 One such episode occurred after a visit of Bishop Joseph Mark McShea of Allentown, Pennsylvania, that led to a new vice rector, Ralph Thompson, and some strict new rules, among them a "book policy" that limited what students could read.Beyond spiritual and classroom books, students had to have a permission slip signed by a professor for any book in their college rooms.One college student went to see Fick and asked him to sign a slip for John Dos Passos' trilogy "USA" and with great sadness Fick told him that while he was greatly pleased that this student wanted to read such a great work of American literature in three volumes, he didn't want his signature on a permission slip for such an author given the repressive atmosphere then in place at the Josephinum.