ON GOING TO COLLEGE

Address by the President at the opening of College, September 21, 1916

The beginning of the academic year is a time of no little consequence to men who are establishing their contacts with the college for the first time tor men of the upper classes as well, it is significant because it offers in considerable measure a new chance to better the old record, to offset past mistakes, or to apply a new point of view,—opportunities which are seldom offered in such tangible form in life after college days.

As we assemble here, then, at the beginning of this one hundred and forty-eighth year of the college, it is appropriate, as has been the custom, to take a few moments in connection with the first exercise of the year for consideration of some of the phases of our lite together. One of the meditations of Marcus Aurelius,—"Accustom thyself as much as possible on the occasion of anything being done by any person to inquire with thyself,—'For what object is this man doing this?'—but begin with thyself and examine thyself first. In the communities from which you come, whether they be cities or hamlets, those who note your absence and ask concern you are being told almost invariably, in& homely phrase,—"He's gone to college." The world has never seen a time when the public interest in colleges was so great. Never have so many men been going to college as now. But why are these men doing this? Beginning with ourselves, what is the purpose which has led hundreds of us to gather here, in numbers greater than at any previous time from such a widespread area that it makes Dartmouth a national college all but unrivalled in the proportions of its distribution?

It may be that the distinctiveness of the college type appeals to some; or that the uniqueness of its location in the traditional country of the east, in these beautiful and healthful hills, far from the centers of population, attracts others; or it may be that the spirit of service in which the college was founded and by which it has been distinguished through all the decades has had some measure of its proper influence. It certainly is true, whatever else may be, that the example and the devotion of the alumni have been a vital factor. But beyond all these things we should undertake to define for ourselves the particular purpose we have in mind in going to college."

I wish to urge upon the men of the college that they undertake to know its possibilities, and to realize as many of these as lie within their abilities, there is a particularly suggestive thought in Professor William James's remarkable little essay on "A Certain Blindness in Human Beings" along which I would like to follow for a few moments. He tells of a group of native Africans gathered wonderingly round one of our American travelers who, in the interior of that continent, had just come into possession of a stray copy of one of the New York papers, and, sitting motionless, had devoured it column by column. When he got through, these natives offered him a high price for the mysterious object, and being asked tor what they wanted it they said, For an eye medicine,"—that being the only reason they could conceive of for the protracted bath which he had given his eyes upon its surface. I want to ask you men not to allow yourselves to look with lack of comprehension on the many significant things about you in the college, and not to ascribe the "eye medicine" explanation to those among you who are trying to read where college obligation lies in these tremendously serious years in which our lives are cast.

I am going to pass over without detailed remark, now, the blindness of many men to the debt they owe their parents for the sacrifices which have been made that a college education should be offered to them; and make no comment upon the sorrow, of which we see so much in college offices, that is brought into the home of the man who either fails to appreciate, or misuses, his opportunity within the college. I am likewise passing over the blindness that makes some men oblivious to the fact that an institution such as ours represents the self-sacrifice of men from earliest times, who have given to it their loyalty and their careers; and that its endowments represent a devotion to the better things of life which has led men to contribute of their financial means to the propagation of learning and goodness, to the point in some cases of selfimpoverishment. No man who comes to college pays any proportion of the cost that is involved to the institution in giving him his education. But these are things for discussion at another time.

I wish now to speak of the too prevalent blindness in the undergraduate bodies of American colleges to the fact that they are in a special way beneficiaries of the law of noblesse ablige. You are men to whom special privilege of the finest sort is being offered. It is logical that from you, therefore, an especial sense of responsibility should be expected, as it will be. You will be judged after you get out of college on the basis of men who have availed themselves of the most that has been made accessible to them. I shall undertake in a couple of weeks to emphasize what I believe will be the greatly increased demands of the immediate years to come in the world's affairs. For now, I will simply call your attention to the fact that you can no more afford to lose time, to avoid disciplinary influences, or to allow yourselves to fall into shiftless habits in college, than you would be allowed to do these at the workbench or the office desk; for if you do, you will go out into a world in which you cannot keep your place in competition with your neighbors, who have not had the benefits available to you in the college, but who have more than compensated by the determination with which they have utilized all advantages which have been theirs. We should not fall into the error of thinking of education as a product restricted to institutions. The college offers the easiest and the quickest way for a man to secure an education, but it does not offer the only way. Education is simply a name for intellectual development, and many a man who has never entered a college building is better educated than many a college graduate. We should not fall into the habit of thinking that the man who satisfies the minimum requirements among us goes out with an education, merely because of the lapse of time during his residence here. The serious-minded world of the years in which all effort will be bent to rehabilitating civilization, after the ravages of war, is going to call for men of breadth of vision and depth of mind, such as the college training is particularly designed to give. In its imperative need for men of this type the world will have little patience with and will give little attention to those who have failed to utilize such abundant opportunities placed within their reach.

I should like to have the college make application of the principle of noblesseoblige not only upon the question of utilizing what the college may offer but also upon the whole matter of the college code of morals and manners. Is the spirit in which we conduct our common undergraduate activities the spirit of men of finest mould? Are current standards of morality upon the highest possible plane? Is our habit of speech in the dormitories or upon the streets the habit of speech that prevails among gentlemen of refinement .

A certain blindness likewise in regard to the necessity of laying strong foundations for future work demands attention, particularly among those of the incoming class. As one sees great c ass after great class enter the college, and realizes that of its members one in every three will be missing at the graduation in four years, having failed for the most part because of poor work early in their courses, he wishes for the ability to convince these newcomers among us that the advantages of the college can only be won by sure and continuous work and that this is never more important than during the first weeks and months of the freshman year. Not all men wo enter the college course can have the opportunity to complete it, and there are some men of distinctive promise whom circumstances take from us But in the large, the shrinkage of the classes is due to the lack of the spirit of application and the spirit of perseverance among the men who leave.

Thus one might continue almost indefinitely, but I have only wished to suggest certain lines of thought which you might follow out in your reflective moments. As you go from this room you will receive the published list of men whose work within the curriculum has won for them the highest scholastic honors that the college offers. I commend these names to your careful consideration, and ask you to look with seeing eyes upon the accomplishment which they represent. These are men who have fulfilled with especial distinction the primary function for which the college exists. They have so developed their intellectual powers, and so established their command over these, that they have been able to make demonstration of their mastery in terms of scholarship. Not all among us can achieve like success, but at least all can give respect to those who do.

In closing I would simply remark upon the heritage that is ours in this historic college, whose years go back into colonial times. We succeed to opportunities and privileges and responsibilities that have been the inspiration for great achievements through many generations of men. May we who are gathered here likewise be not less responsive, but may we realize to the full the advantages of our environment, that our lives may be lives of needful service!