Evening Star Newspaper, December 24, 1934, Page 15

COLLEGE STARTS OWN “NEW DEAL” Abolishes Recitations and Grades and Students Work Harder. OLIVET, Mich.—A college without formal class rooms, where the stu- dents drop into the comfortably fur- nished studies of instructors for con- ferences instead of following & routine schedule of recitations—a college without credits, examinations or marks. No, this is not a prospectus for a utopian college of the future. The picture represents college life as the visitor at Olivet College may see 1% today. ©Olivet has behind it two months of an educational new deal, introduced by its 35-year-old president, Joseph H. Brewer, Jr. Dr. Brewer declares it is too early to reach definite conclu- sions as to the ultimate result of the plan, which in many ways goes be- yond the departures from academic tradition tried out in Dr. Alexander Meiklejohn’s experimental college at the University of Wisconsin. Has a “Club Air.” Enough has taken place in these two months, however, to indicate that educational history is in the making at Olivet. ‘The atmosphere is more like that of a young people’s club than a col- lege—but don’t get the idea the stu- dents are loafing. With compulsory class attendance and all the rest of the usual academic routine abolished, some of them may have had the idea that attendance at Olivet this year would be something of a snap. If so, they have all been disillu- sioned. The students find themselves working harder than they ever did under the old system. And apparently they like it. Raps Pedagogic “Coddling.” Dr. Brewer, in announcing his plan last Spring, did not mince words in criticizing pedagogic methods. “We have been guilty in the past of prolonging criminally the adoles- cence of our children by too much coddling,” he said. “It is inevitable that the lockstep of courses, time schedules and examinations, all the elaborate machinery by which we conceal ignorance, should be broken On this basis, the experiment has gone forward. With 207 students and & faculty of 28, Olivet is small enough to make the plan of allowing students great freedom & practical one. The administration is in close enough con- tact with each student to know how he is progressing, without the need for tests and grades. The instructors are tutors, instead of professors in the accepted sense. ‘The tutorial method, as well as many other features of the plan, derives from Oxford University, where Dr. Brewer took his master of arts degree. Other features derive from the pro- gressive educational methods intro- duced at the University of Chicago and at Colgate. In its sum, however, | the Olivet plan is a distinctive one, adapted to the special needs of the college. Student Free to Browse. Placed before the student are all the resources of the college, its library, natural history museum, laboratories, gymnastum, faculty. He is free to consult with men of special knowledge in the fields in which he is interested and to seek the advice of his tutor; he may attend any of the lectures given by instructors in any department. In general, mornings are devoted to study and conferences, afternoons to athletics and outdoor activities, and evenings to group discussions, debates, concerts and dramatics. The first attempt to take stock of how things are going has just been completed. The students have filled out — anonymously — questionnaires seeking their honest opinions of the new plan. Students Speak Frankly. A glance at the pile of returned questionnaires shows that, at any rate, the students already have at- tained an attitude which enables them to speak their minds frankly. Every detail of the plan which has not yet been fully adjusted comes in for criticism. “Social science lectures are still too rigid and formal,” reports one student. A member of the faculty is advised to “inject more human interest in lectures.” (Copyright. 1934, by North American Newspaper Alliance. Inc.) THE EVENING INTERESTING BRIDE MRS. WILLIAM TYLER PAGE, JR., Before her marriage Thursday afternoon, Miss Mary Elizabeth Hearn, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Wilfred Hearn of Friendship, Md. Mr. Page is the son of the minority clerk of the House of Representatives. SOCIETY mittee, which has charge of arrange- ments for the dance. Miss Lucile May Hessick, who is a sophomore at Duke University, is at | home for the Christmas holidays. ' Mr. William E. Wood, & student at the Moses Brown School, has joined his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Herbert B. Wood, at 905 Butternut street morth- | west, for the Christmas holidays. He is a member of the track team and was granted honors for scholastic standing. Mrs. T. Ramsay Taylor has as her house guest in Fairfax her brother, Mr. Hubert H. Dudley, of Arlington, N. J. R Mr. George Lohr of Homewood, Aurora Hills, Va., has returned from a week's stay in New York, where he attended the annual exhibition of the Academy of Allied Arts, at which three of his paintings were on display by special invitation. Mr. and Mrs. J. Francis Burrows of Maplewood, N. J., accompanied by . Arthur S. Knight, are !'Pe:dinx a Mary Blake, who is a senior at Mary Baldwin College, is with her perents, Mr. and Mrs. Ronald Blake, in Fairfax. Mr. John C. Gall of Country Club Hills, Va, returned Saturday from Indianapolis, Ind., and White Sulphur Springs, attending at the latter place the National Industry Convention as representative of the National Manu- facturers’ Association. Mrs. Julien Harvey of New York has arrived in Washington with her daughter, Miss Jane Harvey, and is | at the Wardman Park Hotel. More U. S Goods Used. Brazil is buying more American products than for some time. tudio Couches An ideal for apartment or home. We specialize in Studio Couches that give service and comfort. H.A.Linger,925 G St. Christmas Binner THE RALEIGH HOTEL Pennsylvania Avenue and 12th Street N.W. DELICIOUS TABLE D’HOTE DINNER $L.75 per plate INCLUDING REFRESHMENTS Noon Until 9:00 P. M. [ ] JOHN SLAUGHTER’S CONCERT ENSEMBLE [ Cars Parked Without Charge E. C. OWEN, Manager MAKE YOUR EW YEAR'S RESERVATIONS NOW! DINNER--DANCING--EVERYTHING $5.00 ,,5:5,, ) NAtional 3810 WITH HER. take her to the HI-HAT, The luxurious atmosphere, fine foods and choic- est beverages at rea- sonable prices appeal to those who enjoy the smartness charm of this de- lightful cocktail rendezvous, 4 —Underwood Photo. MAN IDENTIFYING SELF AS ATTORNEY IS HELD Prisoner Professes to Be Missing Boston Attorney—Arrested on Burglary Charge. By the Associated Press. LONG BEACH, Calif, December 24 —J. F. Taylor, who identified him- self as George E. Ellsworth, Boston attorney who disappeared under cir- cumstances suggesting suicide, will be held here on burglary charges until the status of the case against him in the East can be clarified, Detective R. H. Manchester said yes- terday. Photographs and fingerprints of Ellsworth are en route here by air- mail. Taylor was accused of attempting to dispose of about $600 in loot taken from a Long Beach jewelry store, anshurghs 7th, 8th and F We've Tried to Deliver Every Package, But— If a Christmas Package Did Not Arrive Call NAtional 5544 until 12 noon Tues- day and we will send it to you at once HRISTMAS FROM EVERYONE AT OUR HOUSE STAR, WASHINGTON, FEE ON HAND-SET PHONES REDUCED States Force Cuts in Rates When Public Demands “Cradle Style.” Special Dispatch to The Star. CHICAGO, December 24.—Tele- phone users may find some satisfac- tion in the knowledge that the telephone company soon may be compelled to supply the “French phones” in every part of the Nation without additional cost, or at & much lower added fee. They may also be cheered by the information that the “monopoly” which controls most of the country’s telephones hasn't by any means the latest style in hand telephone sets—and can’t get them. The newest hand-set, manufactured by two independent concerns, has the bell box built inside the base of the set. One by one, the States in every part of the land have either begun the fight to throw off the yoke of the extra cost for hand phones or have partly won the battle by de- manding and receiving drastic re- ductions in the amount the telephone company collects for the “French phone,” so termed because, shortly after the World War, the movies began to show scenes in Paris where the hand-set telephone was much in use. And then everybody went for the fad in a big way, to such an extent that the company which man- ufactured the desk phones doesn’t even make them any more. New York Cuts Rate. After a recent hearing before the New York Public Service Commis- sion the charge for the hand-sets was cut to 15 cents. In some States the charge has been as high as 80 cents a month. In Ilinois the State Commerce Commission has ordered that, after a subscriber has paid the telephone company $9 in additional charges, at the rate of 25 cents a month for three years, the company shall not be allowed to charge that subscriber further for the hand. 50 long as Christmas Dinner at THE FAIRFAX A _delightful complete meal. carefully selected. skillfully prepared. —daintily served. ' In an atmosphere of Unusual Refinement You Will Appreciate. No advance in price “A_ repast you will pleasantly re- T, gag 1 MENU < ot An Hearts of Celery M Salted Nuts Gonsomme Chantilly Gibl EAvY Cranberry Sauce Baked Smithfield Ham with Apple Rings Boiled T-Bone Steak au Cresson Mashed Potatoes orida Peas New Spinach with Egg Sauerkraut Glazed Sweet Potatoes Clover Leaf Rolls Alligator Pear and Orange Salad Cheese Straws rench Dressing Fruit Cake _ Nesselrode Pudding English Plum Pudding Rum Sauce Snappy Cheese Saltines Demi-Tasse Cluster Rasins Mints Assorted Fruit Served 12 to 2—6 to 8 P.M. The Fairfax- A Residential Hofel of Distinction 2400 MASSACHUSETTS AVE D. E. STEPHAN, Manager the set remains in continuous service. | “About 800,000 telephones in New York State, nearly one-third of the total phones in the State, are now hand-set phones,” said a telephone expert. “The whole thing—call it ‘craze,’ if you will—started about 10 years ago. Hand-sets Only Made. “The Bell Co. didn't begin putting the hand-set phones in because it thought they were an improvement— it put them in because the public de- manded the ‘French phones’ Now the Western Electric Co., which sup- D. C; MONDAY, DECEMBER 24, 1934, plies the Bell chain with its instru- ments, isn't even making any of the old-style desk phones. They're mak- ing nothing but the ‘cradle phones.’ “All the State commissions that have taken up the subject—and it has arisen in almost every commonwealth in the union—have recognized that the original cost of the hand-set phone is much more than that of the old desk phone. The telephone company contends, also, that the cost of main- taining a ‘cradle phone’ is at least 86 cents more a month than the up- keep cost of the old-style desk instru- ment. There is also the fact that the telephone company charged extra for the old cesk set at one time—in New York State up to about 1900, in Chi- cago up to about 15 years ago.” (Copyright. 1934, North _Americs Newspaper fihm. Inc.) “ —_— Horse Is Parade Feature. A black and a white horse were featured in a parade at Linz, Aus- tralia, on the feast day of St. Leon- ard, the patron saint of horses. Mine Output Mounts. Mining production in Chile is much greater than a year ago. s« B3 May’s Reéstaurant Connecticut Ave. at Calvert St. Opposite Shoreham Hotel Special Christmas Dinner 1 PM to 8:30 PM. The Place of Quality ADAMS 1783—F. MAY (FORMERLY WITH RAUSCHER'S) WoODWARD & LoTHROP 0™ |T™MF AnD G STREETS TO EVERYONE AT YOUR HOUSE! * annd - Aveausth, LN Prone District 5300 ° To Everyone . A very the many you will receive. Merry Christmas The age-old custom of extending Greetings at Christmas is one in which this store has always taken a particular pleasure. We are most grateful for the patronage you have given us, and wish to add our greeting to Wishing You a MERRY CHRISTMAS And a Very Pleasant Road in 1935. Lansby 7th, 8th and E Streets 1qhs