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Chronicle
VOLUME 27, No. 4, WINTER 1973
FEATURES
4       ITS YOUR UNIVERSITY
How Do you Want It Governed?
7       TRIUMF:
A Candid Camera On The
Sub-Atomic World
Clive Cocking
12       A GUERRILLA GUIDE
TO GRADUATE STUDIES
Michael Mercer
20       COMET KOHOUTEK:
An Unexpected Celestial
Visitor
John Braddock
Hanna Kassis
23       ON THE GOLDEN ROAD
TO SAMARKAND
DEPARTMENTS
30       NEWS
34       SPOTLIGHT
EDITOR Clive Cocking. BA'62
EDITORIAL ASSISTANT Susan Jamieson, BA'65
COVER Roy Peterson
ADVERTISING REPRESENTATIVE
Alumni Media (604-688-6819)
Editorial Committee
Dr. Erich Vogt, (BSc, MSc, Manitoba), (PhD, Princeton);
chairman: Mrs. R.W. Wellwood. BA'51, past chairman.
Robert Dundas, BASc'48; Mrs. F. Field, BA'42; Harry
Franklin, BA'49; Geoff Hancock, BFA'73; Dr. Joseph
Kartz, (BA.MEd, Manitoba), (PhD, Chicago); Ian Mac-
Alpine, LLB'71; Robert McConnell, BA'64; Murray
McMillan, Arts 4; Mrs. Bel Nemetz, BA'35: Dr. Ross
Stewart, BA'46, MA'48, (PhD, Washington);
Published quarterly by the Alumni Association of the University of British
Columbia. Vancouver, Canada BUSINESS AND EDITORIAL OFFICES:
Cecil Green Park. 6251 N.W. Marine Dr, Vancouver, B C V6T 1A6 (604-
228-3313) SUBSCRIPTIONS: The Alumni Chronicle is sent to all alumni
of the university. Non-alumni subscriptions are available at $3 a year,
students $1 a year. ADDRESS CHANGES: Send new address, with old
address label if available, to UBC Alumni Records, 6251 N W. Marine
Dr., Vancouver, B.C. V6T 1A6
The Plus That
Makes The
Difference
 could be a scholarship
that brings a community
college student to UBC
 could be a bursary to
help a student stay at
his studies
 could be a grant to
help a campus project
— or it could be your
donation to the Alumni Fund
ALUMNI
FUND
Postage paid al the Thud Class rate Permit No   206.'
Member Amencan Alumni Council
urn Bremer Commission Proposes Changes
It's Your University....
How
Do You
Want It
Governed ?
It's your university — how do you
want it governed? As graduates
your views should be made known
and they should be considered in
any changes in the system of governing the universities. And there
will be changes. The Committee on
University Governance, chaired by
John Bremer, B.C.'s Education
Commissioner, has presented a
working paper advocating a series
of significant changes in the
Universities Act. The most
significant appears to be a reduction
in the role of alumni in internal university government.
Briefly, the Bremer committee
has proposed the following:
• Creation of a Universities Council
of B.C.
The council would essentially coordinate the development and
financing of the universities. It
would be composed of 11 lay persons appointed by the government, with the university presidents, an education department
representative and a community
college   representative   as   non
voting members.
Establishment of a purely academic senate
Membership in the senate, which
sets university academic policy,
would consist of 25 per cent administration representatives, 25
per cent students, and 50 per cent
faculty members. The 15 senators
presently elected by the UBC
convocation — faculty and alumni — and the representatives from
a few educational organizations
(including three representatives
appointed by the Alumni Board
of Management)would be eliminated, reducing the UBC senate
to 72 members.
Renaming and increasing the size
of the board of governors
The board would be increased
from 11 members to 15 and renamed, the board of trustees, in
keeping with its function as trustees for the financial administration of the university. The board
presently consists of six government appointees, three representatives elected from senate (in ef- T.  IrMUt?
feet,   alumni   since  faculty  and
students   are   barred)   and   the
president and chancellor. Faculty
and students would continue to
be barred under the Bremer committee proposals, so the membership would consist of: five elected
by convocation (in effect, alumni
members) and eight appointed by
the government, with the president and chancellor continuing as
non-voting members.
The  Bremer committee's basic
concern was one of modifying the
system of university government in
order to ensure public accountability of the universities while preserving the essential  academic autonomy of the universities. The
basic question for alumni, as people
who have had first-hand experience
of higher education, is whether we
should have more direct involvement in university government. The
UBC Alumni  Association would
accordingly like to receive your
answers to the following basic questions and any other comments you
wish to make. □
Your Opinion Please...
1. Should university alumni have specific representation on the proposed
Universities Council of B.C. which is to be composed of 11 lay persons?
2. Should alumni be directly represented on :he university senate and, if
so, to what extent?
3. Is the Bremer committee's proposal to give alumni five members on the
university board of trustees adequate?
4. In principle, should alumni have greater or less direct representation on
university government bodies than non-alumni lay persons?
5. What, in your opinion, is the most important change/s that should be
made in the system of university government?
Comments (feel free to enclose a separate sheet)...
Mail to: Higher Education Committee, UBC Alumni Association, 6251
N.W. Marine Drive, Vancouver 8, B.C. Will the oceans of the world dry up? It's not likely!
The oceans of the world total 1391A million square
miles of water, so don't worry, they'll be wet for some
time to come.
Questions such as this and many other interesting,
factual and dramatic programmes about the sea and
all things marine are presented every Thursday night
at seven on your channel — CABLE 10, with Len
McCann and Joe Barrett. Pull up a chair with us and
dry up for awhile.
SCUTTLEBUT
Thursday night at seven
A wholly- owned subsidiary of Premier Cablevision Limited. TRIUMF:
A Candid Camera On The Sub-Atomic World
Clive Cocking
Down among the trees of UBC's
southeast campus there are two big,
stark green buildings that probably
only a tiny fraction of the university
community know anything about.
The first glimpse of these relatively-
remote structures comes as a surprise to the uninitiated. They're so
different from any of the academic
buildings elsewhere on the campus.
So severely functional — and faceless. And. ultimately, mysterious.
What goes on in them?
The small sign to one side reads
simply: triumf. That stands for
Three Universities Meson Facility.
Which, unfortunately, doesn't really clear up the mystery. Nor is it
easily discernible what it's all about
once you're inside these cavernous
buildings.
The interior of the largest structure is dominated by what appears
to be a towering, massive press (the
world's largest wine press?) all
painted in pastel yellow, green and
pink. Out of it feeds a shiny tube
down the long building , connecting
with several pieces of exotic apparatus. Another silver tube twists up
out of the press-like device to the
floor above and into what resembles
(part of a science fiction movie set?)
two large, glistening vacuum bottles
with wires protruding everywhere.
Next door there are banks of blue
computers and control panels dotted with lights and switches...
This is Big Science — the biggest,
most advanced scientific project
ever developed in western Canada.
tril'mf is a $30 million research facility, the cooperative venture of
the federal government, four
(originally three) western universities and 50 scientists in pioneering
in the new field of intermediate energy physics. It consists of a cyclotron which will produce high-energy
protons and sub-atomic particles
called mesons. An instrument primarily for basic research aimed at
increasing knowledge of nuclear
processes, it is expected also to be
used for applied research in materials science and cancer radiotherapy, triumf is one of only three
meson research facilities currently
nearing completion in the world, the
others being a linear accelerator at
Los Alamos. New Mexico, and a
cyclotron in Zurich, Switzerland.
"From the point of view of Canadian science policy, triumf is a real
milestone in that it is the first time
a major scientific project has been
undertaken jointly by a group of
Canadian universities with both
provincial and federal support,"
said UBC deputy president Bill
Armstrong, a former member of the
Canada Science Council and chair
man of the triumf board of directors. "In recent years, Canada has
lagged behind a bit in particle physics as most universities have had
to ope rate with antiquated facilities.
trilmf will bring Canadian particle
physics into a lead position in world
science."
Pioneering it may be. but to most
laymen triumf is obscure, esoteric, almost completely incomprehensible. That seems to be a perennial problem of science: the gap in
understanding between laymen and
scientists. Science has increased in
complexity far faster than knowledge of science has spread. The gap
in understanding is thus probably
as wide in this post-Einstein era as
it ever was in the time of Galileo.
Not surprisingly then, triumf
has had its share of doubters among
those who have heard much about
it. You used to hear periodic grumbling — from faculty (non-physics)
as well as laymen — that triumf
was "just a $30 million toy for the
physicists", but now that the project, after seven years in development, is nearing completion that is
seldom heard. Still, it's unlikely that
skepticism has completely disappeared since, in addition to a lack
of understanding, the public seems
to have a bias against basic research
in favour of that which is immed-
7 Designers, dignitaries, technicians
and workers stroll around the huge
spiral leaves of the TRIUMF magnet during construction.
iately useful.
' 'Canada has been one of the world's leaders in nuclear research for
almost 30 years," said Dr. Erich
Vogt, UBC professor of physics
and one of the prime movers behind
triumf. "This research has not
only increased our knowledge of
nuclear processes, but it's also produced some very practical things:
the cobalt radiation treatment
which has saved thousands of lives
was developed in Canada and the
Canadian reactor program has been
very successful, triumf has grown
out of this tradition."
Behind the project, clearly, there
is a drive to stay in the forefront
of a science whose importance will
only grow in future. And in a country often criticized for fostering
mediocrity, this concern for excellence should not be taken lightly.
The project has big backers. The
federal government, through the
Atomic Energy Control Board, put
up the lion's share, $23.3 million for
the cyclotron and ancillary research
equipment and is contributing over
$4 million annually in operating
funds. Of the participating universities, UBC, University of Victoria, and Simon Fraser University together contributed $4.4 million for
the buildings, UBC donated the 7-
acre site and the University of Alberta has contributed $1.25 million
to the facility.
Such support by the government
and the universities represents a
major act of faith and it puts a heavy
responsibility on the scientists involved. They seem, however, more
than confident that triumf will be
worth the investment, although
they admit that very little is predictable about the outcome.
Dr. Vogt puts it this way: "For
several centuries we looked at the
sky with optical telescopes and we
learned a lot about the sky. Then
people had the idea a few decades
ago of using radio waves at different
frequencies. And when they first
built these big dishes that were capable of taking photographs of the
sky they learned some very surprising things that hadn't been learned
with the optical telescope. In fact,
it has revolutionized astronomy. If
you look at the sub-atomic world.
8
at nuclear physics where we have
been photographing nuclei with
protons and electron beams, this
facility will provide us with a completely new kind of beam — mesons
— to take pictures of these systems.
We expect we will learn completely
new things with it. just as we did
in astronomy with radio telescopes."
triumf will be a pioneering facility not only in its research but in
its design as well. Other present
cyclotrons produce protons in
periodic bursts and at a fixed energy
level, triumf is unique in that it
will produce protons in a continuous, intense beam and will be able
to vary the energy of the beam —
from 150 to 500 million electron
volts — and even to emit two beams
at differing energies simultaneously. The intensity of the proton beam
will be such that triumf will produce 1,000 times more mesons than
any existing meson facility anywhere. These features are expected
to make triumf a very versatile
instrument for providing scientists
with the answers to their many
questions about nuclear physics.
Scientists know that each atom
resembles a miniature solar system. Its basic constituents are a
heavy central nucleus surrounded
by electrons which orbit like
planets. The size of the atom is
about a million times smaller than
things we can see with the naked
eye.
The nucleus of the atom is 10.000
times smaller still. Its basic building
blocks are protons and neutrons,
with the proton differing from the
neutron in having an electric
charge. Electric forces between
unlike charges hold the electrons in
orbits around the nucleus just as the
forces of gravity hold planets in
orbit around the sun. And it is out
of the collisions of high energy protons or electrons with other protons
or neutrons or electrons that a
whole hierarchy of short-lived (one
millionth of a second), sub-atomic
particles are created: mesons are
one type.
"Although we're very confident
that atomic nuclei are made up of
neutrons and protons, we can't at
present describe just how the neutrons and protons move inside the
nucleus." said Dr. Vogt. "We
know that a proton is bound to the
other neutrons and protons by very
strong nuclear force and that it
moves through the nucleus in a
rough orbit not unlike that of the
electron in an atom. But up to now
we haven't been able to take an
instantaneous photograph of the
arrangement inside a nucleus. The
new meson and proton beams from
triumf' will bring us much closer
to achieving a proper instantaneous
photograph of the structure of the
atomic nucleus."
Two innovations make it possible
for triumf' toachievean intense,
continuous flow of particles out of
the cyclotron. The first was the
unusual shape of the magnet — the core of the cyclotron which accelerates the particles — consisting of
six spiral sectors which keep the
particles in step with the energy-
boosting mechanism and which
allows an unbroken stream of particles to pass through the machine.
The second innovation was to
replace the protons customarily
injected into cyclotrons with negative hydrogen ions. Negative hydrogen ions are produced from ordinary hydrogen (which consists of a
single proton with an electron
around it) by adding an extra electron instead of removing one to
leave a proton. The application of
this concept to large meson facilities
was the brainchild of triumf director Dr. Reg Richardson, an
Edmonton-born cyclotron expert
currently on leave from UCLA; he
developed the concept during a
holiday on Galiano Island in 1962.
The use of negative hydrogen ions
makes it possible to get almost all
of the accelerated particles out of
the cyclotron — something other
facilities have been unable to
achieve.
It all works like this. Those two
objects resembling vacuum bottles,
mentioned earlier, areTRiUMF's ion
source: they produce the negative
hydrogen ions. The negative hydrogen ions stream out through a long
tube and are deflected down into
the centre of that massive pastel-
painted press-like apparatus —
which is, in fact, a 4,200-ton magnet
and one of triumf's crowning
achievements. The negative hydrogen ions flow down into a horizontal
vacuum chamber 56-feet in diameter between the huge spiral steel
leaves of the magnet. Magnetic
force keeps the negative hydrogen
ions focussed as they circulate
inside the vacuum chamber while
a radio frequency system gives
them a kick of energy each time they
go around. The result is that they
spiral to the outer edge with ever-
increasing energy.
At the outer edge of the machine
a very thin sheet of carbon strips
the two electrons from each negative hydrogen ion changing it into
a proton. And since the proton has
an electric charge opposite to that
of the negative hydrogen ion, the
magnetic field makes it reverse
direction and — voila! — spin out
of the machine. "By this very simple means we're able to extract over
99 per cent of the beam," said Dr.
Vogi. By placing stripping foil at
various points inside the vacuum
chamber they achieve the emission
of streams of protons at various
energy levels.
The engineering work that has
gone into translating these design
concepts into a soon-to-be functioning reality has also been remarkable. And the majority of it was
done in Canada. "We have made
a rough analysis of the expenditure
of funds involved in triumf," said
Dr. Richardson, "and between 80
and 90 per cent was spent in
Canada. Approximately 70 percent
of it was spent in British Columbia.
This includes a number of development contracts which have greatly
increased the expertise of local in-
dustiy in doing technologically-
advanced things."
triumf scientists were particularly pleased with the "superb job"
a Richmond fabricating plant did in
constructing the vast vacuum
chamber in which the particles
accelerate within the magnet. The
steel lid of the chamber, about
l/20th of an acre in size, had to be
built   completely   flat,   with   many
A wekier pauses in his work as the
huge  spider-like form of the
TRIUMF magnet installation
begad to take shape. portholes for equipment, and yet
capable of being sealed completely
vacuum tight — only 1/100 billionth
of the air could be left in the
chamber during operation. Never
having done anything as complex
before, the Richmond company
learned new welding techniques
developed by the space program
and did the job to perfection. They
also built the radio frequency system. A Quebec company did an
equally fine job in building
triumf's huge, spiral-shaped magnet which weighs about as much as
the Port Mann bridge. The triumf
developers were also pleased with
the electronics work done in
Canada, notably the building of
the specially-designed computers
which ultimately will monitor and
control the operation of the facility.
The decision to have as much of
the components built in Canada as
possible was entirely triumf's.
Incredibly, the federal government
neither insisted on. nor encouraged
such a policy. "Canada is one of
the only countries in the world
10
where the government doesn't have
a specifically Buy Canadian policy
for such difficult technical projects." said Dr. Vogt. "They are
not prepared to say that either you
must buy in Canada, or that you
must buy in Canada unless the price
is cheaper by a certain percentage.
I think this is one of the things that
has acted against the development
of many kinds of secondary industry in Canada."
In any case, barring complications, the long-awaited day will
occur this spring. The day when
triumf is switched on, sending a
stream of protons down the long
tube to bombard targets of carbon
or beryllium and thus to produce
mesons for the first of a wide variety
of experiments, triumf will not
have full intensity initially — it will
be built up gradually — hut it will
have enough to enable western
Canadian scientists to begin their
deeper probings of the mechanics
of nuclear processes.
One of the first studies to be
undertaken will be concerned with
UBC grad Dr. David Axen, (above)
assistant professor of physics,
works on calculations related to his
work in designing TRlUMF's vacuum chamber, (top, left) TRIUMF
director Dr. Reg Richardson and
physics professor Dr. Erich Vogt
(right) look over a scale model of
the central magnet of the massive
TRIUMF cyclotron, (below, left)
Checking the controls of
TRIUMF's radio frequency system is alumnus Dr. Karl Erdman,
professor of physics, who was responsible for design of the system.
the interaction between protons and
neutrons and between protons and
protons within atomic nuclei. Another study, aimed at discovering
more about how nuclei are held
together, will look at how pi mesons
are produced when one proton hits
another proton or a simple nucleus.
Some of the research to be developed at a later stage is expected to
involve experiments in examining
the structure of mesons themselves,
the photographing of atomic nuclei
with meson beams and the formation of new atomic and nuclear
systems with added mesons.
These are all basic and quite esoteric lines of research, but other
types of projects are being planned,
some with more immediately practical value. A group of physicists
and metallurgists, for example, are
planning to use triumf for materials research, particularly for
investigating the properties of
alloys and semi-conductors. Chemists are hoping to explore triumf's
value in rapid and accurate analysis
of air. water and soil pollution sam- pies. It is also anticipated that
triumf will be used to produce
radioactive isotopes for medical
diagnostic use.
Probably the most exciting prospect for laymen, however, lies in
triumf's potential use in cancer
radiotherapy. A special medical
annex, funded jointly by the British
Columbia Cancer Treatment and
Research Foundation and the federal Health Resources Fund, has
been built in the triumf complex
to investigate this potential. Negative pi mesons are believed to have
great value in radiation therapy,
particularly in treating deep-seated
malignant tumors.
"The advantage of these — if 1
can oversimplify a little — is that
with present forms of radiation you
basically drill a hole to deposit
radiation in the patient and you kill
the overlying tissue as well as the
tumour you're aiming at, because
you deposit energy roughly uniformly along the path which the
particles follow," said Dr. Vogt.
"The mesons are unstable particles, they last a millionth of a second
and then they give up all the energy
which made their mass, they give
it up like a little bomb. You can
select how deeply you want these
mesons, or little bombs, to penetrate and you can deposit them in
a tumour and then they release their
energy there. And they won't do
as much damage to the overlying
tissue as present forms of radiation."
The possible value of using
triumf in this way will be investigated first by using tissue samples
and animals, before being tested on
humans. It might take three years
to complete this research, but there
is a good deal of optimism that the
meson facility will prove to be useful in cancer therapy.
Beyond these few initial lines of
research, the possible future use
and benefit of triumf becomes less
clear. Just as the radio astronomers
could not predict what they would
learn when they turned their first
radio telescopes to the sky, neither
can the triumf scientists predict
what they will learn with their new
scientific instrument. What does
seem predictable is that people are
going to hear much more in future
about the work underway in those
stark green buildings down among
the trees of UBC's southeast campus. □
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384-0514
11 12 I recall, at the outset of my graduate
career not so many years ago, strolling over the campus for the first
time, and being struck by the exquisite mute, scholarly peace of it
all. The grey hulk of the library
brooded as silently as the books
within it and late summer sunshine
fell down through the clouds so
slowly, I felt I might have combed
out the rays like hair. Down the corridors of trees, I could see the years
before me unfolding in languorous
succession. Other afternoons in the
abstracted air of brown studies.
Convivial conversations over a
drink. Time, above all, to pursue
my academic interests in the monastic setting about me, untroubled
by the shrill ways of the world.
Such thoughts and feelings act as
mild ego-suppressants, and I vowed
then and there to follow the ways
of a humble scholar. At the end of
my period of studies, I would fulfil
my obligations with a dissertation
— a modest contribution to my field
— and shuffle away with my degree
a wiser and more complete human
being.
Ten minutes later I was sitting
in the graduate office listening to
a faculty advisor trumpeting out my
course of studies like an Emperor
Swan in heat.' 'The department prefers candidates to complete their
course of studies as quickly as possible, so I advise you to get your
course requirements out of the way
in the first year. You will, of course,
write the examinations immediately
after and then buckle down to the
thesis ..." Sometime later I emerged with a teaching assistantship,
three seminars chosen from something that suspiciously resembled a
menu card, a handful of computer
slips and a case of shattered hopes
that would have made a killer out
of Thomas More.
The second part of my indoctrination was a snappy little number
called an orientation conference —
a euphemism, I suspect, for an up
beat marine corps parade. While we
all sat in those grim classroom seat-
and-desk combinations that some
demented elf designed for Matthew
Arnold, selected faculty took turns
raising our collective hopes for the
future. The final act of the day was
an imposing woman with the frame
of an earth mother and the voice
of a tenor saxophone.
"Look at the person on your
right." she said. "Now look at the
person on your left." All our heads
swung obediently, less from a desire
to please than a general tremor of
that age-old fear of bygone shrew s
who would cancel a chocolate milk
ration, and even recess, at the
slightest provocation. "Neither of
those two people will make it
through graduate school successfully!"
The reaction was restrained, but
perfect in timing. A pause. A moment of realization. A polite
musketry of laughter. I had heard
the identical remark made four
years earlier when I was beginning
my freshman career in Montreal,
and time had done little to improve
it. Far from cheering me. the remark urged a flush of sadness for
all the faces I had seen on the left
and the right in that other, more distant room — the faces that had fallen by the wayside for reasons of
poverty, disillusionment, confusion, or just plain boredom.
The gathering ended that day
with a question period, and predictably enough, the regimentation,
cramped school desks, and Donald
Duck directives from the podium,
had levelled us all into an aspiring
"A" level Romper Room mentality. Graduate students well past the
age of consent shook their hands
in the air frantically in order to make
profound and penetrating requests.
Can the TAs use the staff washrooms? (the room exploded with applause when the reply came back
in the affirmative!) Can we use departmental letterheads? Is it ok to
smo<e in class
There was an insipid, musty,
glue pot classroom smell in the air
that raised a disparate parade of
images in my mind: ink-blot termites, cinnamon hearts, and the
pre-pubescent anarchy of Billy the
Bandit shooting holes in a rubber-
stamp impression that reads: this
BOOK IS THE PROPERTY OF THE
BOARD OF EDUCATION.
Five years have passed since that
day I first trod upon the sod of
UBC — five years of frustration,
disillusionment, conflict and occasional triumph. From it all I have
wrested a respectable MA and three
unremarkable years' progress toward a PhD. (If you wish to know
how unremarkable, 1 might add that
one full professor had to be physically restrained from doing violence
upon my comprehensive examination — 1 had written the entire paper
with a felt-tip pen that was just a
size smaller than a Minuteman rocket!) When I strode into the department this fall to formally — if not
somewhat dramatically — take my
final leave, everyone from the graduate committee to the office secretaries was singularly unmoved. In
fact, it was news to many of them
that I was registered in the first
place.
I mention these jaded snippets
of biographical information to save
the idle, the curious and the indignant, precious hours of their own
time scratching through records
looking for ways to discredit me;
and thus leave myself freely open
to the charge of being nothing more
than an embittered failure. 1 will
even go one cooperative step
further and admit at the outset that
I take full responsibility for all of
the errors of my academic ways.
Now I can't be much more open
that that, can I? I entered graduate
school with a conception of university so remarkably naive — my
monastic retreat from the shrill
ways of the world — that I confess
13 now with embarrassment, that I
wonder I got as far as I did.
With almost terrifying consistency, I precipitated one minor catastrophe after another. If there was
an unpolitic comment or alliance to
be made, I made it. If someone
made a mistake, I was the first on
the scene to priase his actions.
Whenever a student-faculty sherry
party was declared, I usually materialized next to the bar before the
corks had cleared the bottles, and
with unerring accuracy, later
bounced cheerfully across the floor
to button-hole the most important,
most abstemious and least amused
professor in the department.
As a partial retribution for the
glaring errors of my ways, I would
like to leave behind me — as a swan
song, if you like — the following
guide to survival in graduate school,
for those pathetic and misguided individuals who, pure of heart and untaught in the paths of reality, may
foolishly repeat my mistakes. I call
this a "Guerrilla Guide", not to
suggest any manifest form of aggression or conflict; I merely wish
to use the designation in the manner
of a tempo character in music —
a vivace, if you will, to urge a defensive pulse that is so alien to the thin
blood of these sad innocents.
A Guerrilla Guide
To Graduate Studies
Objective: To obtain a graduate degree.
Qualification: To achieve objective
with minimal loss of time, minimal
conflct, minimal expense of dignity,
identity and bitterness.
Weapons: Intelligence, native cunning and an animal instinct to survive.
You Are Alone
As a graduate student, you stand
among the most unselect and unde-
sired force in existence. The faculty
of your university has little use for
you (cf: "Know Your Enemy") and
chances are good that your own
family regards you as an arrogant,
opinionated wretch riddled with unreality who would better serve community needs cleaning up garbage
on a LIP grant. You might consider
that these nice people are not so
14
far wrong. With an incomplete graduate degree, you would barely qualify as an organ grinder's monkey,
even if you brought your own cup.
Remember: as a graduate student
you stand and fight alone. The competitive system of education has
long ago separated you from your
fellow students. You learned back
in those Red Cross collection tin,
pencil-box, blue milk for lunch
days, that you were the average that
the whole educational system was
based on. Anyone who got higher
marks than you did, was a "suck,"
a "brown," and those that got lower
would be doing the whole trip again
next year.
By the time you outgrew this
Dick-and-Jane syndrome, you were
sitting under the hallowed arches of
a university, listening to the somnolent drone of a resident catastrophe
with more initials after his name
than a Mexican customs official. As
if the process of distrust-your-
fellow-student was not sufficiently
indoctrinated into you, the drone
urged you sagely to specialize, thus
completing phase two of the alienation process.
Remember: specialization is the
key to your isolation. Ultimately,
it is the act of acquiring a narrow
and specific knowledge to such profound depths that only three or four
people in the whole academic community are capable of understanding a blind word you say. Although
this does not restrict your social
contact with fellow graduate students, it impedes to the point of in-
communication, any exchange of
academic information. If, as occasionally happens, you are introduced at a gathering to a fellow student who is working generally in the
same area as you are, the two of
you will, in all likelihood, stand like
bears with rectal itch and pace
about suspiciously silent. The only
people then that you will openly discuss your ideas with, are the faculty
advisors — and they, ironically are
the ones who are in the best position
to benefit (shall we say) from your
inspiration. But the system is so
structured that you have no choice
but to impress them, cater to them,
win their approval and finally recommendation for graduation. Specialization has made you absolutely
dependent upon them — so much
so, that if you later run into personality difficulties or just plain difference of opinion, there is no arbiter
you can turn to who is sufficiently
qualified in your narrow field, to settle the case.
To repeat: as a graduate student
you stand alone, totally without the
support of your peer group. Your
only hope and salvation lies in
knowing the terrain and the disposition and habits of your enemy.
Know Your Enemy
Are there any departmental politics I should know about? This is
a question that too many graduate
students develop the wit to ask
while waiting in line at Canada
Manpower. It's like asking "How
can I be saved?" two weeks after
the Day of Judgement. In truth,
there is little in the conventional
sense of partisan politics in most
university departments. A graduate
student may be a self-acclaimed
phone booth worshipper or a member of the Bedlam Liberation Front,
and he will in no way be discriminated against or otherwise shunned.
One professor, in fact, heard the
word "Liberal" so frequently, he
finally worked up the reckless courage to ask a friend what it meant.
In this man's defence, I might add
that though a member of the department for ten years he had maintained his American citizenship in
order to protect his bookstore
charge account in Seattle (I might
add, moreover, that it's to this
man's credit that even after receiving a full explanation of Canadian
Liberalism he still could not understand what it meant — which puts
him in a class with Pierre E.
Trudeau, and slightly above Mitchell Sharp).
The graduate student should be
aware, however, that there is a
very real political division in most
departments that perpetuates an atmosphere that makes election week
in Caracas look like a bookbinders' convention. It all boils
down to a "left" and "right" polarization on the matter of international reputation. The "right-wing"
urges the now familiar "publish-
or-pcrish" philosophy in the belief
that a glut of books bearing their
names is both a valuable contribution to their respective fields,
and a guarantee of a place in history. The "left", on the other
hand, don't really care if their fame
goes beyond Spuzzunn, and insist
that the chief emphasis in a univer- sity should be placed on teaching.
In your simple-minded way. you
might now ask why the "right"
doesn't publish and the "left"
teach, and never, as it were, the
twain conflict? The answer lies in
the fact that much of the material
published by the "right" is of such
abysmal quality that only alcoholic
librarians in a cataloguing quandary
ever look beyond the first page; and
in a number of cases the books
were actually remaindered while
still in the galley-proof stages. Bitter and unfulfilled, these unhallowed academics resolve to make the
best of a bad situation and use their
work to batter the heads of the
"left" in the secretly cherished belief that these virmin deter students
from using the library and the valuable books therein. It should not
demand a great storehouse of intelligence to recognize that the
"right" will benefit vastly by a promotion and seniority system based
on publication (one professor, it is
rumoured, urged a "published
only" washroom in Buchanan to
prevent contamination by the
"left").
The "left" give theirfull attention
to teaching on the undergraduate
level, and value above all radical-
ization of curricula. In its more
negative phase, demented exponents of this position espouse such
heavyweight objectives as "blowing the minds" of eighteen-year-old
freshmen (my apologies to the
Woman's Caucus. I mean "fresh-
persons") — which even in teaching terms, surely is what Lenny
Bruce would call "a cheap victory." In the ranks of this "wing"
you will, of course, find a number
of first-rate teachers, but through
careful examination, you will soon
realize why it also contains a sizeable force that couldn't teach a dog
to scratch. Self-evidently. any new
lecturer who dislikes writing and
anticipates a career unembellished
with articles and publications, will
take up the cause of the "left" immediately as a form of self-
protection, even though they personally prefer golf to teaching.
Though such people radically
weaken the argument of the "left".
it should be stated in their favour
that even the worst of them are better in a classroom than a major portion of the "right" — most of
whom are such sententious bores
they   could    lull   a   near-terminal
speed-freak to sleep.
As a graduate student, you will
quickly recognize that you play no
role in the major political division
of the department. The "left-wing"
rarely consider seminars as testing
grounds for teaching abilities
(which to their way of thinking is
based primarily in the proscenium-
arch-holding-forth lecture technique and has little or nothing to
do with sitting through three hour
debates with graduates). The
"right-wing" on the other hand,
presumes that every graduate student is sufficiently radicalized in this
post-Berkeley world, to support
the "left" automatically, and unless you are willing to do some of
their menial research jobs for them,
they will initially regard you as a
slug in the garden. Even if you
work with the "right", chances are
good that you will only come to
grief. In their private souls, most
of thern are obsessed with the idea
that graduate students are spying
for the "left" and hence are capable of doing little more than writing
memos on their behaviour patterns.
You must remember: as a graduate student, you are only a transient member of this academic com-
Know Your
Enemy (Right)
munity, and as such have the rights
of an alien with a moth-eaten visa.
Actively, you can do nothing to advance the cause of the "left" or the
"right", but both of the resident
factions will have no hesitation in
using you to assist them in their
perpetual war. The machinery of
the whole thing should be blatantly
obvious. If you select a "right-
wing" member of the faculty as
your thesis advisor, he will
dogmatically impress the value of
"true" scholarship upon you. flatter your sense and discretion in
coming to him or her, prime you
with Ihe short-comings and sloppi-
ness of the "left" and hope that
you will, with temporary conviction, bad-mouth these unscholarly
folk. He or she will, of course, at
best stall you with thesis revisions
until he next ice age, or at worst
fail you in oral examination — all
in the firm belief that his or her
standards are loftier than anyone
else's (this is known as the "right
vs. right" split).
If you select a "left-winger" as
your advisor, he or she will prime
and use you against the "right" and
press you to declare your enmity
toward them openly. All this hope-
15 Know Your
Enemy (Left)
MErATH£0RY~7
OF THE /
Dog    /
fully to give the impression that a
major portion of the graduate
school actively supports the "left."
Your chances of successfully completing your degree are better with
this faction, but. in keeping with
the master plan, you still can't win.
In almost all departments the
"right" holds the ultimate sway, so
if you have been particularly
vociferous in support of the "left"
— either through idealism or the
plain human desire to have somebody (or anybody) support yon —
you run the risk of having your research grant requests bottom-
listed, or finger-wagging letters
added to the top-secret file that the
department allows only your future
university employers to see.
But surely — I hear you protesting — there must be some neutral
outlet where a graduate student can
find a helpful and sympathetic ear.
As it happens, there is. Realizing
that a strict polarization would likely rip the department in half and
soon urge near violence from graduates, both the "left" and the
"right" have encouraged the emergence of the "centre" — a body
of faculty to act as a neutral aid to
the student, thus preventing strong
16
graduate feelings from upsetting
the delicate balance of power.
The "centre" is composed of a
number of ineffectual faculty who
out of sheer terror of conflict refuse
to support openly any of the existing factions. Because of their fear,
indecision and silence, they are
judged as objective and neutral,
and are promptly placed where
they will do the least harm — on
committees dealing with graduate
student problems. This group
avoids using words whenever possible. If they wish to communicate
a negative message, they shrug
helplessly and spread their hands
in a mild token of recognition to the
purblind forces of fate. If they have
good news — which is exceedingly
infrequent — they will hire a plane
with their own funds, to write it in
smoke in the skies over Point
Grey.
Little wonder, then, that few
graduate students have ever managed to extricate themselves from
the spider-web of "left-right" intrigues, once they unwittingly stumble into it (in truth, in my five years
at UBC, I have known of none who
did). Poor devils, half out of their
minds, under the weight of politi
cally fragmented dissertation committees that months ago have forgotten who wrote the thesis they
are arguing about, stagger deler-
iously into the offices of the
"centre" faction, and receive for
their pains a purblind homage to
fate.
The Way To Salvation
and Victory
Attitude: The only way for a
graduate student to survive is to recognize the reality of his predicament, and that of the department
he is working in. He or she must
not allow sentiments, ideals, love
of discipline or knowledge, and
friendships to cloud the issue. As
it now stands, graduate schools do
not possess an atmosphere conducive to serious studies, and because
of interminable faculty disputes
they are not even efficient processing machines. You are thus entitled, in all fairness, to take as callous an attitude as you wish.
Remember: Not one faculty
member, "left" or "right", is
aware or interested in the fate of
those he has failed, or has even a
lively awareness of the time,
money, and psychic energy these
people have expended in pursuing
graduate studies. The graduate faculty firmly believe that it is their
task to "weed out" the poor scholars, and yet, through perpetually
encouraging internal strife create
an atmosphere that encourages
only mediocrity.
The Steps to Victory
Step One: Upon registering, you
will be asked what area you wish
to specialize in. Don't provide a direct answer to the question. Whichever area you choose, you will
automatically be limiting yourself
to a particular group of faculty
specialists, and be placed in the untenable position of having to accept
them, regardless of your own feelings. Remember: if you discover
later that you can not work with
them, and return to inform the
graduate office that you are switching to another area, you will be immediately judged uncommitted to
your studies and frivolous in your
attitude.
It comes as a singular disappointment to many new graduate stud- ents that they can not work in the
field they prefer, but personalities
and politics over which you have
no control rule the expedient of
caution.
Step Two: Take a complete list
of the faculty, and through discrete
inquiries, separate them into various shades of "left," and "right"
and "centre". If this seems foolish,
you must remember that this is the
way they regard each other; and
the way they regard each other is,
unfortunately, going to radically effect your relative success or failure
in graduate school.
Step Three: Once you have assembled the list, memorize it entirely. Upon meeting one of the faculty, you should instantly raise the
political stand in your mind, and
represent yourself as vaguely sympathetic with their particular position. Never commit yourself with
opinions: stick reservedly with subjects. With the "right" discuss the
relative merits of the research
facilities in the library. Announce
confidently that you are "frankly
pleased" with UBC's resources,
adding that any present shortcomings will undoubtedly be corrected
in the next few years (perhaps adding further than you find the library
is just a little tardy in its cataloguing — it's a safe bet, it is!). When
the faculty member asks for specifics on the "shortcomings",
deprecate yourself gently as a "bit
of a nit-picker" and slip politely
away before the subject can be pursued further.
With the "left", your best bet is
to stick to teaching anecdotes. Beware, however, not to criticize or
comment on the teaching of any
other member of the department.
This will immediately "fix" you in
his or her mind as being of a particular political leaning. The one
thing you must harden yourself
against are whispered confidences.
Both political extremes will, once
they feel comfortable with you,
confide unspeakable evils about
their opposites. Under no circumstances can you register surprise or
shock, for this will quickly "type"
you as a sympathetic listener. Remain aloof, but attentive, and respond with a curious, but flat, "Is
that so?" The moment you receive
information of this kind, return to
your list and record the subject of
the unspeakable evil as an enemy
of the speaker. In this manner, and
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17 "Once you have selected your advisor,
or chairman, postpone making your choice
public until the last minute."
through a series of gatherings, you
will more sharply define the lines
of aggression in the department —
information that will later allow
you to play one off against the
other if, and when, the circumstances arrive when you have to
defend yourself.
Remember: as long as you are in
a holding pattern, you are safe. If
the "right" and "left" are uncertain of where you stand — and you
don't foolishly become dedicated in
a seminar and start spouting personal opinions — they will both
cater to you, and provide endless
"low" anecdotes about one
another. However, the moment
you commit yourself, you will have
more enemies than you can handle.
Step Four: When the time comes
to select a thesis advisor, carefully
check your list, and see who has
received the least amount of bad-
mouthing, and determine which of
two categories he or she falls in.
Such a person is either so weak,
insipid and stupid that no one cares
about insulting them; or, as is the
case in some departments, so
powerful no one dares utter a bad
word for fear of it reaching the subject's ears. (Don't make the mistake, by the way, of presuming that
such a person might be so pristine
that there is nothing anyone could
18
say about them; if there isn't ajuicy
current story about them the speaker will make it up on the spot). If
the faculty member falls into the
latter class, create a thesis topic
that he will accept and win him
over as quickly as you can.
If no such Moses figure exists in
your department, the next best bet
is to choose the "left-wing" faculty
member who received the greatest
number of insults from the "right".
Chances are good that he is the
most imposing figure, and probably
also the most rational. Such is the
case because if the "right" faction
had solid evidence of his being a
mediocre scholar or a third-rate
mind, they would announce it hourly from the bell-tower. They whisper criticisms against him to relieve
their frustration at not finding his
real weakness. The more unspeakably vile the stories, incidently. the
more likely he is to be rational. If
you are told in confidence, that a
particular member of the "left"
was arrested six years ago for
"flashing" in the toy department of
Eaton's, he's likely to be the most
dependable advisor.
Step Five: Once you have selected your advisor, or chairman,
postpone making your choice public until the last minute. You might
take a page out of the book of any
department head here. Whenever
the head has an unpopular policy
announcement to make, he generally waits until a day or two before
the summer holidays then drops it
into the middle of the department
and splits for England. You might
do the same thing, for it will allow
you, without difficulty to avoid
confrontations with the political
faction of the opposite side. Write
your thesis over the summer, in the
case of an MA, and return in the
fall and whip through the oral process before anyone but your committee knows what's happening.
With a PhD the problem is more
complex, but again, do the major
part of your research and preparation before announcing the selection of a chairman. Don't give anyone time to build a case against
you.
Step Six: When you are selecting
your committee, don't make the
mistake of hand-picking them all
yourself. If your list is not up to
date, you are quite liable to find
you have a hostile band together,
and you, in the final analysis, will
be the only one to suffer if your
examining body doesn't get along.
By far the most effective way of
achieving a harmonious committee
is to leave the choice up to your
chief advisor chairman. This should be done covertly, because members on the "right" become outraged at the thought of anyone having a "rigged" committee that they
personally didn't have a hand in
"rigging." When you meet your
chairman, confess to him that you
don't know very many of the faculty because you've led a sheltered
life in the library since you first enrolled. Ask him to suggest some to
you, and carefully put to memory,
the order of names as he presents
them. If he mentions a name that
you know is a sworn enemy of his
(and many will because they feel
ethically bound to provide other
names that are recognized in their
field, regardless of how they personally feel about them), you will
know it immediately because of the
list you have taken so much trouble
to assemble. At this point interject,
in the strictest confidence, that you
have had a bit of a personality clash
with that particular person.
Chances are good that your advisor
will let out a secret sigh of relief,
and continue with a list of more
compatible people.
Step Seven: If along the tedious
road  to  your degree  you  get  un
necessary flack from one direction,
don't hesitate to use the confidential comments that you have been
collecting.   Such   a   statement   as:
"Professor  you  speak to
me of academic standards and professional ethics; and yet you could
stand before me and insinuate that
Professor    was nothing but
a storefront flasher," if delivered
loudly, and directly in front of him
or her. will instantly defuse their
power to harm you. Be sure, of
course, that your facts are correct
and you have witnesses. Later, if
he or she attempts to block, damage or otherwise impede your progress, you can have ample testimonials at your disposal, to prove both
that Professor. ... is capable of
harbouring distasteful and irrational attitudes, and that you gave him
or her ample reason to do so.
Remember: As a graduate stud
ent you stand alone. The purpose
of a graduate education is to equip
you to enter the academic profession. The best way to do so is to
take the exemplar of your own department and begin to act like a faculty member now. Place self-
interest and self-preservation before the pursuit of knowledge and
education. By doing so now. you
will reduce the cultural shock of
entering a department as a faculty
member — if and when you ever
get an appointment.
So I hand this modest "Guerrilla
Guide" over to those who follow
me, in the hope that those few inno-
cent1- who will surely come, will
not err as I have done And to the
faculty I leave this word: you were
absolutely right. I am not PhD
mate "ial!
Vancouver freelance writer Michael Mercer, MA'70. is a recent dropout
from doctoral studies in English at UBC. Behind the irony of his "Guerrilla Guide To Graduate Studies" there is a serious criticism of how the
program functions. It is a criticism which, admittedly, nun not applx
universally to all departments, hut is serious enough U) warrant discussion.
The Chronicle looks forward to ihe opportunity of printing other viewpoints on this question. —Ed.
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19 Comet
Kohoutek:'
An Unexpected Celestial Visitor
John Braddock
iti
!*£■
V-
4*-
__■ -rib*     *
V- v
■»
■■■* >-
y;
A fiery new visitor from space has
recently flashed into our skies rivet-
ting the attention of both superstitious and scientific minds. It is called,
Comet Kohoutek. And in these
days of Watergate and crisis in the
Middle East, the coincident appearance of this comet has prompted — much as comets did in the
past — dire predictions about the
future of man. But at the same time,
appearing in our solar system for
the first time in recorded history,
Comet Kohoutek has given astronomers fresh opportunity for
pressing back further the boundaries of the unknown in our universe.
Comet Kohoutek is visible now
to the naked eye if you go out in the
early morning and look towards the
bright star Spica in the constellation
of Virgo. But as December progresses it will fade into dawns. It will
swing about 13.2 million miles behind the sun, then reappear in our
evening skies at the beginning of
January. And from then until February it should provide a fantastic
sight.
It's expected to be one of the
brightest comets of this century,
possibly outshining the famous
Halley's Comet — which is due
again in 1986. But whether Comet
Kohoutek will be brighter than
Venus or brighter than the skies of
the day, as some authorities have
predicted, remains to be seen.
Aside from the brightness, it will
be an important comet because it
was detected early and will be in
view a good three months, dimming
only as it recedes in March. So
there will have been time for elaborate research programs to have
been set up and — more important
— carried out with a meticulous-
ness rarely available in comet
watching.
For instance. Comet Kohoutek
will be studied by the third crew in
Skylab. It will be analyzed by scientists aboard NASA Lear jet aircraft
and it will be dissected spectrog-
raphically at the Cerro Tololo
Comet Kohoutek will he bigger and
brighter, than the Comet Bennett that
crossed I'ancoiiver's sky on April II,
1970. Retired clean of science, Vladimir
Okulitch. caught that comet with his
camera at 3 a.m. on Spanish Banks. Inter-American Observatory in
Chile (politics permitting) and detected by infrared means by various
observatories throughout the
world.
If this all sounds like atotally professional operation, you're wrong.
Amateurs can play a greater role in
this than in any other aspect of astronomy, with the exception of
meteor showers. To give just a couple of examples, Seattle airline pilot
and amateur astronomer A. Stewart
Wilson was the first to photograph a
comet in 1961 and telegrammed his
report to Harvard Observatory —
the clearing house for comets seen
by observers in the western hemisphere — 24 hours before six other
sightings confirmed his report. Ten
years later, in 1971. Nobuhisa Ko-
jima, a 37-year-old junior high
school teacher of Okazaki in central
Japan, spotted a previously unknown comet in the direction of the
constellation Virgo. It was named,
as is the custom, after the finder —
Comet Kojima.
Comet Kohoutek, admittedly, is
named after a professional astronomer. Dr. Luos Kohoutek,
born in Czechoslovakia, was busy
at the Hamburg Observatory in
March of this year trying to trace
once more the new asteroids he'd
discovered in October of 1971. His
photographic plates picked up a
faint, fuzzy image that shifted during the sequence. It was soon
proved to be a comet.
Amateurs can play a particularly
important role in their observations, for as Dr. Gordon Walker,
director of UBC's Institute of Astronomy and Space Science, says,
comets have an interesting tendency to change shape often. Besides the configuration of their tail,
or in some cases, tails, the head of a
comet will spurt gases, wobble its
outline, dimple its surface in whorls
and spirals. Dr. Walker adds that
many of these details can best be
recorded by sketches; many of the
subtleties are lost through overexposure of film. And they really
need a continuous watch.
Incidentally, you don't absolutely need a telescope to see the
comet — although the possession of
one is an obvious advantage. A
good pair of 7 x 50 binoculars should
be sufficient for general observations. And as for photography, you
should be able to get good results
from time exposures using a moder
ately good 35 mm. camera mounted
on a tripod.
Where should you look for
Comet Kohoutek? Well, if it is as
bright as predicted at the time of
writing this, it should be readily visible to the naked eye. And if you
want to know where exactly that is,
you should consult an elementary
star map. From the map you'll see
that many of the major constellations lie close to the ecliptic, which
is an imaginery line drawn around
an imaginery "dome" of the sky.
The ecliptic is the path followed by
the sun as seen from the earth.
It is calculated that Comet
Kohoutek will remain close to the
ecliptic, for it's hurtling in towards
the sun at an angle of only 14 degrees to the equatorial plane of the
earth. This means that on December it will be just below Virgo,
on December 19 it will cut through
the tail of Scorpius, on January 3 it
will reappear in Capricornus, by
January 18 it will be south of
Aquarius, and by February 17 south
of Aries. The elevation above the
horizon will vary from about 15 degrees in the morning skies of December 4 to 0 degrees on December
19, and will rise to about 52 degrees
on February 16 in the evening skies.
All this is predictable. Whether
Comet Kohoutek will predict fearsome disasters or the decline of princes (or presidents) is another
question. Comets have had that
reputation in the past and undoubtedly some people still think that
way about them today. Halley's
Comet for example has been well
documented over the centuries and
was believed to have been an omen
of: in 11 B.C., the death of Agrippa;
in 451, the defeat of Attila the Hun;
in 1066 the invasion of England by
William the Conqueror; in 1222 (believed to be the same comet) the
death of France's King Philip Augustus; in 1456 the Turks overrunning south-east Europe after the
fall of Constantinople three years
earlier; and — to make a sorry story
short — the omen in 1910 of the
outbreak of World War 1.
Coincidence? Dates stretched a
bit? Sure! But superstition was a
sufficiently serious factor in the
Middle Ages for European
churches to be crammed with hysterical crowds seeking refuge during appearances of comets, and
even as recently as 1910 there were
straight-faced  suggestions  that
Halley's Comet meant the end of
the world. So we could be excused
if we're caught wondering — just
wondering, mind you — if both
George Orwell and Halley's Comet
are trying to tell us something about
concitions here in the vears 1984 to
1986.
And while we're on this digression, there's that Star of Bethlehem
puz2le. Comet or conjunction of
planets? Probably the latter. Computer run-backs show Jupiter,
Saturn and Mars close together in 7
B.C. and 6 B.C. "A conjunction of
planets would be very impressive,"
says Dr. Walker, "especially if the
distance separating them was indis-
cernable to the naked eye."
But let's return to comets.
Halley's is of historical importance
for scientific reasons, which sounds
a bit odd. However, it was named
not after its discoverer, like other
comets, but after Sir Edmund Halley, ihe second Astronomer Royal,
who predicted the return of the
phenomenon in late 1759 or early
1760. Halley died in 1742 The
comet appeared on schedule on
Christmas Day. 1759, and thus
confirmed the Astronomer Royal's
calculation of its orbit and supported the gravitational laws of celestial bodies set out in Sir Isaac
Newton's Principia.
Halley's Comet is popularly considered to be the most frequent, for
it reappears about every 76 years.
But, like many popular notions, this
is false. The honour for frequency
goes to Encke's Cornet, named
after the 18th century German astronomer, which pops up every
three and one-third years. It has
been recorded 40 times to Halley's
29 or so.
There are two, possibly three,
type? of comets according to current theories. First, those trapped
in the solar system and travelling in
elliptical or parabolic orbits inside
the orbit of Pluto. Secondly, lumps
of material that have "dropped in"
the salar system from inter-stellar
space, supposedly to fall in an open
hyperbolic orbit around the sun and
be thrown out again. (But Dr.
Walker says there is no evidence of
this happening). And thirdly, a suggestion made first by the well-
known Dutch astronomer. Jan
Oort. and supported by Dr. Fred L.
Whipple, head of the Smithsonian
Astrophysical Observatory in
Cambridge.  Mass., who said in
21 1965 that there may be a spherical
outer cloud of comets around the
solar system "extending perhaps
100.000 times the earth-sun distance".
It is now speculated that comets
do not come into our solar system
from deep in outer space to pass
around the sun and to be flung out
again. It is suggested instead that
slight perturbations in the motions
of planets, and even the changing
effects of closer stars, may trigger
pieces of material from this vast
spherical belt to fall inward toward
the sun and to become comets.
Astronomers have to be content
with catching comets as they can.
And since some comets, like Comet
Kohoutek. are either orbiting
deeply into space or may have been
trapped from inter-stellar travel into
closed solar orbits, they provide
useful tools to determine conditions
elsewhere.
As one example of this. Dr. John
Glaspey, U BC visiting instructor in
geophysics and astronomy, says
they hope to obtain a detailed spectrogram of the gas cyanogen (C-.- N ■<)
on Comet Kohoutek. "Then it may
be possible to separate out species
of cyanogen in which carbon 12 is
involved and in which carbon 13 is
involved."
Carbon 12 and carbon 13 are
isotopes of carbon; only slight variations in the element of carbon but
extremely important ones as far as
the nuclear physics of stars are concerned. The sun, for instance, is
considered to be burning primarily
on hydrogen-plus-hydrogen nuclear
fusion as first suggested by Charles
Critchfield at George Washington
University in 1938. It's a complicated working in which neutrinos
and protons of hydrogen snooker
into each other but the end result is
the "burn" of hydrogen into
helium.
Now. alongside this — and some
physicists give it first place — is
what is called the carbon cycle in
which carbon, nitrogen and oxygen
act as catalysts to the hydro-into-
helium transformation. But at the
end of the cycle the carbon and nitrogen return to their original states.
Yet since the carbon switches from
carbon 12 to carbon 13 and back
again in the process, the C'-C]{
ratio can give a good indication of
the nuclear processes at work and
the age of a star.
The ratio in the sun can be pretty
22
well predicted, says Dr. Glaspey.
So what if they find the C' -/C''' on a
comet quite different? Does it mean
the comet was formed at the genesis
of the solar system? Or that it's
composed of particles derived from
an explosion of another star, from a
supernovae that's scattered its material far and wide? Or does it mean
that the nucleus of the comet is explainable but has picked up a coating
of a different Cl2/C,:l from particles
in space?.
"There are always these arguments", says Dr. Glaspey, and
laughs. Just one of the problems yel
to be unravelled.
Comets are useful tools, too. in
determining certain factors about
the sun. particularly the emission of
particles and radiation that composes the "solar wind". The solar
wind makes the tail of the comet
stream backwards during the approach to the sun but forward on the
return. The interaction of the radiation of the gases tells something
about both.
Recently, however, comets have
been considered interesting entities
in their own rights. Drs. Walker and
Glaspey say infrared detection
technology has only just become
sufficiently sophisticated for use on
such difficult sources. Infra-red
analysis will help to determine, in
the case of Comet Kohoutek, the
temperature and solidity of the nucleus in the head and whether the
rock-like material is unified or
travelling in an aggregate of lumps.
But of what stones and gases are
comets made'.' The most common
analyses list certain radicals (simple
molecules composed of two atoms)
such as oxygen and hydrogen (hyd-
roxyl). nitrogen and hydrogen, carbon and nitrogen as well as the more
complicated carbon dioxide and
cyanogen. An article in .S'A'.v and
'Telescope of September. 1952. argued that the comet's nucleus contained not the radicals observed in
the spectogram but parent
molecules such as ammonia,
methane and — believe it or not —
plain old water.
It was a good article for on April
5. 1971. Charles I.illie of the University of Colorado, an astrophysicist connected with the NASA
space program, was reported as
saying the Orbiting Astronomical
Observatory had "turned up evidence that comets are made mostly
of water...This evidence is reallv a
fundamental breakthrough in understanding cometary physics."
Significantly, Dr. Whipple also
has referred to comets as "dirty
snowballs". The title is no doubt
reasonably accurate and only a degree less prosaic than "hairy star"
— stella conieta of Latin, from
which our name "comet" has
come.
Today the orbits of about 500
comets are known. Unlike the
planets, which all have orbits close
to the plane of the ecliptic, comets
zoom every which-way.
So it's reasonable to ask: "What
of the likelihood of the earth being
struck?" After all. Encke's Comet
is estimated to have a head three
kilometers in diameter and a tail
many hundreds of thousands of
kilometers in length. Frank W.
Cousins, a British astronomer, in
his recent book. The Solar System,
estimates one collision in 50 million
years as a high possibility.
Whether one did. indeed, hit the
atmosphere above the Tunguska
region of Siberia in 1908 is still hotly
debated. V.C. Korobienikov. an
expert on shock waves and a
member of the Steklov Mathematical Institute in Moscow, is a strong
supporter of the comet theory. Certainly something caused the two resounding booms and the flattening
of the forest for miles around. And
no traces of meteorite have been
found. A small comet, or a piece of
a comet, would disintegrate in the
friction of the atmosphere yet impart a formidable shock to the
ground.
While the chances of a direct hit
are mercifully rare, the possibility
of the earth rolling onwards into the
dust and gases of comets' tails is a
far stronger possibility. We could
then expect to sec a fine display of
"shooting stars" as the particles
burn up in our atmosphere.
This is unlikely to happen with
Comet Kohoutek. It's too far off
and its orbit comes in too high
above that of the earth. But fret not;
there'll be much more to see.
"In watching Comet Kohoutek,"
says Dr. Walker, "we must remember (he old adage that information is conveyed only by the unexpected. And investigation is furthered only by those people prepared
to realize something unexpected
has occurred."  i
John Braddock is medical and science writer with The Province. olden
oad Ho
amarkand
Hanna Kassis
Armed with the desire to learn
through travel, twenty-three of us
zigzagged our way to Teheran. Iran
(by air via London, Paris and Moscow) to commence our journey
along an ancient route that has linked China with the Mediterranean
since the second century B.C. But
neither the road we took nor our
means of travel were ancient. Our
aim was to study the architectural
edifices of I slam in I ran and Central
Asia and examine aspects of the culture that governs a world whose
shores are washed by the Atlantic
in the west and the Sea of China
in the east. In my memory lingered
the lines of Flecker which I learnt
in ch ldhood:
"We travel not far trafficking alone;
Hy Inttcr winds our fiery hearts are tanned:
For hist of knowing what should nol he
know'i.
We lake the ii olden Road to Samarkand."
.ii
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gjfwi Who has read the accounts of the
past and has not yearned to travel
into and re-live the past? Hosts of
glorious figures have been there before us. There was Darius the
Great, King of Kings, King of the
Medes and the Persians, building a
network of roads that linked the
centres of his empire from the
shores of the Mediterranean to
India. There were Xenophon's
Greek mercenaries, winding their
way secretly back to their homeland
after an unfortunate career in Persia. There was Alexander of Mace-
don bringing Greek civilization to a
world that already had its own. Inebriated by his swift successes (and
the datewine of Mesopotamia) he
arrived in Sogdiana (Afghanistan)
and married Roxane, the baron's
daughter. There was the elusive
courtesan ThaTs, who in her thirst
for vengeance induced the drunken
Macedonian to set Persepolis ablaze (a story much doubted by historians). There was Valerian, that
miserable Roman Emperor, taken
captive for life by the king of Persia
— a country of the east with which
Rome could never come to terms
until both were thoroughly exhausted. There were the horsemen
of Arabia who in the seventh century swept over Persia and Byzantium to spread the word of God and
to acquire from their conquered
subjects their wisdom and their
knowledge. There were many
travellers and men of learning:
Marco Polo of Venice, Clavijo of
Spain, Ibn Batuta of Morocco.
There were the Chinese travellers
and Indian pilgrims. There was
Tamerlane, that mighty hero of
one's romantic youth. And there
was his glorious capital Samarkand.
Five thousand years of rich history,
like a full laden pomegranate tree
waiting to be picked:
Away, for we are ready to a num.1
Our camels sniff the evening and are glad.
Lead on, O master of the caravan.
Lead on the Merchant-princes of Bagdad.
We had twenty-eight days at our
disposal and twelve cities to examine in depth. The pace and content were not intended for the casual
tourist. Participants attended eight
lectures (which, like the tour itself,
were under the auspices of UBC's
Photograph, p.23: One of the highlights of the tour was a visit to Gur
Amir, the mausoleum of Tamerlane
in Samarkand.
24
Centre for Continuing Education).
They were responsible for a considerable amount of reading on the history, literature, religion, art and
architecture of the region we were
to visit. All came fully prepared.
No cultural shock was going to be
a hindrance. One participant, a
UBC librarian, came prepared to
observe the birds of the region.
Group travel is not everyone's
"cup of tea": but study travel in
a group with a definite and specific
purpose is something different. It
was indeed, for me. a pleasure.
We had three countries to visit:
Iran. Afghanistan and the Soviet
Socialist Republic of Uzbekistan.
Young Iranian students in the
Wakil Mosque in Shiraz involved in
the national pastime - reading.
Our first station on the "caravan
route" was Teheran, the capital of
Iran. Iran, which is nearly the size
of B.C. and Alberta together, has
six times the population of the two
provinces. The common addiction
of the Iranians is literature. Whereas in some countries the best known
historical figures are political and
military persons, in Iran even the
poorest and the non-literate know
and memorize the poetry of Sacdi
(d. 1291) and Hafiz (d. 1389). The
Iranian,  like other people of the region, is very proud of his past,
without chavinism. He is an avid
learner. He seemed to us. no matter
what city we visited, to spend his
free time reading — in public gardens, in the mosque, on the street.
The younger people's desire to
learn a foreign language would
make the supporters of bilingualism
take a fresh look at our approach.
"Do you speak English?" asked a
young man in the Khalili Garden
in Shiraz. Discovering that we all
did, he asked for assistance. "What
exactly is a prepositional verb?" It
is advisable to review your English
grammar before you visit the Middle East. If it is your language, they
expect you to know it.
But in spite oflran's glorious past
she has a considerable leap to make
to achieve a fulfillment of her aspirations. Poverty and traditionalism
still prevail. The line dividing the
rich from the poor, in spite of attempts at change, is still clearly visible. And in spite of the fact that
Islam has crystalized the Iranian
culture, there is a tendency toward
secularism that, at times, attempts
to deny the legacy of the past thirteen centuries. Politically, the Iranians are still searching for the golden
mean between east and west. To
the visitor from the west the sense
of internal political insecurity is felt
only at airports — where one is
closely searched before boarding
the plane. But. on the other hand,
there is so much the Iranians give
in return: their rich heritage and
their warmth.
Each one of its cities has its own
treasures to unfold. Teheran, the
capital for the past 150 years, is by
far the least significant of Iranian
cities. One. however, may enjoy a
visit to the Golestan Palace (we
missed it as it was occupied by the
President of Pakistan). The neighbouring village of Rayy (where visitors usually enjoy the sight of rugs
being washed and dried in the sun)
has a more glorious past. Here, the
last Sassanian king took his stand
to halt the advance of Islam. Tradition has it that his daughter married Hussain, the son of Ali (cousin
and son-in-law of the Prophet
Muhammed) who is venerated in
Iran. Her shrine stands here and
is open only to believers. The demise of Rayy came with the Mongol
invasion in 1220. Rayy became a
reminder that wherever we were going the savage hordes of Genghis
Khan, the Mongol chief, had preceded us with ravaging destructive-
ness seven and a half centuries
earlier. Swooping down from Central Asia, the Mongols descended
on the Muslim world like a curse.
The lands they passed through have
not recovered since.
Shiraz. the city of roses, welcomed us with the fragrance of
roses along the boulevard leading
from the airport. Beside the Vakil
Mosque, one visits the shrines of
the poets Hafiz and Sacdi. Situated
in pleasant gardens, they are visited, especially on Fridays, by many
Iranians of various social stations.
The visitor places his hand on the
marble tomb, reads the Basmalah:
In the Name of God the Merciful,
the Compassionate, Praises be to
God the Lord of all being, etc. Then
he recites some lines of poetry:
A   rose blooms within me.  wine i\ in my
hand.
And my beloved embraced -
this day the world's king is my slave.
() how many vows of repentance are
undone
Bv ihe smile of wine and the iresses of
a girl
Like the vows of Hti/ir.'.'
A pilgrimage to the shrines of the
poets was an excellent point of departure for our visit that evening to
Persepolis. It must have been a
most elegant city between the sixth
and fourth centuries B.C. One
climbs the grand staircase leading
to the Gate of the Nations. Sir
Henry Morton Stanley walked
through this gate and left his graffiti:
"Stanley. New York Herald.
1870". The staircase leading to the
royal reception hall, carved with the
images of Medes and Persians,
Phoenicians, Cappadocians, Lyd-
ians. Bactrians, and others — citizens of a vast empire, the most tolerant in the ancient world. A few
miles away the tomb of its founder.
Cyrus the Great, still stands.
Tombs of the other Persian kings,
fire altars, palaces and fortresses
are all scattered in the vicinity.
Nearly three hundred miles to the
north is Isfahan, sometimes called
the "Pearl of Islam" or "Half the
World". During the Elizabethan
Age. it was a rival to London. The
beginning of Muslim rule in A.D.
642 ushered in the beginning of the
rise of the city to prominence. In
the eleventh century the Seljuk
Turks made Isfahan their capital.
A beautiful mosque. The Friday
Mosque, was built at this time using
burnt brick as the medium of architecture. Visiting this mosque, one
sees the validity of Schroeder's
statement that the Seljuk architecture "solved the problems that
Wren avoided". This mosque still
stands, improved upon and added
to by later dynasties. In 1388
Tamerlane attacked the city and
eventually killed more than 70.000
of its inhabitants. This, rather than
archi lecture, is his legacy in
Isfahan. The city began to recover
under the Safavid Dynasty. Shah
Abbas created a city centre (the
Maidan-i-Shah) and surrounded it
with fabulous buildings that are still
the landmark of 1 sfahan. There was
the Royal Mosque, the "Ladies'
Mosque", the Royal Palace (of
which only the facade survived) and
the grand entrance to the bazaar,
the roofed market place. The city
glittered with magnificent buildings.
A delicate structure still standing
is the medreseh (college) built by
the mother of Shah Abbas. Then,
between 1720 and 1722, the Afghanis descended on Isfahan and destroyed it. Enough architecture survives to tell a story of a golden age.
Meshed, in the northeast corner
of Iran, is not a tourist city. Two
tombs make it famous: the tomb of
Al-Ghazali. one of the greatest
minds of the Middle Ages, and that
of Irnam Riza. Imam Riza was
named as successor to the caliph
of Islam. His premature death as
a result of a sudden illness raised
suspicion among his followers that
he was poisoned. As a result, he
was looked upon as a martyr and
his burial place became the most
sacred locus in Iran and a centre
of pilgrimage. I sought permission
for our group to visit the shrine. The
authorities extended us a courtesy
and allowed us to visit the shrine,
which normally is not open to non-
Muslims (strictly speaking, only
Shici:e Muslims are permitted).
Our women were each wrapped in
a chador which covered them from
head to toe. Pilgrims are alike, it
seemed to me, wherever the shrine
and whatever the religion. They are
so moved by the fervor of their faith
to bring their supplications before
the Deity. In a manner of speech,
the pilgrim stripped himself naked
before God. And that was no place
for a curious student. I was anxious
to leave. We solemnly walked out
of th; shrine. But the temptation
to explode with laughter was great
25 when coming out of the sacred locus
the first glimpse in the secular world
to greet my eye was a sign that read
in the Arabic script: "Coca Cola"!
Officialdom on the boundary between Iran and Afghanistan is extremely slow but equally courteous.
The passport officials wanted to
know our professions. How do you
explain that an artist is not an
artiste? Or how do you explain to
the health officer that one may have
forgotten to have the health certificate stamped? How do you explain
to young people on another "pilgrimage", who speak your language
that they have to wait in turn until
your twenty-three passports are
cleared? All these problems become insignificant once you are in
Herat. The hotel — Russian-built
— greeted us like an oasis in the
desert. A young French lady was
The UBC tour had the good fortune
to visit the Shrine of Imam Riza, in
the city of Meshed - the holiest
place in Iran. Below, is the Gawhar
Shad Mosque, part of the shrine.
rudely demanding Coffee-Mate! In
Herat? We took our time and were
rewarded. The hotel staff entertained us at dinner. They sang and
danced and finally brought the chef
to give us his specialty: a beautiful
dance. Herat was once a most
colourful city. It is. like the
Afghanistan to which it has belonged since 1856, a mosaic of
peoples of different cultural and ethnic backgrounds: Hazara, Baluchis,
Pathans, Turcomans, Uzbeks,
Tajiks, etc. There are nearly twenty
languages being used in Afghanistan. Most of these have not as yet
been studied. The main language,
Pashtu, is written like Persian, in
the Arabic script.
Divided as they may be, the Afghanis share one common characteristic: they bear themselves with dignity. They do not bemoan their extreme poverty nor the near total
lack (except in Kabul, the capital)
of the basic necessities. But neither
do they submit fatalistically. The
educated among them become revolutionaries, motivated by a desire
to improve the conditions in their
homeland. We could sense the revolution in the air. One young man,
educated in Britain, convincingly
argued that there was no other
course for Afghanistan to follow but
that of revolution. The past regime
was standing still. What marred the
scene in Afghanistan was the sight
of some westerners (mainly of the
younger generation) whose demeanour contrasted sharply with the
dignity of the Afghanis. They came
to seek salvation through hashish
(legal to grow but illegal to traffic).
Many gave the Afghanis an illicit
way of life in return. Muhammad,
our guide from Afghantour, the official travel bureau, kept asking me,
"What do you do to your children
to cause them to be like that?" He
offered to take me to the prison
where several Canadians, I was
told, were imprisoned for trafficking and prostitution.
Afghanistan's tumultuous history
always takes precedence over its
architectural heritage. One is struck
by the contrast between the architecture that tells what the country
was and the poverty that speaks for
what the country is. But the past
was glorious. In Herat, the golden
age came under the rule of the successors of Tamerlane. From this
period comes the Musalla and the
Medreseh of Gawhar Shad, the wife
of Shah Rukh, the son and successor of Tamerlane. She was a "patron" of the arts. Her mausoleum
in Herat, like her mosque in
Meshed, testify to her taste. In
Herat one comes in contact once
again with the love for poetry. Two
of Afghanistan's most distinguished
poets are buried here: Ansari (d.
1088) and Jami (d. 1492). Their
tombs are national shrines. But the
shrine par excellence in Afghanistan has. since the fifteenth century
become a centre around which a
city was built: Mazari-Sharif (the
Noble Shrine). Here, according to
incorrect Afghani tradition, the remains of the Caliph Ali were interred (in reality, he was buried at
Najaf in Iraq). Tradition suggests
that the tomb was miraculouly discovered in the twelfth century. The
building — a blue mosque — which
houses the tomb, was first built during the Timurid period (the age of
Tamerlane and his successors). It
has since been enlarged and rebuilt,
but the plan and design remain Timurid. As the centre of a new city,
it contributed to the demise of the
26 r
neighbouring city of Balkh.
After the conquests of Alexander. Balkh became the centre of
Greco-Bactria. At this time it was
protected by a great city wall. But
Balkh's history predates Alexander. According to tradition it was
the home of Zoroaster, the Persian
Prophet of the fifteenth century
B.C. Here Alexander married Rox-
ane. Here his general Seleucus married Apama, another Bactrian princess. In the vicinity of Balkh, Alexander exchanged the horses of his
cavalry for the swift horses of Central Asia. In later years Balkh was
an important centre of the Kushans
and Hephthalites. When the Muslims, therefore, conquered it in
A.D. 663 they were well acquainted
with her long and rich history. She
had an enviable location, situated
on the silk route to China and the
branch trade route to India. The
Muslims called her "The Mother
of Cities". It took Genghis Khan
100.000 men to bring her to her
knees. All her inhabitants were
massacred. All her buildings were
destroyed. But her memory lived
on. By the time of the Timurids
the city had sufficiently recovered,
only to be partially destroyed again
by Tamerlane. His son Shah Rukh
embellished her with architectural
masterpieces. But her end was at
hand. The "discovery" of the tomb
of Ali in the vicinity (Mazar-
i-Sharif) brought about Balkh's rapid decline. Today, the "Mother of
Cities" is a village of about 3,000
inhabitants and a handful of ruins.
Balkh contrasts sharply with
Ghazna, 360 miles to the south. The
road to Ghazna runs via Kabul
through the spectacular Hindu
Kush range. The Russians built the
road and dug a tunnel (altitude
11.100 ft.) which made it possible
to travel from Kabul to the north
of the country (the road, in fact.
runs to the Soviet Union but is not
open to ordinary traffic). From
Kabul to Ghazna, then curving to
Herat, the road was built by the
Americans. From Herat north to
the Soviet border, the road is
Russian-built. Some Afghanis told
us that the Russians built their roads
to accommodate tanks; the Americans planned them as landing strips
and that the whole affair is a British
conspiracy! This reflects the attitude the Afghanis have toward Britain. The three Anglo-Afghan Wars
(indeed, a dark chapter in British
history) are still fresh in the memory
of the Afghanis.
Ghazna (once an important
Buddhist centre) gains fame as the
centre from which Muslim attacks
on India were launched. Ancient
Muslim geographers mention that
Ghazna was a resort for wealthy
merchants and that its inhabitants
enjoyed a life of prosperity and
ease. The city, these geographers
tell us. had a citadel with an adjoining palace. The main part of the city
was surrounded by a wall with four
gates. The wealthier members of
the community (in the tenth century) lived in the suburbs, where
there were also superb markets.
Archaeologists excavating in the
city discovered that these suburbs
were located on the slopes of the
hills to the east of the modern town.
Beside the palace of Sultan Mah-
moud (998-1030) which is under excavation, there are two ornate
minarets still standing, the only
monuments of a once powerful city.
In the twelfth century it was sacked
by Aladdin Ghur, nicknamed the
"World-Incendiary", who was
avenging the treacherous murder of
his brothers. When the city recovered, it was — as it remains today
— a station on the road to India.
No visit to Afghanistan is complete without the pilgrimage to
Bamiyan. This city is first mentioned in the writings of Chinese travellers in the sixth century. It is described as a great centre for Buddhism with ten monasteries and over
1.000 monks.The focal points were
two colossal statues of the Buddha
(175 and 120 feet high, respectively)
carved in the natural rock. Once a
thriving centre of Buddhist pilgrimage, Bamiyan today is a spec-
Somc of the UBC tour gathered
(above) on the mound of what remains of the "city of tears",
Bamiyan. It was so called because
Genghis Khan h .et it destroyed as a
result of the kitii. 's daughter betraying her father, (jn the road to
Bamiyan, (below) the travellers encountered this pleasant, leathery-
faced man, a member of the H az.ara
tribe '>/Afghanistan.
tacular but unpretentious resort.
Located in the heart of the Hindu
Kush range, the drive there is an
experience in itself. As you drive
along the narrow strip that hesitantly rests on the side of the mountain,
you would not wish to yield to the
oncoming traffic of goat-, and sheep,
nor would you attempt to pass a
slow-moving vehicle overloaded
with both people and herds. An
Afghani driver.however, would not
let such a challenging occasion pass.
Uzbekistan is nearly half the size
of British Columbia with four times
the population. And although it is
27 separated from Afghanistan by the
Amu Darya (Oxus River), it nevertheless is an extension of the region
of Afghanistan north of the Hindu
Kush.
The early history of Uzbekistan
remains shrouded in mystery. It
was probably penetrated by the
kings of Persia in the sixth century
B.C. Alexander of Macedon crossed the Oxus into this region and it
is from his era that we have the earliest mention of Samarkand as
Maracanda. The second century
B.C. saw the Huns here who were
supplanted by the Chinese after the
disintegration of the empire of the
Huns. During the fifth century
A.D. the Hephthalites (White
Huns) occupied the region and engaged the Sassanian rulers of Iran
in fierce fighting. Turkic peoples
moved into this entire region during
the sixth century A.D. and, when
the Muslims extended their authority beyond the Oxus in the eighth
century, the people of Uzbekistan
adopted Islam as their faith. Of the
various Muslim ruling houses that
A lonely Muslim winds his way
through scorching heat towards u
beautiful minaret in Khiva.
dominated the area, two have left
an indelible mark on the cultural
scene: the Samanids with their capital at Bukhara (A.D. 819-1005) and
the Timurids with their capital at
Samarkand (A.D. 1370-1506).
Since the October Revolution
(1917). Islam has followed an interesting course in Uzbekistan. En-
nobat. a young, soft-spoken school
teacher who showed us the way
around Khiva, saw no difficulty in
being a Muslim and a Marxist at
the same time. The problem of the
belief in God (basic to Islam) was,
for her. irrelevant. It is how you
live, she argued, rather than what
you believe that makes you a Muslim. She agreed to take us to an active mosque (a Muslim place of worship) but would not go inside with
us. But she may not be representative of the Muslims of Uzbekistan.
Contrary to my expectations, I met
with young university graduates
who were enrolled in the Muslim
theological college in Tashkent.
The college is not interested in
quantity but quality. The students
are few but arc carefully selected.
We could communicate in Classical
Arabic and I met with no hesitation
DOES THE NEWS
HAVE TO BE BAD TO
BE REPORTED?
Some people claim that newspapers tend to feature the sensational, the violent
and the controversial ... that the only news to get reported is "bad news". There's
some justification in the charge for the simple reason that so many of the events
which affect people all over the world are, indeed, shocking and violent. Wars,
earthquakes, floods, acts of political terrorism: events of this kind have occurred with
alarming frequency in recent years — and when they do occur, they rate front-page
coverage because they affect so many people so deeply. These are the news stories
you tend to remember — but if you analyzed those front-page features over a period
of time, you'd find a great deal of news coverage that was rather ordinary in nature.
Stories on the new tax structure, on the calling of an election, on the opening of
a new National Park. These are just as important, in their own way, as major world
events — and they rate serious consideration from this newspaper. But until the
world becomes a saner place, we can't ignore the events which cause shock and
outrage. Not unless we give up on the basic job of a daily newspaper.
□ @he %ncoui/er Sun
28 An Uzbeck Muslim, AU Omarov,
publicly worshipping in Bukhara.
Below, Muslim women descend the
long staircase at the entrance to
Shah-i-Zindeh, in Samarkand. To
count all the steps and remember
the number after touring the shrine
is regarded as a test of intelligence.
on their part to be open. Their criticism of the state was minimal. It
was the Muslims, it should be remembered, who brought the Revolution to Uzbekistan, first in 1916
(when the Tsarist forces crushed it
with extreme cruelty), and then in
1917.
In Bukhara, I met Ali Omarov.
He had completed offering his
prayers in the open air in front of
the Samanid Mausoleum. By law
I am permitted to attack his religious beliefs, and by law he is not
allowed to proselytize. Yet, since
1970, the Muslims have been publishing a monthly journal (Muslims
in the Soviet East) in two editions,
Uzbek and Arabic. I am not suggesting that religious practices are
unimpeded in the U.S.S.R. The picture is however, quite different, it
seemed to me, from what we are
made to believe on this side.
At last we came to Samarkand.
I had been advised to walk around
the city on my own at dawn. At
the Shah-i-Zindah, the necropolis,
as well as at the Registan — a square
surrounded by three medresehs —
I saw pilgrims paying homage to the
past. They were peasants from the
countryside. I learned that they
came daily, especially to the medresehs, to touch the bricks and door
knobs of the buildings where at one
time their Muslim heritage had been
taught. It is these people, I was told
by the students in Tashkent, who
finance the Muslim institutions of
the Soviet Union on a voluntary
basis. Here, as in other buildings
of Samarkand, one could see in
brick and tile, the tender lines of
a type of decoration that characterized the age of Tamerlane. Each
fragment was shaped to fit the place
for which it was intended, to create
a perfect, coloured design. The
domes, dressed in blue glazed tiles,
towered over the mosques and
tombs. The city must, in fact, have
been a spectacular jewel to behold.
But Hafiz, the poet of Shiraz, had
another priority;
If that Turk of Shiraz would hold my heart
in her hand.
I would give Bukhara and Samarkand tor
ihe mole upon her cheek.
Two edifices are outstanding. The
first is the observatory of Ulugh
Beg, the man who was indeed a
philosopher-king. Excavations at
the beginning of the century unearthed part of his sextant. His
astronomical results were remarkably accurate. He had an error of
1.6 seconds in the length of the astronomical year, and 0'32" in his
calculation of the angle of the ecliptic. On the other end of the city
is the Gur Emir, the mausoleum of
the Timurids. The mausoleum was
intended for Tamerlane's grandson
who was killed in war. It also
houses the remains of Tamerlane's
teacher, as well as those of his son
Shah Rukh and his grandson Ulugh
Beg. Tamerlane was called "the
eternal king" and "world conqueror". He left for posterity his comment on both; he commanded that
he should be buried at the feet of
his teacher and that on the drum
holding the dome over his tomb
should be inscribed: "Only God
Remains", a
Dr. Manna Kassis, associate
professor of religious studies, is
a specialist in Near Eastern
Studies. The Golden Road to
Samarkand, which Dr. Kassis
conducted from May 7 - June 2,
was one of several education-
travel programs sponsored during
the spring and summer by the
Centre for Continuing Education.
29 M
Alumni Concerts Draw
Praise — And Crowds
"Overwhelmed. That's the danger in attending a concert in which not just one, but nine
excellent performers are featured. And when
I walked away from the University of B.C.
music department's first Alumni Concert
Thursday evening at the Recital Hall, that's
the way I felt."
That's how The Province's music critic,
Ray Chatelin, began his review of the opening performance, on October 18, of a new fall
series of faculty and student concerts co-
sponsored by the UBC Alumni Association
and the music department. Lloyd Dykk of
The Sun described the same event this way:
"The concert was a variety night of decidedly professional calibre, a consistently
enjoyable thing presenting some of music's
brightest possessions and performers fully
capable of putting them on display."
The first concert featured faculty performers, the second featured two students. And
it also drew rave reviews. Lloyd Dykk again:
"Each (student) had already shown himself
rooted in solid competence with a genuinely
musical imagination at his disposal. Polish,
expertise and an increasing grasp of musical
problems on the part of either musician point
to an eventual maturity that should justify all
hopes."
The five-concert series has not only drawn
the plaudits of critics but a strong audience
following as well. The concerts offer both
vocal and instrumental pieces, classical and
modern. The program has been designed to
serve as a showcase of the musical talent
being developed on campus.
The final concert in the series will be held
at 8 p.m.. Thursday, December 6 in UBC's
Recital Hall. Admission is free.
Home Ec Alumni Plan
Nutrition Seminar
Is the average Canadian overfed and undernourished? A day-long conference being
planned by the home economics alumni division for February 16 at Cecil Green Park
should provide some answers to that question. "Overfed and Undernourished" is the
topic of the conference being planned under
the chairmanship of Mrs. Nadine Johnson.
The conference will feature talks by top
professionals in the fields of health and nutrition, demonstrations and films. Highlights
include discussion of child nutrition, food
supplements and substitutes, health food
30
(there will be a health food lunch) and physical fitness (complete with demonstration of
physical fitness testing). Home Ec alumni are
invited to come out and participate.
Elsewhere on the active alumni divisions
scene, one of the youngest and fast-growing
divisions, dental hygiene, is charging ahead
with its new program, under the chairmanship of Mrs. Sandy Macintosh. A newsletter
has been produced and a very successful fall
dance — to the music of "Just What The
Doctor Ordered" —was held at Cecil Green
Park. The commerce and nursing divisions
are also planning events.
New Flights For Alumni
Travel Program
Visions of palm trees, rolling surf and sun are
luring a large number of alumni to Hawaii
this year as part of the new alumni travel
program.
The program features vacation packages
at bargain rates for alumni and their families,
with frequent departures. 747 jet flights by
regular airlines and good hotels. There are
reductions for children and a U-Drive car
and breakfast are included in the Maui package.
Two additional flights to Hawaii have been
added for the Easter vacation period, April
12 to 21 and April 12 to 28. Perfect timing for
teachers and students. Lor additional information call or write the alumni office 62? 1
N.W. Marine Dr. Vancouver V6T IA6
(228-3313).
Hugh Sandilands. music S, performs on
classical guitar at one of the recent, popular
Alumni Concerts.
Writing Contest
Closes January 31
Fancy yourself a budding Shakespeare? If
so, take pen in hand and enter the Chronicle
Creative Writing Competition.
Cash prizes will be awarded to three students submitting the best pieces of writing.
Their submissions will be published in the
Chronicle.
The competition is restricted to full-time
registered students, who may submit any
piece of previously unpublished creative
writing to a maximum length of 3,500 words.
More than one item (poetry, for example)
may be combined in a single entry providing
it does not exceed the maximum length. A
committee of local writers and critics will
judge the submissions.
The cash prizes will be in the following
amounts: first, $175: second, $125; and third,
$75. The money for the prizes has been contributed by the UBC Alumni Fund.
The deadline for entries, which must be
typewritten, is January 31. 1974. The announcement of winners is expected to take
place in March, with publication of the winning entries in subsequent Chronicles. For
further information contact: Creative Writing Competition. 6251 N.W. Marine Dr.,
Vancouver V6T 1A6. (228-3313). In a classic picture oj squash. Rod Heiden-
reich i left I and Hairy Sleek fright) struggle
Jor control of the court in the finale of the
Chronicle squash tournament. Heidenreich
emerged the victor. A motley bunch of
Chronicle squashers ihelow) enjoy a post-
tournament beaker of the bubbly.
Social, Sports Events
Mark Reunion Days 73
What is Reunion Days? It's when a bunch of
alumni get together to swap memories of the
old days, have a few cheery glasses and a line
dinner and maybe play a little golf or a little
squash. That, in a nutshell, was Reunion
Days '73 and that's the way the graduates
liked it.
The Reunion Days program, under the
chairmanship of John Parks, was a big success, involving more than 600 people. It al
began with some of the real UBC pioneers,
the class of 1423. getting together for three
event-filled days in early September. The
main Reunion festivities were held at UBC
on October 20 and they involved the classes
of 1933. '38. '43. '48." '53 commerce, law.
engineering and architecture. '58 commerce,
law and engineering, and '63 commerce, engineering, nursing and law. The physical
education types from the years 1960-65 held a
joint reunion on the same day.
On the athletic side, the annual women's
alumni golf tournament was held at the
McCleary Golf Course on October 5 and the
men's tournament on October 12. In spite of
si ■££££££& a
W?
Jfc
M***
"J * V:
rf^
c
V"S
\> Guest speaker Dr. Gordon Shrum (right)
talks with alumnus Oscar Anderson at San
Francisco branch meeting, while Stuart
Dickson I left) and alumni branches chairman Peter Uitdenbosch I right) enjoy a
hearty joke.
At the Los Angeles branch meeting (below,
left to right) Owen and Grace Govier renew
acquaintance with Hetty-Jean Prosse and
Larry Fournier.
At recent alumni awards and scholarships
winners reception, alumni president George
Morfitt (centre) chats with N.A.M. MacKenzie scholarship winner Bryce Bartholomew (right) and I left) Tommy Tagami.
winner of John Owen Memorial Athletic
Award, (bottom)
the unfavourable weather, a good time was
had by all participating.
The Second Annual Chronicle Squash
Tournament and Bunfeed was also held in
conjunction with Reunion Days on October
13. A fun-loving, motley group of 32
squashers were attracted to the all-day tournament in the UBC Thunderbird Sports
Centre, which was climaxed by an excellent
bunfeed.
When the last ball was bashed, the winner
of The Squashed Cup, emblematic of
Chronicle squash superiority was an Australian student. Rod Heidenreich. In a hard-
fought finale, he beat out political science
professor Harry Steck, who received The
Up-Runner Award. Other award winners
were: The Cliff-Hanger Award. M. Chaplin;
The Flailer Award, R. Argue; Order of the
Pink Elephant, R. McDiarmid; Male
Chauvinist Pig Award, A. Ryder; and The
Golden Racquet. R. Lougheed.
Stimulating Speakers
Visit Alumni Branches
Good food and good company — what more
can you ask for? Nothing. Well, that was the
situation around the alumni branches scene
this fall where a variety of functions had the
best of both.
First, on November 2 it was Seattle's Annual UBC Alumni Potluck Dinner at the
home of Bet and Stu Turner on Mercer Island. It was a sumptuous repast attended by
40 alumni and highlighted by a very interesting guest, Edward C. Shelly, Canadian Consul and Trade Commissioner in Seattle.
On the evening of'Friday, November 9
over 100 alumni from the San Francisco area
partook of a gourmet dinner at Sabella's Restaurant on Fisherman's Wharf, while the
following evening a band of 60 Los Angeles
area alumni enjoyed some fine fare aboard
the S.S. Princess Louise. The good company
at both functions was Dr. Gordon Shrum,
retired UBC dean of graduate studies, chancellor emeritus of SFU and former chairman
of B.C. Hydro. Branches chairman Peter
Uitdenbosch, gave a brief report on U BC developments. Dr. Shrum's talk as always, was
an entertaining one.
An equally entertaining speaker was the
special guest at two eastern alumni branch
meetings later that month. The Honourable
Alex Macdonald, Attorney-General of
British Columbia, spoke to a good crowd of
alumni in Ottawa on November 16 and to a
equally fine gathering of alumni in Montreal
on November 17. The title of his talk was
"Lotus Land is Waking Up." UBC Alumni
Association President George Morfitt, gave a
short report on developments at UBC. notably the work of the UBC Presidential Search
Committee (of which he is a member), which
is seeking to find a replacement for President
Walter Gage who retires in 1975. Watch for
fuller report later on these eastern branch
functions.
Ian McNairn
Memorial Fund
A fund has been established in memory
of Ian McNairn. of the department of fine
arts at the University of B.C., who died in a boating accident on 20th August, 1973.
In view of his interest in the university
library, the fund will be used to buy specialized books in the areas of medieval art history with which he was particularly concerned.
Anyone who would like to contribute to
this fund is asked to send a donation, endorsed "Ian McNairn Memorial Fund",
either to the department of fine arts or to
the university librarian, or directly to the department of finance. University of B.C.,
Vancouver 8, B.C. Official receipts will be
mailed by the department of finance.
Xmas Comes Early To
Young Alumni Club
The ever-popular Young Alumni Club will
hold its Christmas party on Friday, December 14 from 4 p.m. to 1 p.m. in Cecil
Green Park. There will be live music, plenty
of Yuletide cheer and a special guest: Mr. S.
Claus. Mr. Claus, a well-known eccentric,
will make his appearance via the chimney
about 9 p.m.
Otherwise, the YAC continue their merry
round of weekly events at Cecil Green Park:
Thursdays from 8 p.m. - 12:30 p.m. and Fridays, 4 p.m. - I a.m. One of the largest clubs
on campus, the Young Alumni Club is open
to graduating students and graduates for a
modest  S4  fee.   For  information  call:
228-3313. d
Branches
Anyone?
Interested in becoming involved in
alumni branch activities in your area?
Here are your local branch representatives:
BRITISH COLUMBIA
Campbell River: Jim Boulding. Castlegar:
Bruce Fraser (365-7292). Courtenay: William Dale (338-5159). Dawson Creek:
Roger Pryke (782-5407). Duncan: David
Williams (746-7121). Kamloops: Bud
Aubrey (372-8845). Kelowna: Larry Taylor (762-5445). Nanaimo: Gordon B.
Squire (753-1211). Nelson: Judge Leo
Gansner (352-3742). Penticton: Dick
Brooke (492-6100). Port Alberni: George
Plant (723-2161). Prince George: Neil
McPherson (563-0161). Quesnel: David
Woolliams (922-5814). Victoria: Kirk
Davis (656-3719). Williams Lake: Anne
Stevenson (392-4365).
ALBERTA
Calgary: Frank Garnett (262-7906). Edmonton: John Haar (425-8810), Gary
Caster (465-1342).
EASTERN CANADA
Halifax: Carol MacLean (423-2444).
Montreal: Hamlyn Hobden (866-2055).
Ottawa: Gerald Meyerman (232-1721).
Toronto: Jack Rode (364-7204). Winnipeg: Harold Wright (452-3644). Newfoundland: Barbara Draskoy (726-2576).
UNITED STATES
Los Angeles: Don Garner (342-2967). New
Mexico: Martin Goodwin (763-3493).
New York: Rosemary Brough (688-2656).
San Francisco: Norm Gillies (474-7310).
Seattle: Gerald Marra (641-2714).
FOREIGN
Bermuda: John KeefTe (20444). England:
Alice Hemming (35 Elsworthy Rd., London NW3), Scotland: Jean Dagg (32 Bent-
field Dr., Prestwick). Singapore: Kwong-
Hiong Sim, 51 Wayang St., Kuching,
Sarawak, Malaysia (East).
Come to where the INTEREST is!
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33 ȴU
The permanent president of Arts'20. Alfred
H.J.    Swenisky,    BA'20.    (LLB.    Osgoode
Hall), has retired as senior county court
judge in Vancouver after serving 18 years
as a member of the bench. His successor
as senior judge is William Schultz,
BCom'33, BA'34. who was appointed to the
bench in 1958 in Prince Rupert and moved
to Vancouver in 1962...WiUiam Blanken-
bach, BA'28. BASc'29, was cited by the
Sugar Industry Technologists at their annual meeting for "his outstanding professional achievements in the industry." He is
presently a consulting engineer but before
his retirement in 1970. was for many years
general chemist of B.C. Sugar Refining...
James Beattie MacLean, BA'28, (MA, PhD,
Washington), retired this summer, ending a
long association with the University of Victoria. For the past several years he served
as professor and head of Germanic languages and literature and as director of the
university's summer school. He was also responsible for the creation of a counselling
office at UVic, a field he first became involved with during the Second World War
in the RCAF...A long-time member of
B.C.'s forest industry. John M. Billings,
BA'29. retired in October. He had been
president of Forest Industrial Relations
since 1951 and a staff member since 1944.
His successor is Donald A. Lanskail, BA'50.
LLB'50 president of the Pulp and Paper Industrial Relations Bureau, who will direct
the activities of both agencies.
The general meeting of the Commonwealth Forestry Association in England
elected Charles D. Schultz, BASc'31, as a
member of its governing council. The association, which has members from all over the
Commonwealth, is concerned with all aspects of forest use and ecology.. .Next
year Jack M. Streight, BA'31, (LLB. Osgoode Hall), takes over as North America's
Number One Shriner — the Imperial Potentate. He will be the third Canadian named
to the post ... Public service has been a
major part of Cecilia Long's, BA'32, life.
She's been on all kinds of committees,
served as chairman and board member of
Women's College Hospital and chairman of
the Toronto Zoological Society in its busiest
years — planning the soon-to-open zoo. For
these efforts and many more, the Canadian
Public Relations Society awarded her its
shield of public service for distinguished and
dedicated service to the public welfare.
Miss Long is public relations director for
the Canadian Arthritis and Rheumatism
Society ... David H. (Pi) Campbell, BA'33,
34
Ray Bey
Vancouver's Skid Road is the end of the
road in the lives of many people, but for
some it is their whole life. There is a
group of kids, in their early teens, who
find life "on the street" highly stimulating. At any moment someone could get
busted, or stabbed or robbed. Many of
the street kids come from within a mile of
the waterfront, born into those cheap,
debilitating hotels. Add to these the growing number of runaways and drifters attracted by the easily available drugs and
an accepting atmosphere and you have a
group numbering in the hundreds.
These kids needed help — the traditional agencies were not heavily involved
— and Outreach was formed and eventually found funding, first from the city and
later from an LIP grant. Ray Bey.
MSW'73, a social worker with the
Catholic Family and Children's Service
was seconded to work with the new group
along with workers from other agencies.
"We tried to provide a real relationship
for the kids. Their relationships tend to be
very unstable and temporary. Their only
commitment is to their own survival."
Ray. as a detached worker, spent a lot
of t'me just talking. "You learn of the
experiences that make these kids sometimes destructive, sometimes skilful at
hustling and panhandling, sometimes unable to relate positively to others, sometimes suspicious and mistrusting, generally angry but always unique and interesting."
Outreach organized drop-in programs
and impromptu activities for the kids.
"We tried to give them some horizon-
expanding experiences. Sometimes we'd
go fishing. We had $25 a month for expenses so we were able to buy some bait
and rent a boat. Oddly enough, living so
close to the water some of the kids had
never been in boats." They took trips to
the North Shore mountains and the country. The kids liked it, "but soon became
uncomfortable because it was foreign
soil. They wanted to go back to the comforts of the streets." Gradually this feeling of insecurity in new places began to
receed. Ray's first contact with social
work came as a result of an undergraduate social work club and a paper on
juvenile delinquency he did for a third-
year sociology course at the University of
Calgary. Calgary Children's Aid offered
him a job with time off to go to university
and he took it. As a result, his final undergraduate year took five years to complete. He worked as a probation officer
for two years before moving to Vancouver and the CFCS.
He came to UBC in 1971. "I didn't
relish the idea of going back (to university) but it was a necessity if I was to
remain a social worker. 1 felt locked in
with a BA. Positions would come up 1 felt
qualified for but I wasn't considered because I didn't have an MSW". He feels
there's a lot of good workers who don't
have BAs or MSWs who would really
benefit from a part-time study degree
program.
The first year at UBC was a hard adjustment after eight years away from university. "1 tried to learn everything,
memorizing just like high school. I didn't
do that well. The second year 1 learned to
recognize that each prof had his own
areas of interest — and that's where the
marks were. I played the role of interested student and did better as a consequence." He would like to see a
pass/fail system of marking in social
work. "There's been enough research to
indicate that good marks are not particularly indicative of success in the field."
Changes in the whole system of social
welfare in B.C. are being made by the
provincial government. Bey welcomes
the integration of agencies and resources
as essential to being effective in the community. "Now you have three or four or
five agencies dealing with one family.
Workers in some homes are meeting each
other at the door, the families stay the
same and the problems remain much the
same." But he also sees a place for the
alternative, volunteer agency — so people still have a choice.
Does Ray Bey like being a social
worker? "I could never have designed a
better job for myself. I love it." BEd'58. retired in August from a long career
in B.C. education — ranging from the classic one-room schoolhouse to district superintendent. He was a member of the 1931
Canadian champion Thunderbirds basketball team.
John E. Armstrong, BASc'34. MASc'35,
(PhD. Toronto), of the Geological Survey
of Canada, received a special merit award
from the Public Service of Canada for his
work as secretary — general of the 24th International Geological Congress held in
August 1972 in Montreal. The congress was
attended by 4.000 delegates from 110 nations
... UBC's chancellor. Nathan Nemetz, BA
'34. is now chief justice of the supreme
court of British Columbia, replacing the
retired chief justice J.O. Wilson. Mr.
Nemetz. was previously a justice of the appeal court of B.C. ... Paul B. Paine, BA'38.
is president and chief executive officer of
Montreal Trust. He was a lawyer in
Vancouver until 1967 when he joined the
Power Corp. of Canada as vice-president.
As Boeing goes, so goes Seattle — and
between 1969 and '71 things were bad for
both. Boeing started to look for new customers and products and one of the people
doing the looking was Richard A. Montgomery, BA'40. division manager of the army
systems division. Dr. Montgomery and his
engineers are looking for ways to modernize
the army in transportation, weapons and
equipment ... Ormond VV. Dier, BA'41.
who has been our man in Columbia. Ecuador and Vietnam, is the new Canadian High
Commissioner to Guyana. He has also
served in Mexico. Finland.  Denmark and
Venezuela \   note   to  all   those   who
might be wondering who was Cyril J. White,
BA'45, BCom'45 — you're quite right there
isn't anyone of that description. But there
is Cyril J. Bennett, BA'45, BCom'45. an instructor in pulp and paper making at the
New Zealand Technical Correspondence
Institute, which is part of the New Zealand
education system.
Another presidential move on the university scene — this time at Calgary where Alfred W.R. Carrothers, BA'47, LLB'48,
(LLM, Harvard), will leave in June '74 to
be president of the Institute for Research
in Public Policy in Montreal. Before moving
to Calgary in 1969 he was dean of law at
Western Ontario ... James A. Mugford,
BA'47. has a brand new masters degree
from the University of Northern
Colorado ... Jack B. Brown, BCom'48. is
executive vice-president of health care operations for the Sisters of Providence on the
west coast ... . Alistair Crerar, BA'48.
MA'51. is director of B.C.'s new Secretarial for Environment and Land Use. The new
group will be focussing on broad areas of
resource management and land use allocations. For the past ten years. Crerar has
been in eastern Canada as director of long-
range planning for Toronto and the Atlantic
Development Board and its DREE counterpart. Atlantic Regional Planning ... Terence
O'Grady, LLB'49. solicitor and counsel
for Victoria for the past 17 years has joined
the Insurance Corp. o\ R.C. as secretary
and general counsel ... Charles K. Armstrong, BCom'49. is now Canadian National
James MacLean
Railways vice-president of cybernetics —
which means data processing and related
systems and communications planning.
William E.P. Davis, BSA'50, MSA'53.
has retired after 23 years on the staff of the
Agriculture Canada research station at
Agassiz. He doesn't seem to be taking retirement too seriously though as he's back
in Tanzania — where he previously spent
two years with CI DA — for another year in
charge of a wheat breeding program ... Watch for the mid-December
opening of the General Electric Theatre on
television. The scheduled feature is "I
Thought 1 Heard The Owl Call My Name"
— a play with lots of B.C. connections. The
Christmas eve sequence was filmed in
Christ Church Cathedral (recently saved
from the wreckers' hammer) and is produced by Daryl Duke, BA'50 with a story
based on events in the life of Eric Powell,
BA'56, MSW'71. As a young Anglican
priest. Powell was sent to work with the
Nootka Indians at Kingcome Inlet 250 miles
up the coast from Vancouver, where he
finds he has as much to learn from the
Indians as he has to teach them. A note of
pathos — in the film Powell has an incur-
ahle disease. The real Eric Powell is very
much alive and appears as part of the church
choir, singing along with Tom Courtney as
the film's. Eric and Dean Jagger as the
Bishop.
Donald E. Waldern, BSA'51. MSA'54.
(PhD. Wash. State), is the new director of
the agriculture research station at Kamloops. Previously he was at the Agassiz station in charge of cattle nutrition
research ... John Braithwaite, BA'53.
BSW'55. MSW'56, is president-elect of the
American Correctional Association. He is
deputy commissioner of the federal peneten-
tiary service and is believed to be the first
Canadian to head the association ... There
really is a Macdonald's farm — but actually
it is a college and part of McGill University.
Sherman P. Touchburn, BSA'54. MSA'56,
(PhD. Ohio State), has been appointed professor and chairman of the department of
animal science at Macdonald College ... She really likes her new job. says
Helen Hutchinson, (Mrs. David Harrison).
BA'60 (Class of "55). because she has the
opportunity "to pick the brains of interesting people." She's joined the UBC group
(bv that  we  mean  Percy Saltzman,  BA'34
William Davis
and Dennis Mcintosh, BA'67) that is the visible side of CTV's Canada A.M. Her typical
day starts at 5:30 am — but she says that
it's a slower pace than the time she was
"holding down five freelancing jobs at
once."
Lots of beautiful music comes from
Vancouver Island during the summer
months Its source is the Courtenay Youth
Music Camp, now in its seventh successful
year. For the past four years its director has
been Robert Creech, BA'56. who has played
with the Toronto and CBS Symphonies and
is currently teaching at UBC. The camp has
grown from a two week session with 5 I students to a five week camp with 500 students
and 52 faculty. It offers an intensive program o" music classes spiced with an assortment of summer activities and class performances ... Alumni association third vice-
president James L. Denholme, BA.Sc'56, has
been e ected a fellow of the General Accountants Association of Canada ... -
Douglas J. Henderson, BA'56. (PhD. Utah),
has been honored for his outstanding research at the IBM research laboratory in
San Jose where he is a staff member. Recently ne's been appointed associate editor
of the Journal of Chemical Phvsics.
D. Lome Ball, BSc'59, (PhD. Alberta),
is dean of studies at Selkirk College ... Whole communities operating on hydrogen energy — sound impossible? A
group of U.S. scientists working with
NASA don't think so. One of the group was
Kenneti Cox, MASc'59. (PhD. Montana
State), professor of chemical and nuclear
engineering at the University of New Mexico. The team concluded that by the year
2000, 25 to 30 percent of U.S. energy needs
could be supplied by hydrogen. Hydrogen
is already being transported by pipeline, it
is storeable. compressible and. when burned
its main product is water— "an ecological
plus." ... A request for information — from
David Higgs, BA'59. (PhD. London). He is
working on a history of the Portugese community in Canada and would be delighted
to receive any information or correspondence on the subject. He can be reached
at the University of Toronto where he is
assistant professor of history. ... Two appointments at the University of Saskatchewan Regina. Wilbert Toombs, (BEd. BA.
Sask.). MEd'59. (PhD. Alberta), is now
dean cf education and Donald Stewart,
BASc'.'9. (PhD. Purdue) associate professor of civil engineering heads the university's new Canadian Plains Area
Centre ... David Nickers, LLB'59. a former
president of the Vancouver Bar Association
35 The
Travelers
Appointment
fM^LJ-f
Gordon W. Coghlin
The appointment of Gordon W.
Coghlin as Director of International Operations in the life,
health and financial services department at The Travelers Insurance Companies in Hartford,
Conn., U.S.A. has been announced by Morrison H. Beach,
president.
Coghlin joined the companies
in 1953 at Vancouver, B.C. and
two years later was named assistant manager. He served two
years at San Francisco, Calif,
returning to Vancouver in 1960
as manager. In 1961 he was
named manager at Toronto, and
since 1968 he has served as
president, managing director and
a member of the board of directors of Caribbean Atlantic Life
Insurance Co., Ltd. a subsidiary
of The Travelers Corporation.
A native of Trail, B.C., he is a
holder of a combined arts and law
degree from the University of
British Columbia. Coghlin was
admitted as a barrister and solicitor to the Supreme Court of
British Columbia in 1952. He is a
graduate of the LIAMA School
of Agency Management, and
during World War II served in
the Royal Canadian Air Force.
Elaine McAndrew
will be in Victoria for the next two years
as deputy minister in the attorney-general's
department.
Sun dogs, halos and green flashes are just
part of the things to see in the collection
of Alistair Fraser's, BSc'62 (PhD. London)
photographs of meteorological phenomena.
The exhibit, sponsored by the Smithsonian
Institute is touring museums and planetar-
iums in Canada and the U.S. — including
the Royal Ontario and the Calgary Centennial Museums. Dr. Fraser is associate professor of meteorology at the University of
Pennsylvania. ... Elaine McAndrew,
BHE'62. MBA'73. is one of a growing number of women who are coming to university
— some for the first time, some to finish
degrees interrupted by children and other
circumstances and others for graduate work
like Elaine. She's just undertaken the job
of helping to raise a million dollars for the
commerce and engineering building project.
Rod Logan, BA'65. MA'67, (PhD,
McMaster), is now associate professor of
geography at the State LJnivcrsity of New
York, Plattsburg — except that for the coming year he is visiting professor at McGill
— which sounds confusing but isn't ... a
China-Canada cultural exchange is sending
at least three UBC grads to China. Patricia
Horrobin, BA'70. Jane Nishi, BA'65 and
Neil C. Burton, BA'67 are part of a group
of 300 foreign students. Both Pat and Neil
have visited China previously but all three
will be spending a year in intensive language
training before moving to study at other institutions. Henry Suderman, BASc'65. MA
Sc'69 has joined the staff of the Canadian
Imperial Bank of Commerce in Dallas. Tex.,
as a special representative.
Peter Farr, MASc'66. was a visitor to the
alumni office in Cecil Green Park this fall
on a visit to Vancouver from his home at
Wembley Downs. West Australia .
Allen R. Andrews, BA'63. MA'68. is no
longer teaching at St. Francis Xavier University but is studying law at York University's Osgoode Hall ... William J. Dube,
MD'63. assistant professor o\ medicine of
the University of Manitoba was recently
elected to the executive of the alumni association of the l.ahey Clinic Foundation in
Boston .
Doreen Braverman, BFd'64. new president of the B.C. Liberals is keen on chang-
James Kerr
ing the party's image — "We talk to ourselves too much," she says. She plans to
set up a 100 member council representing
the whole province — so the party can get
a first-hand understanding of local
issues ... Hamilton C. Hudson, BA'64,
(MSW.PhD. Minnesota-Twin Cities) is associate professor of social work at the University of Minnesota-Duluth...It's getting
to be something of a family tradition —
George and Elizabeth Jakeway, BSc'64,
MD'70. (Scholefield, BSR'67), are in Bolivia for a two-year posting as medical missionaries with the Canadian Baptist Mission. They will be working with the
Quechua Indians in the Chapare River Valley. Eliizabeth's aunt Sheila Buchanan,
BA'37. BSA'46, for many years clerk to the
UBC senate and board of governors, has
been serving with the Baptist Mission in
Bolivia for almost ten years ... Robert B.
Mackay, BCom'64. has left Scott Paper
where he was manager of consumer services
and gone back to school. He and his wife,
Gail (Carlson. BA'63) are in Edmonton
where he is taking law at the University of
Alberta .
The Factory Theater Lab of Toronto
opened a new season in a Shepherd's Bush
pub — in west London — sponsored by External Affairs. The company headed by
Kenneth Gass, BA'67. won a favorable reception with its first production of "Esker
Mike and His Wife Agiluk" by Vancouver
playwright, Herschel Hardin. The Eskimo
wife. Agiluk, was played by Joy Coghill,
BA'47 (Mrs. John Thome) ... William M.
Ross, BEd'67. who was assistant professor
at Kent State University is now on the faculty of Cook College. Rutgers University ... -
Brenda Joyce Sneed, BMus'67. has finished
her course at the Julliard School of Music
and returned to Vancouver this fall to do
some CBC broadcasts and to give a concert
at the Vancouver Playhouse. Her future
plans include some concert work in the
States. ... Every year the UBC commerce
& business administration faculty puts on
a multitude of continuing education programs aimed at the business executive. This
year the whole series became the responsibility of Peter Watts, BCom'67. LLB'68.
MBA'71.
Eric Green, BA'68. wrote a play while in
England on a doctoral fellowship and this
w inter it comes to life as "The Assasination
of Christopher Marlowe" in Toronto. A former journalist and contributor to the Chronicle. Eric is currently executive assistant to
the B.C. minister of industrial development.
36 trade & commerce ...The Anglo-French
Concorde — is making itself useful to the
scientific world by running research flights
and a Canadian experiment was included on
the early fall flights. A team of University
of Toronto physicists including James Kerr,
BSc'68, (MSc, PhD, Toronto), took turns
flying with an instrument to measure the nitrogen oxide in the upper atmosphere.
There has been concern that the nitrogen
oxide produced by the SST's would damage
the ozone layer which protects the world
from excessive ultraviolet radiation. The
head of the group was asked why men have
to fly with the measuring devices — "it has
to point at the sun for part of the measurements — and the cheapest and most reliable
instrument for pointing at the sun is man."
Dr. Kerr is a research scientist with the Atmospheric Environment Service in Toronto.
The do-it-yourself lawyering kit — a perhaps unorthodox but very successful project
that grew out of a UBC idea to provide inexpensive texts for law students. The series,
which began with the B.C. Divorce Guide
(now in its third printing) is known as the
Case Law Studies Series — and its widely
used across Canada. The publisher of the
books is International Self Counsel Press,
president John D. James, LLB'70 — who
is quick to point out that there are still many
times when a real live lawyer is what you
need. They have published other provincial
editions of the divorce law, and books on
labour law and civil rights among others —
all written by experienced lawyers who un-
jumble the legalese English .
Nader's Raiders with an English accent?
Robert S. Spence, BA'71, is organizing a
team of investigators for the British Consumers' Association and they'll be looking
into all aspects of the "European travel biz
— including the ins and outs of air charters."
He has been living in England for two years
— completing a doctorate on industrial violence in Britain and working as a freelance
journalist...The lure of faraway places being
too much, Alex Volkoff, BA'71 has left Ottawa for newspaper work in Tehran, Iran.
Her sister, Olga (Mrs. Peter Richardson),
BSc'71, (MBA, West. Ontario) is teaching at
Western Ontario...After she graduated from
UBC Leueen Willoughby, BA'71, started
auditioning for theatre schools — and she
was one of the handful of students selected
by the Bristol Old Vic. After she appeared as
Rosilind in "As You Like It" — one of the
school's graduation productions, she was offered a season contract with the Bristol Old
Vic — which naturally she accepted. Her
first role of the new season was in "Canterbury Tales".
n
Mr.  and   Mrs.   David  Baker,   BASc'69,  a
daughier.CynthiaJoan, May 23, 1973 in Port
Alberni....Mr. and Mrs. Martin P. Dour-
novo, 3Sc'69, (Virginia Maddock. BHE'69)
a daughter,   Lisa Anne, Juiy   13.   1973  in
Kelowna Dr. and Mrs. L. Frank Harris,
BA'66. MA'69, (Marianna Christenson,
BA'68), a daughter, Katrin Francine, April
1973 in Australia....Mr. and Mrs. Kenneth
J. Lott, BSc'69. a daughter. Amber Diane,
Sept. 17, 1973 in Vancouver Dr. and Mrs.
Ed McBean, BASc'69. a son in Ithaca, N.Y.
 Mr. and Mrs. R. Dean McLean, BA'64,
(Wendy Baker, BA'66), a daughter, Heather
Elizabeth, May 17, 1973 in Kamloops....Mr.
and Mrs. Christopher Mitchell, BSc'62.
MSc'65, MBA'70, (Pat Chataway, BA'64),
a daughter, Zara Elizabeth, July 27. 1973
in Varcouver Mr. and Mrs. Charles H.
A Postie's Lot
IS Not    Specially, when he brings the
A  Uannv        Alumni Records Department
M nappy       bags of A|ljmni 'Unknowns'..
OnG ... So if you're planning to
change your name, address or
life style ... let us know — and bring a little
lightness to a postie's walk, (enclosure of your
Chronicle mailing label is helpful)
UBC Alumni Records
6251 NW Marine Drive
Vancouver, B.C., V6T 1A6
Name
(Maiden Name)
(Married women please note your husband's full
name and indicate title i.e. Mrs., Ms., Miss, Dr.]
Address
Class Year
37 Rutherford
McRae
1774 West Broadway
Vancouver, B.C.
Interested in buying or
selling real estate
in Vancouver?
For advice and assistance
without high pressure
salesmanship, call me
anytime.
Joan Bentley
224-0255 Res.
733-8181 Bus.
Nelson, BSF'66, (Louise Tarlton. BSc'66),
a  son,   Mark  Charles.  June   25.   1973   in
Cranbrook Mr. and Mrs. Wayne Nelson,
BSc'67. (Alora White. BSR'67). a daughter,
Jennifer      Alora.      July      3.      1973      in
Calgary Mr.   and   Mrs.   Brian   Reid,
(Marilyn   Thomas.   BA'59),   a   son,   Erik
Graeme, June 12, 1973 in Delta Mr. and
Mrs. Ronald Sowerby, BCom'69, (Lynne
Bergman,  BEd'67), a son.  Scott  Andrew.
Aug. 20, 1973 in New Westminster Capt.
and Mrs. Gerald Spiess, BA'68, a son,
Michael    Warren.     Aug.     22.     1973    in
Montreal Mr. and Mrs. Douglas Walkley,
BCom'73, a daughter, Angela Shannon, July
9, 1973 in Vancouver Mr. and Mrs. Ron
Woodward, (Meredith Bain, BA'65), a
daughter, Amber Emily, April 7, 1973 in
New Denver.
WDM
Mikulec-Landels. Markus John Mikulec,
BEd'67 to Barbara Louise Landels, BEd'69.
Aug. 21. 1973 in Vancouver Mitchell-
Wallace, Brent F. Mitchell. BSc'69 to Barbara L. Wallace, BEd'70. July 14, 1973
in West Vancouver.
WBMU
Gerald David Allan, BSc'64. MSc'71. Aug.
1973 in Calgary. A teacher at Fernie Secondary School, he was a former member of
the Thunderbird basketball and rugby teams.
Survived  by   his   wife,   two  children  and
father. John. BA'48. BEd'58 and sister.
George Ashwell Allen, BA'25. MA'27. Sept.
1973 in Chula Vista. Calif. He was an accountant in San Diego and is survived by
his wnfe. sister and two brothers.
Walter Bapty, (MD. West. Ont.). Convocation Founder, July 1973 in Victoria. A physician in Victoria since 1906. he was a veteran of the Boer War and the First and Second World Wars.  Survived by two sons.
(Harry. BASc'47) and two daughters.
Oliver J. Hayles, BASC43. May 1973 in Buffalo.  N.Y.   Survived  by  his  wife.  (Mary
Eddie,   BSN'42)   and   four   sons.   (John.
MASc'73).
Norman Harry Ingledew, BSA'31. MS A'34.
Sept. 1973 in Victoria. At the time of his
death he was dairy commissioner of B.C.
Survived by his wife, two daughters, son
Michael. BSc'65, PhD'69. three stepchildren, a sister and four brothers (Garfield.
BA'21 and William. BA'27).
Dorothy Margaret Laundy (Holmes), BA'24.
Aug. 1973 in Victoria. A student at Victoria
College before moving to UBC. she was a
Great Trekker and an active member of the
Players Club. Survived by her husband.
Cecil, and son. Patrick. BA'49. a daughter
and brother.
John Maxwell, BSA'42. Oct. 1973 in Lebanon. He was killed after being held hostage
by terrorist gunmen in a Beirut bank. He
had arrived in Beirut less than a month previously to begin a new job with Douglas Aircraft. Survived by his wife and three children.
John William Thompson, BA'50. BSW'51,
MSW'71. May 1972 in Victoria. Survived
by his wife, o
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38 Here's your secretary
in Japan.
She's Nikki Edlinger and she does
all the detail work for Canadian
businessmen in Japan. Nikki is
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years with JAL in Canada.
Now you can find her at
JAL's Hospitality Desk at the
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tours and make airline
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Other ways our Executive Service
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Free copies of the Japan Economic
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business. And definitive business and
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Finally, for the exhausted businessman
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ALIteptod^tfeft
MISS   VERONIKA   EDLINGER
rWKWWW«WftWWftf»
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UAPAN AIR LINES
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Box 7900, Vancouver 3, B.C.
Attn: Executive Service Department
□ Please send me full details on JAL's Japanese English
business card service. My departure date is   and
the airline and flight number are	
Guide Books
□ I enclose $1. Please send me both the Businessman's Guide to
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□ Send free Executive Service folder only
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My travel agent is
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