CLASS SPIRIT

That "vague, indefinable something," going under the name of class spirit, which at regular intervals surpasses all other college interests and dies away just as regularly into almost complete obscurity, reached its height this year in the annual freshman picture contest. Rivalry between the two lower classes had been keyed to a pitch of excitement more intense than the ordinary friendly-battle spirit. Reaction against the abolition of class distinctions effected by the S. A. T. C. had started the ball rolling, and little intermittent outbreaks all spring combined to keep freshman and sophomore classes in a continual state of animosity.

The unfortunate outcome of such a condition was almost inevitable. Both classes, seriously convinced that something more than a mere photograph was at stake, carried the contest far beyond the bounds of mimic warfare. Excesses were the rule; hand-to-hand fights and bloody brawls were demanded. Sophomores tied together gangs of the first year men and kept them in barns, shoeless and trouserless, for hours at a stretch. And the freshmen retaliated with measures almost as severe.

With class feeling running higher than ever as a result, it is difficult to predict what the eventual effect is going to be upon the undergraduate attitude toward interclass rivalry. Class spirit has always existed. It probably will continue in some form on its own momentum. But it is safe to assume that the college in general will look with disfavor upon any attempts to perpetuate over-zealous demonstrations. Red riots, even on a small scale, have no place at Dartmouth. The whole community suffers too greatly as a consequence of them. It seems logical to expect that Palaeopitus and other influential student organizations will take measures in the future to keep class rivalry within the bounds of sane and healthy activity.