U.S. UNIVERSITY LIFE

Press, Volume XCI, Issue 27639, 21 April 1955, Page 14

U.S. UNIVERSITY LIFE

CHRISTCHURCH MAN’S IMPRESSIONS \ TWO YEARS SPENT IN WISCONSIN Highly-subsidised football teams and beer sold to students by the students’ union, were among aspects of American university lite described yesterday by Dr. Russell M. Allison, of Christchurch, who returned on Tuesday after spending more than two years at the University of Wisconsin. Dr. Allison, who is a biochemist at the Crop Research Division of the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research at Lincoln, gained a doctorate of philosophy in the United States, while studying under a Rockefeller research grant and a Fulbright travelling grant. Madison, where the university is situated, has a good claim to be called a “university town,” for of its population of 90,000, 18,000 are students. There are a staff of almost 3000 members and a graduate school of more than 3500. The biochemistry department alone has about 120 graduate students, all studying for masters’ degrees or doctorates with 12 professors. But Dr. Allison explained that the professors, unlike those in New Zealand, ranged from lecturers to those in charge of departments. The standard of teaching at Wisconsin was high, he said when asked about variations in academic standards among various universities in the United States. Among the higher graduate schools all over the country, an attempt was made to- maintain a consistent standard of scholarship. Different graduate schools had become world-famous for their 'work in par-

ticular subjects. Wisconsin had good departments in both chemistry and biochemistry—equal to the best in the .United States. Most such schools were built around personalities, so that students went to different schools because of their interest in the work of a certain professor. Immense Campus An immense campus was needed for such a University population as Madison’s, said Dr. Allison. He was impressed with the beauty of the site, along the edge of the biggest of three lakes in the area. Adequate student housing was provided, with large dor? mitories for undergraduates and accommodation arranged in private homes for graduates. The private homes had to comply with rigorous standards before being approved by the student housing bureau. “The University of Wisconsin Union is one of the finest in the United States,” he said. “A unique aspect is that it sells beer to students—and Wisconsin has a reputation as the beer State of the country. A system of selling by the glass in the canteen is handled very well indeed, with no abuse of the privilege. Eating facilities are also exemplary, with four different dining rooms where one can have anything from a snack to a highclasS restaurant meal.”

Sports facilities included fine playing fields, tennis courts, and the customary huge stadium, an essential feature of every big American university, Dr. Allison said. “The football teams are highly subsidised, but a very good thing is that a student who gets into the team cannot remain there longer than his undergraduate days,” he said. “Subsidised sport does not affect graduate life at all.” Dr. Allison praised the Americans for their hospitality. “One of the great things about the Fulbright scheme is that it enables students from other countries to live with Americans in one place for two years,” he said. “You don’t really get to know them just by travelling through the country. If there is anything which will tend to increase international understanding, the Fulbright scheme i« the sort of thing that will help considerably.”