Friday, February 23, 1968
UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
9
SWINGING NUN
Sister Dixie Pemberton, Tolleson, Ariz., wears modern secular clothes instead of the traditional black habits common to most nuns.
Sister Dixie not average nun
By Cynthia Smith Kensan Staff Reporter
She doesn't look like the average nun and she isn't the average nun. She is Sister Dixie Pemberton.
The long habits are "archaic, medieval, and many times, a barrier to communication," she said.
A graduate student from Tolleson, Ariz., Sister Dixie is the only nun staying at Naismith Hall and one of few nuns to wear street clothes instead of the traditional long black habit.
She doesn't dress like the average nun while participating in an experiment with 14 other nuns from her order, the Precious Blood Sisters in Dayton, Ohio. This experiment explores the question of secular clothes versus the long, traditional habit.
Her short blonde hair and gray eyes and a smile portray her genuinely friendly and happy spirit. All that outwardly identifies her as a nun is the small silver cross she wears.
Before coming to KU she was an elementary school teacher. She is attending KU on the Experienced Teachers Fellowship Program in Geography.
She thinks a teacher should stress quality rather than quan-
The only things a Marine lives for in Vietnam are pay day, mail call and a flight home at the end of his tour," a Marine wrote to Pam Miller, Cashton, Wis., sophomore.
To many KU coeds corresponding with soldiers in Vietnam, the war is more a reality than an issue on the front page.
The constant rains and the high temperatures add to the uneasiness of a Army Sp. 5 who writes to Lois Stencel, Kansas City freshman.
Vietnam Marines live for mail
"It's a bell hole over here," he wrote. "All I want is a trip home."
To the servicemen, there is little to distinguish one day from the next.
Last Christmas, the sixth and
seventh floors of Hashinger Hall sent aluminum Christmas trees to three servicemen. Bev Missick, Oak Park, Ill., junior, received a thank-you note from one of the soldiers.
"Although the temperature was in the mid 80's and it was very humid," he said, "that tree made Christmas a definite reality instead of some far-fetched dream."
Miss Miller's brother, Bruce, an Army private first class, has been stationed in Vietnam since December. His first letter was a reaction to the fighting.
"The action came close to camp yesterday. A few explosions and artillery pounding . . . big deal. Not a bit like the movies when you're one of the actors."
Kay Pool, Kansas City junior, majoring in English, Alpha Gamma Delta, to Bob Deuben, Des Moines, Iowa, junior, majoring in advertising, Sigma Nu.
Joanne Beal, Denver, Colo., junior, majoring in elementary education, Delta Delta Delta, to Dave Steeples, Palco junior, majoring in secondary education, Delta Chi.
Pinnings
Kirkie Piper, Leawood junior, majoring in commercial art, Alpha Chi Omega, to John Logan, Storm Lake, Iowa, junior, majoring in sociology, Delta Tau Delta.
Nancy Kopek, Shawnee Mission junior, majoring in education, Naismith Hall, to Allan Pinne, Shawnee Mission junior, majoring in education, Phi Kappa Theta.
Sidney Ashton, Lawrence senior, majoring in mathematics, Pi Beta Phi, to Ronald K. Sable, Kansas City, Mo., senior, majoring in art history, Kappa Sigma.
Nancy Herrick, Northfield, Ill., sophomore, majoring in French, Alpha Phi, to Jim Young, Independence, Mo., junior, majoring in aerospace engineering, Triangle.
Tina Johnson, Overland Park freshman, majoring in nursing, to James Ray, Arkansas City senior, majoring in business administration, Phi Kappa Tau.
Kathy Richey, Erie sophomore, majoring in secondary education, to Dusty Walker, Parsons, now stationed in Bremerhaven, Germany, in the U.S. Army.
Bev Shaw, Lawrence junior, majoring in interior design, Naismith Hall, to Stephen D. McDaniel, Shawnee Mission senior, majoring in mathematics, Phi Kappa Theta.
Some people feel the anti-Vietnam demonstrators should be handed a rifle and shipped to the front lines in Vietnam. However, not all soldiers agree with the suggestion, Bruce Miller wrote.
LeeAnn Spivey, Wichita sophomore, majoring in English, Alpha Chi Omega, to Dave Gaughan, Independence sophomore, majoring in business administration, Alpha Kappa Lambda.
mates. But, the other nun's grant was cancelled and Sister Dixie was left with a room to herself.
tity, enabling students to learn more. She hopes to go one more year here and then go back to elementary school teaching as a resource teacher. A resource teacher is sort of teacher's teacher, she said. When a teacher has trouble with how to teach a subject, I try to help him, she said.
When she is talking with people in the residence hall and she is addressed as Sister Dixie, people who don't know she is a nun are surprised. She finds this amusing; they always try to think of something they've said that a nun shouldn't hear, she said.
"Keep those bastards over there," he wrote. "We don't want them over here."
Organ recital set
Sister Dixie thinks the ordinary dress of the nuns is old fashioned. The habits don't really mean as much to non-Catholics as they used to, she said.
James Moeser, organist, will present a recital at 8 p.m. Feb. 26, at the First Baptist Church, 1917 Naismith Drive.
Martha Fowler, Osawatomie sophomore, majoring in French, Washington Hall, to Rick Mundis, Overland Park sophomore, majoring in English, Alpha Kappa Lambda.
To the soldiers, mail is essential. A Marine wrote that it helps the morale to know someone "appreciates our help over here." As another soldier put it, it's "even better than a warm shower."
The program is presented as part of the School of Fine Arts Faculty Recital Series. Admission is free.
"When I enter a room wearing the long habit, conversation stops and I am more or less isolated," she said.
She is staying in Naismith Hall because there was no other place available when she applied for graduate housing, she explained.
There was supposed to be another nun living in Naismith and the two were going to be room-
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