The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1907-11-05
THOSE COLLEGE PRIZE FIGHTS

THOSE COLLEGE PRIZE FIGHTS
! When President Winston advised
the boys of the freshman and sopho-
more classes at the Agricultural and
| Mechanical college to fight 1t out in
! the open" he was encouraging two
| hundred or more young men under his
| charge to violate the criminal law OF
the state. And when the officers OF
| the college stood by and gave their
approval to students breaking each
| others noses and blacking each others
eyes they made themselves parties to
| While hazing is not a violation of any
state law, fighting such as the presi-
lent advised and his assistants took
part in managing is a violation of such
law, and the college officials who
! tenanced and encouraged it are as
guilty as the young men who actually
took part in it.
There is a law of the college that
there shall be no baz1ng of students.
Do the college officials admit that they
! cannot enforce that law? Do we un-
derstand them to have taken the posi-
ton that the only way they can en-
force a college rule is to c~ountenance
and advise the breaking of the GRIM
inal law Of the state? We can see no
other construction to put upon the
, language of President Winston and
on theconduct of his assistants at the
time of the two disgraceful occurren-
ces. The trustees of the college should
make a thorough investigation of the
affair. Tax payers do not support
that institution nor do it's patrons
send their sons there in order that the
young men may be educated as prize
fighters.
If the college authorities admit that
they cannot control the students and
enforce the college rules they should
resign and let men be chosen in their
places who can do SC. We do not
think the people of the state will en-
dorse the conduct of President Win
ston and his ASSISTANTS in this college
prize fighting.
Yesterdays News and Observer con-
tains the following set of resolutions
adopted the night before by the senior
class of the college, which we think
display much more sense and manIi-
ness than the declaration and conduct
of the president and other officers or
the college:
Yesterday when we heard of the
of the freshmen and sonho.
more class rush, we did not under
stand it to be a free for all fight.
We went to see the scrimmage YES
terday through curiosity. Today we
realized that h natter was more
serious and went out to maintain
equal sides and fair play. This was
done to a large extent. However,
many took advantage OF others at
tacE1ng exhausted men or striking
them from behind. We do not be-
l1eFe that fights of his nature will
ever prevent or in any way diminish
hazlng, nut on the other hand it will
breed bitter feeling. Tonight many
of the partisans are disfgured; for
~Iunately there were no serious wounds
but many carry broken noses. and
many more black eye while a few are
III the hospital. These fights do
not meet with our approva! so there
fore we have drawn up the following
resolutions:
sophomore and freshman classes
have INDUCED in for the last two days
have promoted i'll feeling between the
two classes, and:
2. Whereas; we regard these rushes
as detrimental to the reputation Of
the college, and;
s.. Whereas There have been seen in
these rushes men who were inclined
to take an unfair advantage Of others,
and;
4. Whereas, This practice is brutal,
and has resulted in injuries to many.
We. the senior class, in order to
promote & more friendly feeling be-
tween these classes, have resolved,
that these fights meet with u most
hearty disapproval, and that We will
use our influence to prevent them in
the future.
Unanimously adopted by the senior
class