Gradus Ad Parnassum
THERE IS every reason to believe, from everything that he has said or written since the publication of the Social Survey Committee report last spring, that President Hopkins will "make haste slowly" in attempting any solution of the Dartmouth fraternity problem. In this connection it seems desirable to give added emphasis to a portion of his remarks to the assembled student body and faculty at the opening of College. In concluding the section of his address devoted to discussion of fraternity matters he said:
"That in brief, gentlemen, is the situation in regard to this discussion now goingon among the national fraternities in regard to the College, that they shall understand the individuality of Dartmouth, thatthey shall have some comprehension ofwhat are its particular needs and its opportunities, and that they shall aid the College Administration and the College supporters in enlargement of its purposes andadvancement of its standards, rather thansaying that conditions here are as good asat some other place and that therefore weought to be satisfied with them.
"The Administration has never at anytime expressed an opinion pro or con inregard to what its eventual decision wouldbe. The Administration is in no positionat the present time to take an attitude orto make a recommendation to the Boardof Trustees as to what its eventual decisionshould be. The attitude of the Administration is simply here, as at all other points,an attitude of solicitude for the best interests of the College and of willingness towait to see what contribution to these bestinterests may be possible through the existing social organization of the undergraduate body."
SHOULD IT be necessary for any interested person to discuss the fraternity "problem" at Dartmouth he would do well to take his text from these potent words of the President's. The "individuality of Dartmouth" is no imaginative reflection. "Its particular needs and opportunities" have a very direct bearing on the question in point.
Hanover's remoteness from the great eastern centers of population is generally regarded as an asset to the College. But this very isolation, comparatively speaking, breeds individuality in all things pertaining to student life whether social, academic, or recreational.
It is hardly possible to compare any two colleges. It is futile to predict what would happen at Dartmouth with a system of local clubs on the basis of whether or not Princeton is satisfied with its upperclass eating clubs. The urban locations of Harvard and Yale, and the added factor of their house and separate college plans, prevent the vestige of a once popular system of national fraternities from being accurately compared with the situation in Hanover. And of our friends, the New England colleges of smaller enrollment, much the same can be said—that their location, size, traditions, and particular problems are quite different. The great State Universities, where fraternity life flourishes, are chiefly coeducational.
And so on. Call the role of the considerable number of influential and strong colleges and universities of the country. Their students may have much in common in the way of school and family backgrounds. They are all representative of American youth. But the colleges which they attend are not alike. Their superficial differences are obvious to the general college public. But, until the President's forceful state ment, have we realized before how different the colleges are in the fundamentals of their social life?
THERE WAS a regular homecoming over the Columbus Day holiday week-end, when the Holy Cross game was a focal point of interest but two or three days in Hanover and autumn foliage at its height had their appeal. If it wasn't the town's biggest crowd in history it seemed to be. Visitors swarmed the streets all day Saturday. On Sunday the crowd had thinned out to proportions that could be accommodated and a considerable nucleus remained until Monday, the 12th. On all sides one heard compliments for the Athletic Council in arranging a good early season game that provided the excuse and incentive for a week-end trip back to Hanover. Something can be said for next year's schedule when Amherst will be played in town on the second Saturday of the season. Alumni in the east have long wanted to see more attractive games scheduled in Hanover early in the fall. This year's schedule with Holy Cross, Brown, and Columbia at home is notable in this respect.
IT is DOUBTLESS good for the soul of an editor to be checked up on. This the Honorable Prof. James Dow McCallum does in questioning the appropriateness of the use of "The voice is the voice of Jacob" in commenting in this column on President Hopkins' article in The Atlantic last month. The Bible says that Jacob, in order to deceive his father Isaac, covered his smooth skin with the hairy hide of a goat and, Genesis 27: "22 And Jacob went nearunto Isaac his father; and he felt him, andsaid, The voice is Jacob's voice, but thehands are the hands of Esau.
"23 And he discerned him not, becausehis hands were hairy, as his brother Esau'shands: so he blessed him."
Had the verse been quoted in full (and correctly) the inference would be that Mr. Hopkins' "Current Thoughts" sounds like him ("The voice is Jacob's voice") but that someone else had written it ("the hands ARE the hands of Esau"). It was all right as far as we went and fortunately we went no further. But Mr. McCallum wants no errors by his colleagues.
Anyway, Mac, it is nice to know that you read Gradus Ad Parnassum..
THE COVER this month is another print from the Safier Studio collection in Hanover. The subject is a familiar enough scene, the facade of the gymnasium. Very shortly now lockers will be put into use again for students engaging in squash, track, basketball, swimming, gym, and other indoor sports. Bare elms whipped by cool (and sometimes cold) winds serve warning this month that winter is on the way.
WITH WINTER on the way the Outing Club is taking no chances that it will be found unprepared when its array of Olympic talent and some slightly less capable skiers start defending Dartmouth's record of intercollegiate victories this winter. In the person of young Mr. Walter Prager, described as a "dynamic Swiss "kannone,'" the D. O. C. attempts to fill the large gap left in its ranks by the resignation of Otto Schniebs some months ago. The reputation which Otto acquired through his great success as winter sports coach and teacher in Hanover brought an increasing number of customers to the doors of his little shop. This path through the winter wilderness finally became so beaten down that Otto could see visions of much greater things on the horizon that was opened to view. Otto has done much for skiing throughout the country and much for Dartmouth. He will merit whatever fame and fortune may come his way and we hope it is a large slice.
OUR ANSWER to the compliments that have come in on the ALUMNI MAGAZINE'S new symbol, featuring Dr. Eleazar Wheelock, is that bouquets should be, and herewith are, passed on to Walter Humphrey '14, the artist. Mr. Humphrey's magazine covers and other professional work have brought him distinction. He has kindly contributed numerous sketches to these pages, including the creation of Eleazar at the head of these notes. Someday you are going to see in this magazine his idea of what a Dartmouth mural should be, as compared to Mr. Orozco's.
Ehe frescoes on their spacious walls in the basement flood of Baker Library continue to be viewed by considerable numbers of visitors to town. Mr. Humphrey's opinion of them has never been a complimentary one. Others agree with him, either articulately or more mildly. But opinion runs more generally in favor of the move that has resulted in giving Dartmouth something that has aroused the interest of art critics, students, teachers and many others who have "heard" about Orozco's work and want to see it.
As THESE notes are being written workmen of Bill Gooding's landscaping force may be seen from the windows of Parkhurst employing a fancy device to gather together fallen leaves from the campus elms. The machine looks like a lawn mower, only larger and apparently harder to push. A clean swath is cut through the leaves which whirl through revolving blades and collect in a sack under the handle. Groups of students collect on the walks to eye in awe this intriguing indication of mechanical progress. Smaller groups of workmen lean on old-fashioned rakes and wire brooms. The debut seems to be successful.
FROM A FACULTY and community group that we know to be grateful and appreciative some compliments are herewith passed on to the football coaches for their kindness in taking the college men around Hanover in on some of their "inside stuff." The Graduate Club was interested in showing movies of the best games of the season to its membership. The football coaching staff was willing to have the complete game pictures shown to this group. To make the friendly move even more gracious, Coaches Ellinger and Gustafson gave blackboard talks and explained the pictures when the first meeting was held the week after the Holy Cross game.
It is possible in the rush and pressure of the football season to overlook the community life which surely should flourish in a college town. The Graduate Club is being complimented this fall on its efforts to bring members together more frequently for social evenings and the coaches are showing added evidence of the fine job the Athletic Council did in bringing them to Hanover.
THE EDITOR.
HANOVER HIGHWAY SIGNBOARDS Done in oils, and showing various landmarks, these signs are placed at precinct limitson roads coming into Hanover. They were done by Robert A. Andrews '28.
