Yeshiva University - Masmid Yearbook (New York, NY)

Page 19 text:

never pursue literature as a trade. — Samuel taylor coleridge though the faculty rarely demanded anything more than regurgitation of facts, it was mainly student attitudes which produced the anti-intellectual atmosphere at Yeshiva College. Most students simply weren ' t interested in a liberal arts education; they had come to college to acquire pre-professional training, if one ' s objective was to get into a good graduate or professional school, then the ultimate goal of the college mission became piling up as many aces as possible, students simply assumed that it was impossible to get both good grades and a good education, in dealing with this supposed conflict between a liberal arts education and pre-professional training, a majority of individuals inevitably decided to devote their entire being to getting into graduate or professional school, in the process, they sacrificed not only the essence of the college experience but also an integral part of their personal developement. that shadow my likeness that goes to and fro seeking a livelihood, chattering, chaffering; how often i find myself standing and looking at where it flits.

Page 18 text:

throughout the term, each student followed his own path, however, as the term came to an end, the forks in the road always converged toward that ultimate period-finals, suddenly, there were no more joes or jocks, only sweating, trembling students. many run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased. — daniel 12:4 during finals no one eats, sleeps or talks, life is reduced to one big book, always present, always a part of our consciousness and subconsciousness. revelations are frequent during final week, who would have dreamt that joe basketball could actually read? who would have believed that F024 minnesota fats actually knew where the library was located, studying is only one weapon against finals, there are, hopefully others. your messages i hear, but faith has not been given; the dearest child of faith is miracle, goethe soon, however, it is over, or is it? 0, that a man might know the end of this days business ere it come! but it sufficeth that the day will end, and then the end is known. — Shakespeare

Page 20 text:

liberal education, viewed in itself, is simply the culturation of intellect as such, and its object is nothing more or less than intellectual excellence. — John henry newman college is supposedly an educational experi- ence, ideally, a liberal arts education should provide an individual with the knowledge and skills necessary to become a useful member of society, the educational process at yeshiva college left much to be desired in terms of reaching this ideal, most courses involved nothing more than an endless flow of facts from the instructor to the students, all that was needed to excel was the ability to memorize; critical analysis and original thought were often unsolicited, intellectuaiism was a phenomenon that was virtually non-existent, few students engaged in outside reading or in observing and learning from the world around them, for the most part, knowledge was confined to formal lectures and the assignments found in a printed syllabus. what we call education and culture is for the most part nothing but the substitution of reading for experience, of literature for life...... of absolute fiction for contemporary experience. — george bernard shaw