New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1906-01-06
4nV4XC1Ye COLLEGE NAMES.

Fresh point is given to our recent indictment
of football for its inordinate exaggerauon ID
college life in the current Bulletin OF west
ern University of Pennsylvania. Inc puDIlca-
ton is meant TO present conspectus OF the UNI
yersity's condition and progress In all essenua4
Departments and may be assumed 10 set IorIh
fte vsrious interests In the order of their i'm
portance as judged by the institution Itself. we
are therefore much interested to observe that az
+ba hepipning Immediately following a purely
Introductory chapter, there appears long chap-
ter on "Our Football Team During the Fast
Season" In this we are told that "one OF the
greatest sources Of satisfaction TO tne STUDENT
body of our university, taken as Wnole, Is Lhe
generous patronage which has been ACCORDED 10
athletics" We are reminded that "athleucs
"m11st be a large factor in every successful col
"lege in the present day." And then comes Inc
browning declaration that "our football team
..Iast wear. in winning the championship of West
fern PENNSYLVANIA probably accomplished more
edward the advancement Of our name than any
"other means outside Of the marked prestige we
"haye ACQUIRED through the magnificent enorts OF
'4wideawake leaders in our midst"
These last words are somewhat too obscurely
Delphic for our ken, but on the whole the utter
ances of this university Bulletin" tend to con-
firm precisely what The Tribune said the other
dav. that football has come to be widely re-
gsrded as the most important feature Of col
Iege life 1t outranks not only all other sports,
hut studies as we'll Many students take the
greatest satisfaction, not in the high standard
of scholarship attained, nor IN the increased
facilities for study and research, but in the
| patronage given to athletics, Of which footDalI
is the chief. Athletics, in their esteem, consu-
tute one Of the chief secrets of a univers1tys
success Nothing can secure for college-1n
Sir NigeI's phrase-more honorable advance
| - xr-fTD fv7U of m
pionship incidentally, no doubt it is q good
thing for the boys to study, and it will do no
harm for the college to be known as place Of
some intellectual attachments; but il it wants to
be q thoroughly up-to-date concern, in line with
the best American academic spirit, us eleven
must be well up in the first rank.
That, we submit, indicates an unfortunate
state Of mind which is not justified even by the
testimony OF so high an authority President
Schurman Of Cornell University who tells US
that athletics have made it possible TO govern
the students of large colleges and universities
without the aid Of police, judge or jury. Our
impression is that students were pretty erect
lively governed twenty-five years ago, before the
monstrous exaggeration of football and we have
certainly heard OF sOpne grave violations Of
discipline and of civic law in the last year or
two in some of tire Fery institutions in which
football has been most exploited. OF course we
don't believe in abOlishing college athletics No
rational man does. 4 certain amount of physi-
cal exercise is an essential part Of college life.
lust as it is of the life of young men and boys
outside of college. But we can't approve Of sub
drdinating everything else in college life TO
athletics or TO one form of athletics. or in
making sport the serious business of life. Col
lege athletics should by all means be retained,
but they should he so reformed as to afford
rational and benehcent amount of physical cult
ure to all the students in the college, and not be