Class of 1972; Robert A. Shaw, assistant professor of nuclear engineering; and Walter
Wedzicha, assistant professor of humanities.
It was charged to examine the broad area of Clarkson policy with regard to ROTC,
focusing particular attention on the question of academic credit for advanced ROTC. It held
open hearings; studied the contracts between Clarkson and the Secretary of the Army;
examined the financial information relating to ROTC operations at Clarkson; surveyed
students, faculty, and administration by questionnaire during registration at the end of August
1970; met with members of the Academic Planning Committee in October; studied syllabi and
instructional materials assembled for that purpose by the Department of Military Science; and
interviewed both the staff members of the military science department, and a random selection
of ROTC cadets from both basic and advanced courses to obtain their opinions about various
aspects of the ROTC program.
It recommended that Clarkson continue the ROTC program, maintain its professorial
faculty essentially in its present form, and continue to grant academic credit for courses in
military science. One committee member, Alvin Hall, submitted a minority report that called
for the College to phase-out the ROTC units over a three-year period as a symbolic protest
against military priorities "in these times of grave national concern."
New Computer.
In July, Clarkson installed in Old Main a time-sharing PDP-8/E computer
from Digital Equipment Corporation. Primarily used for teaching computing to freshmen, this
machine was accessed through 12 teletypes, model ASR-33.
Presidential Scholar.
In compliance with a request by Dean A. George Davis, the faculty
authorized a student to be classified as a Presidential Scholar if he or she took 14 credit hours or
more on an A,B,C grading scale, was a full-time student, and earned a grade-point average of
3.80 or higher.
Bullock, All-American
. A two-time All-American goalie during the 1969-70 and 1970-71
seasons, Bruce Bullock amassed a 3.61 goal average during his two All-American seasons. He
also led Clarkson to second-place finishes in the 1970 ECAC and NCAA tournaments. During
his career, he also was named twice to the All-ECAC tournament team, once to the NCAA
tournament team, and once to the ECAC Madison Square Garden Holiday tournament team.
After graduation, he joined the Vancouver Canucks' number one farm team in Seattle.
He played with Vancouver during the exhibition season, and allowed only one goal in a victory
against the Los Angeles Kings.
Dragon Squad.
This "infamous" Dragon Squad made certain that freshmen learned the
traditions of Clarkson. Recognizing that "hazing" no longer was allowed, these upperclassmen
used clever methods of persuasion to ensure that the "lowly" freshmen learned the
Alma Mater
,
and showed the proper respect to their "superiors." (See p. 385)
President Ross Died.
John A. Ross, president of Clarkson from 1940 to 1947, and a faculty
member for 36 years, died on September 15 at age 92 in the Potsdam Hospital.
A native of Belfast, Maine, he had come to Clarkson in 1911 as head of the mechanical
engineering department, a position he held until he became dean of administration in 1930. He
stepped into the College presidency from that position in 1941. In his 37 years on campus, he
