University of British Columbia - Totem Yearbook (Vancouver, British Columbia Canada)

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i'For the second time in the history of UBC, students were lead by a woman president. Pert Nonie Donaldson, fourth year Arts student, was given responsibility of handling student affairs mid- way in the summer after the resignation of John Haar. .,.,, ,Q X I I , f YJohn MacKinnon, known to the dirty eleven as 'dishonest Jack', kept a sharp eye on students' money. Only sore point was how he happened to buy a new car during the summer on the wages of a Fuller Brush man. iucleni Counci 1 ea The 1950-51 edition of the St d u ent's Council prob- ab1y led 1 ' ' ' 1 more varied and trying existence of any similar group since the end of the war. The resigna- tions of several senior council members and culmina- tioi1 of numerous problems brewing for the past four years, lte1t th- l'fr 7 ' ' 1 c 1 c ol the councillors interesting if not restful. T11e average age of the student executive was 23 years, the youngest since the end of the war and yet they were faced with some of the most critical and searching questions ever handed to a Council. The readiustment to a normal enrolment, possible maior changes in the make-up of Council itself, the re-arrang- ing of student athletics and the raising of campus spirit were all contentious issues that had to be handled. Almost without exception the proper decisions were made. Undoubtedly a great deal of the CCJlll1C1l,S success was due to its ability to face problems squarely and to the co-operation which existed among its members. Many of the problems handled by the group went back to events in previous years and the decision to handle them now, no matter how unpleasant they were, will probably only be appreciated fully in the future when serious troubles are avoided. Such a down-to-earth attitude was only made possible by the spirit of team work which was always in evidence. No matter how hot the wrangling during debates the majority decision was always cheerfully accepted and hard feelings were never carried from the committee r OOITI. Student interest in studeit ff ' . 1 a airs was never hi her on 1 ' i fl tie campus and in 11t . etc more and larger General M ' 1 eetings were held th1n b L 1 ever efore should be a mttt ' ' 1 1 er of pridt to every member of the Society. Probably the most unusual . ' aspect of Council itself was tl f' ' ' ' ' i ie att 11111 the preside t f . . ll s of ice was filled b a wc ' 1 ' ' Y iman for the fnst time since 1919 s ' 1. Pert, 21-year-old Non' D ' ie onaldson was elected t h . .. o ead the Women's Underftl ' 1 ' ' gricuatc Socictv 111 the so 1 tring of 1950 and au- tomaticzll 1 ' i ty iecame vice president f 1 - o tie Alma Mater Societ. Wh ' ' y en AMS preside 1 . . nt-e ect, Iohn Haar found 'l- 5 mit wav through the summ 1 4 g er t1at he could not return c U 9 to BC., Miss Donail .. . cson was given the res1ons'b'1' A ' ' 1 1 1 ity of handhnv the affair f h g s o t e Society. An overwhl ' i ' Q' e ming vote of confidence 1 h k dy t e students early in th ftll e 1 baclted up what she h 1 1 . ac cone to that date and th 11 rougi the rem IlllClCI' of the t 1 . erm, faculty and students fs s ' ncre LOl'11lllLl'l1lV 'IHTIYCC1 1 1 1 J . .. .nt gratified by the intelliv' ' ' ' ' gent and mattne VV'ly in whi h h l . . c s e iandled the HIOSK tiff' 1 i ' ' i' 1 icut of all student offices. One of the older and more ex ' . .1 perienced members of the exe' ' '1 ccutive was treasurer Iohn M K' , c innon, who brought w'tl h' 1 ' ' l 1 llTl yCfll'S of CYpCI'lC1'1 . ce in monetary matters. A1t1 'h ' 1011131 SfLlClCllf 'lLlS1Cl'llIV 215 11 . . I suc was of- ficiall ove M ' i y r, tlxinnon found it necessar t lx y o 'eep a strict watch on f' ' inances to curb a natural t d y 1 n ing This he did with an 3II'1Z171Ilg . en ency to post-austerit sie d' . '. ' ' Q

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'A'Miss Dorothy M. Mawdsley, B.A., M.A., Ph.D., Dean of Women, saw a life-long dream come true with the con- struction last year of UBC's first modern resi- dences for women stu- dents on campus. Dean Mawdsley campaigned for the residences, served as patroness for campus affairs, solved countless co-ed problems, and still found time to take her place with her colleagues in lecture-hours. i'WaIter H. Gage, M.A., Dean of Administrative and Inter-Faculty Affairs, listened to and helped solve the problems of students from first year to graduate studies. He straightened twisted timetables, helped plan future courses and, in this year of chopped budgets, answered many student pleas for finan- cial assistance. Academ- ically, Dean Gage em- ployed his attributes to guide students down the difficult road to mastery of Mathematics. i'R. M. Bagshaw, UBC bursar, sat in the chair of high honor in the ad- ministration building and helped students dispose of their hard-earned summer money. Mr. Bagshaw handled schol- arships and bursaries, and assessed fines on students who were latet in paying fees. He seemed to disappear near the end of October, but suddenly popped u p again early in January to collect second session payment. i'Leslie W. Dunlap, head of UBC's library for the fall term, supervised a staff of 50 permanent members and some 260,- 000 books. Under his iurisdiction were the ac- quisitions department, cataloguing department, circulation department, reference department and serials department. Dr. Dunlap left UBC early in the spring term for a position with the Na- tional Archives in Wash- ington, D.C. Before his departure, Dr. Dunlap saw the near-completion of the G. G. Sedgwick Memorial Reading Room. foficy a4cfminiJ ization When historians leaf back through the hectic pages of 1950-51, it may well appear as a year in which mankind stood at the crossroads. Cn the one hand, the Utopia made visible by man's mastery of the forces of nature invited hope and cheer: on the other, the Hell thrown open by the A-bomb and the H- bomb and the titantic struggle of two mighty world powers invited gloom and gave limitless scope to the ever-present school of pessimists. The position of a university at such a time present- ed many complexities. Its organization and manage- ment required skill and ingenuity of the highest order. The demands of technology required ever-more skilled specialists, and the never-ending problems of society required, as always, broad liberal education. And the taxpayers pocket was far from bottomless. VVith the continued decrease in enrolment, the post-war peak showed signs of levelling off, and a new problem: VVhat is normalacy and how shall it be developed? added to the difficulties of our university. But through it all, President MacKenzie and Professor Geoffrey Andrew, his unflagging assistant f Geoff to almost everybodyl, still found time to wave a friendly greeting to students as they strode briskly across the quad. Between sessions with the Royal Commission on the Arts and Sciences and stumping trips through the hinterland, President MacKenzie guided the building program, laid the groundwork for a new school of fine arts, eased the new medical school through its birth- pangs-and even wrote letters to the editor of the Ubyssey. i'Gregory Andrews, Assistant to the President, had a tough iob of curtailing university spending. Because of heavy building program and expanded faculties, UBC found itself S700,000.00 in the hole, with professors asking for a straight 51,000.00 raise. While President MacKenzie beseeked governments for higher grants, Professor Andrews had to curtail budgets. KN.. ,W 5 Z If Z7

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Siucfenia roug ucceaafuf year, N degree of skill and authority by carefully examining each expenditure and making certain it was justified. A new policy which he introduced, that of token budgets for all campus organizations, brought them closer to the AMS and made them feel that they were getting the value from their fees. Secretary Io-Anne Strutt graduated from a similar position on the NFCUS committee to Student Council and brought with her not only training for the posi- tion but also a fine sense of humour which helped to lighten some of the more serious moments. She handled minutes, correspondence and other paper work with a professional touch and still found time to act as chief returning officer for the society elections in the spring. lt was typical of her work that invariably Council minutes were approved as read . Sole lawyer on this year's executive was Cy McGuire, who had the iob of handling the oft-maligned and seldom praised Undergraduate Societies Commit- tee. As one of the senior members of Council, McGuire's sage advice was useful both to his own com- mittee and to the parent group. Accomplishments of the USC included sponsoring the blood drive, co- operation with the engineers on the March of Dimes and a very successful investigation of campus eating places. Pert, third year Commerce student, Sally Heard. was caught up in the general shuffle of Council members that took place early in the fall. As vice- president of the Women's Undergraduate Society, she fell heir to the presidency of that group when Nonie Donaldson moved up to head the AMS. Faced with the difficult position of taking over in mid-stream, she effectively lead WUS in its sponsorship of such events as High Iinx, tea dances, the all-girls' football game and the fashion show. One of the youngest members of Council, 20-year- old Ivan Feltham, nevertheless handled the position of Iunior Member with the poise and assurance of a senior statesman. Homecoming, his chief responsibil- ity, was undoubtedly the best yet and included such new items as the colorful float parade and the present- ing of the Great Trekker Award both of which will undoubtedly become an integral part of future pro- grams. Aside from this, he rendered valuable service on the Brock Extension Committee, the Constitutional Revision Committee and Council as a whole. In certain Council positions, the less heard about them, the more successful they are. Such was the case of lim Midwinter in his capacity as Social Co- ordinator, for he tied the innumerable loose ends together so effectively and worked out the kinks with such quiet deftness that the average student scarcely realized what was going on. Although taking his fourth year in a double honours course, Midwinter nevertheless found time to be on hand constantly to keep the complex campus social program in order. Y4 organize Erosh Orientation Week and act as co- chairman of the Constitutional Revision Committee. Scholastically, Midwinter proved one of the brighter points on a brainy Council. Late in December the university announced that he was the Rhodes Scholar for UBC. Following the example of his older brother, Ed. Pederson graduated from secretary to chairman of the complex Literary and Scientific Executive which serves as a focal point for most of the cultural events on the campus. VVith an ever-present smile and sin- cere desire to co-operate with all groups, Pederson not only ran his organization capably but also introduced such new items as the highly-successful Vlleekly Special Events Series. For the first time in the memory of most students. the Men's Athletic Directorate was run this year not by an athlete but by an administrator. Although in fourth year of Physical Education and a former senior manager of basketball, Brock Ostrom drew most of his experience, not from the playing field but from the council table and the committee meeting. lt was iust such experience, gathered over a period of three years. that enabled him to handle student athletics so effec- tively. His chief contribution, and a history-making one at that, was the formulating of the so-called E' 'A'Secretary Jo-Anne Strutt worked hard to keep society corres- pondence moving smoothly. Early in February she was handed the thankless task of Election Head for AMS elections. 29 fi' a ' if t t