College Shapes character

There are permissible ways for the student to express himself which are characteristic of each college, Dr. Benson Snyder, chief Psychiatrist at M.I.T., told the Social Relations Society last night. The particular college environment, Dr. Snyder stated, provides standards which have considerable force in shaping the student's character.

Speaking on the "Impact of Higher Education on the Student Personality." Dr. Snyder outlined what he termed "clinical hunches" drawn from his experience at two local colleges. A former director of the Wellesley Health Service, he suggested two contrasting ways a student may handle his problems: accepting or rejecting responsibility.

"The Women's Liberal Arts College," he said "sees it their job to 'cultivate' their students--like a gardner." The faculty discusses failures and drop-outs as failures in growth, or as the fruits of a "bad seed."

In contrast, Dr. Snyder declared, M.I.T. used the imagery of the machine when discussing its students, treating them as "educational products." Students are sent to the psychiatrist for a "tune-up.

Internal or External Failure?

As a result of these two different approaches to liberal arts college fosters the idea that academic problems are the fault of the student, search for an external cause of their problems.

At the science school, Dr. Snyder said, the student usualy chooses externalization as an ego defense, and fights back against the professor who has given him a "raw deal" by working harder. As a result, his grades usually improve.