GRADUS AD PARNASSUM

PRESIDENT HOPKINS HAS SPOKEN TO THE FACULTY AND ALUMNI GROUPS about his fears of the critical financial prospects that face the College. He has made clear his concern about problems that are certain to become much more acute in respect to decreased student enrollment. We spoke last month of the shrinkage in registration of 145 undergraduates since September as a not alarming figure until it is translated into a financial loss of nearly $50,000 in tuition and dormitory charges. The President has estimated the deficit for the current year at from $150,000 to $200,000 and has spoken of probably much greater deficits to come.

He has said that if Dartmouth goes down in the financial crisis that lies ahead it will go down "with all flags flying" and will not gradually sink below the surface. By adopting and following such a courageous policy the College has the possibility of going through the war without changing its character even though factors far beyond control will require drastic changes of many kinds.

Our objective must be to emerge from the war strengthened by critical problems faced and solved, and not come out of the conflict as an institution so weakened, changed, and emasculated as to be a pitiable miniature of what the College has become through growth and cumulatively greater progress.

There is no such thing as a status quo for the College. It either moves forward or backward. Or it may go under. It does not stand still.