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About Medford mail tribune. (Medford, Or.) 1909-1989 | View Entire Issue (May 23, 1963)
B 9 merican Reports on Student 'Soviet' at University (Editors note: Each year, under the U.S. -Soviet Cul tural Exchange program, there ii trade of HudenU between the two countriei. Thii year there are 32 Ameri can! i u d y i n g at Moscow Moskva) university. Here is the story ot one of them, an account thai, at the same time provides a rare look at life on a Soviet university campus.) By JAY AXELBANK United Press International Moscow - WW - The young Russian student was in trou ble, on trial before lour fel low students at Moscow uni versity ior a breach of dormi tory discipline. The question was whether he should be given '. another chance or or dered out of the dormitory which could be the prelude to expulsion from the uni versity. Judging the boy's fate-he had failed to take his proper turn attending the dormitory telephone-was the dormitory soviet , or student council, One of its four members was an American, 25-year-old Philip Stewart of 149 Arlington ave., Elmhurst, 111. The vote against expulsion was three to one, with Stew art among those voting nyet. Soviet Accepted "I thought he should have another c h a n c e," Stewart said. "The guy who , wanted him out was lough, a sort of Stalinist you might say." Stewart came to Moscow last September and will end his studies here next month. He is the only one of the 32 Americans currently at Mos cow university, who belongs to a student "Soviet. 1 "They asked me, and I said okay," he said. "The stu dents all accept me without question or surprise. On -the Why did this fabulously successful performer throw away a S100,000-a-week career -by retiring from television? Read her answer in the fascinating interview by Hollywood editor, Peer. J, Oppenheimer in the MAY 26TH Issue of JVesJcJy with your copy of the MEDFORO MAIL TRIBUNE B35 mi We're the FRESHEST J Things in Town! ct CHINOOK SALMON By the Piece. lb. STRIPED BASS Vi or Whole Ib. LING COD By the Piece 25 ib. AlASKA Sliced Black Cod Ib. 49c FRESH RANCH EGGS 2 doxen 59c Grade AA Small Med. THURSDAY. MAY 23, 1363 Soviet' we never talk poll tics. We just keep the rules; in our dormitory." The slender, soft - spoken i American holds a master's de-1 gree from Indiana university and is aiming for a doctorate in local government. He is on the "jurisdieal faculty" at the university here and has concentrated on studying So viet government at the ob last or regional level. There are no tests and no grades and Stewart sets his own course under guidance or a faculty adviser, "How much work you do is entirely a matter of consci ence," Stewart explained. , Major subjects taught at the university include mathe matics, physics, chemistry, zoology, psychology, history. philosophy and philology -language and literature. Most of the Americans here are studying philology, history or psychology, Like all students Stewart lives in a dorm, but unlike most of them he has his wife, Nancy, with him. They share a small room on the sky scraper uniyersity's eighth floor, where the 23-year-old Nancy housekeeps. Only for eigners are allowed to have their wives with them in the dormitory. Better Than Books Stewart is grateful for his chance to have served on the student Soviet. "It's been bet ter," he said, "than reading 50 books on the subject of local government." The sys tem of "Soviets" runs all through Russian life. They are found in schools, facto ries and offices. They are semi-official and operate on disciplinary matters similar to the disciplining of the stu dent who shirked his 'phone duty. On higher, and politi cal levels the Soviets govern districts, cities, republics, culminating in the supreme Soviet of the U.S.S.R. Lenin said, "All power to the So viets." A , basic point of Russian life, Stewart said, is that the Soviets always come under control of, and are responsi ble to, the Communist party "I've learned this first hand,' Stewart said. He devotes an average of two or three hours a week to his duties on the dormitory Soviet, Stewart summarizes his im pression of Russian life, as seen at the university, in one word, "control. "Don't get me wrong," he said, "control is part of West ern life, too. Only in Amer ica, for instance, control as sures that everybody can pur sure his own aims. In the Soviet Union control assures that each person, each organ i2ation, serves the party and the state. Sports no Fun As an example of Soviet kind of control, Stewart re ferred to the "extra curricu lar activities" at Moscow uni versity - what few of them there are. most oi tins activity re volves around political eve nings, and most of them are devoted to Cuba or Iraq. Sports are tied in with mili tary and physical prepared ness, not fun. ' For Stewart and Nancy, Hie at the university is fair ly hemmed in. Other than their tiny room - 10 feet by 20 feet - there is no place to go except to the ' day room on their floor during the win ter months or, in better weather, to the city parks. At the university itself there are no snack bars, no cafes, no students unions in the so- FITTS SEAFOOD i AND 131 West Main 89 1 Striped Sea TSk i3V BASS DC FILLETS FRESH HALIBUT Aft 7 or Whole Bby lobiler ' Tail, Cooktd & Puled. 6 oi. pks- 69 59 flOUNDSR FIUETS lb- Red Snapper or Perch i illetj Ib. 39c Lg,, local FRYERS i Whole or Cut-Up ft STMTS' M 'S4 JW OUTSIDE UNIVERSITY American Ex change Student Philip Stewart of Elmhurst, 111., and his wife, Nancy, check notebook out side Moscow's skyscraper university, shown cial sense. The university cafeterias are open only dur ing meal times and are strict ly utilitarian. Students wind up visiting in each other's rooms or chatting in the hails or day rooms. "Buying a girl a Coke or a beer is impossible," Stewart said. "You see guys and coeds holding hands in the hallways, or going out for walks when the weather is good." Passes Required Compared to school life in the United States Stewart and Nancy agree that Mos cow's students "have il tough." To enter the univer sity compound students and others must present a pass that is checked by four per sons. A guest must have a special pass and application for it must be made days in advance. In addition to his role on his dormitory Soviet, Stewart "participates" in the univer sity's communistic life in oth er ways. First of all, like all Soviets, Stewart's comes un der the party thumb. It is ini tially responsible to the So viet of the entire school, and must also bow to the local Komsomol SYoung Commu nist League) organization. There is a Komsomol worker serving as "kommandant" of each floor. "Our Community party worker," Stewart said, "gave us a lecture al the beginning of the semester. It was a girl and she said to us that control POULTRY Phone 773-8497 49 lb. California LOBSTERS MVMb.JI W Average 1 Each Prawns, Urge, 4 59 peeled t, deveined Ib, Grown am TO t ! A.J K. - , v. 1 ? j 7 "os-Jm.? . "i" i mi in in background. The 25-year-old American is one of 32 U.S. citizens studying In Rus sia under Curtural Exchange Program. (UPI). was an essential thing in cv-i ery student's life." - Stewart's studies also come under Communist-type plan ning, even though it is sim ply library work and re search, with no actual classes. "If I fall behind in my work," the Hlinoisan said, - "my ad viser chides me that I am falling behind in my plan just as a factory worker might fall behind by not turning out enough automobiles." Despite the restricted na ture of their university life fcriixrinfc 1 171 MUST BE SOLD We ht too many , Mit4 w isW py matching dryer ter trth model wstfter . . . Twit's why w muif CLOSE iT OUT, Somt sat si fita rmf all In brand new condition. it MuItMemp, asninj for wah end rim if Water taving partial lead control it All porcelain drum protocti clothes from rust or mags ... all porcelain exterior stays WHITE dr Underwater lint filter it Sediment swiri-aut PiOO it"J KITCHEN? k- sssipl kiHhtn dhpltft . MSN jSAii pitt tHin rith mtny viftitteitf tt wit WV'X low t. weekly f m?. 1 MEDFOHD MAIL TRIBUHE, MEDFORO, OHEGOH Stewart said most of the Rus sian students are pretty much like their American counter parts. Even with the control and checking of passes, lie has found the atmosphere fairly relaxed and "they love bull sessions late into the night," Sometimes sneak par- tics arc held in students rooms and party-givers signal from room to room by tapping on the walls. "And sometimes," Stewart said with a laugh, "they just plain goof off. With Trad 3-CYCLE WASHER There Is one highly popu lar form of relaxation in tne dorms - surprisingly tbe; match game" known in America. "The idea, as I guess you know," said Stew art, "is to guess the total num ber of matches in your list and those held by the others. Haeh player has three match es for the game, I don't play it myself because I haven't nad time. Every minute 1 can I spend in the library be cause I do want to get on with my doctoral thesii." Plans To Teach Stewart then outlined his own plan for the future. "This year lias given me the chance to live among the Bussians. Academically I am here to gather firsthand material - mainly from regional newspa pers. When I get back homej 1 hope to spend s year at the j Library of Congress research ing more material, and then get tny doctorate In 1884. It nope to be teaching Russian political science by the fall of '84," 1 Over and beyond what lie has learned by study Stewart has of course formed a num ber oi impressions, ranging from what Russia is like un der Premier Nikita Khru- sheev and what the average Russian thinks of Americans. I have a few Russian friends, not many," Stewart d. "Nancy and I really live life mainly cut off from the majority of the T.000 stu dents here. They don't care to come into our room, much. There's no ban on this, but I guess they don't want to be associating too much with an American, "But there's no police ter ror any more In tills country, just the control. This can bring trouble in other ways. A bad record at university might Interfere with getting a good job later on, or jeop ardise the person's standing m the Komsomol and aUeet chances of getting into the party," Coupl Eais Well ihe Stewarts eat better llian most of the students. Un der ihe exchange grant lie received a stipend for sup port of his wife, a small sum for books, and transportation was paid. In addition Stewart ) receives 150 rubles $165) aj month from the Soviet gov-, crnmcnt as the other Amerl-1 can students do. Other for eign students get about 100 rubles jtllO) a month, and Soviet siudents jet a govern ment allowance of 30 rubles ($33), "On that," said Siewart of "I luLpxrlnir 17 MUST Bi Thh medel wst apartment hous Hi fc Space aaving 30" width it Wan), wide oven ir Oven door lift off for easleit cleaning No-drip top design Pushbutton control it fast heating ill-cilrsd demand threughsut it Can't fade porcelain fhrsughout i that the always the Russian student allow ance, "they can just eat. Many ol them gel help front! home," The Stewarts own food bill averages about $100 a month and the rest of the money goes to miscellaneous upkeep. '.Russian exchange students in the U S, ars paid from $140 to $190 a month by the American government, a higher sum because of high er living cosis. Their other expemres including travel are paid by the Russian govern ment. There are SO, the maxi- mum under the program ioris MATERNITY SPORTSWEAR TOPS Reg. 5.95 SAVf 2,16 Choosa from skirts, tapris, pedals m blk, green mint pink, beige, b)ye, turquoise, sizes 6-18, Cts-oreJinating tops! How does UPointe's do W) Wiih Trada RANGE SOLD etismd hr Urge , , th faetery jfint fes mmtf BEST BUYS in town come from Borger's boih tounlrjes, la the US, this year.) Finally, how hs the Yank at Moskva Iclt ss an Amen can among the Russians? "There's a reservoir of good will tor us," Stewart said, "even though they do tend to be standoffish here at the university. Even tag the Cuban crisis, I didn't the change in barroom regu. hear single bad wort said batons which HM prohibit gainst u m Americans." 4mcc hm In Puerto Rico, the sun j Gone Is the old rule ihat re shines 30 days a year, nuked waitresses to tauttoort The city N Francisco I built on 43 nils, CAPWS SWRTI Hrrtpjcrini: 20 SALE MUST BI SOLD , . mtVt mm, Lowcir pnet ttti (er W meitt Merry ty M Mt. . it No freer refrigerator with an OT -lb, u iruut jr ixtIuSv Hotpeint roll ... lh away from wait ior any cleaning , it Wear nwmitHty Seep food freih . dr Spi-UY!r,3 itylins , , only 28" wide it FuH-wid'h pettMn criwer 214 WEST MAIN PHONE 779-1894 DRINKERS CAKT DANCE Jtanlpelier, 1, W8 Tip. piers Jn Vermont now caa stand and walk around - imt they can't dance while drink tog. The" slate liquor control dur-jboard Wednesday announced drinks If a patron moved tow one spot to another. WDAiS Reg. 11.90 SAVi 4,f8 1 L J Wf!h Trade Refrigerator
