New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1883-07-03
NEV COLLEGE TROUBLES.


a new form. 1t is only few years since haz-
ing and similar offences were common that
distinguished instructors like President McCosh
found II necessary to argue In the reviews
against the proposed method of referring Of
Tenders to the police courts for summary pun
ishment. OF late hazing seems to- have declined,
aud class rcvolts against the college authorities
have grown more frequent. But now there
are troubles of a new sOrt-dissensons among
the authorities themselves, usually between
the president and some of the faculty. Union
College seems To be almost in a state of civil
war. A fierce contest over the election of
a trustee between the Potter and anti-Potter
factions resulted the other day III the election of
an anti Potter trustee This was followed on
the same day by the summary removal of the
leading anti-Potter professor. The trustees
are almost equally divided, and the troubles of
Union are, apparently. by no means at an
end At Cornell there has been contest
over the election of trustee upon the issue
of approval or disapproval of President
Whites administration, and the presidents
friends triumphcd, though his opponents
claim moral victory. at Dartmouth there
has been bitter feud between President
Bartlett and some OF the faculty, tho students
dividing into parties also, as they Will always
do in such cases.
Other instances might be cited, but these are
the more conspicuous. II is inevitable that
such dssensions should have a far more demon
aizing effect upon the colleges than the trifling
emeutes of students. A quarrel among those
in charge will drive away business from
college as quickly rs from a dry goods store.
Parents are fearful that tho institution will
not do thorough work for their sons, phIlan
thropsts are fearful that if they gave money
it might, in effect, be wasted while the president
and professors are quarrellng. President
Potter has borne testimony III his annual
report to the fact that the prosperity of Union
College is seriously threatened through the
decrease both of endowments and OF new
students, and the same is likely to be true OF
any institution where a similar state of things
prevails. There are other immediate effects
of such dcplorable controversies. They disturb
the academic quiet with discord and strife,
which cannot fail to be demoralizing to the
students themselves. 1t must diminish the
prestige both of president and instructors when
the scholars see them fighting like politicians.
The wise schoolmaster who privately apollo
gizcd to the King for keeping his hat on in
the royal presence before the scholars said 1t
would never do to let the boys know that
there was a greater man in the world than
he.
1t would be impossible to say without a
knowledge of the circumstances in each of
these cases whether the fault lay entirely with
individuals, or was partly due to defects in
our system of college administration. a writer
in The Century, discussing n different subject,
points out the fact that the Office of college
president, as it exists here, is purely Amcri-
can. The rector magnifcus of the German uni
verstv is merely one of the faculty selected
by his brethren to preside fos year. The
curator is the real executive, who has a
general supervision and looks after financial
affairs but he is Government officer. and
has little real power. usually reporting matters
of consequence for the decision of a higher
official. These two officers seem to make the
nearest approach to our president to be found
among college authorities abroad. But the
president here is almost an autOcrat. If he be
man of force, he governs the college very
much as he would direct some personal enter
prise of his own. Many of his acts are done
through the Board of Trustees, but they are
often men without special knowledge fitting
them for such duties, and glad to adopt his
views. II Is easy to see that this great power
may not always be wisely exercised. Perhaps
some would favor a diffusion of much of
II through the faculty. making that body an
academic senate, as in many of the European
universities. But the tendency here has been
to concentration both of power and respon-
sibility-nOt diffusion. 1t is to be remem-
bered, also, that the American college has
always borne paternal relation to the student
not known in Germany or France-kuarding
his morals as well as guiding his intellectual
development, and 40 system Is likely 10 meet
with favor which would tend to relax this
of which the college president is
the special representative
1t need hardly be said that those who stimu-