Southeastern Massachusetts University - Scrimshaw Yearbook (North Dartmouth, MA)

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President John Brazil Congratulations to the members of the class of '87. Some years ago John Updike wrote a short, quasi-journalistic piece enti- tled Splendid Splinter Bids Hub Fans Adieu. As drenched in unmodified su- perlatives as the bleachers at Fenway are drenched in sun during a cloudless August afternoon game, the narrative describes Ted Williams' last game as a Bed Sox, comparing his prowess with the bat to the skills of a great ballerina, a virtuoso musician, and a number of other authentic geniuses. I remember the piece for two rea- sons. First, because l've always ad- mired Williams' ability with a bat: he was, unquestionably, one of the finest hitters the game has seen. Second, be- cause as I read fand while I fully as- sented to Williams' greatnessl, l be- came distinctly uneasy with the welter of uncritical, unqualified metaphor and simile. Updike had gone too far, claimed too much. He had lost the restraint, the discipline, that an artist-or journal- ist-must maintain. The very love for his subject that had called him to write, betrayed him. lt pushed his prose to excess, and in the process, weakened his superlatives and rendered them un- fit for other uses. As each of you writes in mind and memory your college career, do not bid if adieu. Your passage at SMU was, I suspect, the best of times and the worst of times-and both and nei- ther for it should have beenll. lf noth- ing else, l hope it has given you an appreciation for great and genuine achievement. It also, l hope, has given you the ability to measure achievement with disinterest. Sincerely, John B. Brazil President

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5 o f if W' V ff l In December 1986, after nearly 22 years of service and devotion to the greater good of the SMU Community, Mary Louise Walsh, Associate Dean of Students decided to retire. ln appreciation of her efforts we, the Editors of the 1987 edition of the Scrimshaw, wish to dedicate this Yearbook to Dean Mary Louise Walsh, a women we admire and whom we shall miss. At the May 29th, 1987, annual Honors Recognition Dinner, Dean Walsh was presented with the Distinguished Service to University Award. We are reprinting the words of that award as our dedicatory message. We believe they express most aptly our feelings and those of the students for Dean Walsh. DISTINGUISHED SERVICE TO UNIVERSITY AWARD Dean Mary Louise Walsh Mary Louise Walsh, Professor of French, the University's first and only Dean of Women, Associate Dean of Students, you have shepherded hundreds of students through their intellectual and emotional coming of age. For more than two decades you have been their teacher, counselor, role model and friend. Fulbright scholar, Smith-Mundt grantee, world traveler, you gave eloquent voice in your classroom to the language and culture of France. French, however, was not the only thing you taught your students. You also taught them independence of mind, appreciation of excellence, a broad world-view, the value of striving. Most important, you taught them without words an impressive lesson in caring. That caring did not stop at the classroom door, nor was it left behind when you made the transition from professor to administrator. As the university's first female Associate Dean of Students, you continued to give full expression to your deep concern for young people and your talent for nurturing the best that was in them. You have been with this university from its earliest days, present at its first steps, steadfast in its trials, and dedicated to its continuing development. Your colleagues have prized your loyalty and dependabili- ty, your linguistic expertise, your cosmopolitan outlook and polish. Those young adults whose lives you have enriched have valued you for the same qualities, but most of all because they have always known they were first in your mind and heart. For your legacy of caring and your inestimable contributions to this institution, we the students of Southeastern Massachusetts University pay you tribute.

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