Wake Forest University - Howler Yearbook (Winston Salem, NC)

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Education should give a person an appreciation for his world to more than fill his leisure time. is too isolated it cannot be either the inspiration or the testing ground for these ideas. The school must inter- act with its world. Regardless of the actions of the most socially in- volved administration and faculty, it takes a truly in- terested student body to create an atmosphere which transcends the confines of the school. Only then does education today reach the student and the world. But where is Wake Forest in this grand scheme? Out- wardly, Wake Forest exists in its red brick and white columns and a concrete kind of sculpture. The railings still say WFC and the same light posts form parallel rows with the trees. And Reynolda Gardens is an escape any time of the year. There are the cells which they call boys ' dorm rooms, and the big lecture rooms with immovable desks. And alongside these there are the comfortable quiet of the rare book room, the privacy of Davis Chapel, the swings to play on, the holly trees and the old desks with their curious scratches. These are all part of a picture we see every day and they frame a life here. But it is people who make Wake Forest; they make it for themselves and others. They come to find what they want, and if they find it here, that is good, if they do not. then they make what they want or they leave. The facilities, the books, and the activities and suggestions are here, but it is up to these people to make their own challenge and their own edu- cation. Students and faculty and administrators, friends and strangers, the apathetic and the caring, these are the faces and minds that mold the philosophy and tradi- tions of Wake Forest. To engage these people and this school there is a community and a world demanding attention. The Winston-Salem community of Stratford Road homes and East Winston challenges Wake Forest. The Urban Institute, the Speech Institute and the Ecumenical In- stitute all grow from the University ' s desire to actively confront its community. In turn there is a dynamic in- teraction between the student and his community, on an individual basis. In a developing awareness of the plea for universities to contribute to the communities which support them, Wake Forest students operated the Patterson Avenue Mission, volunteered as aides at the Graylyn Child Guidance Clinic and raised money for food for Biafra. Of course, at National Election time students and professors alike campaigned for local and national candidates. Nixon even won the mock election this year — the first time that Wake Forest has ever picked a winner. All the accusations in the student demonstrations and in the newspapers are well-founded unless schools and students alike challenge the incon- sistencies and injustices of our world. Expression of this social consciousness, however, is only a manifestation of the basic lessons of college life. These rather intangible lessons are the insights into alternative solutions to problems and the values and the sensations that a student gleans from his world of classes, entertainment and friends. In some classes, for instance, a student may have that true learning experience which lasts for only a few minutes. That is, he may suddenly see a relationship

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velop his values because, while thinking makes actions responsible, only values make actions honest and rele- vant. These values, however, must be self-conceived to be truly believed in. not inhaled from a sermon to be desecrated. A life of involved action — whether as a housewife, an athlete, a businessman, a teacher, as politician or a father — must be responsible and relevant to be meaningful. College is not just the training for this involved life; college is a segment of this life. A year of this experience produces a change, a change in the student and in society, and these changes in attitudes and values interact. They interact to bring progress, cooperation, protest, emotional conflicts and the ecstasy of genuine communication. This interaction occurs in everyday life when one involves himself in his world by sharing himself with other people and dedicating himself to his work. Ideally, the most concentrated scene of this involve- ment is the college campus. Ordinarily this setting is heterogeneous enough to inspire a wide breadth of so- cial and individual experimentation and criticism. At the same time, it is remote enough for the control and study of man ' s attempt to determine himself and his world. This rose-colored, laboratory view of the campus may be somewhat unfortunate, however, because if it

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or a rationale which never existed for him before. Or he may have fun proving a theorem. This excitement in learning is part of the motivation in education. It is indeed sad when a student hears a poem read to him in class, and he is embarrassed because it makes him want to cry or because he wants to jump up and say. Hey, I ' ve felt that way, too. No one should feel this type of embarrassment. True learning cannot take place until there is an emotional response. Nonetheless, some students complain of a non-intellec- tual atmosphere. They bemoan superfluous courses and an infrequency of seminars and independent study. They say that professors merely lecture and never en- courage class discussion. But they note, too, that when discussion is encouraged, many students do not par- ticipate. Much of what these unsatisfied students seek is already at Wake Forest; it is here for them to take an active interest in and to build upon. But the chal- lenge of this sensitive atmosphere and demanding cur- riculum will not be laid in their laps, it will be available for them to grasp. Of course, there are other students who do not care at all for arguing radical ideas or confronting new at- titudes. Even in their conservatism, however, they have learned from their exposure to these ideas. A small class in which they can talk and disagree with their professor is not where they feel most comfortable: they would rather take lecture notes. And text books are what they prefer in classes; they do not work well within the confines of a reading list or student investi- gation and presentation of a topic. Because these stu- dents are more at ease in and more familiar with this atmosphere of lectures and objective quizzes they do not seek out such field studies as the Anthropology department ' s summer in Belize or the freedom of in- dependent study. Wake Forest offers both of these atmospheres to the student, as its liberal arts curriculum demands. If the idea of this polarity in academic structure is bother- some, one must realize that each student will seek and develop his most conducive atmosphere for study. In the curriculum changes which are promised for the near future, students will find new structures to meet their needs and new and exciting challenges. This is the tradition of Wake Forest. A parallel to these disparities of academic life is the range of life styles of the different students. For the die-hard Greek there is a fellowship that exists best where it is talked about least, and for the independent, as many friendships and activities as he craves. Ml