The New (Olde) Reed Almanac (continued)

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Physical education: A field of exertion. Contrary to popular misconception, P.E. has been a mandatory part of Reed’s curriculum since the founding. Unusual courses have included cricket; captain ball; advanced exercises with Indian clubs, dumbbells, and wands; Physiology and Hygiene; Anatomy, Anthropometry and Kinesiology; Theory of Play and Playgrounds; and Playground Leadership. Influential figures have included Charles Botsford [1912–52], Dorothy Elliott [1918–30], Evelyn Hasenmayer [1930–46], Jerry Barta [1956–88], Pearl Atkinson [1959–77], Jack Scrivens [1961–99], Angela Dreher [1976–88], and Ann Casey [1990–2006].

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Picts: Late Iron Age Celtic people living in what is now Scotland. Also a ferocious horde of unclad Reedies covered in blue paint. Picts are commonly found roaming campus during Renn Fayre doing battle with the notorious Copts—clothed assailants wielding squirt guns filled with orange paint. Ritual and Renn Fayre have long gone hand in hand, but signs point to Lynn Rosskamp ’95 as the progenitor of this tribe.

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Portland: Mythical realm said to lie somewhere to the north of Steele Street.

Powell, James [prez 1988–91]: Originally a geologist, Powell arrived from Franklin and Marshall College with the goal of safeguarding Reed’s accomplishments, rather than changing its direction. Powell worked to hike faculty salaries and also created a stronger administrative presence on campus, imposing stricter policies on drugs and alcohol: no more free beer at Reed socials! However, Powell clashed with the faculty and departed to become president of the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia.

Premeteorology: Intensive one-year program set up by Army Air Corps in 1942 to relieve acute shortage of meteorologists for airborne operations in World War II. Professor A.A. Knowlton [physics 1915–48] ran the program at Reed, which was notoriously demanding. “It had nothing to do with weather,” says Lyle Jones AMP ’44. “We took math, physics, history, and humanities, all taught by Reed professors.” Premeteorology was a godsend for Reed and other colleges, which were starved of students because so many college-age men were serving in the armed forces. Federal revenues from the program helped Reed scrape through the duration.

Professors, easy: Purely theoretical category never populated at Reed.

Professors, influential: Defined in this almanac as those who taught at Reed for more than six years. We salute them for demanding more of us than we thought we could give, and showing us that we were capable of more than we knew.

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The Quest

Waxing wroth. Students utilize cutting-edge technology (aka razor and scissors) to lay out the Quest, 1982.

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Quest, first editorial: Excerpt: “Our chief concern is not with bricks and stone nor with landscape architecture. The few of us who are here, teachers and students alike, are working not for the Present, nor even for ourselves, but for the Future. As Comrades of the Quest we have set out, as President Foster has expressed it, ‘to do something significant in the realm of Higher Education.’ We do not feel that our enthusiasm and purpose are commonplace or ordinary and we shall not be satisfied with mediocre results.”

Rain: Uncouth term for the meteorological phenomenon known in Oregon as “liquid sunshine.”

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Renn Fayre: Annual bash held after theses are submitted. Organized and named by Linda G. Howard ’70 [trustee 1988–] in 1968 as the First Annual Reed College Renaissance Faire, Renn Fayre has evolved far beyond its roots to include spectacles such as bug-eating contests, parachute jumps, fireworks, water slides, and glo opera. Still, some medieval flavor persists: Renn Fayre still features a human chess game and jousting (admittedly on bicycles).

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Rugby: A game played by men (and women) with odd-shaped balls. First known games at Reed took place in 1974; early players were refugees from the crew team. The sport has flourished ever since (though we’re not sure why). In particular, the women’s team, sometimes known as the Badass Sparkle Princesses, has produced several outstanding national players.

Russian: The language and literature of the greatest civilization ever known. First introduced into the Reed curriculum in 1939 with a single class on grammar. Intriguing courses have included Formalism and Structuralism, Pushkin’s Eugene Onegin (in the original Russian!), Russian Symbolism and Decadence, Horror and the Sublime in Russian Culture and Literature of Destruction. Influential profs (q.v.) have included Vera Krivoshein [1949–72], Ieva Vitins [1970–77], Lena Lencek [1977–], Judson Rosengrant [1979–90], Charles Isenberg [1985–97], and Evgenii Bershtein [1999–]. Former professor Judson Rosengrant organizes popular Paideia tours to Russia for Reed alumni.

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Scott, Arthur [acting prez 1942–45]: A graduate of Colby and Harvard, Scott taught chemistry at Reed from 1923 to 1979 (albeit with a gap of 11 years). He served as president during World War II, a difficult time for Reed because the war diverted so many male students into the armed forces. Nonetheless, “Scotty” led the war effort on campus and was pivotal in the development of Reed’s nuclear reactor. On his 75th birthday, the chemistry department gave him a blue three-speed bicycle. Scotty had never ridden one before, but gamely mounted the saddle and proceeded to pedal. “A little wobbly, but not too bad for a beginner,” said one student. The bike—and the chemistry building now named for him—testify to the community’s enduring affection.