Memory

Below are the questions and answers from interviews conducted with Dr. Herb Smith and Dr. Ross Doughty.

To maintain some amount of control over the quality of answers, I tried to ask each as many of the same questions as possible. Because Dr. Doughty never acted as the editor for the Weekly, I of course could not ask him questions related to that. Some answers have been shortened for the sake of relevance.

Herb Smith:

• How was your time at Ursinus?

"Ursinus was not a terribly political place. Everyone was much more concerned about girlfriends, avoiding the draft, and their classes."

• Were you actively involved with the newspaper and/or other organizations the entire four years?

"I was part of Delta Mu Sigma, a fraternity on campus... I had played on the tennis team... The Weekly was a very time consuming group to be a part of."

• Had you always been against the Vietnam War?

"I had come into Ursinus as a base, run of the mill moderate."

• During your time as editor, the Weekly took on a noticeably more liberal and antiwar spin. Was that your goal or did it just sort of happen?

"I was a subscriber of the New Republic, a left leaning publication. I also had close friends at Haverford which was a much more liberal institution."

• How did the campus react to this change in the newspaper?

"I didn't change campus into a hot bed of political activism."

• Next to your picture in the Ruby, there’s a line that describes you as a muckraker. What do you think of that?

In response to this, Dr. Smith laughed and was unsure if he described himself as that or if it had been assigned to him.

• What are your thoughts on the firing of Professors Messrs, Waldo, and Clymer?
  • It seems to me as if these professors were straying from the more conservative approach most people knew Ursinus for and the administration reacted against it.

"They were very good teachers... They weren't terribly ideological. Neither had sharp edged personalities. Hellferich however was almost Trumpian. You could compliment him to stay on his good side."

• Why do you think they were fired? Everything I’ve seen points to them being some of the students favorite teachers.

"I can't be sure. Everything happened behind closed doors."

• From what I’ve seen, it seems as if many Ursinus students weren’t very worried about the war and felt they were far removed from it while only a small number of students had a strong antiwar voice. What do you think about that?

"The draft could be ducked and evaded. You just had to work the system. Those who fought were those who didn't have the reources to work the system."

• Can you take a guess at what the average student’s socioeconomic situation was like?

"I'd say most were suberban middle class to upper class... Ursinus students had enormous advantages."

• How do you remember the Vietnam War now?

"The Vietnam War was a terrible waste of human life. I have friends down in Florida who are veterans and are more anti-war than I am."

• How do you think the war should be remembered?

"I think it is eloquently remembered by the Wall. If it was truthful, the Wall would have to extend much further to account for the Vietnamese dead. In the end they were all humans who lost their lives due to a stupid mistake."

• In the 60's there was a trend of campus protests. Why do you think Ursinus remained relatively quiet?

"Ursinus probably had the potential to do more but it would take leadership from both the students and faculty. Ursinus wasn't Haverford or Swarthmore. It drew a more corporate crowd."

Ross Doughty

• How was your time at Ursinus?

"I was a commuter student with two jobs. I had little time for extracurriculars.

• Were you actively involved with campus organizations during your time here?

"I played a couple intermural sports, football and baseball. I was also score keeper for a year. We started a political commentary magazine called "Focus" which was the beginning of our campus activism.

• What are your thoughts on the firing of Professors Messrs, Waldo, and Clymer?
  • It seems to me as if these professors were straying from the more conservative approach most people knew Ursinus for and the administration reacted against it.

"They were legitimate firings. They had not recieved their PhD's yet. Students didn't know that though. I didn't know Clymer well but I heard he was bothered by all the attention... Waldo thought he being Jewish played a part in his firing."

• From what I’ve seen, it seems as if many Ursinus students weren’t very worried about the war and felt they were far removed from it while only a small number of students had a strong antiwar voice. What do you think about that?

"Ursinus was a very apathetic campus. The 50's lasted a lot longer at Ursinus than in other places. Haverford and Bryn Mawr were much more active and were just down the road."

• Can you take a guess at what the average student’s socioeconomic situation was like?

"Relatively speaking, students were similar to who they are today. Maybe students today are a bit higher because most of us worked through college."

• How do you think the war should be remembered?

"Memory is heavily influence by what we saw and read. I saw more after leaving Ursinus and that helped to change my perspective... I talked to friends who were grunts about the impossibility of konw the enemy... I was very lucky to experience Vietnam as an observer though."