"Intellectual climate lacking outside Centennial sphere
If
By Deb Gray
For some Centennial alumni, auld acquaintance
will never be forgot, for the ties formed during
Centennial's infancy ran deeper than a four-year
education.
Five years ago, Buster Griffing, Terry Wittner, Jim
Schaffer and Bill Locke lived together in Centennial.
After graduation, the men remained close friends and
now have roomed together.
Last Saturday, Schaffer, Griffing, and Wittner
discussed the early Centennial College. What it was
like working to transfer a leaming-for-learning's sake
philosophy into reality. The . men agreed that
Centennial provided intellectual stimulation lacking
in most of the UNL curriculum.
Griffing lived at Centennial for three years.
Through the Centennial Educational Program (CEP),
he said, he associated with a higher grade of faculty
and students. The Centennial program also fostered a
"healthy skepticism" toward his education, he said,
by encouraging an active attitude toward learning.
More activism
"The people weren't so much of a higher
intellectual group, but they were more activist,"
Griffing said. "There were a lot of people into a lot of
different activities. There were some into politics or
government, others into tutoring of Indian children."
Wittier said his year in Centennial injected
confidence into his performance in other University
classes, especially in dealing with faculty.
"Besides the closeness of dormitory living, I gained
a lot in terms of a more intimate learning situation. I
especially learned to deal better and more
comfortably with the faculty."
Jim Schaffer said he joined Centennial his junior
year after disillusionment with his other classes.
Neglect is easier
"After my sophomore year, I was tired of my
education. It was fragmented and boring." But,
Centennial, he said, "aroused my curiosity."
"I didn't know what college was supposed to be
like before I came here. I didn't have any ideas what
college was supposed to do," Griffing said. "But I
knew that I was having more fun in my Centennial
class than in my geology class with 200 people in the
lecture and 50 in the lab."
Wittner said difficulties in Centennial stemmed
from attempting educational reform within the
established framework of the University.
"It's easier to neglect your Centennial projects.
You tend to shift toward your University courses to
finals time when you have tests andpapers that you
have to get in," he said.
During the first years, a crusading spirit
characterized Centennial, Griffing said.
Leading the way
"We sort of felt like it was us against the rest of
the University. We thought we were leading the way
for everyone else. We maybe thought we were a little
better. A little arrogant, perhaps.
"There was also more of a pressure to do
something," Griffing said. "To show that Centennial
wasn't just a fluke or a goof oof."
Schaffer said CEP residents "really felt we had
something special.
"A lot of things were happening there that wasn't
happening anywhere else in the University at the
time. We weren't as constricted as other dorms on
campus. We had co-ed dorm. We didn't have hours.
"We had more commons areas within the dorm. It
all led to more of a learning and social atmosphere."
Burden in students
The Centennial philosophy dispels a passive
concept toward learning, Schaffer said.
"In many cases you go to class and you have no
influence upon your direct education The cirriculum
is preconceived. Here the students learn what they
will do in classes. The burden of planning the courses
is placed on the student. They are a capable part of
decision making."
The academic and social atmosphere of Centennial
encouraged long-lasting friendships, Wittier said.
"I still keep in close contact with people who are
now attending grad schools across the country."
Griffing said it was "pretty idealistic" to compare
Centennial to a large family.
"On a large part we wouldn't know everyone that
well actively, but we knew something about most of
the people. It was more like a family that also
includes cousins in Crete and Omaha - you see quite
a bit of each other, but you aren't as involved with
them.
No comparison
"There are people I still write to from Centennial
that I'll write to as long as I live," Griffing said.
Before he lived in Centennial, Schaffer said he
lived in a fraternity. There is no comparison between
the tightness of the two groups, he said.
"I've been out of school now for four years. I'm
now living with three people who were in Centennial
when I was. In that same time I've been in contact
with one or two people from the fraternity. At
Thanksgiving or Christmas when Centennial alumni
get together, it's a group of about 50 or 60 people.
"So in terms of long lasting relationships, the two
groups aren't even close. It's something that's
continued with us in a big way."
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page 10
daily nebraskan
Wednesday, february 12, 1975