description:
Page Two THE SKYSCRAPER Jan. 19,1966 If 1 MIL U II I (I U II111 L II will grip current issues and events and * hold them before the campus in order that members of the Mundelein community may sense and direct history rather than bob in its wake. THE SKVSCRHPER 'Mandelbaum Gate' Examines community may sense and direct history rather than bob in its wake. I s f*, W llc D rl.. Ac lden ty 'n Contemporary Living I Vl W Q I I OI lOd lu C 6 O by Sister Mary Virginia Anne, B.V.M. Academic Myths It is difficult to assess fairly the institution of the 3-3 program in its initial year. It is much easier to state flatly I don't like it but such negativism has already prejudiced many students and does nothing to alleviate the problems or compliment the favoring factors. After listening to and making similar condemnations for ten weeks, the most illuminating fact which CXpreSS emerges from the student interviews is the Ontimicm basic confidence and hopefulness which was expressed when a definite statement was required. This underlying sentiment is especially heartening as the interviews were conducted the week before final exams. Another impression which arises from these interviews and a hundred Lewis-tearoom-lounge-hall discussions is a sub tle misconception and a certain misinformation about the 3-3 and its facets. It now seems apparent that neither the stu dents nor the faculty were adequately prepared for the new system nor did they comprehend its full import. When the new system was officially presented the rose hues were blinding. The prospect of only three courses, or perhaps four, to concentrate on seemed like Dorothy's trip to Oz. Idyllic promises of increased free time for independent study offered further enticements. It is in these three con cepts : courses, free time and independent study that the ma jor problems arise; problems which could not have been fore seen but which can now be corrected in view of a better under standing of what a term system means. It is imperative to understand the differences between a course under the semester system and the term system. Formerly, with six courses ReOHZe in 18 weeks at least two could be con- Wirintionc sidered easy courses and the others af- variuTlons forded periodic slack periods in which to maintain equilibrium or even let things slide for a time. There was a certain loose ness throughout which could obviously afford compression. This was the understanding of a course which transferred to the 3-3 system in May but this is not at all what a course is presently. It has become the personal onus of each instruc tor to cover so much material and in such depth that there is a tangible pressure in the classroom to grind out a pre-deter- mined amount of facts in each class period. A partial reason for this is undoubtedly due to the fact that some semester courses were simply transferred, text and all, to an 11-week period with little re-evaluation. This difference in the type of courses generates what is the supreme irony of the term system: more free time. Sta tistically, students are spending less time in class and, using the standard of two hours' i..0 v preparation for each class hour, should be de- * voting less time to daily preparations. These are statistics, not facts. There is less time spent in class but whether the 200 minutes is divided into two long periods or four shorter ones, they present unique difficulties in prepara tion which Monday, Wednesday, Friday classes did not offer. This punctures another myth fostered last year: oppor tunity for increased independent study. Required weekly extra reading and assigned study papers and term papers do not bring the personal satisfaction which true independent study should develop when students are barely keeping even with regular work. Pressure to have 100 pages .. read a week for each of two courses plus Otter keeping up with class work plus work on Fntif * mpnt s long-range papers often necessitates the * slighting of a third subject. Many students find it common to let one course slide for a week to catch up in the others, only to have to do the same thing over the next week. This is not study but drudgery. Despite these difficulties, most of which stem from a uni versal naivete, it must be realized, as Sister Mary Ignatia pointed out, that this is an experimental year. Now is the time, after the basic shock has subsided, for both students and faculty to evaluate, criticize and overcome. Moreover, it can not be forgotten that the 3-3 system is not simply a compres sion of the old, but a new concept in education which demands time and communication for fruition. Reveal Muriel Spark's latest novel, The Mandelbaum Gate, captures the paradoxes and complexities of hu man nature in setting and plot as well as in characterization. Confronts Life The scene of this novel, the Holy Land, is the twofold source of grace and contention for its pilgrim wan derer, Barbara Vaughan. This Je rusalem is filled with intrigue, lies, hatred, murder and petty offenses; yet, it portends what is to come, for it is here that Barbara finds the confrontation with life that she needs to reveal herself to herself. Most of all one is conscious of the Israeli-Arab division, reinforced by the Mandelbaum Gate, and figur ing largely in Barbara's life. Just as the physical setting is shifting and ambiguous, so also is the backward and forward move ment of time through which the reader penetrates the minds, hearts and egos of the characters. Al though this constant shift in se quence is complicated, it is rarely confusing, so skillfully does Miss Spark weave her novel. Mirrors Duality The separation of Jerusalem and the duality in Barbara Vaughan's own background are mirrored also in the division with the Church which she is experiencing because the man she loves cannot get clear ance from Rome concerning a for mer marriage. The quest for identity, a promi nent theme in Miss Spark's novels, is vividly portrayed in The Man delbaum Gate. Hate versus love separates the bad characters from the good; the good fall, but it is not from malice but rather, from human frailty. Delineate Relationships Other people whom Barbara en counters on her journey appear in somewhat contrived, almost sym bolic situations. Their development is frequently less complete than the reader desires, although their rela tion to Barbara and to each other is always clearly delineated. Heightens Suspense The intrigue and mystery sur rounding Barbara and her ac quaintances heighten as the plot unfolds through deft juxtaposition of incidents and coincidence. The deliberate but delicate setup of events never detracts from the movement and growth of Barbara Vaughan. Gentle touches of irony Three Old Friends . , . and humor prevent the coincidences and contrivances from creating a weak story line. Miss Spark's novel rings true as an apt comment on the condition of contemporary man moving through a tenacious world. ISounding Board We believe that the Student Con gress does have potential and can be a powerful agent for the stu dent. But the student cannot real ize this if she is not aware of the activities of the Congress. One of the most powerful means of communication could be the Out look. The Outlook has for one of its main objectives that of keeping the student body informed on vital issues. So far this aim has not been accomplished as far as we can see. For, although it was to have been published bi-monthly, the most recent issue appeared Oct. 29. Why is this so? According to the Constitution of the Student Congress one of the duties of the vice-president is to edit the Out look. We feel that it is time that this situation was brought to the at tention of those interested in the affairs of the Student Congress. We hope some action will be taken and that we will soon see the Out look. We also would like to suggest that the Outlook be used to sum marize those issues which are cov ered in Congress at the meetings. This way the student would know of projects even before their in ception, and could, if volunteers were asked for, offer her help. If this were so, more students might become involved in Congress af fairs. Lorraine Bonafede Mary Gleason Joan Haas Joan O'Conner Barbara Mundt Peggy Parent Sturr Captures Subtlety of Shadows, Crowds To Reveal Subjectivity through Camera Lens In the imaginative black and white photography exhibit of Ed ward Sturr, now appearing on Gal lery 4, the aesthetic-sounding terms cubism, abstract, op and pop art take on meaning to the artistically unlettered. Using photographic cliches like urbane, unsophisticated L-tracks and crowds for subjects, Sturr finds something new to look at. He does not depend on developing tricks for novelty; his talent lies in his searching, almost skeptical by Brenda Dinneen vision of objects. A shadow is not just a shadow. If you cock your head a bit this way, a child plays with the humpy shadows of unseen peoples' heads, not with sand. Peer through square-forming fingers at a frame building with women walking in front of it and the women become cut-outs pasted on a horizontally white and black striped background. The results resemble pop art more than pho tography. Subtlety is Sturr's theme, a Jne kud craper Vol. XXXVI January 19, 1966 No. 7 Newspaper of Distinction The Skyscraper is published semi-monthly, October to June inclusive except during exam and vacation periods, by the students of Mundelein College, 6363 Sheridan Rd., Chicago, 111., 60626. SubscripUon rate is 2 per year. Entered as second-class matter Nov. 30, 1932, at the U.S. Post Office, Chicago, III., under the act of March 3, 1897. The Skyscraper is a member of the Catholic School Press Association. Letters to the editor must be signed. The Skyscraper reserves the right to cut letters in case of limited space. Jean Durall, Diane Sargol Aldine Favaro, Margy Rediger, Nancy Vandenberg Co-Editors - - Photographers Staff Caryl Jean Cinelli, Pat Czapar, Brenda Dinneen, Margie Field, Vicki Germann, Marilyn Gibbs, Ellen Gutenkauf, Cindy Jelinek, Jenni fer Joyce. Ann Katt, S. M. Kevin. C.S.S.F., Barbara Kubicz, Lynn McKeever, Mary McMorrow, Mariellen O'Brien, Sandy Ragsdale, Ceol Reschke, Kathy Riley, S. M. Virginia Anne, B.V.M., Marybeth Wagner, Judy Wardwell viewer might guess. A pattern of white rectangles on a dark street is more interesting than the over head tracks which forms them, and fat man in his undershirt perched on a numeral 15 is funnier and more poignant than a close-up of his double chins. Crowds seem to fascinate Sturr: long waiting lines of them, bordered by cement above and below and caged in by a protective railing, or angry, sweating faces, smashed to gether in whatever situation the viewer wishes to imagine. The most touching of all his human photog raphy though, are his single por traits. The chalky face of a clown is lost for a moment in his print cos tume which gives the first impres sion of being an abstract. Nobility and serenity are embodied in a young girl, poorly dressed, whose immobile expression gives the ap pearance of a statue. Introducing subjectivity into peo ple and objects is Sturr's greatest contribution. Newness does not nec essarily imply distortion, he seems to caution. It's all in the way you look at it.
title:
1966-01-19 (2)
publisher:
Women and Leadership Archives http://www.luc.edu/wla
creator:
Mundelein College
description:
Student newspaper for Mundelein College
subject:
Newspapers
subject:
Religious communities--Sisters of Charity of the Blessed Virgin Mary
subject:
Students
subject:
Universities and colleges
subject:
Women's education
relation:
Mundelein College Records
type:
Text
language:
English
rights:
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coverage:
Chicago, Illinois
coverage:
Mundelein College