Campus Idealism: 1957

The American college student, according to his critics, is a willing slave to conformity. Last week, as he started his first full academic year as president of Princeton, boyish (38). bow-tied Dr. Robert F. Goheen deftly described the peculiar brand of nonconformity among the present generation of college students that many an older educator (and sociologist) has missed altogether.

"True, there is a certain desire for security," he told the New York Times. "Because the war, with all of its uncertainty, has been part of their background, they reach for secure answers where they find them. But they tend to be terribly honest with themselves; they have very few illusions with either themselves or the world. They would like to be significant individuals, would like to--I hate to use the word and it's rather paradoxical--they would like to 'do good.'

"There's a very high degree of idealism, but they don't like to admit it. You get a combination almost of cynicism and idealism at the same time. Not many want to be heroes, because they don't believe in heroes. But in quieter ways they are very concerned about being in a position to create a decent community. One can't even get them to admit to themselves that they have patriotic ideas; yet they want to play a meaningful part in building the world and in working for peace."

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