Headlines sound eerily familiar:
- Congressional subpoenas and testimonies
- Political unrest around the world
- Presidents and the word impeachment regularly used in the same sentence
- Protests
- Russians creating havok
A major difference is that in 1969 there were only three news channels, and they did not broadcast the news 24/7 – complete with “experts” to explain and spin each and every nugget of information. People read newspapers and books and sought out information. They discussed it in person, often on panel discussions containing actual experts. They certainly did not always agree.
In 2019 there is 24/7 news on an unlimited number of social media channels. Television has mind-numbing discussions of news and issues which are often just shouting matches. Personal discussions are conducted by way of Tweets or comments on a Facebook post from people who really don’t know what they are talking about. They are just repeating something they heard or saw somewhere else without taking the time to research to find out the truth of the matter. In a world of nearly unlimited access to information, we are starving for wisdom. We still do not always agree, but chances of encountering a thoughtful discussion with participation of a true panel of experts in person is less likely.
Products of our time (and participants in it)
The 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 Mission is everythwere at the moment. We are taking some time to look back through time to discover (rediscover) what life was like the year that we took a Giant Leap for Mankind.
That year contained not one big event, but many.
The country was reeling from the Vietnam War. The Stonewall Riots began the Gay Rights movement. American Indians seized Alcatraz. The Young Lords group (working for Puerto Rican and other Latino rights) took over the 1st Spanish United Methodist Church in Spanish Harlem to bring attention to their mission of empowering young Latinos, and the Black Panthers were actively engaged throughout the country.
And yet……that year also gave us a great many things that we now consider to be standards in our culture, including: Scooby Doo, Cracker Barrel, Wendy’s, The Brady Bunch, Monty Python’s Flying Circus, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, Frosty the Snowman, PBS, and Sesame Street. The Beatles played their last concert together, released their last album together, and ZZ Top and Led Zeppilin came on the scene. A lot was going on.
Click here to see a timeline of some of the hightlights (including some from WVWC).
1969 at WVWC
All of these things were certainly part of the lives of students and faculty at Wesleyan. But, while the world was busy going crazy in the 1960s, Wesleyan was busy growing. Seven new buildings were added to campus in that decade, creating what I like to refer to as the Oval Side of Campus. The Benson House (now the Erickson Alumni Center) was purchased to house the new nursing program. Six new buildings rose from the mud: Doney Hall, Benedum Campus Community Center, Holloway Hall, Paul G. Benedum Hall, Christopher Hall of Science, and Wesley Chapel and Martin Religious Center.
These last two in particular embody the importance of both the sciences and Liberal Arts at WVWC. The idea that both buildings are important enough to put forth time and resources at such a time in history to make them a reality.
The Summer 1969 issue of the Sundial was dedicated to covering the importance of science in our world and in the curriculum here at Wesleyan. Sadly, this issue has slipped through the cracks of our scanning!! (Which just points out exactly why we need to finish all of that work). Here is the cover, and I have transcribed a few excerpts.
On the cover: Recent scientific progress has brought the age of space into our daily lives. We can no longer talk about the prospect of space travel as if it were a remote possibility. Our earth-born “Man-on-the-Moon” has made us dramatically aware that our shrinking world is part of a shrinking universe. The cover shows an astronomer’s view of the Milky Way. Sagittarius is in the center. The two bright spots in the lower right portion are the Magellanic Clouds. (photograph courtesy of J.M. Wiley & Sons, Inc. Publishers)
Haymond Hall of Science had served well since 1914, but it was no longer equipped for the types of things that needed to be done as the 1960s came to a close. Many people dreamed of more, as we see in this excerpt:
The brick, block, steel, and machinery, even the inconveniences of noise and mud represented the fulfillment of a dream. This was the dream of students and teachers who had labored in the antiquated confines of Haymond Hall. This was the dream of the Board of Trustees and the administration as they worked to improve Wesleyan’s science education program. This was the dream of countless alumni who contributed to our building fund. This had been the dream of Nicholas Hyma to whom our science program owes so much. This was the dream of Mrs. and Mrs. Frank Christopher who gave generously toward the construction of the building. This was the dream that now had become a reality. Wesleyan gazed in wonder as the Christopher Hall of Science rose from the mud.
The doors opened, and the first classes were taught, in February 1969. Just as things were gearing up for that Apollo 11 Moon Landing.
There was so much joy in this accomplishment that there were three days of celebrations centered around science. The three main events were in keeping with the values of the college. Importance of curriculum and preparing students, creative (and very accurate) thinking about the future of the world, and worship.
- A Panel Discussion: “The education of scientists, as viewed by representatives of industry, foundations, higher education and government was explored at the panel discussion. The general topic of the panel was “Perspectives In Science Education.” The discussion centered on current trends in science education and the preparation of future scientists.”
- Convocation Speaker: Arthur C. Clark spoke. Yes, the scientist and science writer who was nominated that year with Stanley Kubrick for an Academy Award for Screenwriting — 2001: A Space Odyssey spoke in Wesley Chapel. His topic was “The World of 2001,” and featured science and technology of the future. In his verbal tour of life in 2001, he discussed the questions of efficient land control, a dwindling food supply, instant communication, agricultural use of the sea, and artificial production of food products.
- Worship Service: Conducted by Dr. Webster H. Sill, Jr., a 1939 graduate of Wesleyan and now a professor teaching botany and plant pathology at Kansas State University. His topic is “Facts–Undergird Science, Morals, and Faith.” Dr. Sill is a well-known scientific author and lecturer. He has done considerable research on diseases in food crops in the Philippines and India. Dr. Sill is also the minister of the Sedalia (KS) Community Church. He has been pastor at this church since 1963 and has been either minister or assistant minister in New York, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, and Kansas churches. He was Kansas Layman of the Year in 1957. Dr. Sill won his letter in football and baseball at Wesleyan. What a wonderful choice of a speaker! Dr. Sill embodied a very successful alumnus, who had been a student athlete, and who had gone on to be very successful in both the sciences and the church. A scientist with a heart for the Liberal Arts.
It was a Moment in Time and Space.