University of Wisconsin Eau Claire - Periscope Yearbook (Eau Claire, WI)

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 Rolinment is that curious station in life set aside for cocktail hours on a Florida patio, carting the grandchildren to Disneyworld. voyaging on a luxurious ocean liner and living a peaceful and unfettered existence while life quietly meanders by. Please don't tell this to Benny Burdt, however. While many older persons grow fat and complacent on the fruit of their working years, a bald and bespectacled Benny Burdt retains the crisp eagerness and physical structure of a welterweight prizefighter awaiting the initial bell. Instead of gulping olives and cheese dip. Burdt has been swallowing knowldcge at UWEC for the past five years. Following his retirement as an electrical constructionist in 1973. Burdt decided at age 65. to give college a try. Burdt never finished his high school education. Through a University program he is allowed to audit classes at no charge. During one semester he audited 22 credits, but admitted he didn’t do it justice. My interest in the Bible made me come here, he said. Plus. I've learned and believe strongly that you must be physically and academically balanced to lead a rewarding life. At school, Burdt enjoys his relationships with his more outwardly youthful peers. I've found by being with young people I learn something from them and they learn from me. It’s the dialogue which makes life interesting. Burdt maintains his physical balance through a regular diet of physical education courses and careful eating habits. In the spring. Burdt said he resumes his bicycling hobby. When the weather is suitable, he said, rides his bike from home to school, a fourteen or Fifteen mile round trip. I've always let nature take its course and lived one day at a time. he replied. 1 consider today the first day of the rest of my life. Variety however, is really the spice of life. Despite his five years of college tenure. Burdt still emits the enthusiasm of a first semester freshman. Being with young people makes you feel younger too. Burdt said-O Above: Benny Burdt took note during a class discussion in one of his philosophy courses. V. - Bockto-school St

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Back-to-school Dreaming the possible dream While the majority of students on campus arc 18 to 25 years old. they are not the only students. There arc stu-dents in their 30s, 40s. 50s. 60s. 70s and 80s. In fact. Marcy White, senior citizen education advisor, said one student on campus is 89. White said the Senior Citizen Education Program offers free education to anyone 62 years and older who wishes to audit a class. There were more than 80 students enrolled in the program during the spring semester. White said there will be more than 100 enrolled next fall. “We offer them free education since auditors do not create any extra work for instructors. White said. They do not write papers or take exams, so the instructors do not have to correct any of their work. “Even though they are auditors, they arc still encouraged to participate in class.” White said the older students are issued ID cards, which entitle them to student rates. They are also entitled to free parking under the program, she said. “They hunt for parking spaces just like the other students, White said. Some of them arrive at 7 am to make sure they have a parking place. White said the students take a variety of courses. 'They take anything from cross country skiing to history of Wisconsin to religious studies. she said. “A lot of students take courses about things they have come in contact with during their lifetimes and want to pursue. The Senior Citizen Program began four years ago. White said, when UW-System Regent. John Levine, suggested the university accept senior citizens. When the program began, older students were paying half tuition to audit classes. White said she actively recruits people to the Senior Citizen Program, speaking to retirement groups and nursing homes. T would like to see a grant from the federal government that would help fund such a program. White said. Because the birthrate is down, the number of people attending universities is going to decrease. If something isn't done to attract a larger number of older students, classes arc going to have to be dropped. O -------------------- Arlene MacDonald For Arlene MacDonald, part-time journalism student, obtaining a degree is a personal accomplishment. With three children in college and one in junior high. I decided to go back and finish my original major and English minor. she said. Having a sheet of paper that says 'Tve graduated will help her find a job. she said. MacDonald hopes to be a free-lance writer following her December graduation. She said living near campus also encouraged her to return to school. MacDonald said she finds time for her family, while maintaining her involvement in volunteer work. You have to learn to use your time more wisely.” she said. And some nights you stay up late studying. “I've found that I don't have time for entertaining the neighbors anymore. she said. Coffee clutches have ended. MacDonald said no one makes her feel older, the students treat her as another classmate, not their mother. Her children have accepted her studies with cheerful wisdom. she said. They are interested in her schoolwork and tease her when she receives phone calls concerning classes from male journalism students. 'They think it's funny when the boys call me Arlene. she said, and they call me Mom. o Left: Arlene MacDonald, journalism student and Chuck Cohont. tpent time in the photography lab developing pictures lor press photography. 30 Bock-loschool

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Charting new courses Program settles a sea of stereotypes — By Sue Montgomery The women's studies program provides students with compensatory education. Carol Fairbanks, visiting English instructor and women's studies coordinator, said. It is compensating for a lack of information on women in history, literature and professions which both men and women need, Fairbanks said. Fairbanks was hired as coordinator of women’s studies in February. 1977. There were courses in women's studies offered, but the administration wanted to expand the program, Fairbanks said. As coordinator, Fairbanks has established enough women's studies courses to provide a topical minor. Students develop a topical minor in women's studies by selecting 24 hours of course work in the area. The first women's studies course was offered by the sociology department in 1970. In 1972 the English department began Images of Women in Contemporary Literature and the religious studies department, Women and Religion: The Emancipation of Eve. Senior business management major Cheryl Pett took another course. Women in History, when it was of- fered during the first two weeks of summer school. She said there were almost as many men as women enrolled in the course. “I wanted to see the difference between this history class and other classes 1 have taken.” Pett said. It was totally different to sec history through the eyes of women and to learn how they were affected by events. Religious studies major Bill Cullen said he gained a new perspective on women through a women's studies course. Cullen was the only male to take Contemporary Images of Women in Literature second semester. It is not a feminist course, Cullen said, “it is a course about the female point-of-view. I wish more guys would take the class because it could add a lot to the male perspective about women and force them to get away from their macho self-image. It also forces a lot of women to think in ways they never have before—about exploitation, for example. Fairbanks said courses which examined male and female roles, were offered to attract more men to women's studies courses. Women in Cross-Cultural Perspective, in the anthropology department. Male Female Quests: An Archetypal Approach to Fiction, Film and the Funnypapcrs. in the English department and Men and Women: The Sociology of Sex Roles, in the sociology department were new courses team taught during the spring semester. The program involves more than women's studies courses. Fairbanks said the Women's Studies Bibliographic Center and Reading Room on the second floor of the library was developed this year. The bibliographic center includes the Helen X. Sampson file, a collection of regional, state, national and international material covering 226 topics pertaining to women. The reading room also has u rotating collection of books, pamphlets and periodicals relating to current women's studies courses. Fairbanks said the consistent enrollment, coupled with the academically sound courses offered, and the support of department chairpersons indicates women's studies is not a pass- . — i—MLiai i