The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1889-07-02
COLLEGE BOYS TRICKS.
HOW THEY SECURE DIPLOMAS BY
WORKING THEIR WITS.

6uL IlSy are . Jm SLlnoS OuEWlLL6Q
By the Proctors - Buying Proofs,
Working the Rooler, Changing Books
and Other Ingenious Ways Of Getting
an Education.
CCopw19hted)
New YoRK, June 29-"Many people
think that every man who sports a sheep
skin, that invariably goes with the degree
of A. B. which Is conferred upon all col
lege graduates. must have really become
proficient If the different branches Of study
prescribed by a col eye curriculum; but
they are very much mistaken all the same
Inc speaker was graduate of Harvard
who made his mark in his dav in athletics
and at the same time maintained a fair
standing IN his class. It being about the
time that all colleges in the county hold
their annual examination the beet in
noduced was an interesting one aud the
harvard graduate was pressed to explain
what he meant by his statement.
L VIII be2in,n said ne, with a case that
came under my observation my fresh
man year, IN an examination in trigonome-
Try. In The first place. at Harvard, we
we're all obliged TO hand in couple Of
weeks h9tore each examination a regula-
ton blank book with blue covers which we
bought at Sewers book ST re- On the morn
ing OF the examination we would find these
DOCKS ON the desks of the ball where we
were examined, each marked with our
names. w uen we had taken our seats the
examination papers would be passed to
each OF US. AT the trigonOmetry examlna-
tlon, or which l speak, | noticed that the
man next to me appeared very hot. Tnough
the day was only moderately warm he hal
taken oil his coat and was flaming himself
vigorously. Pretty soon one OF the proctors
VINO were watching us sauntered his way
ana the young fellow said: May open
this window side of meg
Certainly" said the proctor politely.
l noticed that as the student opened the
window lac let fall a slip of paper folded ~.
1t was three hour examination and dur
ing the last twenty minutes the same stu
dent obtained permission to 90 down stairs
10 the water cooler and get a drink. The
proctor went along, too, to see that he con-
lied no Iogorlthm table notes, or a fellow
student. In lew moments he vas back at
work. l knew he was up to some fu my
business, but for the life of me ! couldn't
see through it. The fellow had always
1unked al recitation, but he got - per
cent on the examination, which put him on
the rank list After got to know him well
| askei him how he did it. Why said
ne, 1T was as simple as rolling off log.
FIRST L made copy OF the eXa minatiOn
paper on leaf from my blue book. This l
carefully tore out, rolled up and dropped
out as L opened the window. Ny private
tutor, a senior, was on the outlook for it
below. He picked it up, took it to his room
ana worked out seven of the ten problems
gwen. 1t wouldn't have been safe for me
to have tried to get higher mark after my
showing at recltatiOns. Then he took the
book and hid it behind the water cooler.
Inc proctor who went down with me didn't
watch me closely and [ easily MD the book
under my coat, and ON getting upstairs |
substituted it for the one in which had
been making believe figures. That was sim
pie wasn't it!
Another method that was popular was
to take narrow sheet of paper over six
feet long. On this notes carefully written
in very small hand would be made and
then the sheet would be wound round two
matches or perhaps two small round pen
ellis, to which it would be fastened WI tn
elastic bands The whole affair could be
readily held in the palm of ones hand and
the amount of general information and
treasures OF classic lore that could be stored
away on that sheet of paper was astound-
ing, and the ease with which the rollers
COZ ld be worked added to the value of the
contrivance as a means of outwitting k cen
eyed proctorS
But there was tradition at Harvard
about one unfortunate student, who while
working his roller burst the CLASHES that
confined the paper and was in a moment
completely showed i'll under great mass of
of very carefully prepared data. OF co urse
1t was impossible for him to avoid detec
ton and at settled the examin att for
him. But it was a funny sight and even
the proctors had to laugh. But these thin as
l have mentioned so far, are only side shows
IN the way of deception. The most impor-
tant OF the examinations at Harvard are
those required for entrance and are of 50
severe a nature that some young men who
are more anxious to get into the college
catalogue as Undergraduates than they are
TO do the work necessary for proper prep
aratlon look about for some means to evade
the requirements of the college authoritI eS.
One method that requires nerve is made
fe ,sible only by the large list of applicants
for admis ion to Harvard which comprises
more names than the whole catalogue of
our smaller colleges. The schemers go to
work in this fashion. Smith is young
man whose father has made big fortune
and wants TO see his son have the advan-
tage OF liberal education which was de-
MED to him. Yong Smith, however, is
more of u tennis player than he is student,
ald the examination time comes around
and finds Mr.. Smith very far from
being fitted TO pass anything except posi-
occurs to Mr. Smit that there's his friend
young Jones who is a sophomore at Yale
and who always has lots of brain and very
little money. A brief correspondence and
the promise of a check soon leads Mr. Jones
TO the conclusion there is nothing he de-
sires more than to pass the entrance exam
lnatlcn at Harvard under the name of
Smith, Smith at the same time concludes
that if he takes the same examination un-
der the name of Jones, he won't care
whether he passes or not. The result is OBJ
vlous The man who really could pass APP
parently fails and Smith without doing
any work becomes full -hedged member
Of the freshman class at Harvard This
trick is not often played on the faculty.
however, because if it is detected the dis
grace IN which It's participants would find
themselves would DE of most serious ma
ture. After the students once become I'M
dergraduatos the tricks PLAYED oftentimes
have their humorous side II was q sopho-
mora who stealtoily plated a package of
cigarette papers on his knee and slyly be-
gan 10 rul them over. He was being
waite ed at the time by a specially prying
and unpopular proctor who. IN few mo-
ments, pounc9d down upon him with an air
OF exultadon. Pm trouble you for those
papers, SIR he Kissed. The sophomore
gave them up with apparent reluctance
The proctor ran them all through without
finding any notes until he came to the last
paper, when this single word stared him in
the face. "SDlQ - littla LATER the Sana