Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1891-06-12
CORRESPONDENCE.
UNIVERSITY OF VERMONT.
ADVANTAGES OF A HOME INsTITU
TON.

Edit0r Ph0mir:-The state university.
in common with many other Vermont in
stitutions. suffers from the lack of interest
in home affairs which SO generally charac-
terizes our people The great body of
young men prefer that school or college
which is at the greatest distance from
home. and since distance ever lends en-
chantment,' many parents examine care
fully the claims of the more remote col
leges, and conclude that their advantages
are greater than those nearer home. when
in fact they know little of their own insti-
buttons beyond the mere fact of their exist
ence.
The University of Vermont is soon to
enter upon its second century. and under
such altogether favorable auspices that we
may safely say the great need at the pres
ent time is a patriotic interest on the part
of citizens of the state in their own uni
versity. There is ample reason for such
an interest
At the very first let it be remembered
that for location the university need never
suffer in comparison with other colleges
Happily uniting the advantages of city and
country, Burlington affords the college stu
dent the opportunities for smoothing over
the roughness socially of which some of us
are conscious when leaving home for the
first time, presents continually lectures. en-
tertainments and club meetings. offers free
ly fine libraries and reading-rooms, the at
fractions of a Nral t,apaua1 oman, bn,,aa
and thousand and one other things which
help to make up the training of an all
round scholar, and all this without the dis
advantages undoubtedly found for students
in large cities
In this age we consider all things which
count for culture as not only worthy of no
tice by the student, but actually part of
his training: few people, indeed, today
measure the merits of an educational in
stitutiOn by its distance from civilization
No one acquainted with young men can
doubt that the moral tone of their life is
much improved by their surroundings. that
they are not only better students. but alto
gether better men for some social advant-
ages besides what they create for them
selves.
Besides the medical department, the
courses of the university are the usual
classical course and its variation which
omits Greek, AMI those courses which are
required by the Morrill, act OF 1862 mot
only in classical and other scientific stud
les but especially in ''branches of learn
inc relating IN 1t,,r., ,,,1 Il.
ic arts, to which is now added the instruc-
ton in agriculture required by the endow-
ment act of 1890. These latter courses in
clude civil, sanitary and electrical engineer
ing, chemistry, agriculture and mechanics.
For the electrical and mechanical DEPART
ments a building is now in process of cree
ton which will contain an electric plant.
FORCES, benches and lathes all fully eqllip-
ped for practical work. The great demand
for men trained in these branches of learn
ing will undoubtedly attract many Young
men to these courses. \ large barn is be-
ing erected on the farm connected with the
experiment station, and during the wear
dormtories have been provided for the stu
dents in agriculture.
The misfortune of the course in agricult-
ure seems to lie in its name. for certainlvit
has no other. No one can examine the
catalogue without realizing the practical
value OF the curriculum. and the twenty or
more students in that course are more than
satisfied with its opportunities. Certain
newspapers, whose province it is to do
their hest To i'm iura any l,o,,,., ;,,,.,.-. u.
not only thrown mud at the university and
the instructors in the department of agri-
culture, but have also given large number
OF people the impression that certain re-
proach is connected with the name of a
student of agriculture. There is no such
feeling in the university nor in Burlington.
and it is certainly strange that when so
many fellows enter academies. with no in
tentlon OF fitting for college, struggle hard
TO pay tuition and rent and leave them final
ly without diplomas, so few have taken adj
vantage of the absolutely free course pro-
vided by the state university in the very
branches they require. A student in the
agricultural department has only to board
and clothe himself, while the ADVANTAGES
OF library, reading-room, etc. are as free
to him as to the others.
Our field day this year was a great suc-
cess, several records were broken and new
interest in general athletics inspired. AT
the intercollegiate contest last week. held
at Springfield We were well represented
and not quite out of sight at the award of
prizes As the university has no gvmna-
SUM, students, on payment of a small fee.
enjoy the privileges OF the gymnasium in
the Y. NJ. c. A. building down town and
very good use they make of it too. We
hardly expect in a small college to excel in
general athletics, but in the game of ball
which the university team plays this wear
we feel pardOnable pride. With one or
two notable changes, the nine is that of
last summer. Abbey and O'Connor occa-
sionally take a day off, and Pond. who
pitched last year for the Norwich UNIVERSE .
ty, is able TO convince any common team
that 'things are not what they SEEM In
the Memorial day game with the Montreal
professionals, Pond struck out seventeen
men and only two of the visitors saw sec
ond base. The most exciting game of the
season, and that in which the bows did by
far their best work so far, was that with
the University of Michigan, when we won
by score of six TO two. O'COnnor and