The Jeffersonian. [volume] (Stroudsburg, Pa.) 1853-1911, 1873-08-07
College Life at Lafayette.

or relatives among the students One ol
these, from West Chester, writes to The
Local Ners budget Of gossip about the
College and its ways, from which we
make some interesting extracts The
| College grounds are situated north of the
main portion of the town, on a high hill
and are reached by a series OF stone steps
and gradually ascending walks, protected
by iron ratings almost at the summit is
large granite monument, surmounted
by statute of life size soldier in full
uniform, lately erected by the Alumni
Association in memory Of those OF their
number who "died for the Union" We
first reach at the top Of the hill the vcner
able East College, used now as rooms for
students and tutors On one side &C this
is the fine new chapel, elegantly finished
and furnished, and on the other side is
the large reading room AMI liEraiy build
ing these two buildings are joiued to the
main building and add much to its ap-
pearance 10 front There are on the
large college grounds seven or eight build
ings, commodious In size and tasteful in
appearance, and surroundings for such of
the professors as have families. There
are also six halls in which the students
and tutors have their rooms, five Of these
stand on the north side Of the college
grounds. The largest and central one of
the five is very fine building of four
stories, which was finished in 1871. 1t
was built by one of the former trustees,
gentleman pamed McKeen, of Eastou,
and by him presented to the college it
appropriately bears his name. There are
also on the grounds, jerks Physical
Hall, fue structure in which the philo
sophical and chemical apparatus are kept,
and experiments are performed, and the
college observatory in which are large
telescope and the other necessary APP
paratus There remains, also, to be es
pecially noticed the magnificent Pardcc
building, built by A. Pardee, of Hazel
ton, at a cost Of $4,000 and which it
is expected will cost nearly as much more
to finish, all of which Mr. Pardee has
generously undertaken to bear. This
building is five stories in height, with a
wing on either side four stories high =
The entire length of front in a straight
line is two hundred and fifty six feet =
The material is tie Trenton brown stone,
with trimmings of light Ohio sand stone
1t is to be heated throughout by steam.
This building is to be used exclusively
for recitation rooms, laboratories, lecture
rooms and professor studies none Of
the pupils will room in it. There were
in the college at the close of the present
year two hundred and forty six students,
forty two OF whom graduated. The mum
Der entered for the next year promises to
be much larger than it has been for
long time, and will probably considerably
exceed one hundred. We ought to re
mark that the classes are called by the
year in which they graduate, thus the
class Of 1876 graduates in June 1916
College life is, generally speaking, very
peculiar. The students are almost en-
tirely isolated, at least until their last
year, FROM society and the hustle and
roughiug of the world. a few Of them
board and live in private families in Eas-
ton, some Of them have rooms in the col
lege and board in private families, but
the majority room i'll the college and
board in clubs. Each OF these clubs are
composed of from fifteen to thirty young
men, and has regular officers, one Of whom
is called commissary, whose duty it is to
purchase the necessary provisions for the
club. He is allowed one half of his board
ing for performing this work. These
provisions are cooked generally by some
family living near the college grounds or
in some Of the college buildings, and din.
ing room and table furniture are provid.
ed by them. Boarding thus iu clubs, we
are tod, costs from 81 30 to 81 so per
week. The students are expected TO FUR
nish their rooms in the college building
throughout, with tables, chairs, bedsteads,
bedding, &c, and to provide their own
stoves. Their fuel is supplied them at
cost price. The rooms in the East College
are about % by 80 in size, and are gen
orally occupied by two students. In Nc
Keen Hall and several of the other build
ings there is one room about II by 20 with
a small bed room on either side, which ar
rangemeut is preferable but more expen
sive. 1t would probably shock the good
mothers could they sometimes step with
out warning into their boys rooms for
they often what we put mildly in calling
untidy. Boys won't hang up their
clothes make their beds, arrange their
books or sweep out their dirt or cob webs
in way to make their mothers happy,
and then not uuirequently some of them
will oversleep themselves, and rush into
the chapel, which they have to attend
morning and afternoon, with very scant
under clothing, covered by screening
over cart, minus collar, Needless slippers
-or may be stockingless-of course this
is only once in while, but such things
do occur We were very much pleased,
however, with what we saw of college lie
in spite of these drawbacks. There is an
absurd prejudice abroad about the bad
ness of college boys, which is not wonder
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