The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1900-02-04
COLLEGE GIRLS BUSY TINE.
CURIOUS EFFECTS or THE STRAIN
or MID EXAMINATIONS
mot n Pretty Girl In the Place. After This
Season of study-Girls Who study Better
In Gym" Suits or Mems Clothes Than
In Petticoats-'Busy'' signs on the Doors.


1T is the strain that kills said the senior.
III the opponents Of womeu's education would
go 10 a womau's college during the eSamina-
uon time that we know as mid years, they would
find all the arguments they needed against Ills.
Let me talk now Tor ten minutes and YOU will
see what | mean. Ny brain is numb | feel
az II | could put my finger in and take out the
pieces for you 10 look at. In this place ! put the
causeso II the French Revolution, ucketed. one,
Two, three, In this, the partition Of Poland,
dates al the left, countries benefited at the night,
causes al The top, results at the bottom, Just as
II would stand on the examination paper. His
tory il the last examination | prepared for, In
two days went over all the lecture notes Of the
half year, abulated the important events, to
gether with the subsidiary events that clustered
round them aud then committed my tabs, dates
and all, to memery. I got Il mental picture Of
the tabs and Of the notebook aid Of Ploetz's 'Epit
ONE Some questions | answered by recalling
the mental picture. There were others where
1t escaped. Once, for instance, | bered
that the fact | wanted was on page 1913, righ,
hand side, half way down. in italics. | could
se the italics but not read what they said.
an III" same two days besides reading the notes
and making the tabs. ! read the whole Of Fyhe's
three volumes ard some twenty Ave chapters
of scattered references. almost all the reading
for the term, in fact. II sounds like an eshg
geralion, but II Is not OF course 1t was no, word
for word reading My attention was excited
10 such n pitch that sometimes | seemed to rom.
prehend whole pages with a single glance. But
all the time ! selected details that | might pos
slbly want, coordina,ed and arranged them
] felt as though Mere packing things in little
boxes in my brain There was, too, something
Of a machine feeling. for | had almost no con-
sclousness Of my body until I had handed in my
paper. Then | was cold and trembled, so that
] had to 81, down IN the library until | got suf-
ficieut m Of my legs 10 get back here 10
my room am oil over that now. but have
this terrible rela Ned feeling II | had another
examination coming | should pull myself together
and go in for another orgy As II is, | shall col
lapse. It will IL a fortnight before | am good
for anything. 1t will be n month before | am
really myself. That, indeed, is counting ON u
quick recovery There are some girls who never
get over mid years. Before they get back the
power Of studying, the finals are on them and the
year is done"
"iiav" you gone To- pieces over the history ex.
animation" asked ihe graduate stua,nt. who
was an attentive listener, "ur was II an accumu.
lalou OF evils
An accumulation, decidedly, replied the
senior. i had two days at the beginning II the
md year recess, then three examinations IN sue
cessiun, then three days, another examination,
two days, aud he history | have really been
fortunate I have had only five EXAMINATIONS,
and | have had good intervals between them
Some girls have eight or nine in all, and rs many
as five IN a week, and sometimes two in a day.
] do not see how they live through II. Now, |,
with my five, have been working eleven days.
] have sat up every night until 5 O'Clock and I
have got up every mprnlug at : II clock. But
there were two nights when | U'd not go to bed
at all. | took a cold bath, II ten MINUTES walk,
n cup Of very strong coffee, and then went to the
examination room. That WAS before my history
and my English. About half the class did the
same thing.
That accounts for the way the girls are looking
now, said the graduate student. Black circles
under Their eyes, swollen eyelids, bloodshot eyes,
white lips, heavy lines pulled cheeks. lou
would swear there Was not a pretty girl in the
place. | have been standing of and studying
the phenomena
" hat were the phenomenal. asked the senior,
How do We look TO the outsider"
The eternal question II the college girl eN-
claimed the graduate student Always self
conscious. Nell, the first things that struck NE
were tine PICTURESQUE details, Sucn as the costumes
Of the girls. .\buut n third II you study IN your
gym suits, II makes my head clparrr tn get rid
OF pettlcoats one girl said to me, IN explanation.
few Of you ~ even further IN the process
aud actually put On men = clothes. There Is. for
insta nee, n little girl N my hall who weaIs black
velvet knee brrecnes, Il black smoking Jacket. aud
n linen siilft win a soft turn down collar and a req
tie; a young dandy for you If YOU please. There
is another girl VINO has u saIlors costume, aud
another vino wears a mans golf suit. Then
there are slill others who wear their own bicycle
pants. They all have the same excuse. j.
easier Ia study without pttiCoatS
n second Third Of the girls wear short skirts
ard the last third discard rprSe'S as well as skirts
and live IN uidrcsS uniform, blanket Wrappers
and such things. just n few pun IN. ms.lNps To
griher, especially toward evening, and make
elaborate toilets, 10 rest themselves. So occa
sionally YOU md a girl IN II low neck evening
dress, leaaiug "a uer bare elbows over u chemistry
or y physics or something else lucougrunus.
The time To see all these costumes IS a, H.,
" q cInch supper. he md year institution was
n great surprise Ia me-. The enormous pitchers
nf nlih, the trays ot tunhlcr> t1" plall-rs AraTed
with biscuits all SIT out for Common coasump,iou
ON the liilIr table In the hall, and then The grls
Struggling uIt III all their various costumes or
lack al costume. utterly UIC'u NClOUS II tllr,r odd
lE Ihcy Lave a quaint fashion Of SPRAYING
against the wall as hey drink. SOM talk shop
ana some maintain an distracted silence, a,
though afraid to braah their train " thought.
IL There ~ Anything good for supper however.
there IN an electric Spreading Of the news, even 10
the most distant rooms Hot cakes To- night or
' ' N' ~ - '''''a 'i''tA 'ihN as Wv hVIH uUu
all the doors open at oAcr In five minutes the
platter IL clean
Except for this supper, there is very little eat
ing done during mid years outside 81 the dining
room. The girls have uo time 10 waste on cook
ing They make coffee and tea. and drnk them
purely as stimrlants. Sometimes II is a question
whether more time ~ gained by drinking them
Than is lost IN making them The solution Is
usually, iet some one who has no examination
10 morrow to make them for Won
Next 10 The . o'clock supper aud the costumes
the Engaged signs are the most Interesting phe.
nomenon Girls put them up at the beginning
OF The recess and keep them up until their last
examination is over Some of them are Of brown
of white paper with Just Engaged written on them
or Busy, do not disturb Some again are I'm
signs, let,ered 10 order, or stolen from an office
! have noticed o o,that when the Engaged signs
come down 1T the end the Asleep signs 20 up.'
"lhaye an Asleep sign all ready. said the senior
is, gong up, THIS very, day. NO mad revrlry
OF celebration for me. | am too tired. Go on
With your picturesque details, please.
There are no more, replied the graduate student
The rest 81 the story ~ what you have told your
self The lam ps burning all nightlung the coffee
in The morning and ia the evening, the upEga-I
faces at the dining room table the ravpnuuSh hunger
with the fa-udluuSneSS that rejects
everything q NERVOUSNESS that causes xirIs t,rry
with NO proyucatlun, or to see black shadows fol.
owing them on have not told all thpS. symp.
toms, but YOU have them '
Yes, admitted the ~ruIor An those and more
Little sleep, hard study and no exercise is reason
enough Tor them often think oi The RUSSIAN
students ~ Switzerland. who are supposed 10 keen
lhIs SOFT ~ thlng up for months at a time and 4,
remember all that they acquire. That envy
them. Tomorrow shall have forgotten every
thing. As soon ms have taken an examiuHton |
| clear my brain Of the rubbish, make II perfectly !
empty ana men I'LL 1t up as fast rs ! can WIN |
something else"