The San Francisco call., 1898-04-02
BEER BUST"
 AT BERKELEY "A Methodist Paper Makes Charges Against Students:
  Declares That Some of the Reveiers Became Beastly
 Drunk. Editor Matthew Protests. Against ;. the Revival. of a. .."senai- .' Heathen orgie.": :. ;.
 =

BERKELEY; April f.-An~. editorial to-
 day in the California Christian: Advocate charging that recently a ''beer-bust" was
 held on the Berkeley campus; at which
 a number of students became 'beastly drunk" has created considerable com
 ment at the university. The editorial in question is headed, "Berke1ey's. Disgrace"
 It recounts the former experience which
 the Berkeley faculty had with. the "beel :
 bust" some years ago and calls on. the
 president and faculty to put a stop. to the
 gradual movement which is said to have
 recently begun to re-establish the objec- .tionable institution. Editor Matthew
 criticizes the recent occurrence as fol-
 lows: ,..:'
 Years ago students of the: University of Cali-
 fornia fnaugurated an annual observance which
 they were pleased to call the ''Beer Bust
 Presumably it. was copied after some semi
 heather orgieA of medieval Germany. In no
 other part of the. American continent have we
 ever heard of a similar observance .among stu
 dents The custom was tolerated until 1t be- the. university determined to break it up. The
 students were warned and most obexed the in | junction. A few disobeyed and were brought to account. As we now remember, several were. suspended and two or three were ex influence that they determined to drive the high-minded president from his seat, and they
 succeeded-but from his day the Beer Bust Indeed until recently we supposed 1t had passed away forever. Little by little. how eyer, it: has crept back; and last week, on the evening before the Charter day celebration, a secluded nook on the Berkeley campus was the scene of a most disgraeefui revel During the day tickets were. quietly: sold to students who wished to engage, in the carousal, quantity of r beer was: procured. and late at night a large |. nlmber of students-report says f50-came to- gether and drank until not a few were beast ly drlInk.,' -f :; We are sure the reyelers of Hast week do not represent the students, in any 1T sense. The vast majority loathe such conduct. It Is, as one student says, an expression of all. that is | We trust the great body of Christian students
 at Berkeley will put on. record their protest | against such .barbarism by their fellow stu l. dents. And can we not. rely. upon President Kellogg and the faculty. to: purge the university of students who have. so low a sense of | decency and honor =: ::-~.
 Investigation shows that there Is some
 basis for the statements made in. the edt- torial but it is maintained that the facts
 have: been grossly exaggerated. It is
 claimed that nobody was '"beastly, drunk and that the individuals who: participated in the affair. were mostly outsiders who had gone. upon the hill. at the back of the university in the expectation of seeing
 rush between the freshmen and sopho- mores, the sophomores having started out to place their class number on the hill.
 Neither. Editor Matthew. who lives in l. North Berkeley, nor President Kellogg
 could be seen this. evening: The latter is attending the. annual session. of the Southern California Teachers Associa- | tion He will not return to. Berkeley
 until next week.