12-07-1970

Page 1

Curriculum proposal becomes faculty hassle by T o m Donia

83rd A n n i v e r s a r y - 1 1

December 7, 1970

Hope College, Holland, Michigan

Jose Molina troupe

Spanish dancers to perform T h e Jose Molina Bailes Espanoles, o n e of Spain's most popular song and dance companies, will appear t o m o r r o w at 8:15 p.m. in the Civic Center as part of the Hope College Great Performance Series. Molina and his group of singers, dancers and instrumentalists have a diversified repertoire of songs and dances representative of all Spanish music. T h e program will include music f r o m all of the Spanish provinces, f r o m the court of Charles 111. and f r o m the great Spanish operas and ballets. One of the distinctive features of the group is its wardrobe of f l a m b o y a n t costumes, valued at S80,000. T h e c o s t u m e s were created over a period of m o n t h s by nearly one hundred designers and c a r f t s m e n . F ew items of apparel are worn for more than a single n u m b e r in the show. T h e t r o u p e uses eighty pairs of shoes and b o o t s for each p e r f o r m a n c e , as well as myriad stacks of handmade laces, petticoats, and intricate bodices. The company, which has toured the U.S. several times since its debut in 1962, is making its second appearance in Holland.

Motions, amendments and c o u n t e r - m o t i o n s sailed through the air al last m o n t h ' s faculty meeting as the faculty considered for the first lime the proposal to revise the curriculum of the college. O V E R 100 FACULTY members showed up to discuss the lengthy d o c u m e n t , and when it was a l l over two hours later they had r e c o m m e n d e d I 2 s t a t e m e n t s to the Academic Affairs Board and had returned the proposal itself for f u r t h e r s t u d y . In addition, the faculty expressed its support lor the portions of the d o c u m e n t entitled " P r e f a c e " and "Philosophy." Of the 12 r e c o m m e n d a t i o n s t o the board, three asked for f u r t h e r study and clarification on the contract curriculum program, and two each dealt with the area curriculum plan, the date of implementation of the entire package, and the n u m b e r of stud e n t s currently enrolled in the college w h o would be affected by a change in curriculum. One r e c o m m e n d a t i o n asked for a new study on entrance requirements to the college and the idea of entering Hope with an academic deficiency. A n o t h e r statement questioned the long-term e f f e c t s of the

proposed curriculum on enrollment, departmental structure, staffing and financing. AS THE MEETING began Dean for Academic Affairs Morrette Rider read a s t a t e m e n t outlining the history of curriculum reform al the college and explaining to the faculty the alternative actions it could take as well as the implications of each alternative. R i d e r - s a i d , " O u r need is to focus the t h o u g h t s of the faculty on a specific proposal, but 1 h o p e we will use this as a device whereby critical thought in the best meaning of that term can result in positive actions or recommendations. HE DESCRIBED the background of the present proposal and n o t e d , " T h i s has been in the truest sense a faculty instigated and faculty c o n d u c t e d project through the c o m m i t t e e and board to which the major portion of the work was delegated." THE DEAN ALSO c o m m e n t e d that, "We are well along the road to an a t t i t u d e which views the s t u d e n t ' s m a j o r curriculum and the d e p a r t m e n t a l emphasis as growing to the probable detriment of liberal e d u c a t i o n . " Immediately following Rider's c o m m e n t s , t h e faculty voted 75-34 to refer the curriculum pro(Continued on page 10, column I j

Donia resigns 'anchor' post; applicants sought

'a

COLA DE B A T A - J o s e Molina and A n t o n i a Martinez are featured in lavish c o s t u m e s in the "Bailes Espanoles" to be presented t o m o r r o w night in the Civic Center. This is Molina's second visit to Holland as part of the Great P e r f o r m a n c e Series, and he will bring with him guitarist Francisco Espinosa, w h o p e r f o r m e d here last year for the series.

T o m Donia a n n o u n c e d last week his resignation as editor of the anchor effective January 30, 1971. He was appointed to the post, in Fall, 1969. Donia said his decision t o resign was not the result of any pressure f r o m the administration, faculty or student b o d y . "1 essentially made the decision during the s u m m e r , " he said. " T h e anchor staff has been aware of my thinking for over two months." T h e resignation came at the same time as a Student Congress initiated "investigation" into the o p e r a t i o n of the newspaper. " M y resignation is entirely unrelated to the Congress' activities," Donia emphasized. "It is u n f o r t u n a t e that the Congress has chosen to m o u n t what appears to be an attack at such a crucial time. 1 hope the leaders of Congress will be willing to put aside any differences of

opinion that may exist concerning anchor policies, and will join with the rest of the newspaper staff in an all-out e f f o r t t o provide the paper with adequate, c o m p e t e n t leadership in the many areas of p r o d u c t i o n and m a n a g e m e n t , " he said. Donia expressed thanks for the "sincere c o o p e r a t i o n and assist a n c e " he has received f r o m both the Congress and the rest of the college. "1 k n o w it will be in the best interest of b o t h the anchor and the Congress to maintain and improve the quality of the p a p e r , " he added. Donia said he plans t o work on o t h e r projects during the second semester, although he has made no definite c o m m i t m e n t s as yet. The Student C o m m u n i c a t i o n s Media C o m m i t t e e is accepting applications for the position of editor until Jan. 5. It will make its a p p o i n t m e n t early in J a n u a r y .

V-Z is poor study area; little hope for change seen Editor's N o t e : This is the second article of a two-part series concerning t h e problems of Van Zoeren Library and their possible solutions, written by Managing Editor David Dustin.

by David Dustin The Library is a nice place to visit, but it's getting harder and harder t o study there. That, at least, seems to be a c o m m o n sentiment a m o n g growing n u m b e r s of Hope s t u d e n t s and librarians. "I USUALLY COME to the library every night to do my s t u d y i n g . " said one junior girl, " b u t at times it's taken me ten or f i f t e e n minutes just to find a good s e a t . " She qualified her s t a t e m e n t by defining "a good seat" as being o n e of the single-student cubicles which are found generally along the walls in certain areas of Van Zoeren. Edward Whittaker, director of libraries, is aware of this typical s t u d y area preference. " A m e r i can s t u d e n t s seem to prefer studying p r i v a t e l y - o n e or two to a table, or else they use the cubicles," he stated. " O n c e in a while y o u get three or four s t u d e n t s at one table during e x a m t i m e . We are going t o have to provide ano t h e r seating arrangement, one

where we have more individual cubicles," added Whittaker. WHEN ASKED what he was doing about the student preference for studying alone, Whittaker replied, " w e are investigating the possibility of dividing the tables up by partitioning them off into cubicles. Perhaps this might be a solution to the problem. Anyway, we d o n ' t plan to have that many tables left in the library." He quickly emphasized that the library would not be switching completely to cubicles, t h o u g h ; "We need tables for reference work and the like. We are going to balance the student facilities between cubicles and tables." The increased premium on study s p a c e - p a r t i c u l a r l y at exam t i m e s - i s only one of the several factors which especially seem to rankle Hope students about their library. Noise is a n o t h e r . " O N L Y A NUT could have designed this place," one irate senior responded, " o r else he would have put straw on the floors, left off the doors and windows and turned it into the barn that it should have been. It's so noisy in here that I can barely take it, let along study in it. At least straw on the floor would cut down on some of the noise that floats a r o u n d all the t i m e . " A s o p h o m o r e complained that the noise made here feel very

self-conscious whenever she walked anywhere in the building. " Y o u d o n ' t really want to sound like an invasion when y o u ' r e walking around in there, but you can't help it unless y o u ' r e wearing sneakers. It makes me always feel like tip-toeing, but I d o n ' t care to look like a c o m p l e t e idiot every time I walk over to the card c a t a l o g , " she said. WHITTAKER DEFINITELY agrees that noise is a big problem that the library must overcome, but he would also add the need for air-conditioning the building. "I think that originally the plans called for the building to be aligned east and west. That way, the w i n d o w s were designed to take advantage of the prevailing east-west breezes, which would have taken care of a significant portion of our ventilation problem at p r e s e n t , " he said. " H o w ever, something went wrong, and the library ended up being constructed along a north-south axis, which means that we d o n ' t get any ventilation at all, and that the sun pours through great expanses of windows, giving the library a sub-tropical climate during spring, summer and fall," Whittaker stated. "It is well k n o w n that the library is o n e of the most uncomfortable places on campus t h r o u g h o u t that time. It is also (Continued

on page 10, column

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