THE TWIG
Newspaper of the Students of Meredith College
Volume XL
MEREDITH COLLEGE, RALEIGH, N. C., MAY 12, 1966
No. 13
Symposium Planned Next Year;
Cybernetics Will Be Discussed
During the first days of April, a
committee of 16 students, Mr. Bud
Walker, Mr. Henry Coffer, and Dr.
Leslie Syron began to plan a sym
posium for Meredith for 1967 with
the hope of a Sperry and Hutchin
son Foundation grant. After many
topics were discussed and some dis
carded, the committee decided on
the topic, “Direction ’67: The Im
pact and Implications of Cyberna
tion,” for a IVz day symposium in
March of 1967.
New Type of Program
Next year will be the first year
for the new president of Meredith,
and the committee would like to be
gin a new type of program in the
Meredith community. Throughout
the year, the focus, “Questions Re
lating to the Control of Life,” will
be carried out by lectures, forums,
discussions, and motion pictures,
and these concepts will be culmi
nated in the symposium.
Colleges in Cybernetics Revolt
In order to cope with the new
world that is developing due to the
cybernetics revolution, a college,
especially a liberal - arts college,
must prepare its students for the
future. As the proposal for the grant
stated: “Our (Meredith’s) aim, in
short, is ‘to struggle’ to ready our
selves and the people of our im
mediate,. and influential, area for
this task. We intend to chart our di
rection along the lines of the al
ready emerging future rather than
by a past which has too much
blighted the ‘human ideals of in
dividual dignity and freedom’ or by
a self-satisfied present which ig
nores too easily the revolutionary
character of our times.” This is an
age of revolution, and next year, if
at all possible, Meredith will enter
into this world with a symposium on
the cybernetics revolution.
As Robert Theobald wrote in
Perspective in Automation: Three
Talks to Educators, “The machine
can toil more effectively than man.
With today’s values, with man
considering himself primarily a
working animal, he can only be de
valued and quite probably de
stroyed by these in a cybernated
age. Such dire results, however, can
be avoided.”
Possible Speakers
By taking an interest and by
searching for real answers, Mere
dith is trying, in its role as a liberal-
arts college, to avoid “dire results.”
The three main questions that will
be asked and explored by au
thorities in their respective fields
will be: What is the cybernetics
revolution? What is the govern
ment’s role in this evolving society?
How will man be influenced by
these changes? Some possible
speakers will be Robert Theobald
discussing education; John Gal
braith, the role of government;
David Riesman, the individual;
Erich Fromm, survival of dignity;
Luther Hodges or Terry Sanford,
implications of cybernation in the
South.
These big plans are becoming a
reality as the steering committee
works hard to plan the coming year,
to find money to make the plans
a reality, and to create interest in
the Meredith community so the full
est benefits can be realized from
this proposed symposium. The com
mittee is composed of the following
members: Kae Freeman, Becky
Walker, Ellen Kirby, Rosalyn Gra
ham, Dianne Jones, Beth Peacock,
Judy Ramsey, Betty Hartley, Sylvia
Stoudemire, Beverly Scarborough,
Ellen Warren, Mary Arakas, Claire
Young, Lynn Mitchell, Elizabeth
Maynard, Mary Watson Nooe, Dr.
Syron, Mr. Coffer and Mr. Walker.
Festivities for May Day Will Feature
Horse Show, Choral Concert, Coronation
May 13-14 will be Meredith’s an
nual May Day week end. Special
guests, incoming freshmen, will
register on Saturday morning from
9:00 until 12:00. There will be a
horse show at 1:00, followed by the
crowning of the May Queen at
4:00. The Meredith Chorus will
present a concert at 8:00, followed
by an open-house in the Blue Par
lor.
Activities at Amphitheatre
The coronation of the May
Queen will be held at the amphi
theatre. The 1966 May Queen is
Sarah Ann Poole, and the Maid of
Honor is Marion Bunch. The at
tendants are the following: senior,
Bonnie Eicher, Elaine Grumpier;
junior, Kitty Hardenburg, Betty
Webb; sophomore, Barbara Mabe,
Shan Pruitt; freshman, Suzanne
Members of the May Court plan for their big day.
McLain Announces Speakers
For Christian Studies School
Main speakers for the 1966
Meredith School of Christian
Studies, to be held June 13-17, have
been announced by Dr. Ralph Mc
Lain, chairman of the department of
religion at Meredith College and
"War is Immoral!" They Cry
Freeman Interviews Chapel Hill Pacifists
By KAE FREEMAN
They stood around the Y-Court
at the University of North Carolina
at Chapel Hill just a week before
eggs, tomatoes, and insults of “Com
mie” and “coward” had been hurled
at them by their indignant peers.
Long-haired, bespectacled, sandled
guys, they were (the names are fic
titious) Elliot Scairn, Workman G.
Blaine, Jr., John Akerman, and a
host of others scared to have their
names in print. “The folks, you
know,” one said, laughing. I was
surprised to learn that there were
only 30 of them — 20 in the Stu
dents for Democratic Society and
10 in the Student Peace Union —
after the way they had been
splashed across the front pages of
the newspapers and made the cen
ter of attention in the Jesse Helms
nightly editorials. But then I knew
— because they were doing every
thing in their power to call attention
to themselves — sometimes, it
seemed, more than to their cause.
On a large cardboard bulletin board
behind them were pictures pro
claiming the atrocities of war; on a
table^'^pamphlets screamed out the
words: “an Anti-People War — An
Unjust War!” “Mr. President, In
the Name of God, STOP IT!”
There were sheets of paper to
sign in support of “The Cause” and
a letter to President Johnson, part
of which read as follows:
“As a patriotic American I am
willing to fight by helping to wipe
out the evils of discrimination and
poverty which do violence to my
fellowmen here and abroad . . . the
cause of freedom far better than
all the bullets used to kill people
in Vietnam. I pledge myself to build,
not burn.”
Behind the bearded faced and seri
ous, concerned expressions, there
were people with something to say.
We joked at first. “Who are you?”
“SWINE,” they laughed, comment
ing on A1 Capp’s satirical depiction
of Students Wildly Indignant About
Everything. “No, really, we’re in
terested persons,” one fellow stated.
I mumbled something about their
being interesting people, but I
stopped short when I saw that they
were serious. Another guy con
tinued: “We’re interested in people
— and war is anti-people.” Another
shouted: “War is immoral!” “But
you could say that we have a moral
responsibility to be in Vietnam,” I
interjected. They closed in on me
with a barrage of answers — all
giving the history of the conflict and
of American intervention. They
knew, all right, what they were talk
ing about . . . “We’re behind the
Geneva Agreement . . . Withdraw
military and shame ourselves? So
what, it’s right! . . . Free elections?
Why can’t people be free to decide
what government they want •—-
Communist or democratic! ... If
thev want to go ‘Commie,’ let ’em!”
“Talking about Communists, what
about the charges of . . .” They
gave that “here-we-go-again” look,
“I don’t know a ‘Commie’ on this
campus. Besides the Speaker Ban
says he can’t speak. And why be
here if you can’t speak?” We
laughed.
What were they doing about the
war? “We’re pacifists, not passi-
vists. We feel it’s the American’s
right and duty to voice his opinion
— so we’re doing it! We had a
march last month and we’re gonna
fast soon. Good way to diet, you
know!”
(Continued on page 4)
head of the committee planning for
the school.
Speakers for School
The speakers will be Dr.
Wayne E. Oates, professor of psy
chology of religion, Southern Bap
tist Seminary, Louisville, Ky. and
author of a number of books on pas
toral counseling and mental health
and religion; Dr. Robert B. Y. Scott,
Danforth professor of religion at
Princeton University and a distin
guished Old Testament scholar; and
Dr. Robert Wood Lynn, Auburn
professor of religious education and
church and community at Union
Theological Seminary, New York
City.
The Meredith School of Chris
tian Studies is held at the college
each summer under the sponsorship
of an interdenominational commit
tee. The main purpose is to pro
vide an opportunity for laymen, as
well as those employed in the re
ligious occupations, to join formal
(Continued on page 4)
ANNUAL AWARDS DAY
TO BE HELD ON MAY 16
On Tuesday, May 16, 1966, at
10:30 a.m. in Jones Auditorium,
Meredith College will have its an
nual Awards Day. The Astros and
Phis sit with their respective so
cieties. The new society presidents,
Martha Ann Butler and Laura
Page, will preside with the help of
faculty members and other students.
The purpose of Awards Day is
to recognize those students who
have shown outstanding leadership,
scholarship, or talent during the past
year or years at Meredith. The
Alice B. Keith award goes to the
sophomore who has written the most
outstanding history term paper. The
Ida Poteat award goes to an art
major who has shown noticeable ar
tistic ability. The Society Cup and
athletic awards will be presented by
the president of the Monogram
Club.
The 1966 Class Doll will be pre
sented by Senior Class President,
Sue Hilton. The presentation of the
Class Doll is an old tradition at
Meredith. Each year, members of
the Senior Class dress a doll in the
most representative fashion of the
past year. This year’s Class Doll
was dressed by Patricia Peterson.
In conclusion. Dean Peacock will
recognize the senior girls who have
been chosen to be listed in Who’s
Who in American Colleges and Uni
versities.
Davis and Nancy Stroud. Kitty Har
denburg is also chief marshall.
Other marshalls include Astrotek-
tons Julia Stamey, Vicki Arnold,
Mary Harper Freeman, and Sheryl
Deal, and Philaretians Carol King,
Bess Ward, Bonita Riffle, and Shar
on Seagraves. After the processional
of attendants, the sophomore class
will sing to the May Queen, who
will then be entertained by Mere
dith students.
Ensemble to Sing
The Meredith Ensemble will sing
selections from Porgy and Bess, The
Sound of Music, and Carousel.
Dances will be presented to “Some
Enchanted Evening” from South
Pacific, “Getting to Know You”
and “Whistle a Happy Tune” from
The King and I, “Climb Every
Mountain” and “Sixteen Going on
Seventeen” from The Sound of
Music, “Slaughter on Tenth Ave
nue” form On Your Toes and
“Carousel Waltz” from Carousel.
Production Staff
The production staff consists
of the following: director, Mrs.
Frances Stevens; assistant director,
Mrs. Jay Massey; orchestra direc
tor, Mrs. Phyllis Garris; art con
sultant, Mr. Leonard White; chore
ography, dance students; costumes,
Mrs. Frances Stevens; cover design,
Anne Spruill; stage decor, Mary
Lynn Ashburn; and publicity,
Mrs. Faye Humphries and Julianne
Faison. The script was written by
Carol King, Ruth Ann Walters,
Patsy Burks, Elizabeth Ponton and
Bet Booker.
Special Guests
Next year’s freshmen are special
guests of the college for the May
Day festivities. Lynn O’Dell and
Jean Levin, newly-elected president
and vice-president of the rising ju
nior class, are in charge of placing
the guests with students who wiU
serve as their hostesses for the
weekend.
Pattir Speaks on
Meredith Campus
Dan Pattir, press and informa
tion counselor at the Embassy of
Israel in Washington, spoke here
May 4 on “The Israel of Today.”
Pattir’s appearance was sponsored
by the departments of religion, ge
ography and history.
A native of Tel-Mond and a
graduate of Hebrew University,
Jerusalem, Pattir has worked with
the British Broadcasting Corpora
tion and has been a news commen
tator on defense, African affairs
and international relations. He was
also a member of the Israeli dele
gation to the United Nations 20th
General Assembly.
Relationships with Neighbors
Pattir discussed relationships be
tween his country and neighbors in
the Middle East, giving special at
tention to problems on the use of
the Jordan River and the Sea of
Galilee for irrigation. In describing
Israel’s achievement of 18 years of
statehood, Pattir said that the He
brew letters which stood for the.
number 18 meant “maturity.”
The state of Israel, smaller than
the American state of New Jersey,
with a population of two and a h^f
million, has “matured,” said Pattir,
(Continued on page 3)