hieronymous, page six, february 26, 1968
Clark--the man in the tower
|Bruce Anderson
By Patsy Miller
and Sue Harrington
"I want to listen to what people
have to say and if they are
right, I will acknowledge it. If
they are wrong, 1 will try to
communicate with them to reevaluate it. Some won't do it.
You must believe in what you are
doing and go ahead."
do ahead, the students demanded. Explain the recruiting
procedures, the tear gas and the
police on campus. For one and a
half hours on Tuesday, Nov. 21,
1967 SJS President Robert D.
Clark faced more than 2,000
students, he later explained that
he was not frightened, he was not
fighting them; they had asked him
to speak. But he was astounded
by the faces of some of the students. The expressions were not
simple anger or a mood of hatred,
but something beyond.
The demonstrations were perhaps the most curcial test Pres.
Clark has had to face in his
more than three years at SJS.
But the protests exposed what
those cloest to him in the faculty
and administration already
knew--beneath the quiet, soft-
spoken manner there is a determined inner strength.
Students generally see only the
quiet, thoughtful man and Dr.
Clark tries to see the students
often. He likes students and he
wants to meet them on their
own terms. "I don't carry my
office with me," he has said.
He tries to leave behind what he
calls "pretense of office." When
he first meets a student he wants
to know about them, their hometown, their opinions and
interests. He is especially interested in what they are reading.
Reading is one of the hobbies he
has been able to maintain in spite
of a busy schedule. He asks
the study's what they are reading and then he reads it, jotting
notes as he goes. His library
includes me biography of
Malcolm X, Bertrand Russell,
T. S. Eliot and Ayn Rand. Many
of his readings concern campus
problems across the nation.
Much of what the SJS President sees and reads is written
down in journals which he has
maintained since high school.
Often he has a secretary type a
favorite passage for future reference.
Passing those secretaries may
seem formidable to students so
Clark goes to them. He has
attended all Sparta and Freshmen
Camps and Greek Retreats. During registration he talks with
those "wonderfully good natured
and long suffering students" who
must go through an outdated
system for a college of this size.
Clark believes computerized
registration will come, but in a
matter of time. One good feature
of the present system, he feels
is the opportunity for students to
get acquainted.
The college president sees SJS
as a lonely crowd. A student
may never have the same student
in another class throughout his
entire college career. Pres.
Clark would like to see the college
curriculum reorganized in
smaller, more automonous
groups. Something similar to the
cluster college concept at UC
at Santa Cruz would be desirable.
"Students relate to themselves
not to cafeteria-type offerings,"
he said. "Students learn from
each other. . .they relate to
each other through common
participation in classes."
Tutorials, the PEER program
and Experimental College are
beginnings in this direction.
One of the reasons Clark was
attracted to the college was its
location. According to the president, the biggest problems today
are urban oriented. SJS is in
the center of one of the nation's
fastest growing urban areas. It
was a challenge to him to prepare students to face these problems.
Clark didn't come to SJS with
the idea of changing it. In fact,
he never planned to be a college
president at all. He had been
at the University of Oregon for
approximately 20 years rising
from assistant professor of
speech to dean of faculties. Part
of his decision to accept the SJS
post was the belief that a change
of job and surroundings is necessary as a part of growth.
Dr. Clark didn t come to the
college with planned programs.
"What is suited to one college is
not always best for another."
Programs should be developed
within the present college framework, he believes.
In regard to SJS' bid for university status, Clark states the
college should not be a research
center like the university system.
The state colleges, he says, are
designed to serve the liberal
arts student. University status
should not change this purpose.
If SJS can offer something unique
and different as-in education as
(continued page seven)
