EDUCATION
C&EN Merit Award Winners view protest Students work with administrators to quiet unrest stemming from demands on Vietnam war, the draft, black studies
David Tiemeier, University of Notre Dame. I'm for changing the voting laws and draft laws in this country. I think lowering the voting age is a good idea, mainly because, in many ways, students 19 or 20 years old are as well informed and have as great an interest in the political situation as 23- and 25-year-olds. I think the draft—the selective service system— today is rather mixed up and confusing, full of inequities. Too much depends on individual draft boards. Selection of people for service should be uniform; everyone should be expected to give time to the government
This year's C&EN Merit Award Winners, sponsored by their professors and selected by a special C&EN advisory board panel, collect their plaques at the most turbulent educational period in the awards' 18-year history. Violent student demonstrations have erupted on some university campuses. At other institutions uprisings were quelled only after administrations agreed to most student demands. Our winners, like the great mass of college students, met their academic obligations successfully amid the clamor within colleges; now they move on to postgraduate work. They seem to know pretty much what they're about in what is generally a confusing social era. In campus protest, you might assign them a liaison role, for in the battle between students and administration, they emerge as aids to conciliation. Most serve on faculty-student-administration committees of various types. Interviewed by C&EN editors, the 12 1969 Merit Award Winners were asked several questions bearing on campus unrest in attempts to assemble not only their opinions on that
significant issue but also to catch some glimmer of their own personal motivations in life. They say that the Vietnam war and the draft have catalyzed much of the reaction against the entire American "system." They feel the effects will be long term and may lead to permanent changes in institutions as their generation assumes leadership. They feel that too much racial prejudice still exists in the country but that black students are generally receiving no favors through lenient admission policies and watered-down grades. They feel that the aims of black studies programs are generally useful. To a man they oppose both the draft and the war. Some of their personal feelings about various aspects of campus protest are detailed in the captions under their photographs. What follows now is something about them and their thoughts about where they themselves are going. You might conclude that in their goals some of them are taking their own crack at the system. Bruce Gash of the University of Oklahoma guards against being
Michael Walczak, University of Minnesota, Duluth. The rioting looks contagious. When people see someone getting away with it, the more they are inclined to follow that method to get their own way. One of the problems is that the schools are unresponsive to student demands. Changes should be made but just haven't been made. I rather think students have good grievances that should be acted on, but I don't think rioting should be the way to win demands. There are other channels for colleges to use to deal with student unrest, such as student associations that work together with faculties 32 C&EN JUNE 2, 1969
Lynn Koob, Wart burg College, Waverly, Iowa. I like to think I can carry my idealism into my scientific work. I think this is an idealistic generation which is concerned about the shape of society. I think colleges will probably take more initiative to prevent many further demonstrations. My feeling is that students begin by quietly talking with administration officials only to find this method doesn't work. So they resort to more violent forms. If I were at Columbia I don't think I'd be rioting, but I do think I'd be participating in marches and sit-ins Jeffrey Rosenfeld, Illinois Institute of Technology. Protests have started on many campuses, I feel, because of a lack of communication. An open dialogue with students, teachers, and administrators is necessary. One of the worst demands from protesting students that could be met is for students to have the right to hire and fire teachers. And teachers should know best what the students should learn. Most of the students' demands are stupid. I think that students should have a consultant position and thus participate in administrative decisions, but they should have no real yes or no voice. If students' suggestions have merit, then university administrators should consider them
Ronald Peterson, Augustana College. I think one important reason why protests are so prevalent today is that some administrative people ignore anything else. The dissatisfied groups have gained power by protests; it's these groups' only alternative when power politics are used against them. Blacks have tried solving some of their problems through channels, but have gotten almost nowhere. So, I don't think that protesting is a fad; it's a true recognition of problems. I do hope, though, that violence is a fad of the protesters. Violence is a tool, and it will be used as long as protesters think it is necessary JUNE 2, 1969 C&EN 33
"typed" in his attitude toward student unrest; he says he often argues for both student and administration sides. His home is in Sequoyah County, a rural patch of Oklahoma with far too many schools for the population and too little industry for its own economic good. Bruce, while planning a career in research and teaching, hopes also to get back to his county somehow to help consolidate those schools and do what he can to attract some factories to the area. Caltech's Chris Dede is probably the most militant of the 12 as one of the leaders in a student movement protesting a confidential administration plan of action in the event of an uprising. He thinks the administration should be looking into the causes of student trouble as well. For his career, Chris Dede plans on a doctorate in education. His hope is to improve education in inner city ghetto schools. Ronald Peterson of Augustana College is heading toward a career in medicine. He doesn't feel that die medical profession has fully met the needs of the poor. "I want to play some part in finding a way to set up a system for alleviating the health prob-
lems or the poverty stricken," Ronald says. Notre Dame has had some protest this past academic year and David Tiemeier, who switched from premed to chemistry, has participated. "Our senior class plans to file a formal protest on the war in Vietnam. This maxtake the form of wearing white arm bands at graduation or we may erect crosses on the main campus with pleas to get out of the war." After graduation David will be moving on to graduate work in biochemistry at Berkeley. Jeffrey Rosenfeld of Illinois Institute of Technology, Mike Walczak of the University of Minnesota at Duluth, and James McNeer of Hampden-Sidney College fall into the more moderate class of this year's winners. Both James McNeer and Jeffrey Rosenfeld are happy with the performance of their school administrations and see no need to change anything, while Mike Walczak says his administration is responsive enough to student needs. As to future plans, James McNeer is veering toward a career in medical research, Mike Walczak hopes to teach and do research in chemistry, and Jeffrey Rosenfeld inclines toward work in
Thomas Clarke, Rice University, Houston. There are several roots to student unrest. Universities are not always willing to listen to students . . . the Vietnam war is probably the original source of unrest . . . the draft creates uncertainty for students . . . the black power movement has had an effect on some campuses . . . internal issues on some campuses have caused unrest. But largely it's because people suddenly realize they don't have a voice where they should have. Even though not all student demands are justified, they should be listened to
James F. McNeer, Hampden-Sydney College, Hampden-Sydney, Va. I resent demonstrators breaking up classes. But I think the demonstrations that are going on now are indicative of a trend that is coming.. Many students not taking part in the protest movement are quietly in sympathy with these people, but only if they are in agreement with the issues. Some students are not going to worry about things that need change for fear of overextending themselves. If the Vietnam war had not come along to stir action, something else would have 34 C&EN JUNE 2, 1969
Merit Award Winners in 1961 speak out on student unrest C&EN's custom of making awards to top students dates back to 1952 when the editors picked an AllChemical, Ail-American football team. Then in 1961 the editors broadened the nature of the award to include not only scholastic excellence but achievement in all types of extracurricular activity and they named the first 12 C&EN Merit Award winners. This year C&EN has tracked down—through alumni, professional society, corporate, and academic sources—the whereabouts and present activities of nine of these first Merit Award winners (see listings, right). Their comments and opinions on the complex issue of student unrest—based on telephone interviews—follow. Direct experience with student unrest among the winners is limited. Residing in Berkeley, Calif., John H. Arndt, Jr., recalls the beginnings of protest in the freespeech movement and dissatisfaction with students' lack of access to professors—in short, what fellow Caltech alumnus William R. Bauer describes as a feeling that they weren't getting a real education. As a professor at the University of Georgia, Dr. William E. Barnett has observed protests involving women's rights and, more recently, demands for black studies. Dr. Barnett cites the major role that Students for a Democratic Society plays in protests. Recruiting at Princeton, Dr. Charles E. Wilkes has seen protest mushroom and been aware of SDS's involvement. Relative calm prevails at State University College at Cortland where Dr. Peter M. Jeffers teaches and at Caltech where Dr. Bauer does research. For other award winners, information on protest comes from the mass media, alumni newsletters, books, and discussion. Yet as college graduates they evidence an intelligent concern for the causes and impact of student unrest. Beyond specific demands involving such issues as the Vietnam war, black studies, a greater voice in university administration, the award winners see the roots of unrest largely in terms of today's society. "Obviously we're a sick society," says Dr. Wilkes. Students recognize the inherent wrongs in society, says Richard C. Miller, and their affluence is a contributing
factor. Dr. Jeffers adds that students believe our economy has reached the point where we can right social wrongs. Assessing the cause of protest somewhat differently, Dr. William B. Deem attributes unrest, in part, to our "now" society where people accustomed to getting what they want, want it now and don't want to see and choose among a spectrum of alternatives. The related "Spocked rather than spanked" theory of permissive child raising may be another cause. At least Richard Miller thinks so and suggests that responsible parents need to take a stronger hand. But Mrs. James C. Barnes disagrees. What she wonders is where students find the time for protest and how much their education suffers. Questioned as to how, if at all, students today differ from students in the class of 1961, Dr. Wilkes says that students now do what students then only thought of doing. Several others point out that certain issues, principally Vietnam, didn't exist then. Chemistry professor Jeffers, however, believes that students today are more mature and better educated and thus are more concerned. Reaction to student demands by the award winners takes many forms. Air Force Capt. Crissman R. Lawrence, a veteran of 100 combat missions over North and South Vietnam, characterizes students as naive about the war, Dow Chemical, and napalm. What disturbed him most when he flew out of Thailand, he says, were accounts of students portraying the enemy as poor, downtrodden people whom the U.S. was molesting. Dr. Jeffers sees the antiwar protest differently. Demonstrations against Dow and ROTC are "valid," he argues, but it's wrong for the minority to expect to force its opinions on the majority. On this aspect, Dr. Barnett maintains that essentially it's good that a small minority can make so much noise and thus act as a barometer for our society. But if dissent were more widespread, he warns, it would be tragic for our society. The need, Dr. Barnett argues, is for more open communication among students, faculty, and the administrations. This, he says, commands students' respect. Dr. Bauer believes that students should have a voice and advise in university matters, but not vote on curriculum matters and faculty hiring.
John H. Arndt, Jr. (B.S. 1962, M.S. 1963, Caltech) now works for Chevron Research, Richmond, Calif., as a process design engineer. Married and the father of two children, John says he's very satisfied with his career Dr. William E. Barnett (B.A. 1962, Southern Illinois University, Ph.D. 1967, Columbia) now does research on reactions in unusual solvents and teaches at the University of Georgia, Athens. Dr. Barnett is married and has three children.
Colgate graduate Crissman Lawrence now instructs pilots after a Vietnam tour of duty
Dr. William R. Bauer (B.S. 1961, Ph.D. 1967, Caltech) now investigates closed circular DNA and works on ultracentrifugation techniques at Caltech, but will soon move to the University of Colorado, Boulder. Commenting on two years of study at Oxford, Dr. Bauer says he planned to switch to psychology, but changed his mind after six months
Caltech graduate John Arndt now works for Chevron Research
Dr. William B. Deem (B.S. 1961, Lehigh University, Ph.D. 1965, University of Wisconsin) now does process control and dynamic analysis R&D for Esso Research and Engineering in Linden, NJ. The change he'd make in his education, if he could do things differently, would be to go to a coed undergraduate school Dr. Peter M. Jeffers (B.A. 1961, Ph.D. 1964, Lehigh University) now teaches physical chemistry at State University College, Cortland, N.Y. The school's attraction for him, says Dr. Jeffers, is that it gives him the opportunity to teach and still do research, although at a slow pace Air Force Capt. Crissman R. Lawrence (B.S. 1961, Colgate) now instructs pilots at England Air Force Base in Alexandria, La. A veteran of 100 Vietnam combat missions, Capt. Lawrence plans to leave the service eventually to work for a small firm and continue flying
Lehigh graduate William Deem now works at Esso Research and Engineering
Richard C. Miller (B.S. 1961, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, M.S. 1962, University of Wisconsin) now is a senior project engineer for Esso Research and Engineering in Linden, N.J. Mrs. James C. (Ruth Vars) Barnes (B.S. 1961, Mount Holyoke, M.A. 1962, Radcliffe) taught high school chemistry in Needham, Mass., and now occupies herself largely with raising a young daughter Dr. Charles E. Wilkes (B.S. 1961, Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Ph.D. 1964, Princeton) now leads a section involved in chemical physics research at B. F. Goodrich's Brecksville, Ohio, research center C&EN couldn't locate Dr. David Cartwright, Thomas C. Richardson, or Michael C. Zerner
JUNE 2, 1969 C&EN 35
product-oriented industrial research. Lynn Koob of Wartburg College likes the prospect of a career in medical research, and is not "committed to any major change" on his campus. He thinks the administration and faculty sufficiently empathize with student needs. But he is concerned with the racial situation, believing that too many people still equate black with inferior. Tom Clarke of Rice University hopes to be teaching "at a high quality university, do chemical research, and take part in the changes society is undergoing." He feels students should have some say in administration policies but not have a collective vote greater than the faculty's. Ronald Billings, a Bucknell chemical engineering major, likes both law and his major field. But he'll probably try engineering for a while as he plots his life course. H e says law
Christopher Dede, Caltech. I think this unrest stems from a desire to get things changed, and the feeling that the system is not going to move unless it's first driven to a halt. The further the students are pressed to go in order to get their demands looked at, the more all this is going to escalate. I think a college president has a right to plan what to do in case a building is taken over, but he should look into the cause of unrest before it happens
gives a person a sense of independence and singularity that few engineers can experience. Richard Parker of Purdue is going ahead with his own hopes for a law career, leading possibly to a political career. "Law will provide me," he says, "with opportunity for direct involvement in the problems and challenges of modern, technological America." Chemistry, Richard says, will help give him insights into such problems. Dale Newton of North Carolina State is another premed student. His medical goals, however, are not research but medical practice. He feels that some of the causes of unrest could be alleviated by curriculums based on more participation by students in the teaching process, and by the de-emphasis of grades, which, he thinks, put unnecessary pressure on students.
Dale A. Newton, North Carolina State University, Raleigh. Student unrest on campus will be with us for a while. The student protest movement is not a conspiracy. It's a genuine concern that the values of our society up to now have failed. Isn't it just possible that perhaps a man's spirit, life, and family are more important than material things? Students are rebelling against this attitude of working for the dollar. Students should be called activists, not revolutionaries. They want needed reforms
Ronald Billings, Bucknell University, Lewisburg, Pa. It is not a Marxist type of revolution. Students aren't going to take over everything. Campus protests are an expression of genuine concern. There is somewhat of a bandwagon effect. I'd say that perhaps 3 to 5 % of the students are active in the protest movement. Perhaps another 2 0 % are silent, but sympathetic. Nonnegotiable demands are ridiculous. Such demands are defeating the purpose for organized change. An end to the Vietnam war will slow down campus protests. But if it doesn't end, the protests will get much larger
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Bruce Gash, University of Oklahoma, Norman. Today everyone's more socially aware, more liberal. The parents of so many here are part of the nouveau riche, having struck it rich in the oil industry. And these parents are horribly conservative. Why we're more socially aware may have something to do with coming here without the sole idea of learning a trade or a profession. Some come for pleasure, others for an education. Most come looking for the true sense of what a university is
C&EN advisory board members screening and judging merit award candidates this year were Dr. Richard A. Carpenter, Science Policy Research Division, The Library of Congress; Dr. Edward C. Fuller, department of chemistry, Beloit University; Dr. Thomas G. Gibian, vice president W. R. Grace & Co.; Richard F. Messing, vice president of Arthur D. Little, Inc.; Frank J. Pizzitola, executive vice president, Celanese Corp.; and Dr. Lewis H. Sarett, president of Merck Sharp & Dohme research laboratory.
Richard E. Parker, Purdue University, Lafayette. As a science student the protest movement has had a tremendous impact on me. My objectives have changed 180 degrees. I had intended to become a research scientist. But now I plan to give up chemistry and become a law student. This came about by a gradual change. My involvement with student government is one reason for the change; another is that I get more satisfaction working with people
Honorable Mention—C&EN Merit Awards, 1969 John Berg, Montana State University, Chemical Engineering Anne Blank, Thiel College, Chemistry Bonita Boger, Ohio State University, Chemistry Donald Boerth, North Dakota State University, Chemistry James Bray, North Carolina State University at Raleigh, Chemical Engineering Perry Camp, Oregon State University, Chemistry Paula Champion, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Chemical Engineering Kenneth Clem, University of Virginia, Chemical Engineering Charles Cooper, Clemson University, Chemical Engineering Linda Crist, Arkansas State University, Chemistry William Cummins, Oklahoma State University, Chemical Engineering Gregory Dobbs, Dartmouth College, Chemistry Robert Eager, Virginia Polytechnic Institute, Chemistry Darrell Fee, University of Missouri at Columbia, Chemistry Jeanne Foster, Central Michigan University, Chemistry Philip Freidenreich, Rutgers University, Chemistry Willis Frick, Ursinus College, Chemistry William Fuller, Ohio State University, Chemistry
Patricia Hicks, Wilson College, Chemistry Robert Holwerda, Stanford University, Chemistry William Hood, Drew University, Chemistry Timothy Keiderling, Loras College, Chemistry Burton Knapp, Middlebury College, Chemistry Linda Kozel, Hope College, Chemistry Zaida Luthey, University of Southern California, Chemistry Jon McCarty, Iowa State University, Chemical Engineering Calvin Mein, Kansas State College of Pittsburg, Pittsburg, Kan., Chemistry Steven Naberhuis, University of Evansville, Chemistry William Nichols, IV, Dartmouth College, Chemistry Douglas Nuelle, University of MissouriSt. Louis, Chemistry Peter Obligato, University of Arizona, Chemistry Jimmie Orum, Central State College, Chemistry John Paisley, Dartmouth College, Chemistry Frank Passero, Rutgers University, Chemistry Joanne Peebles, University of North Carolina, Chemistry Max Pepper, University of Pittsburgh, Chemical Engineering
Victor Garza, Pan American Chemistry
Sue Powers, University of Chemistry
College,
Thomas Hecht, Valparaiso University, Chemistry and Mathematics
Kentucky,
Jesse Rea, Lynchburg College, Chemistry
James Reinertsen, Chemistry Terrence Renner, Chemistry
St.
Olaf
DePaul
College,
University,
Jill Roberson, David Lipscomb College, Chemistry Marcia Rokus, Ripon College, Chemistry Diana Schultz, Valparaiso University, Chemistry Robert Shaw, Iowa State University of Science & Technology, Chemistry Jeffrey Sheldon, Carnegie-Mellon versity, Chemical Engineering
Uni-
Lucien Simpson, David Lipscomb College, Chemistry Charles Smith, Texas Technological College, Chemistry Frank Smith, III, University of Louisville, Chemical Engineering Toni Stovall, Colorado State University, Chemistry Richard Stadtmiller, Allegheny College, Chemistry David Tabb, University Chemical Engineering
of
Louisville,
Teri Traner, Marquette University, Chemistry John Tyson, Wheaton College, Chemistry Julian Weiss, Michigan State University, Chemical Engineering Billie Wilkerson, Chemistry
Roanoke
College,
Charles Woodworth, III, University of Pennsylvania, Chemical Engineering
JUNE 2, 1969 C&EN
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