The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1896-04-15
RUN BY THE STUDENTS.

How Universities were Managed Some
Centuries AgO-ProE Munro, OF the
Unlyerslty OF PennsylvanIa, Says the
Boys Hired the Faeu1ty, Fixed Salaries
and Prescribed the Amount OF Work.
Special Correspondence.
PHILADELPHIA, April 14-There
is little organization of university
professors here which has never been
mentioned In the newspapers. 1t is
called the photographed Club. and at
each meeting one or two OF the profess
sors unfold to their colleagues some Of
their CURIOUS discoveries In literature or
science. Then follow conversation,
criticism and discussion, not ending
frequently until midnight. Argon, the
Roentgen ray, the newest bookshelf
are the topics. and the specialist who
happens to hold the floor Is a target for
a steady FIRE Of questions from his
hearers. No reporters get into these
free and easy meetings, but happen to
have a good account OF the last one and
1t Is interesting Professor Dana G..
Munro talked about the beginnings OF
universities, the occasion for his talk
being Rashdall's new work on "Uni-
versIties Of Europe During the Middle
Ages"
Popular misconceptions Corrected.
Professor Munro called attention to
numerous false ideas with regard to
the origin and character of the early
universities. The word university"
for instance originally meant "all Of
you" and had at first no reference
whatever to a school. 1t was applied
TO the soldiers Of the crusade. to the
monks Of monnstry, or to any learned
body OF men. The designation for an
academic institution was at first merely
studium or studium generate. AT the
beginning of the thirteenth century
there was a stuhium at Paris for theol-
oGy and arts, one at Bologna for law,
and one at Salerno for medicine. These
were the leading studla OF that century,
and only by chance did they gradually
come to be called universities. The
modern notion that a university was a
place where all things were taught Is
an error. Some OF the medieval unl-
versities had only one faculty and few
had more than two. A university was
merely body Of learned men.
Students were in the Saddle.
It is a curious fact that many OF the
old universities were ruled absolutely
by the students. They were the unl-
versIty. This was the case, for in
stance, at Bologna. The students made
all the rules. They hired the profess
sorR. They made the curricula. They
fiXcd the number OF hours the profess
sors should work, what they should
teach. how much they should charge,
what kind Of clothes they should wear,
and even how fast they should be al
lowed To read their lectures. or cOurge,
the professors chnted at these rcstrtc-
lions, but they were powerless.
This sovereignty OF the students led
to some curious results, one OF which
was the tendency OF the university to
migrate wherever the students got
tired Of community. The university
owned no buildings or campus. The
students were naturally lordly and die
tatorlal and got into frequent riots with
the townspeopic. the students them
selves being generally to blame. The
members OF the faculty were often
obliged TO take part In these riots and
night on the side Of the students. II
the police interfered and arrested n
! student or broke his head. theysprompt-
~ voted to move their studum to an
other town, where the people would
know how 20 treat them properly. Hav-
| Ing once lmmlErated. taxing their fac
ulty along, they never returned to the
old town unless ample apology was
made to them and additional privileges
| granted. Sometimes the pope inter-
fered and compelled the town authori-
ties 10 grant the students demands,
| aud often the citizens who had been
wronEed were Obliged to make money
| payment to the students IN Ordcg to ap-
peasc their wrath. These migrntionn
were the cause olmany now UNIVERSE
ties. The students dccamped from Bo-
lognn. for Instance, twelve times In 40
years, and on each OCCASION a new
studium waB established mt another
place.
FcaAt', Holidays and IHrNtioms.
AS might be expected, universities
controlled by the students were not shy
Of holidays. and the holidays were not
Sunday AFFAIRS either. In Scotland the
universities In the carnival time had n
] regular holiday OF two OF three days tor