A-F Grading Is Adopted
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VOL. 55. No. 94 STATE COLLEGE PA.. FRIDAY MORNING. MARCH 4. 1955 FIVE CENTS
4 Recommendations
Passed by Cabinet
With little discussion, All-University Cabinet last night granted
$3O for Tribunal compensations, approved the Graduate Student As
sociation’s request, passed the academic honesty report, and the
amendments to the All-University Elections Code. The National
Student Association progress report was not brought up at the
Independents
Will Fill
2 Positions
Because the three political par
ties cannot find independent men
to run for office, only two of the
seven positions normally iheld by
men will be open to independent
men in the spring election.
Other positions except those
held by women—will be filled by
fraternity men.
The two positions open to in
dependent men are junior class
president and All-University vice
president.
This decision was made by the
Elections Committee, meeting
with the three party clique chair
men, last night.
“This campus is drained of
qualified candidates,” Robert Spi
daro, Lion party clique chairman,
commented.
“Not one single independent
has approached me” (to run for
office), John McMeekin, Campus
party chairman, said.
Rae DelleDonne, State party
clique chairman, said she had
“searched through” the student
directory and called all eligible
students and none said he would
run.
The Elections Committee re
luctantly agreed to allow a fra
ternity man to run for senior'class
president, although earlier in the
evening it had decided that the
post should be filled by ah inde
pendent.
It -took this action because the
chairmen said they could not find
any qualified independents to run.
Final nominations will be made
by the three parties at their clique
meetings Sunday night. Any stu
dent who has" attended one qr
more clique meetings may attend
the meetings.
Dulles Assures Chiang
Islands Not to Be Pawns
TAIPEI, Formosa, March 3 (If) —Secretary of, State Dulles as
sured President Chiang Kai-shek today Quemoy and the Matsus
would not be pawns in diplomatic moves for a cease-fire, sources
close to Dulles said.
These sources said abandonment of the offshore islands would
be considered only if the Nationalists agreed and if such a step
could bring a guarantee of peace
in Asia
Nationalist Vow
The Nationalists have vowed to
defend Quemoy and the Matsus
against the Communists. Chiang
himself seemed to throw cold
water on any attempt to tie his
hands shortly after Dulles left for
TODAY'S
■ WEATHER:
WINDY
WITH
SHOWERS
FOR A BETTER PENN STATE
meeting.
Otto Hetzel, Tribunal secretary
who presented the Tribunal re*
quests, asked for the compensa
tions for three members of Tri
bunal who are not getting com
pensation this year; His request
for raises in compensations for
next year was not passed.
Cabinet passed the Graduate
Student Association proposal that
funds from traffic violations be
divided between the graduate and
undergraduate student govern
ments. At present, all funds allor
cated for student government
are channeled into undergraduate
government.
, Money Division
Cabinet asked George Rapp,
graduate student who presented
the report, and Mark Weiner,
traffic court chairman, to discuss
with George Donovan, director of
Associated Student Activities,
proposed ways to divide money.
They will decide if a ratio of
graduates to undergraduates will
be used to determine the division
of money, or if the number of
fines by graduates will be tabu
lated and i turned over to their
government.
The Academic Hqnesty Com
mittee’s report was passed Dy a
unanimous vote. The report had
been revised by the committee
from a report made by students
at encampment. The six changes
were read. The report will be sent
to the University Senate.
Elections Code
Revision of the elections code
was passed by Cabinet. Voting
will take place in .the Hetzel Un
ion Building, eliminating last
year’s decentralized voting. Other
revisions are the $25 bond which
all parties must have on deposit
by March 23, and the right of All-
University Elections Committee
to dock candidates from 10 to 100
yotes or fine the party up to $25
for violating the Elections Code.
Discussion was held on the
(Continued on page two)
Washington.
Chiang told the closing session
of the Central Committee of the
Kuomintang—his Nationalist par
ty— that the government must
strengthen itself "to realize our
mission of counterattack, and na
tional survival.”
Mobile Forces
Dulles reiterated that the mo
bile U.S. air and sea forces in the
Far East would be used as a deter
rent to aggression. But he put the
accent on peace in a statement at
the airport before his departure.
“It is the ardent hope of the
United States,” he said, “that the
Chinese Communists will not in
sist on war as an instrument of
their policy.” ,
Dulles’ first act on his arrival
earlier in the day was to sign the
mutual defense treaty under
(Continued on page three)
(dnlbgian
Student Receives
D r »v j Award
riving
Thurber Zeh, sixth semester
sanitary engineering major, hhs
been selected as Driver of the
Month in State College.
Members of the Borough police
force chose Zeh as the driver ob
served .during February as fol
lowing both written and common
rules of the highway. The depart
ment is cooperating with the Cen
tre Daily Times in selecting the
Driver of the Month to honor
drivers for safe operation of their
motor vehicles.
Anthony Schreiber, eighth se
mester agronomy major, and Da
vid Mellor, sixth semester poultry
husbandry major, received honor
able mention citations.
Forestry Ball
To Feature
Mike Pedicin
Pine trees, Kodiak bears, and
white and green streamers will
lend an outdoor air to White Hall
for the Forestry Ball from 9 until
1 tonight. i
. Among numerous Red Pine
trees decorating the hall will be
the .bears seen in the past several
days in Old Main, according to
Donald Campbell, co-chaiman of
the dance committee.
Mike Pedicin and his orchestra.
RCA-Victor recording artists, will
provide the music for the semi
formal affair.
Guest of honor will be Maurice
K. Goddard, State secretary of
forests and waters, and former
head of the forestry department,
Campbell said.
Tickets at $2.50 per couple may
be purchased at the forestry of
fice, the Stiident Union desk in
Old Main, the West Dorm bul
letin board, and at the door.
Trustees Approve
Three Retirements
Retirements of three faculty
members approved by the Board
of Trustees, have been announced
by President Milton S. Eisenhow
er.
They include:
Dr. Walter S. Beach, professor
of plant pathology , research and
member of the. faculty since 1918,
will retire on July 1 with emeritus
rank.
Leland S. Rhodes, professor of
civil engineering, who was named
to the faculty in 1919, will retire
on June 30 with emeritus rank.
Dr. Arthur K. Anderson, pro
fessor of physiological chemistry
and member of the faculty since
1923, will retire with.emeritus
rank'on July 1.
Showers Expected;
Winds to Continue
Showers are forecast for this
afternoon by the University
weather station. The March winds
are also expected to continue.
The low this morning is fore
cast for 40 degrees. This afternoon
the thermometer is expected to
reach 50 degrees.
Chapel Ceremony
May Be June IJ
The cornerstone for the All-
Faith Chapel may be laid fol
lowing commencement cere
monies on June 11. the Rev.
Luther H. Harshbarger, Univer
sity chaplain, has announced. '
Excavation on the project
will begin soon. At present,
drilling to determine the sub
structure of the chapel site is
underway.
The chapel was dedicated to
the late Helen Ealcin Eisenhow
er, wife of President Milton S.
Eisenhower, on- Feb. 22.
Plan Eliminating —2
Approved by Senate
An alphabetical grading scale ranging from A to F will
go into effect next semester as a result of action taken by
the University Senate yesterday.
Under this system the -2 grade will be eliminated in favor
of one failing grade of F which will be given for a percentage
of zero through 59.
The grade point system will be retained under the new
grading scale. Students receiving an A in a course will be
awarded four grade points, those receiving a B, three grade
points and so forth. A student receiving an F will not receive
any grade points nor will any be subtracted as is now done.
All-University averages appar
ently will be computed by multi
plying the number of course cred
its by the number of grade points
achieved and dividing the sum
by the total number of credits
scheduled.
For example: a st.udent carry
ing 18 credits who receives '•hree
A’s and three B’s would have an
average of 3.5.
The Senate also considered a
grading system proposed by Ru
dolph Lutter, sixth semester so
ciology major which had been
prepared at the request of All-
University Cabinet.
This plan would have eliminat
ed the present grading system in
favor of five to zero scale under
which students would have re
ceived exact equivalents to the
percentage grides achieved in a
course. For example: A mark of
95 would have been recorded as
a 4.5 grade.
The Senate, however, defeated
an amendment which would b»ve
The New System
Percentage Grade Point
Equivalent Equivalent
90-100 4
80-89 3
70-79 2
60-69 1
F (failure) 0-59 0
brought a decimal grading system
such as proposed by Lutter before
the group for discussion.
In the discussion preceding the
vote on 'this amendment which
concerned both plans, Dr. Kent
Forster, chairman of the Senate
Committee on Review of the
Grading System, which presented
the system which was adopted,
said his committee had considered
the Lutter report but had felt a
letter system would lessen con
fusion during the transition per
iod frorn the old to new system.
A letter, system, he said, would
also bring the University’s grad
ing system closer to those used
in comparable institutions.
Dr. Forster had previously stat
(Continued on page two)
■Review
Players Present
Euripedes ' Medea!'
Robinson Jeffers may have been able to edit most of the “woe
woe” out of Euripedes’ “Medea,” but Players somehow managed to
hurl a large amount of it around the Schwab stage last night to the
discomfort of the audience. ,
It is not only apparent that Players have figuratively fallen
“off the deep end” in presenting Medea, but most of the cast fell
into quicksand, leaving a few
hardy individuals, notably Debor
ah Peek, to swim to shore.
No Support
Miss Peek does a commendable
job in the role of Medea, consid
ering the little help she gets from
her cast members. Her entrance
onto the stage electrified the aud
ience, which she held with ease
throughout the performance. She
is a fine actress, and her only dif
ficulty in the role seemed to come
in the first act when the audience
began wondering if she was play
ing Medea or Orphelia.
The off-stage work on Medea
is one of the oiggest of the glar
ing errors in the production; cos
tumes look like left-overs from a
house party weekend, and ’ight
ing for the show is notably pour.
By MIKE MILLER
Honorary Degrees
Announcement will not be made
until the day of graduation on
whether the University will con
fer honorary degrees at this year’s
commencement, Adrian O. Morse,
University Provost, announced at
yesterday’s University Senate
meeting.
The Board of Trustees acted on
the matter at its last, meeting,
Morse said, but decided to with
hold the announcement of its de
cision until graduation day, June
11.
The University has never
awarded an honorary degree.
HUB Will Employ
University Students
For Food Service
Approximately 60 permanent
waiters and waitresses are needed
to work in the Hetzel Union
Building, Harriet Schupp, food
service manager of the HUB, an
nounced yesterday.
Students will be paid in tickets
by the number of hours they
work, Miss Schupp said. Tickets,
equal to 75 cents an hour, can be
used for the purchase of food at
the snack bar or dining room.
Students are needed to work at
the grill, dining room, and as ca
terers for special banquets. Stu
dents may work" as many hour- a
week as their schedule and in
terest allows, Miss Schupp said.
Students interested in wor’ ig
at the grill may call, William Par
is or Gordon Osborne. Those in
terested in working in the dm'ng
room, Mary Lee James; and spe
cial catering, Althea Gillespie.
Students may call extension 488.
Faculty Luncheon Club
Dr. Paul H. Schweitzer, profes
sor of engineering research, will
speak on “Diesels for Non-Diesel
Friends” at the Faculty Luncheon
Club at noon Monday m the Hotel
State College.
By JOE BEAU-SEIGNEUR
Sound for the show left the aud
ience amused and puzzled: all
types of off-key trumpets sound
ed from exotic, far off parts of
Schwab, making one wonder if a
demonstration of stereophonic
sound was in progress.
Creaking ‘Marble’
The set for the production is
without a doubt the worst thing
in the play. Actors stepping on
the “marble” steps walk with cau
tion lest they creak too loudly,
and the “stone” doors of the house
quiver with each opening.
Only two cast members give
Miss Peek adequate assistance.
Elizabeth Ives as nurse turns in
another excellent performance,
and Alice Petersen, as the first
(Continued on page two)