University of Louisville - Thoroughbred Yearbook (Louisville, KY)

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P 7, : ¢ 74 ee A First Course in Calm } Monch ! O!”té“‘ éiédS A look at the Freshman Symposium experiment on the Kentucky Southern Campus. A REVOLUTION IN EDUCATION inventory by Carolyn Yetter Phase II is: (1) An impotent economic policy; (2) A sexy fouride toothpaste; (3) A de-Vietnamization program; (4) A nuclear explosion index; (5) A revolution. It could be any or all of the above, but on the University of Louisville’s East Campus, Phase Il is the second half of a bloodless, non-violent revolution which began in earnest late last August. Over 95 “revolutionaries” guided by five “ringleaders” and several ‘‘coordinators” concen- trated their efforts not on razing buildings or terrorizing the pop- ulace, but on undermining the “enemy” — the traditional academic structure. Their plan was to subvert the system by abandoning Belknap campus with its years of trad- ition that are proudly touted in admissions brochures. Their wea- pons were books, their minds, and their ingenuity. Thus over 95 freshman, five instructors, and a group of student staff aides began a trad- ition which may eventually have more meaning and impact than the hallowed portraits in the Administration Building or the tree-shadowed brick walls of Gardiner Hall. The group formed, partici- pated in, revised, and adapted to the Freshman Symposium, which was held for the first year on the old Kentucky South- ern Campus, now known as UL’s East Campus. The theme of the symposium was “A Revo- lution in Ideas’ which con- cluded its first semester in De- cember and is at the time of this writing beginning the wind-up of the second. Its structure is unorthodox, and the techniques might seem shocking and upsetting to any- one who has “successfully” adapted to the rigidity of today’s college life. But the participants are almost unanimous in their support for the program, de- spite a few relatively insigni- ficant drawbacks. There are no grades for the freshmen, and no exams. Stu- dents call teachers by their first names, and students have the option to make or break the program. Field trips, large for- mal presentations, and small eight-person interest groups place the emphasis on inte-

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Lonely night-- the leaves scraping across the driveway. Fran Cornett The hot city projects. . . an old street peddler selling puppies. Fran Cornett 15

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grating knowledge rather than segregating compartments of knowledge into isolated courses. This has resulted in, among other things, the presentation of the play “Everyman” by a group of symposium students, a field trip to experience pol- lution in Louisville, and a bus trip to an Indianapolis art museum. The program is so new that it is still in the experimental stage. During the first semester, several students felt that the program leaned too heavily in the humanities direction, and this semester more social and natural science topics have been injected into the program. The program is bent toward exploring the liberal arts world through discussions, with the hope of finding some partial answers to today’s crises. In contrast to Belknap, where stu- dents set out with a schedule and hope to find classes that fit it — regardless of what they are — the symposium students have a say in what they want to learn and experience. Time is set aside for special interest groups, ranging in everything from yoga to photography. They are usually l@d by one of the five instructors or a student staff member. The instructors themselves do not limit their teacher-student relationship to their chosen fields. Joel Gwinn, a physicist, conducted a group in photo- graphy, while Mel Greer, former chairman of the philosophy department, leads a yoga group during lunch time. Ray Bixler, psychologist and symposium co- ordinator, reviews students’ Eng- lish papers. Greer verbalized the senti- ments of the other four mem- bers when he said that he had learned not only from the other instructors but from his students during his first attempt at team- teaching unstructured courses. The teachers not only lead the interest groups, but try their hand at one another’s fields. Gwinn analyzes poetry which would normally have been the exclusive field of Elaine Wise,