My final quarter began at the end of March 1957. I was determined to study more than I had previously that academic year. My grade average for the last quarter had been only a 2.7, a far cry from the overall 3.5 I’d been carrying for the first three years. Dating time and studying time had conflicted since September of my Senior year. I had grown use to the dating and wanted the hours Karen and I shared at the Brady to continue. But perhaps we now needed to cross the street and spend a few more in Rockwell Library.
This was also the quarter I enrolled in a Linguistics course taught by Dr. Georgie Babb. It was my favorite non-chemistry/biology offering in college. I fell in love with language as a result of it. If I had found it earlier in my academic life, my professional life would probably have been extremely different.
There were, also, attempts to participate in cultural events. One evening Don Bushell, one of the dorm counselors and close friend, invited Karen and me to join him and his date for a drive to Oberlin College to hear the Weavers, a new folk group. When we arrived, we discovered the performance had been cancelled by the college on the grounds that the Weavers were believed to be Communists. We were greatly surprised, since Oberlin College had a reputation of being one of the nation’s more liberal schools. The cancellation did, however, provide Karen and me the chance to spend a very communal evening on the way back from Oberlin.
This quarter was also the time for us to begin our more serious discussions, like one on religion and the Catholic view of “Christ’s descent into Hell.” Karen’s Congregational background and limited appreciation of creedal statements led to a very involved conversation. Spending time watching television at the Alpha Chi Omega House was much more pleasant.
April 1 on the academic calendar was more than April Fools’ Day. That was the day when letters are received about scholastic awards. At first, I did not see the letter from Cornell University. It was stuck between several magazines in the mail. It took me the time to smoke a cigarette and to offer up a few prayers (even if I was a somewhat lapsed Catholic) before opening the envelope and learning I had received a Cornell fellowship worth $1,975 for the following year. There were no strings attached. I did not need to be a dorm counselor or a teaching assistant. The funds were not even taxable. When I told Karen, she floated as high as I had been since reading the award letter.
My high lasted until the next evening when I telephoned my parents in Niles. My mother’s response was to the effect: “Well, that’s nice. If you really want it, you should probably take it.” My father had no commentary whatsoever. His preference was for me to get a job after graduation. He always said I should get one making bricks at the Niles Brick Factory.
The months of April and May passed quickly. The usual social events came and went as they had in the preceding three years. My grades were better for the end of the year than they had been for this year’s earlier quarters. Graduation came. Karen and I parted for the summer, with a hope that we would somehow be able to see each other before she returned to Kent for her own Senior year.
Karen went off for a family vacation in Virginia. I went to Niles to deal with the stuff I brought home from living alone in Kent for four years. It would not be too long before I’d be off once more. A new life awaited me in Ithaca. In the meantime, there would be letters between us. Karen would be working as a camp counselor for the summer. I hoped I might see her there, somehow. In fact, it became much easier than I ever thought possible.
In some miraculous way my father agreed to buy me a car as a “graduation present.” The dream became the reality of a Ford Fairlane 500 Fordor sedan. It looked a lot like the classic Crown Victoria, but was less expensive, at a total of $2,600 with “white walls, radio, and heater.” It was destined for several trips to Camp Wingfoot in North Madison, Ohio. I had high hopes for the Summer.