Learning to vote wisely
I remember climbing to 4th floor Old Main at 8 a.m. for Dr. Mitau's Intro to Political Science class. Even on the cold, cold mornings he would energetically throw open the windows with an exuberant "Good morning, ladies and gentlemen!" He taught us to value our system of government, to appreciate what we have and to keep it by voting wisely. I always vote—and try to vote wisely.
- Carol Schwarting Hayden
Political science at minus five degrees
I remember when I took my first political science class from Dr. Ted Mitau. It was during the Winter semester and class met at 8 a.m. on the third floor of Old Main. Getting to class on time was a major issue and students straggled into class in various states of consciousness. Dr. Mitau looked at this sleepy group, then walked over to the windows, threw them wide open in minus 5 degree temperatures and announced loudly that since we were discussing important matters of state, we needed fresh air! All students were suddenly awake and I even learned to take notes with mittens on!
- Louise Kloos Comfort
Getting locked out of class
Dr. Ted Mitau was a bundle of energy and a dynamic lecturer. His enthusiasm made you want to be involved in political activity. During his lectures, he made his points with a Germanic “ein, zwei, drei”. He also had that Teutonic trait of punctuality. For many of us, getting to the top floor of Old Main at 8 a.m. three times a week was a real challenge. He got irritated with latecomers and warned us all that he would not tolerate lateness any more. If he could get from his home to campus on time, there was no reason we couldn’t get there from the dorms on time. The next class meeting, he locked the door at precisely 8 am. After that, everyone was on time. He never spoke of growing up in Berlin and gave no hint that he had left because he was Jewish. He was remarkably fair in pushing his students to study all angles of an issue and not be content to merely parrot the views of one political party.
- Charles N. Johnson
