Students strike out on their own

'by Dennis Hansen

For students seeking offrcampus
study experiences, GrinnelHn»
London and the other Grinnell'
sponsored programs are not the
only possibilities. Each year a
number oi enterprising Grinnell
Students seek to enrich their
learning experiences by tailoring

- individual study programs abroad.

2,"

t

Several Grinnell students who
have taken advantage oi this op-
portunity agreed that they chose
not to participate in a program
sponsored by Grinnell because
they did not want to go abroad with
other Americans, but desired to
study among foreign students.
Margaret Bogie spent last year
studying in England at the
University oi Hull. She not only
wanted to get away from other
American students but wanted a
program speciiically suited to her

~ interest in medieval history, with
, small classes ot six people or less,

cheryl

Photo by Grinncil ' unanner Sherman Boone»
ll-inJlondon participants Lci Mn hall and
we stop to chat with a Londoner as they
to Thames near iiritain's pai aniciit
-. They are two oi the fortyrsix or men
il0\\‘ involved in the orinncll- -Loiidon

y me (“app and lllaryShepaiil

s n Both the authors went to ltaly last
arti pants in the ACM Florence Semester.
ked tewrite an article about their stay in
, tlﬁchose to list key points oi the
1
~ location oi the program is Florence, Italy.
n is about the same size as G 'nnell, though
'e fundamental cultural dissimilaritics.
e program’s basic thrust is to acquaint
with Renaissance painting, sculpture, and
-ture by visiting Italian towns oi special
importance. Classes extend irom Mon.»
ith the Weekend Set aside for lravelling,
l we visited all major towns in Tuscany, as
Ravenna Rimini Padua. Rome, Venice
and i Cheer.
dents. e a 7 week intensive Italian course
y native Italians The classes are small and
l and most students have a good command
nguagﬁy the end of the course ltalian can
,d upgeasily as an American tourist on the
ccchio.
e allows for individual travel to parts of
covered by the group. There is also ample
i ity to leave Italy and visit other European
ike h‘lnich in October!)
sides Art, there are also opportunities to
'awing at the University of Florence, or take
music or voice lessons. Most students were
d by the quality oi their instructors.
ing is a highpoint oi Florence. You can still
d three course meal in Italy for only 180,000
uout 89 cents)
temporary Italy' is anothel subject of study
progﬁ. The current political develop-
hould make it exciting to be in Florence
-xt few years. At the brink at setting out on
communist path, ltaly is increasingly
g the focus of world attention. The Italian
~ie program are a highly political
as an excellent source of "1'
tn on this matter
5 a sketchy outline of the Florence program.
or u‘ ho participated have come back to
i try with a deep admiration for Italy and all
alian. Although our memories are growtng
d more ha7y in time and we can no longer
- imnﬂrfect passive subjunctive Italy flows
eins.
and speak to us aboutvthe program. vvvvv

Margaret iound that she received
lnuch individual attention. Tuition
fees were less than $700 and room
and board was under $1500, The
total cost tor her year oi study at
the University of Hull was less than

Howard

lJyJanntI’tiiic
“It was a worthwhile experience

. I got alot out of it,” stated
Cole reierring to her
Semester at Howard University.
Grinnell started an informal ex-
change arrangement with Howard,
which is located in Washington,
D.C Last year Cole and four others
attended the university. This
semester four students are per
ticipating in the program, Though
no Howard students have attended
Grinnell, Charlie Davis, professor
of English and black studies, said
he hopes that they will in the
future.

According to Clifford Reid,
professor ot economics and taculty
advisor tor the program, Howard
is the top black university in the
country. “They have a lot of good
people there. I think it’s a quality
institution," he commented, In it's
summary booklet, Howard is
described as “the one institution of
higher learning in the country
where black Americans and other
minority people could participate
ireely in a true university ex-
perience." According to Cole,
Howard is attended by about 10,000
students and is “right dead
smack” in the center of the city.

Reid explained that the program
was developed, in part, due to the
limited course oiieriiigs in the
sociology and psychology
departments. He said that students
felt the need for additional and
varied classes, The need for black
students to be exposed to a
primarily ‘black' environment was

@3000. Another positive factor was
her opportunity to travel. Grinnell
granted 32 credits for her year‘s
\vork. Margaret was very satisiied
with her experience and highly
recommended it to students With
similar interests. In fact, She was
so pleased that she plans to do post-
graduate study there
Desiring to be enrolled in the
same classes with British students,
Rick Day completed two semesters
of study in political science at the
University oi Bath in Bath,
England. Rick icund the people in
charge of the program to be very
helpful and sincerely interested in
students’ needs, Including air fare,
the total cost for two semesters
was $400 less than a year at
Grinnell, Day remarked that Bath
was a beautitul, well-kept city. He
was very satisfied with his year
and lelt it a worthwhile experience.
Suzanne Friedman wanted to
study sociology in a ioreigii
country. She was admitted to the
University of Leicester, in
England, which is noted for its
sociology department. Believing
that it is beneficial for students to
“get totally away irom Grinnell.”

she didn’t want to go to Europe and
study in classes with other Grinnell
or American students, Suzanne
lound it cheaper tor a year at
Leicestor than at Grinnell, in
general, she was happy she had the
opportunity to study at Leicestor.

In choosing an .European
University, Rick Lancaster was
interested in an institution with a
strong history department He
chose Edinburgh University in
Scotland, where he studied
European History. Scottish
History, and Economics for a year
Lancaster was pleased with the
courses and faculty and enjoyed
his opportunity to travel during
vacations. He found his own living
quarters, but regretted not living
in the university dormitories with
more opportunities to meet othei
students Tuition at Edinburgh was
$600 and total expenses for a year,
including travel. were less than the
total tees at Grinnell. Rick sought
to get away irom other American
students, but found that there were
many at Edinburgh. He was well
satisiicrl with his study experience,
but advises other students who
don‘t want to be with Americans to

go to one of the other Scottish
universities.

While the others chose to study in
Great Britain, Pat Murphy spent a
semester last year studying and
travelling in France, She spent two
months in Paris learning French
on tier own. Then she went to the
university at Montpellier in
southern France She took courses
at the institute for foreign students
and also audited regular courses at
the French university. Pat was not
pleased with the French university
system, but she ielt that she
lcarned a lot from her experiences
outside the classroom. She feels
studying abroad helps a student
become more resourceful and
enables him to meet more people.
Pat was on a personal leave and
received six credits for the
semester.

None of the five students in-
terviewed had any difficulty
getting Grinnell College to approve
their plans ior study or to accept
credits earned abroad. All seemed
pleased with their experiences
which provided positive op-
portunities for them to broaden
their educational backgrounds.

offers ’b/ack experience'

also cited by Reid and Davis as a
reason tor the development ot the
Howard Program. Reid also
commented that black students
may not have the parent financial
resources to enable them to par
tipate in other oil-campus
programs. Though city living is
more expensive than smallrtown
Iowa habitation, Howard’s tuition
and fees are considerably lower
than Grinnell's. In 1973774 come
prehensive tuition was $450 and on
campus housing ranged irom $225
to $325 per semester

Cole attended Howard primarily
for academic reasons, ”I thought it
would be a good thing to do to
supplement what i was doing
here," she explained. “i went
because I wanted to take some
sociology classes that dealt with
black people,” “Negro in
America," “Sociological
Disorganization in the Black
Community.” and a black
educational philosophy course
were among the classes in which
Cole enrolled. She said that she
found her classes Worthwhile,
commenting that the kind ot things
discussed were different than at
Grinnell Academic pressure was
less than at Gi‘innell, she said.

Various speakers were con-
stantly on campus, according to
Cole. “Howard attracts a lot of
\vellrknown black scholars," .she
explained.

Cole also said that ‘the urban
experience’ is very much a part oi
attending Howard. ”You Can’t
avoid it," she said, She explained

that the college and the community
try to work together as much as
possible. Members oi the college
community tutor kids, help those
on weltare and teach classes tor
members oi the community to
attend

Rcid commented that reactions
oi those attending Howard have
generally been favorable. Cole
veriiied this opinion when she said

that the advantages outweigh the
disadvantages.

So far, only black students have
participated in the Howard
Semester Program. However, Cole
encouraged while students to think
about attending. “I think it would
he really good for them to be ex
posed to that kind oi en-
vironment," she commented.

Add these words to your basic vocabulary
now, Whether or not‘you’re planning a trip

to Mexico soon.

SPANISH
chocho
gargarizando
sacamuelas
hulla
manteca
pantuﬂa

w
childish old man
gargling

quack dentist
soft coal

lard

bedroom slipper

Arriving At THE TRAEKS
This Friday Night:

Folk Guitarists

Bob Aldrich
& Tim Connor

Playing From 9 to 12
(Bring A Pillow To Sit Out)

Here atJose Cuervo, we believe
an informed consumer is an
informed consumer.

loss eusRvm rsQulLA, so PROOF
(MPDRTED AND BOTTLED ever-m. HEUBLEIN. INC , HARTFORD, coNN,

 

