Page Six

SCARLET AND BLACK

Friday, May 20. I9§0

 

 

Student Life In Ceylon Includes

Few Extra-Currie

by Al Fisher

When I began my first a)"
ticle about lite in Lnnka seven
months ago, i had very little
contact with the students or
their way ot lite. 1 had hecn
in Ceylon tor only two weeks
when i wrote that article and
on the morning at September
25th when I mailed‘ that iirst
_ article, the late prime minister,
Mr. Banda-anaike, was shot by
an assassin.

‘Sinee that total act much has
happened in Ceylon and in this
part otthc world, Ceylon L'Cns

tiiiues to be in political turmoil,

as politicians tight for powe
The economic situation ap-
proaches bankruptcy, as Ceylon's
Middle East tea market may be
lost in'a boycott by the Arab
League nations in protest against
Ceylon’s sending an envoy to
Israel.

Meanwhile Ceylon’s great nor—
thern neighbor has had border
disputes with People’s Cllinai
a threat to democracy in india
and Prime Minister Nchl'u's pos
litrcal supremacy and non-

alignmcnt policy. At the present'

time the heads of the govern-
.ménts ot these two great nations
are meeting in New Dehli in an
attempt to solve their dif
ences and return to the relation.
ship of peacetul political Co-ex~
istence.

Within this contusing atmos-
phere with possibly a not too'
bright tuture, the students of
Aquinas university college at
tempt to prepare themselves in
various ways to tnke the Lon»
don university examinations in
their various iields oi study.
And'the atmosphere indeed is
coniusing, especially when job
opportunities are very iew at
the present, with little hope
of' an increase in the hear he
turei

Higher education is a luxury
in Ceylon and is pursued as a
means of securing a better job.
Hence. for many, studies are
important only as the first cause‘
in a series of ettects: study to
pass the examinations, pass the
examinations to qualify tor the
degree and secure the degree in
order to land good employment,

A further problem of'motiva-
tion is the orientation of the
matcriél which the students
must study. Since thEy must
take the London Exams, they
must know the material expect-
an to be assimilated by the slu»
dents of Great Britain.

For instance, at Grinnell we
take for granted that the prob.
lems and orientation of‘cul‘workv
will center around western civ-l
ilization, especially that ot Lhcv
United States. Ttiis is only nat-
ural and a matter ot common
sense, we would say.

Yet the student in Ceylon or
elsewhere in the
wealth who sits tor the London
examinations studies the same
material directed toward pres.
ent day problems and knowl-
edge in the United Kingdom.
And it should be obvious that
there is a great diiterence bc-
tween Ceylon and the UK.

It is no wonder then that :

most Aquinas students who
study for degrees hope to go
abroad to study (It one of the
great British Universities
the future. And it follows
that many of these Western
educated students, discontent-
ed with and disconnected
from Ceylon because of their
“western" education, choose to
emigrate from the land of
their birth and immigrate into
a “western" country.

How \vcstcnlizcd is Aquinas?
lt depends upon the definilian
of \vestol'llizcd. Without a single
exception all men students wear
Wcslern drcss (trousers in com~
parison to the national dress ot
a sarong). The Women students
w’ear eithcr the sari m‘ skirt
and blouse.

The medium or instruction
continues to be English, and the

Common— I

in ,

"ML“!"L

Sports played throughout the
island are those of the West,
Only the loud sci’ved remains

“eastern" or local, though a Icw'

“western" sweets are available.
The system of instruction is
based upon that lound in Great
Britain. There is the lecture
period of a tull hour with the
possibility of having three cane
tinuous lectures, totaling three
hours in duration, in which i
student only moves when
stands as a lecturer entcrs
leaves the lecture room.
There is usually an opportunity
,tor questions, but often the Ice»
turer rattles on While the stu-
dents, olten tar behind in their
notes, are trying to catch his
tlecting words. Other lecturers
slowly dictate notes for the full
hour. All that is usually required
of a student at a lecture is his

is
or

pearzmce.

In addition to the lectures
the student must attend tutorial
classes in which he may be
called‘upon to read'and‘defcnd

assigned topic or question,

These classes usually have
about five to eight students tok«
ng part. The tutorial then gives
ville iaculty members an oppore
ltunity to guide his students in a
personal relationship.

From the senior school certiti.
,eate at 15 and up through the
lvarious levels of attainment, the
examination is ot tantamount lmr
.portancc. Hence a student may
study privately tor his examiner
tions —— only the score on the
e amination determines his quals
itication.

The pressure and importance
oi these examinations are tree.
mendous. And to prolong the
l intensity of the results, the
1 Ceylonese must wait at least
i three months beioro he knows
1 whether he passed or tailed.

Another problem at Aquinas

,are expensive, and many courses
have no text accompanying
them. The library ot 10,000 vols
iumcs has a good circulation but
not as great as might ht: exa
pccted with the lack of text.
books, The degree students seen
to have better reading habits
,than the newer, advanced level
students.

The science students have
good laboratory tacilities, thanks
to the cttorts of the rector,
,chv. rather Peter A. Pillai, an
laccomplishcd scientist, and tunds
from the Asia ioundation, which
purchased the tine equipment.

The extracurricular activities
of the students are very limited.
Since Aquinas is a noiri-csidcin
all students must

 

ttlal college,

{commute by train, bus, car, mo—l
,‘tor cycle or scooter, bicycle or1

,on foot.
Also, the student body is
split between day students
(550) and evening students
I (110). The sport iacilitics are
very limited, consisting ot one
cement badminton court, one

and a grassscovered netball
court for the women students.

Other lccrcatiunal
includes pingrpong, cari-om and
card playing (always one game
or bridge in progress). Otlici»
wise the studcnis‘the men In
their common room and the
women in thell‘sislt, talk and
'drink tea or thc newly avail-
able bottles of milk.

Aquinas is usually represented
in most sports tournaments, but
the teams tail to achieve their
,potciitial because ot the lack of
lpl'aclice, organization, funds and
equipment. No team ever has a
regular daily practice session,
and there are no coaches tor any
oi the sports.

, Student government is evol—
ving through an elected student
organization called the Aquinas
Students Union. it has as its
aim the tostcring ot a spirit oi
cooperation among its members,
the development ot the art of

 

presence and an absorbent ap.'

is the lack of textbooks. Books-

llard earthen basketball court .

activityI

Hall Accounls IGiImour Commenls On ResuIl‘s

ITo Be Closed

l June 3 is the dcudline lor

,g,campus organizations to pay alll

vbills and turn in their clicck
books to student auditor Walter
Frank.

Attcr today the student audia
Itor’s ottice-will be open only
‘during the iollowing hours:

pm; Wednesday, June 1,
Friday, June 3, hours to be post-
ch later.

All bills must be paid before
leaving school. It they are not
lpaid by the organization. they
‘will automatically be paid by
the auditor trom the organiza»
lion’s account.

public speaking and the provid—
ftellcctual, physical and
development,

This organization has been’
in existence tor iive years
during which it has spon-
sored oratorical contests,
sports meets and an annual
I social. The union is also ad.
dressed by prominent Ceylon-
i cse and ioreigners speaking

 

notional nitoirs.

;’ In direct comparison with our
,system, Aquinas would compare
more with a high school in many
10f its activities, though its in-
tellectual pursuits are equal to
-thosc of Grinncll. Being

Catholic institution and one of
the six or so educational instir
tutions in Ceylon which is com~
pletcly iildependcnt or unassist-
cd by the government in any
way, Aquinas university college
has a difficult but deliiiitc rolc
vto play in the luture ot Ccylon.

It is the dear hope of the
founder and rector, Rev. Father
Peter Pillai, that students of
Aquinas, like the saint attor-
which it was named, will pur-
sue their studies witliiii a
tframework or spiritual undei
lStanding, intellectual growth an
sincerity.

Turning away from Aquinas
and these brici comments
about-student lire there, let
me' once again return to the
political situation. Tonight the
governmcnt‘ was defeated on
the Address of Thanks by a
majority or 25 votes, 86-61:
Primé Minister Dudley Scii-
onayake will meet with the
governorgcneral' to in o r r o w
morning at x.

it is possible, since the major.
ity was so large, that parliament
will not be dissolved and the

called upon to see it he can
form a government, For c. P. de
Silva, the leader of
ILanke Freedom party to term
align with at least one Marxist

of the future are not \'Ci‘y Cnr
couraging

All Kinds of
MAGAZINES

~School Supplies

—Tobaccos‘
——Pipcs
—Typewriter
Supplies
and
. Repair
Available
at
LARO’S
N‘EW’S S‘T‘ANID

 

l

Tuesday, 374 pm.; Thursday, so
andi

ing of facilities for Iurlhcr ine’
social,

H mm he has memred on an , on current problems and inter. ,

.‘ to be by far the strongest Dem-

lcadcl‘ of the opposition will ‘bc'

the Srl ,

to government, he will have to,

party, the Troiskllc LSSP. Signs,

I
lCont. from p. 1

,’ think that on could have
1 won here \\‘I lioiit Rockeioller
as a vice—presidential condi—
date. “I am very well pleased
with the results," Glcystecn
said.

South campus voted tor the
Nixonitoclcelcller ticket 166 to’
‘ldd tor Stevenson and Kcn~
Vnelly. The Republicans got 2lz
votes on north campus, and the
Democrats got 209. There were
38 spoiled ballots on south
.campus and l9 on north campus.

Miss Harrington, now pl‘csir
dent ot the young Democrats
Club, stated: “In the light of
the contrasting statements of Mr.
Stevenson and Vice-President
Nixon on the critical events 0[
the past week, it is tragic that
more Grinncll students did not
take this opportunity to repudk
ate a bad policy and those who
have determined it and defend-
ed it."

The President of the Young
Republicans made no Comment
on the results. ’

 

Mlkc Horowitz, the head of
,the Kennedy forces, said, . .
lboth or the slates were un—
vi-ealistic looking at the national
‘picturc" He explained that the
,liberal Rocketellcr, who is not
even attending the National Re-
,publican Convention, attractedi
some otherwise Grinnell Dunn}
lcrats to vote chublican.

The Democratic ticket sclcct~
ed at the Mock political Con.
lvention is also unrealistic, he
said, because Stevenson says
,himsclt he is not running andI
Kennedy is generally considered

ocratic Candidate

Edwin C. Gilmour (political
science), the head oi the Grins
nell Program in Practical P0-
liticnl Education and also a
Democratic member of the
Iowa Senate, made' the {oliow- I
ing statement: I

“I am pleased at the voter
turn-out. including the iiuinbcrl
ot spoiled ballots, well over 3079‘
of the dormitory students voted.
The results were a bit sul‘pris»l
ing to in I confess. l thought:
that the-.Nixon-ltockcteller tick-
et’ ould win by a much larger-l
plurality. i think the Mock Pres;
,idential Election was a most
worthwhile political expci'icncc'
for all who participated."

 

In ciplaining why he had
expected n Republican Victory
in the Mock Election, Gilmour
I said that his observations in
the classroom had led him to
believe that there were many ‘

 

I

FOR' SALE. . . . ,.

 

more Grinncll students who

were Republican than Demo-

cratic.

in wow ot the closeness ot
the election, sonic emphasized
the importance of the fact that
there were 57 spoiled ballots.’
This was the iirst experience
with voting machines lor most
Grinncllions and as a result
many tailcd to operate them
correctly.

The voter is to push the lever

to the right ot the candidate's
name so that the x to the right
of the name can be seen, The ,
x must remain exposed until
the master lever is pulled to
open the curtain.

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