Yale University - Banner / Pot Pourri Yearbook (New Haven, CT)

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the basic trends and motivations . . . what were the Yale man's problems . . . how did he meet them . . . how true was the indictment against him? These were issues far beyond the limited scope of a seventy-question survey, they were is- sues which could be determined and delineated only in the light of events yet to come, in the stark black words of headlines yet to be written. But even in the limited area of present condi- tions, even in the relatively narrow context of Yale itself, certain hypotheses began to take form. First among these were theories of the basic pat- terns in Yale life-what makes the Yale man tick. The drives and motivations which characterized the Yale man in 1953 seemed suited in some re- spects to the rest of his generation, in other areas there was a measure of dissimilarity. What were these drives, and what were their effects? First in importance, perhaps, was a drive for con- formity and uniformity. The Yale man felt an impelling need to do as others did, to think as others thoughtg he seemed to feel an aversion to any activity of the mind or of the body which smacked of the radical. To be different was to be queer. And no matter what the loss of indi- viduality it entailed, this was largely the pattern which the Yale man followed. The traditional ladder of success appeared to be a fundamental tenet in the Yale scheme of things. The president of the Political Union had acidly etched the Yale success story in terms of Green- wich born, Andover bred, Fence polished, Bones tapped. A few would rebel against the system, would make bitter attacks against what was de- nounced as a hypocritical and shallow com- munity, but the vast majority not only abided by it, but stood by it. To most Yale men it was almost a religion-a faith which, though other values, other institutions might fall or shift, would con- tinue to be valid and recognized. To those outside the Yale community it was a mark of immaturity, of school-boy symbolism and hero-worship. To those who lived under the standards and values it enforced, it was, for four brief years, a way of life. To the thoughtful observer, one of the most striking aspects of the Yale scene is the cleavage between the ideal and reality, the ever-widening chasm between what the Yale man wanted and valued and the action he was willing to take to achieve these goals. The prime example is in his academic work: with rare but notable exceptions, the Yale man values studies above the other phases of his life at Yale, with even rarer exception, he Twrufy-eigbt is unwilling to sacrifice his heavily-occupied leisure time, unwilling to drop his characteristic attitude of indifference to give his studies an amount of time and effort commensurate with the value he places on them. Yale as a university is dedicated to Lux et Veritas, to her students, these words are frequently only empty slogans on full highball glasses. What of the so-called uindictmentf, the charges of stagnation and apathy and sterility which were leveled not only at the Yale man, but at his entire generation? How is the validity of these accusations supported or denied by the Survey? The answer is one of complexity and, in many cases, of relativism. The cautious withdrawal from the demands of life, the dearth of creative work, the sparseness of outspoken individualism-these seem to give a degree of credence to the Wasteland-like picture of the generation presented by its critics. There is little doubt that this era is one of inarticulation, of quiet but ever-present skepticism, of intellectual numbness. Historians will have pains to find a hero among the members of the past generation. There were few Merriwells in 1953, fewer Stovers. But is the indictment thus completely supported by the picture of the Yale man? The defenders of the generation cry out a loud and resounding denial. The 1948 Banner Survey found that The most outstanding characteristic of the Yale politi- cal community was apathy. Its 1953 counterpart reflected a sharply contrasting picture: the high interest in the political campaign and the ardent support of both candidates among students fsee Political Survey followingj was in direct refutal of the charges of stagnation and indifference. Indeed, the entire poll seemed to indicate that within this generation there is much that is hope- ful, much which is ignored by its critics. Professor Richard B. Sewall, speaking to the class of 1952, said, There has been more productive discussion and good argument in your generation at Yale than in any I can remember. Perhaps herein we find a key to the hope which still exists for the intellectual survival of the so-called Silent Generation. They are silent because there are no voluble martyrs, no fire-eaters, no silver-tongued orators. But in the classroom there is not silence. There the genera- tion is, in the words of Thornton Wilder, fashion- ing Twentieth-Century Man. It is in this setting that the generation recognizes that the time is out of joint, and it is against this background that it realizes that it was born to set it right. -P.Z.

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Fraternity men thus seem to deemphasize the importance of academic endeavors and, in the so- cial phase of Yale life, tend to emphasize scope and latitude of acquaintanceship rather than the depth of close friendships. Whether these tendencies were basic in the fraternity man's make-up, or whether they were fraternity sponsored or induced was diffi- cult to determine, but whatever the cause, the result was clear: a definite line of division between groups, a definite friction between conflicting sets of values. The small set at Yale which considers itself shoe fsee earlier discussion under social j is only slightly at variance with the Yale norm in most aspects of university life. In the few cases where there is a noticeable difference, the shoe group tends to follow fraternity activities and values. Inconsistency of cross-correlated findings would seem to indicate that white shoe is in most cases a misnomer. Socially, white shoe men have a few more cars, a few more dates per month, and see the same number of movies as do their brown shoe or black shoe classmates. Paradoxically, as pointed out earlier, the categories have little or no relation to the actual color of one's shoes. This set studies less, prefers Vassar girls somewhat more, and has usually identical reading habits with the rest of Yale. In general, then, the white shoe group is nebulous and shifting, but with a small compact core at the center-a core which cannot even agree what constitutes membership and why. How does the passing of time affect the student,s acceptance or rejection of Yale's standards? What effect does the aging process have upon the fresh- man as he moves forward and into his senior year? Is he mellowed-or hardened? A trend toward maturity is increasingly ap- parent, but at the same time it is clear that the senior shows a marked inability to profit from the errors of earlier experience. One-fifth more of the class of 1953 had decided on a career than in the class of 1956, but there was still a substantial sector in each group which was undecided. As the freshman became the senior he would smoke more -an increase of almost 200123, he would drink more--only 6'ffQ, of seniors, one-third of the freshman class do not drink. His dating would steadily increase: only VZ of the class of 1956 dated from three to five times a month, over half the senior class did so. The senior would study considerably less than the freshman, only half as many would study over six hours for a subject in a week's time. This de- emphasizing of studies was perhaps most clearly shown in the answers to two of the questions men- tioned earlier: If you could belong to only one during your Yale career, to which one of the fol- lowing would you most like to belong?,' and What aspect of your Yale experience will be most valuable to you in later life? A marked decrease in the weight given to academic striving and a decided rise in the value placed upon eXtra-cur- ricular activity and social experience-these were the signs of the times. The starry-eyed freshman, with high hopes for the bright college years to come, emerges from the Yale experience with an altered set of values, an altered view of life outside Yale. Once again ready to take the first halting steps in a new adventure, a new challenge, the class of 1953 seemed to have doubts, conflicts, little certainty as to the future. The freshman had come full circle. . . . But Is There a Yale Mann? The questions which were posed at the outset of this section are overwhelming ones: What were The 2173 who considered themselves shoe saw more movies, had more dates and cars, showed a marked preference for Vassar l WITH L f , . 133.1 ' pf e 7 X c XC C -Ag if' ,wr :rj , f,..i-f , f Twerzly-xeuerz

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fb l'ourtesy of the .Vcw Haven Register , NM,-.- Yale in om Election Year American politics seemed to have reached a new point of departure. For two decades the Demo- cratic party had held sway over a shifting political, social, and economic scene. The era had seen in the early thirties one third of a nation ill-housed, ill-clad, and ill-nourished , it saw, twenty years later, the fulfillment of the American dream--full employment. On the domestic scene, it had felt the birth pangs of a new concept of American government. Beyond the national borders, it had heard the death rattle of an aspiring foreign trium- virateg but it had soon witnessed a new threat -Communism--arising to threaten American security. As the atmosphere of the political arena began to tighten with the impending clash, the Demo- crats claimed credit for bringing prosperity and peace to the country, the Republicans charged that twenty years of Democratic political supremacy had brought with it corruption and inefficiency. How did the Yale man view the candidates and the issues of the day? Are 'radicals' or 'reactionariesl the more dan- gerous to what you consider the American way of life?', Seventy per cent checked 'radical'-a strik- ing contrast to the figure of 48 i recorded in answer to the same question asked in the 1948 Banner. Five years had seen a marked trend back to conservatism, fear of Communism and inquisi- torial 'Qsubversive lists was reflected in Yale's re- nunciation of radical thought and action. The American mixed economic system of government control of monopoly plus individual ownership came in for a high degree of favor. Eighty-three per cent thought it the best eco- nomic system for America , all alternatives to the left received a total of only 351. This was a campaign which held more interest for the Yale man than had any political event in many years. Candidates for both nominations- Taft, Kefauver, and Harriman-were Yale men. Adlai Stevenson was a Princetonian whose ties to the east were apparentg Dwight Eisenhower was the president of Columbia. To the eastern college student then, it was an election whose appeal could hardly be denied. How would you describe the intensity of your interest in the campaign?', Three of five Uexpressed opinions freelyng the Hgure was slightly higher in the sector favoring Eisenhower. At Yale, as will be noted later, the fashionable choice was Eisenhower, and Stevenson supporters were infrequently vocal, when they did speak, however, it was with a fervor and a faith approaching idolatry. Tlt'l'IIl-1'-7lfII4