The Portland daily press., 1871-07-07
For Governor:
SIDNEY PERHAW /,
The Presidency of Bowdoin College

The Presidency of BOwdOin College,
1t is understood tGat the alleged radcallsm
of Ex-Governor Chamberlain in The matter VI
college reform will not prevent his eleclon
to the Presidency of Bowdoin College mere
will probably be no opposition to his eieVa-
tlon TO that position Nearly all our prlncl-
pal academic institutions are now taking
new departure, and undoubtedly it will be al
advantage to Bowdoin to have it understot cd
that its chief officer is thoroughly in sympa-
thy with the progressive movements that have
made themselves felt within the last ten years
even in those stronghclds of conservatism,
{ the English universities.
The chief innovation of the college reform
ers is that by virtue of which the undergrad
yates are freed, to a greater or less extent,
from the obligation to pursue without any de-
Walton the studies prescribed in the college
curriculum. The new freedom of choice,
though varying greatly in different institu-
tions as 10 the license permitted, represents
everywhere the reaction against undue atten-
tion paid to the dead languages and mathe-
.smatics,-a vice of British institutions of learn
ing that has been too slavishly copied here.
Even at Bowdoin, which has been somewhat
conservative, Greek is now an elective study
during portion of the course. Undoubtedly
the enlargement of the list of electives is one
of the reforms which Gen. Chamberlain has
In view. There is a golden mean in this mat
ter which we have no doubt he will find
There is wide difference between the un-
~, n 4
the University of Michigan, where boys who
have not yet arrived at the years of discretion
are permitted to range over the whole field of
human knowledge with hardly any restraint,
and to change from one study to another as
they find best accords with their caprice or
Incidence, and the more judicicus plan adopt
ed at Harvard, where the students are kept
together on the old plan during the first year,
and where certain studies are made mpera-
tive in other parts of the course. At Harvard, +,
after the first year, several courses are open to
q the student, and it has been found that this
freedom of choice has not been very much
abused. Comparatively few of the sophie
mores desert Greek and Latin, and the best
scholars are generally found to continue them
through the course. Even at Cornell there is
surprisingly little advantage taken of the
new system. At first students elected such
studies as seemed likely to afford them the
greatest facilities for good rank without much
exertion, but a healthier public sentiment
now prevails, and the officers of that institu-
ton look upon the new plan as success. The
same is true to even greater extent at Ann
Arbor.
Our Maine Colleges have made some pro-
gress in this direction. The list of elective
studies at Colby University has been consider
ably extended, aud we hear of nothing but
the best results from the change that has beer
made.
There are several other reforms that are en-
gaging the attention of thinking men, but w
do not know whether Gen. Chamberlain il
committed to their support or not He is moi
perhaps in favor of the admission of women
to the institution over which he will preside
though that subject has been seriously consid
, cred the present year in even so conservative
an institution as Williams. We have now
one Maine college where women are nomin.
ally eligible TO the privileges of students, but
public sentiment among the young men and
as we judge, the hardly concealed hostility ol
the officers, have prevented most young la
dies of ambition and genius from availing
themselves of the advantages secured to
them by theT generosity and liberality of the
charterl
"a The system of "marks" as means of de-
termining rank is another obsolescent feature
+ OF academic life that has incurred the just
hostility OF the most intelligent friends o
American colleges. We hope that this sub
ject, too, may engage due share OF the new
Presidents attention. That he will establi sh
healthful state of discipline and stop "haz.
ing" and other traditional college barbarities
We may regard as certain.