,;; I,1961I THE MICHIGAN DAILY I, 1981 THE MICHIGAN DAILY 'U' Foreign Students Enjoy Local Holidays is By PATRICIA O'CONNOR For most foreign students, Christmas vacation is a stay-at- home affair. The pressures of studying force them to remain rather unobtrusive, Harriet Cady, an administrative assistant at the International Cen- ter reports. k In addition, more than half of the foreign students are of cultures which do not celebrate Christmas, a factor which negates somewhat an extroverted holiday season., Most Stay For the overwhelming majority Trimester Sets Change In Vacation Drastic changes will be wrought upon the'season of Christmas when the University's year-round opera- tion plan takes form. No longer need. the suffering student be forced to learn a course over the holidays, nor will he be immersed with worries of books to read, papers to write or tests to study for. The summer of 1963 will herald this revolutionary concept as the fall semester will be pushed back to begin in late August and extend through middle December, to end before Christmas, vacation. This break will be cut from the pistomary three weeks to two in *rder to facilitate the entrance of the next term, from the beginning of January until just before spring vacation. The third semester runs from, April until middle August. But for the students who are immediately setting up plans for a carefree vacation in the South- ern hinterlands two years from now, there is one slight compli- cating factor-registration. It is unknown at this time whether it will take place just before, during or after vacation. It is also true that students will be deprived of one vacation-the former midsemester break between January and February-because it will become congruent with the Christmas vacation. who remain in Ann Arbor, oppor- tunities are available to enable foreign students to become ac- quainted with local families. Through the Ann Arbor host family plan, sponsored by the Ann Arbor-Washtenaw Council of Churches, foreign students are in- vited to private homes to take part in Christmas festivities. Two other programs are those sponsored by the American Asso- ciation of University Women and the Alumni Council. Two Programs Branches of the AAUW in five state communities open their homes to foreign students for the holidays, while alumni living in the Birmingham area often invite back foreign students who visited them during "Operation Friend- ship" last fall. The only other Christmas season program locally for foreign stu- dents is an International Students Association party in which stu- dents of every religious and cul- tural hue take part. Some foreign students go on tours over vacation. Miss Cady will guide a contingent of 35 on a six- day junket through Washington and New York through Jan. 2. Varied Events The group will meet a senator, be hosted by University alumni, tour the United Nations and on New Year's Eve participate in a dance at the International House in New York. The International Center also publicizes two other tours, al- though it has no official connection with them. One is through a na- tional program called VISIT, Ventures for International Stu- dents Interested in Travel. This plan entails visiting many small American cities where spe- cial provisions are made for ac- commodating students for a short period of time. Spartan Special Michigan State University also conducts a program, for which any University foreign student is eligi- ble, However, because most foreign students toured these cities when they first arrived in America, and because of the pressure of studies and an incompatible culture, rela- tively few such students partake The By MARTHA MacNEAL Delivering his Christmas ser- mon, a Universalist minister in Philadelphia told his congregation about the final explosion of the myth of the Bethlehem star-and the resurrection of that same myth in a new context. "When I was young and brash and fresh out of divinity school, I attended a program at the plane- tarium on Christmas Eve. The pro- gram showed exactly how the Bethlehem 'star' was formed by the momentary conjunction of three stars as they approached and passed each other in their natural orbits. "All this had been calculated exactly, and a supposed super- natural phenomenon had once more been proved to be a perfectly understandable natural occurrence. I was delighted to see another re- ligious superstition dispelled," he said. Manger Scene "However, I was vastly disap- pointed, when, as the lights began to brighten, 'a manger scene com- plete with shepherds and wise men was illuminated on the wall, and 'O Little Town of Bethlehem' be- gan to play softly. "I approached the operator of the projector afterwards and asked him indignantly why such a brilli- ant scientific disproof of religious superstition had been marred by seeming acquiescence to the whole myth of Christmas. "He looked at me coldly for a moment and said 'There is such a thing as poetry, you know'." Real Lesson This, then, is the real lesson of .Christmas for all religious liberals, for agnostics and atheists as well. There is such a thing as poetry. The Universalist-Unitarians and the Quakers believe fundamentally in the right of the individual to decide his own beliefs. Therefore, it is impossible to describe a spe- cific religious doctrine which ap- plies to all their members. Generally, Universalist - Uni- t'arians subscribe to the belief in God as "the spirit of eternal and all-conquering love" and believe in "the power of men of good will and sacrificial spirit to overcome all evil and progressively establish the kingdom of God." Spiritual Power The Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) define the source of spiritual power as the "inner light" within the individual and sacred to him. If "God" must be defined as a power over and above man, then some Unitarian-Universalists and Quakers (though probably not the majority) may properly be called atheists, because, for them, the supreme power is the goodness of human beings. Many of the more liberal think- ers in these groups deny the physi- cal truth of the "virgin" birth, the angels, the annunciation, the "Son of God" concept and the later miraclesrand resurrection of Christ. Seeks Symbols These, then, may be called fic- tion, but fiction that springs from the poetic heart of man which seeks symbols to express those ambitions which drive him to- wards the good. Was the ghost of Hamlet's father "real"? Of course not, but that fact does not lessen the ghost's mean- ing, for Hamlet and for all men everywhere. So it is with the star, and the "multitude of heavenly host, prais- ing God and saying, 'Glory to God in the highest, and on earth, peace among men with whom he is pleased'." More Miraculous Indeed, the fact the Jesus was a man, an ordinary human being, makes his life all the more miracu- lous, and the poetry created about him all the more inspiring. There is an unfortunate tenl- dency among intellectuals to re- 'Poetry' of Christmas tCHRISTMAS CARDS 4 A..fn extraordinary collection . . . You can look high and low, far and wide, and you won't find a collection of Christmas cards to equal ours ... in variety, beauty or distinction. Come in, see for yourself! RAMSAY PRINTERS 4 across from the P. Bell 119 EAST LIBERTY ANN ARBOR L0 .e/v7 zI .. . send Hallmark Christmas cards to friends, relatives, everyone on your list ... come in and select yours soon from our complete selection of designs and sentiment. McCoy's Card & Photo 723 North University WINTER LIGHT-Whatever else Christmas may or may not be, it is, unassailably, poetry. The light breaking behind the trees may, to some, symbolize God or hope or rebirth, but even if it is noth- ing more than light, it is still beautiful. Part of the deepest meaning of Christmas is that human be- in the Christmas tours, Miss says. Cady }. :. Y^rr 2 Yj;t ;fj, r7.5:= i %., f a a.> ; 1,. " ' :e, : '+,;+,7.cf'drtiw? 3t ":#'. 2". '', rt"T: t i'w "''dc> M"' ::1 " .,j, kf{.. ':vi : r,. 3' :Y+.4+" ^ . :.rr k f'q":.. :.: k"s:+:i<>' :.:., .7y},",..}"^. +4 Jh.:: AA+':S {t .{{"{i 2i%: i > nv rti J d::J~.C'.h: {.+, {+ Q .1 w You will enjoy giving SPODE or Jensen or WEDGWOOD for your Christmas gifts. See our nice selection of the finest in all gifts. JOHN LEIDY N: " f yo