THE UNDERGRADUATE CHAIR
The happening of the last month which attracted the, most widespread notice was the turning down of a Phi Beta Kappa key by Charles Allen Eastman '28, of New York City. At the time of his invitation to join he communicated to Dean Laycock his reasons for refusing what is commonly regarded as an honor. In brief they were that "the Dartmouth chapter of Phi Beta Kappa places unnecessary emphasis on its methods of electing members, on the mere attainment and retention of a high scholastic average," that "too little critical discussion and too much repetition of pure factual knowledge, simple learning by rote, in other words, make for lack of thought on the part of the individual student," and that Phi Beta Kappa "ought to influence a man to broaden his intellectual interest, to seek extensive rather than intensive knowledge."
. The Dartmouth under the editorship of the retiring editor managed to get on both sides of the question by starting off an editorial on the subject "The senior who has refused to join Phi Beta Kappa wins our admiration" and by ending it with"But for his own sake, we hope that after graduation he will not too greatly repent having cast away an opportunity to find himself with an organization which is doing its best to carry on from generation to generation a love of wisdom and of truth."
Lengthy communications to Vox Pop, fell in equal numbers on the side of the Phi Betes and against them. Some writer to that column suggested as a logical , conclusion of the whole subject the abolition of marks. The New YorkSun said, "All this has been changed by the sturdy independence of Charles Allen Eastman of Dartmouth. When they tried to give him one of their dinky old keys he proudly sent word that he considered scholarship marks as greatly overemphasized in college; that he does not consider it an honor to belong to Phi Beta Kappa. Brethren of the non-Phi Beta Kappa ranks will ever revere his name." Campus opinion seemed to back Eastman's stand but that may be because the individualists who fight any attempt to put men into molds express themselves more freely than the contented conservatives satisfied with formal standards.
Eastman is a member of Alpha Sigma Phi, the national which has taken over Sigma Alpha. Sigma Alpha during its existence at Dartmouth consistently had a very high scholastic record among the fraternities. Eastman has also been a member of the soccer team these last two years.
Another event which broke the dreariness of the alternately cold-dry and warm-slushy March weather was the coming to town of Mrs. Bertrand Russell. Heralded by a successful pub- licity campaign Mrs. Russell drew a crowd so much larger than that her husband drew last December that cold Webster Hall had to be thrown open for the lecture when Dartmouth proved inadequate to hold the mob. Mrs. Russell, who spoke under the auspices of The Round Table on "The Moral Outlook of a Modern," was greeted by such a long period of applause at the end of her speech that The Dartmouth saw fit to comment on it in the following manner: "The student philosophy of today is one of dogmatic radicalism. The well-intentioned Mrs. Russell recently catered to the academic complex by advocating birth-control and various and sundry other matters. There were in her speech one or two elements of radicalism and no elements of logic. But at the close of her rambling and somewhat incoherent address there was a burst of applause that told how well the audience was pleased. Its philosophic palate had been philandered, its intellectual corposity had been caressed.
"There is a passionate irrationality in this student position. Birth control—ask anyone— is an advisable innovation. Practically every senior can give three reasons why it is advisable. But the tragedy of the matter comes in the fact that the student body has not gone birthcontrol mad because it is a rational procedure but because it is a radical step. Art for art's sake is heard no longer. Instead, we have the new war-cry, just as fervent and twice as foolish, radicalism for its own sake. Birth control, companionate marriage, free love and what have you . . .if they are radical they are a part of the student dogma, to be discarded only when they have certain legitimate s tanding in the eyes of society. And rationalization is employed to the nth degree. Every new-born concept or idea, struggling for life, is nursed on arguments plucked from the ends of the earth. Radicalism for its own sake—the cry is growing louder—and its, logic seems to be: if you are not radical you are not rational, and if you are not rational you are a fool."
If the writer of this editorial has made a correct evaluation of the state of the student mind at Dartmouth things are certainly coming to a pretty pass, but I suggest that clapping for birth control is no longer radicalism. A society woman was the speaker the American Birth Control League sent to Hanover a month ago and society women are not known for radicalism. The liberalism offered to the student body of 1928 becomes a showy surface lost all too soon after entrance into the world of affairs.
Other speakers who have appeared in Hanover this last month have been S. K. Ratcliffe, an English newspaper man lecturing on " 'Mother India' and Modern India," John Anderson, a New York dramatic critic who gave Hanover theatre goers gossip from Broadway, Dr. Vincenzo Nitti on "The Political and Industrial Situation in Italy" and Professor C. A. Manning of Columbia on "Dostoivesky."
Although The Arts room in Robinson Hall has been strangely empty during this last year and although their program has been typified by the announcement shortly before Wyndham Lewis was to speak that Mr. Lewis could not be found when sought after by telegram, interest in things artistic has not been as dead as might be. The series of concerts sponsored by the Department of Music have been well attended, an exhibition of prints of oils by such moderns as Cezanne and such ancients'as Rubens was recently held in Culver Hall, an exhibition of the original theatre designs collected by the Theatre Arts Monthly was shown in Robinson Hall and a man with fin de Steele gestures and a full beard lectured on "The Need of Art in Life" in Dartmouth Hall.
The Dartmouth has taken a new lease on life under the editorship of W. L. Scott '29 whose editorials are framed in a more narrow column than those of the past and whose editorial material seems to be more vigorous, hopeful and comprehensive. After commenting in his initial editorial on the usual laziness of spring-fevered editors the editor says, "Just as our predecessors have dreamed, so do we hope. Our attitudes will be a great deal more pronounced about issues of student importance, about the campus politics, about the Administration, about next fall's Presidential elections.
"In general we intend to refrain from attacking institutions and customs merely for the sake of criticising, or for the purpose of starting discussion. The editorials will preserve as far as possible an even tenor, but this tendency towards conservatism will never muzzle a just outburst.
"As a regular feature The Dartmouth will present its opinions on national affairs and men in public life. This spring the paper plans a straw ballot on the presidential candidates. It will be preceded by brief editorials on each of the leading possibilities of both parties. With this as an opening we hope to stimulate the interest in news which concerns itself with affairs beyond the Town of Hanover."
