Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1899-05-20
Undergraduate Exubsrance.

Two exhibitions OF Undergraduate
exuberance during the past week nave
attracted public attention, FAR and
wide. The first was at Princeton wnen
the student body broke up the street
parade of wild west show, and the
second WAS a lively contest at Brown
University between the students ana
the policemen and firemen VINO tried
to prevent their too extensive celebra-
ton of baseball victory. In both
cases pitched battles resulted with
hundreds of students engaged ana III
both cases severe injuries were nuhler-
Gus.
The reports of these affairs as spread
abroad sound very terrible, and to
those who have never known the whole
some experiences of student life the
whole matter is inexcusable and mex
plicable 1t gives moralists good text
for a sermon upon the degeneracy of
modern youth. The distorted and eS-
argeratad stories of such occurrences
when they get abroad work injury to
the colleges concerned, and give false
impression to undergraduate life. Peo-
pie who ought to know better get the
idea that all college students are law
less ruffians, who spend their time
looking for trouble with the police and
townspaople, and whose chief pastime
is breaking heads and wrecking prep
erty. OF course this is all wrong. The
American college student is the best
type of the modern young man. He
doesn't ruin his health and his eyes.
day,-but who wants him to? He
recognizes the great truth that ali
study and no fun would mean az early
funeral. He wants sound body as
well as sound mind. and he does light
to train one as we'll as the other. He
is full of animal spirits, as every
healthy young man should be. and It is
as necessary for him to work off his
surplus exuberance as it is for loco
motive to blow off steam.
Every man who has enjoyed the
blessed privilege of a collegiate course
knows how necessary and how bene-
fetal it is to get into good scrap"
once in while. Perhaps it is an in
ter-class battle; perhaps a war with
town 'yaggers:" perhaps, as at Prince
ton, it is with a wild west show which
breaks the unwrtten law of the town
by attempting street parade; and
perhaps, as at Providence, it is with
local authorities who do not see the
need of celebrating an athletic victory.
In any case it is not very serious af-
fair. except as painted in the garbled
newspaper accounts, and in the ser
mons of pessimistic preachers who
have forgotten their own youth. or else
never had any. But the college grad
uate knows that these affairs sou!id
much worse than they really are. lie
can understand the spirit of the occa-
sion; and generally has a longing.
which he probably wouldn't confess, to
be back on the old campus in hear of
the fray. OF course. there are occa-
sions where the college boys overdo the
thing, and get too rough and riotou:;.
just as older men do at political
convention or on the stock exchange,
but these times are rare and are the
exceptions which prove the general
rule.
The college boy of today as all right.
1t is safe to say he is a better behaved
young man than was his father when
the latter was an undergraduates. He
works off more of his surplus energy in
| athletics and less in hazing and gen.
oral deviltry. OF course, he gets noisy
and starts out with blood in his eye
cnce in a while, but we would be
ashamed of him if he didn't. But you
| Rave to know him to understand him.
and once knowing him you are sure
to like him and make all allowances.
The enterprise CD of the modera news
paper often shows him off in n false
light and gets him in disgrace with the
public: but he always lives it down,
and later shows that his undergradu-
ate scraps" have given him the abil-
ity to win victory in the battle Of HE.
Since the Jameson raid the Trans
vaal republic has not been much be-
fore the public. Now Dom Paul gets
his little government to the front again
by arresting eight officers formerly OF
the British army on charge of high
treason. They, with others, are ac-
| cuSed of Noting rebellion IT would