The Stetson Reporter

THE FLORIDA'S OLDEST COLLEGE NEWSPAPER STETSON REPORTER Volume 80 Friday, May 17, 1968 NUMBER 23 Largest Class Since '50 Graduates Miss Smith Retires As Librarian Mr. Dudley Yates, 35, presently Assistant Director of University Libraries at the University of Southwest Louisiana, has been named the Librarian of Stetson's duPont — Ball Library as of June 15. Librarian Miss Charlotte Smith, who is completing 29 years of service to Stetson will take a much deserved rest by touring Europe this summer and will return in the fall on a part-time basis as a documents librarian. Mr. Yates has a bachelor's degree in English from Northeast Louisiana State College, a masters of Library Science from L.S.U., and a masters in anthropology from L.S.U. Before going to Southwest Louisiana, Mr. Yates was on the faculty of Parsons College. He is a Baptist, married and has two sons. FOR THE FIRST TIME President Geren will grant degrees to Stetson's 363 graduates with Chancellor Edmunds assisting. The ceremony will be held in the Forest of Arden on the evening of June 2. Russell Kirk Traces Urban Disintegration Dr. Russell Kirk, leading conservative scholar and philosopher, cited "personal and social disintegration" rather than poverty as the cause of the urban crisis in the U.S. today. His remarks were made Monday night at the first lecture of Stetson's Political Emphasis Week, entitled "Dialogue "68" and keynoting on the problems of the urban areas. The week's program had originally been scheduled to begin March 18 but was posponed when the appearance of Negro comedian and civil rights activist Dick Gregory was cancelled at the request of Stetson's Board of Trutsees. A well-known author and columnist, .Kirk's daily column, "To the Point," appears "in more than one hundred newspapers . across . America "and his book. The Conservative Mind, is recognized as a major tenant of modern enlightened conservatism. Kirk attacked the emphasis placed on poverty in trying to solve the unrest of the ghettos. He contended that the poor would always be with us and that "poverty is <a by-product of the personal, social disintegration which is not" caused by poverty but a phenomena of it." To substantiate this claim, Kirk referred to the many other places in the world that are in much worse shape than the U.S. in terms of absolute in-. . come and the absence of trouble they have had. He- commented that if poverty had been the cause of the recent riots, they would have occured much earlier when the average in come was much lower and when a greater percentage of American families were pover- ty-s,t'T_cke__. Tracing the deterioration of the core city from the time of its prime in the 19th Century to the present, Kirk gave the development of the auto as one factor. It gave the leadership of the community the opportunity to move out of the city and broke up the basic neighborhood unit. About the same time came the influx of immigrants from Europe. However, because they were more prosperous than they had been and because they brought their own organization and church with them", they adapted will to the urban life. Kirk stated. World War II signaled the beginning of the crisis when the influx of rural Negros from the South into the Northern cities began. Because they had no organization, did not bring their church with them, and had no experience in urban living, their adjustment to the new environment was slow and and painful. Kirk condemned the Federal government for trying to ease this adjustment by mass urban renewal. He said this "federal bulldozer" creates an "urban desert" and in turn HO T I G E LEADEBSHIP DA* HAS BEEN ■ CANCELLED destroys family and racial unity. The Aid to Dependent Children program drew the most criticism from Kirk because of its contribution to the social disintegration of the urban dweller. He called it a " "subsidy to bastardy" and noted that many fathers leave their wives because the welfare checks will be bigger and that children in order to receive more benefits. The basic causes of ' the recent riots are an outgrowth of this, Kirk contended. It is be cause the present generation is the third to survive on' welfare, that they have no roots, landmadrks, or family. They-ar. bored with life and most any thing can spark them-in action, Kirk stated. Proposing some long-range solutions, Kirk said that they will come through voluntary and local "reconstitution of the neighborhood," and that "most of the work will have to be done by persons who have some racial, ethic, _or religious bond. 363 Degrees To Be Given June 2nd Stetson's largest class since the post-World War H veteran's bulge will be graduated on Sunday, June 2, in the Forest of Arden. About 363 degrees will be conferred, 26 or these for master's studies and the rest on the baccalaureate level. This is tK§ biggest since June, 1950, when over 450 degrees were granted in liberal arts and music in addition to 110 law degrees. Sunday will begin early for the graduates with the Baccalaureate Services at the First Baptist Church at 8 a.m. Delivering the address will be Dr. Malcom Knight, pastor of the Souths'ide Baptist Church of Jacksonville. Graduation will begin at 7 p.m. in the Forest of Arden with President Paul F. Geren and Chancellor J. Ollie Edmunds granting the degrees. In case cf rain the service will be held in the First Baptist Church. The granting of some 50 Jurist Doctor degrees will take place Saturday, June 1, at the law campus in St. Petersburg. Seniors and their parents will be honored by President and Mrs. Geren at a reception in their honor at the President's heme at 8:30 Saturday evening. ROTC Commissions will also be presented during Commencement to about 55 seniors by Lt. Col. David D.' McCorvey, Professor of Military Science. Some of these new Army officers will begin active duty immediately while many have received delays in order to attend graduate school; VISITING CONSERVATIVE AND FACULTY LIBERALS — Dr. Russell Kirk, right at lecturn utters the modern conservative dogma while Profs. Critoph, Hague, and Evans Johnson ponder and prepare for rebuttal at a panel discussion Monday afternoon as a nart'of Political Emphasis week. I