, which says a lot. Speaking geographicly rather than sociologicaly the valley has a power to create anything, given the right group or bunches of input; an area like this can really blossom. In a place like this you have such a movement of beings. It's constant evolution of people. I think that helps in the aspect of Keeping the town going. For one who tries to step out of the flow you see recurring patterns in a short period of time. I think there arc two types of patterns. Ones you arc aware of and your more supernatural or sophisticated ones. There arc patterns that reoccur in a day and lifetime patterns. I'm a believer in self awareness. It's good to be aware of as much as you can. With recognizing patterns and almost predicting them and keeping with them you keep the harmony in your system. Pattern is connected to balance--in keeping a pattern balance it covers pnysical and mental balance. If you're moving correctly, ou'rc keeping the balance which is ecping the pattern which evolves back to your total oneness. There is a relationship between actions that all come back together. What one person does is what he is; it's rare to find one person who is another person, or does another person, regardless of what the Psychology department may say. Here as much as anywhere I'd say quality is relative. The accdmic quality is a bit lacking though the apparent conceptual quality is a very high standard. Regardless of the obvious lack of acedmaic quality there is still a good number of intelligent people here, I don't know why .... Chris Hassig 25 ChrisHassig

Page 25 text:

. . The answer changes. The answer today might not be the answer tomorrow” Dr. Salmons: Well, of course, in America we've always been more inclined to vocationalism than, say, in Europe in fact they think our educational system is Just funny-business, you know, that it's not serious and intellectual like their own and maybe it isn't. In general, I think European graduates would be intellectually more developed than our own perhaps. Yet, you sec, you can criticize their system because they deal more with abstractions . . . one level or another . . . Young people arc no longer interested in dealing with purely intellectual things, they just want the answers. They want to know how to make it, perhaps there's a real difference between students twenty years ago and today. Perhaps they're not as free in our country as they once were. Q: Do you think students arc more pragmatic today than they were? Dr. Salmons: Well, maybe pragmatic's the word . . . but they've been seduced by the notion that college is the way ... the entre , the open sesame to advancement, and position in life, status, money, haven't they? Q: Some . . . Dr. Salmons: That's why we came to college, isn't it? So we could make it . . . Q: Some people might come to learn. Dr. Salmons: How many? What percent? Learn what? It's not many, I'm afraid, it's not the students' fault, its because they've been mislead in this. Q: Mislead in what? Dr. Salmons: In the notion that the thing to do is to make it without any clear idea of what is meant by making it, without any defined hierarchy of values. They are much less concerned with the question than they are with the answer. Q: Do you think the answer is as important as the thought process that goes into the answer? Dr. Salmons: Well, the answer changes, the answer today may not be the answer tomorrow, but if you're equipped so that you can think, you can probably determine a better answer tomorrow than if you can't think. If we Just leanr the answer, we haven't learned much but if we've learned how to think, if we acquire the habit of thinking, there is hope. Q: Dr. Salmons, you've been here for a long time, what is it that you particularly enjoy about this campus, that you've decided to stay here? Dr. Salmons: Well I think there's quite a lot of freedom here, intellectual freedom. I always like the fact that although Dr. Hyde might not exactly approve of what some of the faculty thought, he at least entertained the idea that they should do what they thought was good to do. I think that s good, in my own case, for instance, and for this reason, I rather think Dr. Hyde's very interesting and I really esteeem him for this virtue. I believe other faculty members share this view. Q: So, it's because of the faculty and administration that you stay here. Dr. Salmons: Well the faculty's changed a good deal over the years too and in some ways, Dr. Hyde may be freer than some of the facility. There's a faculty spectrum and I fear some very narrow professors, and there arc some in every institution. There are some remarkable faculty members here, who have sought the virtues to be found in this climate, and the students benefit greatly from their mentorship. I fear that there has come to be little spirit of inquiry on the part of most of our students, but, in the light of cultural influences, this is not astonishing, only dismaying. I consider it a great privilege to be a professor--to have the opportunity to think and work with young people. At Plymouth, I have known some students who understand the process of education and who displayed great human beauty. I believe that Plymouth is not more guilty of mischief in education than other institutions, but I cannot be sure. 24

Page 27 text:

“Activities haven’t been given the credit they deserve, they’ve been given a back seat” I sec the college community lacking in arts and culture—which is why I'm involved in student activities. I fell into it by accident but it's given me a direction and I hope it's been beneficial to the college community. I think there is a definite friction between the departments on campus as far as activities go. i. e., the music department and theatre don't seem to get along or whole hcartedly support outside cultural entertainment --maybe they feel intimidated that students are providing something they could'nt. There arc now more individual organizations fullfilling minority areas, i.e. Jabberwocks, Psychology Interest Association, etc. I feel these groups should work together more. However, the student senate should be involved to prevent over saturation in certain areas. More organizations should sponsor things together. It would cost less money in the long run and would improve the quality. Plymouth has given me the lad -tude to explore areas that a larger college could'nt have given me. If I had given more time to ac-cdmics instead of activities I probably would'nt be here now. I have'nt lived up to my own acedemic standards but I feel, I hope, I've influenced a lot of people through programming. I hope I've made other students more aware of what's going on around them. Learning does'nt end in the classroom. I've learned a great deal through activities. Activities and organizations have'nt been given the credit they deserve, they've been given a back scat. Activities arc important in bridging the gap between college and the outside world. College is an incubator and activities ease the change from one environment to the other. It gives you an earlier insight to what you would like to do. In the classroom it's easy to survive without interacting with other students. In activities you meet students from all walks of life and sec all sides of their personalities. As we make contact with the business world which you can aquaint other students to through your experience and help them learn more about whats going on out there. Activities at Plymouth are not respected or appreciated for their full value by both acedemic departments and the administration, although the administration secs activities as a complimentary force to appease the students. At this point in my life I would love to be getting paid for the job I am doing now, and getting student feedback at a large university as an assistant or director of student activities I like people, young and old, I like to sec them grow but it's important for me to have an environment that I can grow in too. I think that I've almost exhausted my growth potential here at Plymouth. Hello world. Sue Rummel 26