The Montgomery advertiser., 1904-10-16

Cambridge, Mass. Got. Is. 1so4.- The day when student life for girls meant the "pickle-and-ice-cream" ex- istence of the boarding school once so popular with feminine novelists has gone by. Girls colleges nowadays have developed a life of their own just as interesting and just as distinct from the ordinary life of the world as that of the mems colleges. And though 1t may not seem to the average parent valuable part of higher education, it is considered by modern educational experts to hold position of prime im- portance in the general scheme of per- sonal development.
 Perhaps the student life at Radcliffe, the "woman's Harvard" Is as typical of the most advanced attitude of mind as is to be found anywhere. Accord ing to the modern idea the purposes of woman's university are better served by giving students a chance for association with the men, women and children who make up the world into which a graduate must go than by cloisfering them as used to be thought necessary. Radcliffe was intended to provide girls with just the same kind of education that men get at Harvard, so besides having Harvard professors and instructors to teach Harvard courses, and examinations leading up to degrees identical with Harvards. Radcliffe has always tried to encour- age the same university spirit as is found in the bigger institution and the same freedom in social matters is al- lowed.
 At first, of course, this afforded more or less amusement to the Harvard stu .lo.a ~.,asf [. some dismay by people with old-fash- toned ideas. Indeed, the Radcliffe girls themselves saw the humor of the posi- tion in which the pioneers stood, for the song of The Only Man. which pre- serves & tradition that has long since ceased to be a reality, is still a feature of every Radcliffe gathering.
 'Oh, once on Q time a. Harvard man,
 Got a card to a Radcliffe tea,
 And of course he was. as men always
 As pleased as pleased could be.
 He was a man that had always bragged
 That nothing could make him quail;
 He said that summons & from a, the Dean He had faced the Yale rush line, He'd been captain of the nine
 He was not afraid to dine
 Upon the new Memorial plan, But he never thought to be
 At a full-nedged Radcliffe tea' The only, only, only man." But the name of The Only Man is Is Legion nowadays, for, though there are no secret societies at Radcliffe perhaps because even a Radcliffe girl cannot be expected to keep a secret there are more than twenty clubs and societies, each with its teas. receptions and open meetings, covering every side of student interest. This Is an- other outcropping of the university idea, for having approach to the society of the world at large Radcliffe girls are not dependent on the fraternity or cha pter house for the passing of their idle hours. Naturally the families or the Harvard professors and instructors who have classes at the girls college take a great interest in the student there and the ''college set which Is the nucleus of the good society of university city like this has always opened its doors to them cordially. It is in the home associations outside hours of study that the real student life has its being, of course. The col lege hall of residence" Is more ike what may be called a family club than dormitory in the old-fashioned sense. Every girl comes ana goes as she pleases, but 1t is expected that if she has an evening engagement she
 will take with her a chaperon of whom inc mistress of the hall approves. Oth- erwise she Is bound by no rules except those she would naturally be guided by at home.
 Though this hall houses but very small part of the student body or hao- cliffe. having accommodations Tor only twantv-f,ve residents, the spirit of the place has prevented any suspicion Of exclusiveness. Girls who do not live there room in boarding houses or prl- vate families approved by the college authorities, and every ones room IS her castle where her friends come and 20 at will. but where there is always the possibility of seclusion if she wants 1t. Here are held the little impromptu teas at which, when lectures and reel tafions are oyer. the condolences of the