FACULTYAIRS VIEWS
EDITOR'S NOTE
Editor's note: The purpose of this page is to enable the faculty to
air its opinons. Each selected faculty member was given an outline
and each in his own, sought to answer our questions in addition to
supplying his respec t ive personal touches. The staff wishes to thank
those interested faculty members for participating in our
experiment. It is hoped that this type of operation will be continued
in the future.
DR. S ANTULLI setting here. People are not
I assume the question of_ numbers. They interact and
success has to do with often on a _personal basis. The
educational objectives. Helping . irony, however, rests with the
students educationally is burgeoning physical plant and
difficult—for two reasons. First, the sense of transition and
most students come to school caha n g e th a t w e ar e
for job training, because of experiencing. We need to
parental or peer group pressures, carefully establish effective plans
socialization or for want of for this change without
nothing better to do. And when sacrificing our relationships to
at school, 'these same students each other. It is to be duly noted
seem to follow one of three that our faculty is commited and
paths: Take the path of least that the result of this
resistance and let it all happen is commitment is manifested in the
the most common respone. outstanding scholars that we
Accept the conventional norms send to University Park. This
or the prevailing bureaucracy sens of perspective usually
and try to beat the system is a comes late to the student, but
less frequent " response. Get the nostalgia for the campus
educated by discovering yourself runs strong—witness the number
and your world is rare indeed. of students who return for a
In this respect, the second visit.
difficulty in education becomes The students here offer a
prominet. In my field, if not in challenge to the teacher. A
all fields, one doesn't 'teach' the major problem rests with the
student the subject but provides attitude that treats the campus
opportunities, perspectives and as a 'suitcase' college. The new
alternatives. Education is Physical Education building
self-discovery, and any year is together with the Library will
successful for me where I have help to remedy this situation but
an opportunity to assist in such I'd like to see more student
an enterprise. So, in the final involvement in the life and
analysis, success is difficult to welfare of the campus. Students
measure since the pay off on this campus are interesting
doesn't generally come in because they come across as
immediately but only in the the peopla and not abstractions or
long run. role players. But they need
Outside of the classroom, I torefme their interest, demand
am very active in an ecology. more of what is important and
project headed by the Freestone more fully tap the resources on
Chapter of Trouts Unlimited. hand.
I've translated this interest into In spite of the obstacles and
the formation of the Hazleton Problems, something of value
Campus Ecology Club, I have happens at the Hazleton
been pleased with the activities Campus. That's why I am
of this group in working on a here--not so much out of
stream clean-up and obligation as out of a sense of
development project on Fishing purpose.
Dr. Michael Santulli
Creek. I think such projects not
only help the student to realize
something of himself and the
relevance of ideas to pressing
social needs, but, in turn, benefit
the community at large. The
American College sees the
relationshipbetween the school
and society as a vital one. We
cannot afford ivory towers in
the face of urgent social
problems.
The Philosophy Department
has recently initiated a course
re-numbering program which
will make more specialized
courses more interesting and
accessible to students on
Commonwealth Campuses.
Generally speaking, there are
fewer prerequisites and more
100 level courses
Personlly, although
Humanities course book lists are
prescribed, I intentionallychange
courses and change book lists to
keep Philosophy courses away
from becoming sterile and
hackneyed.
There is a great irony to this
campus which is, in large part,
the basis of its uniqueness. The
campus tends to be 'behind the
times' in its sense of tradition.
There is a sense of a family
PROF. KAFKA
Professor Andrew Kafka is a
teacher who enjoys his work. He
has a philosophy and a set of
specific goals for his course
`Effective Speech.' His variety of
course objectives includes an
understanding of appropriate
principles and methods of
speech communication; an
understanding of human
behaviors involved in the act of
speech communications; the
development of critical listening;
and an appreciation of the
social, professional, and ethical
responsibilities in speech
communications in a variety of
social situations. The students
are able to utilize these goals by
participition in preparation and
delivery of short talks, round
table discussions, panel
discussion, appraisal of fellow
students, serving as agenda
chairman and completing
written exams. Professor Kafka
believes that he must -always
strive for the students. success
and the fulfillment of the goals
of the course.
MR. McKINSTRY
As per your invitation to
offer an opinion about the
Hazleton Campus, I will suggest
some positive steps that
could/should be taken to
enhance the learning atmosphere
for students and faculty.
There are some assumptions
that must be made in order for
the steps to be viewed as
necessary. One assumption is
that college programs will
provide meaning and awareness
to one's self-perception. In the
process of education, each of us
has the opportunity to master
concepts and/or develop
expertness. In general, specific
courses do just that. As an aid to
positive self-perception, then,
the specific courses are the
vehicle.
A second assumption is that
students and faculty are involved
in what the Hazleton Campus of
the University has to offer.
Perhaps a rephrasing will make
this supposition clear. Most
students and faculty would like
to be involved in the
understanding and awareness of
the world to the extent that it
has a personal meaningfulness,
utilizing the limited, yet for the
most part adequate, facilities of
universities.
Further assumptions can be
encompassed under a general
heading such as social-self
fulfillment desires. This can be
incorporated in the general
atmosphere of the university
without personal
over-commitment and without
university self serving
requirements.
With these assumptions made,
then the focus of attention is the
individual student.l believe that
we have the wherewithal! to
adequately plan a program with
and for Paeh individual student.
Professor Kafka is interested
in enriching the cultural life of
the campus, the university and
the community. He serves as the
a dvisor of the
BELLES-LETTRES SOCIETY.
This organization is dedicated to
promoting fellowship among the
faculty and students by
stimulating the love of literature
and the allied arts.
Another interest of Professor
Kafka is NEW HORIZONS, a
magazine published by the
STUDENTS FOR A CREATIVE
SOCIETY. He believes that the
purpose of NEW HORIZONS is
to encourage that still silent
voice inside each student that
causes him to wonder if his
writings can be enjoyed and
appreciated by another.
Professor Kafka closed by
stating, 'I wish to commend all
campus activities, the
administration, and work of
Dean McCallus and Mr. Fogelson
in the highest lauditory terms
for a job well done.'
HIGHACRES COLLEGIAN,
With some minor elaboration,
the advisor system and the
Career Development and
Placement Division (formerly
'the Division of Counseling) a
reasonable set of goals could be
set forth for each student. This
sets of goals should-could-would
include alternatives. They should
also reflect the limitations of the
institution, in regard to helping
the student meet his goals.
However, if the institutional goal
is realistically stated in the
assumptions, then the institution
should serve the needs of the
student. Efforts locally and
within general University (and
even extended more broadly to
universities) must remain open
to such questions as to serving
the needs of the student. It is
true that not all 'students are
aware enough of themselves to
choose from among realistic
alternatives. It is true that not all
faculty will be able to serve the
individual needs of all students
in a particular course. But, by
reflecting on the principle of
individual enhancement, we will
come closer to meaningful and
purposeful utilization of _the
university. This leads us to the
question of HOW.
Quick answers as to how
would include: 1. small classes
(15 to 20 students) for most
courses so that personal needs
can be expressed and
incorporated into the specific
courses. 2. administrative
decisions made from the point
of view rather than self-serving
efficiency or ease of
performance. 3. supportive
faculty so that instruction can
become the true facility of
learning that it should be; 4.
consideration of safe guards to
protect students, faculty and
administration from coercive
influence on one another.
Mr. Richard McKinistry
73-74
CALENDAR
ANNOUNCED
The University Calendar for
the 1973-74 year is as follows:
SUMMER - TERMIM
June 20, 21, 22
Weds-Fri-Ofienta-lion and
Registration
June 25 Mon.-
begin
July 4, Wed.- No classes
August 18, Sat.- Classes
end
August 20-22 Mon.-Wed.-
Final Exams
August 26, Sunday-
Commencement
FALL TERM 1973
September 4-7 Tues.-Fri.-
Orientation and Registration
September 10 Mon.-
Classes begin
November 17, Sat.-Classes
end
November 19-21
Mon.-Wed.- Final Exams
December 1, Sat.-
Commencement
JUNE 7, 1973 PAGE THREE
MRS. BODENSTEIN
On being asked last week to
write for the Highacres
COLLEGIAN, I was at first at a
complete loss as to what to do
about this task. The request
came on a Wednesday, my
heaviest dayof teaching; a busy
weekend at University Park for a
departmental meeting was ahead
of me; and Memorial Day—a
break in the academic
routine--was now threatened
with, of all things, a 'Faculty
Critique!' Suddenly I telt as
you doubtless do when asked to
write those English 1 class
essays! Some guidelines,
however, were given and I finally
selected this question: 'Has the
school year been a successful
one for you and/or your
students? I decided on the topic
after re-reading a 'Letter,'
written especailly for our school
magazine by the headmistress of
my old London school. In this
particular letter she wrote: 'lt is
a good thing to take stock of the
year that has gone, to see
wherein we have fallen short,
and wherein we have gone
forward: it is a good thing to
overhaul our equipment and to
see whether it is in good
condition to meet the
adventures of the next twelve
months. No leader of an
expedition leaves preparation to
chance; his ship is fitted out
with care and forethought. You
are learning to steer in the
expedition of life. I wonder how
many of you have thought what
you need in your ship for next
year!'
These words are as good
today as they were, I hate to say
how may years ago. Let us take
stock: what has the last year
laccomplished? Where are our
shortcomings? What equipment
'should be on our ship?
For me, the school year has
been successful in that I feel I
have accomplished the many
tasks assigned, academic and
otherwise, to my satisfaction. Of
course, it takes students to give a
teacher this good feeling-my
success is yours, too. And this
year, it seems to me that the
student is a 'different breed of
cat.' During the academic
turmoil of the past five years, I
believe that old and young,
teacher and taught, too, a good,
hard look at each other and
learned much. The outcome of
this scrutiny seems to be that
each has learned to respect and
appreciate the other. The
student's attitude is no longer 'I
dare you to teach me,' but
rather, 'Teach me - I'm willing to
learn.' Results for me this past
year: no flunks in Ger 1 and 2,
and it is to hoped none in Ger 3!
About taking stock of our
shortcomings--well, I know
mine, and you know them too! I
shall continue to work on them.
As for yours, they are mostly
the shortcomings of youth, and
as you mature, many of the
ailings will correct themselves.
But work at them! Grow up!
And lastly, what will you
need aboard your ship for the
next year? You will need, as an
old prayer hath it, SERENITY
o accept those things you
cannot change, the COURAGE
to change those things you can,
and, finally, the WISDOM to
know the difference. A goodly
cargo for 1973-74. Godspeed!
Mrs. Eli7aheth Bodenstein
Classes