Seventy Years Of The Worcester Polytechnic Institute: Page 105

The frankness of these student editors eventually bore fruit in improved relationships between faculty and students. Their denouncement ended on a high note, which gave the faculty credit for good intentions, and gave assurance that in spite of their dissatisfaction, no class would show greater loyalty to its alma mater than '77, a prediction that was abundantly fulfilled. The courageous editors of '77 were admired but not emulated by their immediate successors. A history of the class of '80 was the next publication, an interesting and well-mannered book. The third number of the Antenna was intended to be equally harmless, according to its editors, but because of the expressed suspicion of the Principal that the class "was about to issue a publication even worse than the 'scurrilous pamphlet' issued by the class of "77", there were injected into the manuscript "new contributions which would not otherwise have been thought of." Most of these were in the form of pseudo-examination and classroom questions that revealed rather strikingly the foibles of professors.

This was the last class book to be published during the Thompson administration. The class of '82 prudently refrained from producing a book until two years after their graduation. "The Tech Pilgrim's Progress," which they published then, by far the best class book up to that date, showed the effect of maturity on student opinion and treated the Institute staff with kindly consideration.

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Last Modified: Fri Jul 30 11:15:25 EDT 1999