The Birmingham age-herald., 1909-06-20
COLLEGE TRAINING
 AND CITIZENSHIP

[ sponsible for this failure cannot be
 easily determined. But the responsi-
 bility can hardly be laid to the stu
 dents, for it does not rest with them
 to determine the purpose of the COZ
 lege. It is to the faculty and admin istration of the college, yielding, it
 may be, to a false public sentiment,
 that the blame, whatever it be, is to
 be ascribed
 This charge could not be made with
 truth in the early days of the American colleges. The main object at that time was to train men for one of the three learned professions-law, medicine or di Yinity; and as a part of their training all of the students studied literature,
 philosophy, ethics, and other kindred sub
 tects, which had as a direct or indirect
 aim the development of the moral nature. But as time passed a new spirit grew lip
 among the colleges. Specialization began, and professors came, specialists in their ! own departments, but teachers who too frequently lacked that broad outlook upon men and affairs, which is given by thor ough study of the humanities. Along with this movement in specialization came tendency to exalt and magnify numbers at the expense of quality, induced by the fact that in the popular mind the large college outranks the smaller one. The taCultY ana aunlQlStIdllOn began to
 take an undue pride in large matriculation
 rolls, and from this tendency came a
 weakening of the moral fibre of the stu
 dent body In order to avoid antagoniz- ing the students, the authorities gave
 less attention to infractions of the moral code. Most clearly was this spirit seen
 in athletics. It was evident that win
 ming team drew patrons from far and
 near, and for this reason and under the
 belief that the good effects overbalanced
 the evil, professionalism in athletics came
 in. It cannot be said that the faculty and administration everywhere were guilt
 less absolutely of this shame. Very often
 where they did not themselves champion
 professionalism, yielding to popular clam
 or they connived at 1t, so that in the
 majority of eases the motto of the col
 leges became, win at any cost and by
 any means This spirit quickly pervad-
 ed the entire college and in every de-
 partment a moral let-down ensued Men
 were suffered to come to college, do
 what thy pleased while there and leave
 whenever they desired, undr the dlusive Idea that the college was benefited by this, because such men, after they left college, would act as it's walking adver- tisements. What a misconception this of a colleges true aiml What a departure
 from the grand mission laid down for the American college by its foundersl
 This mistaken policy was productive of , great evil. It is unquestionably neces-
 sary that the students do not get their moral natures blunted while in college,
 but that their moral development should
 continue The four years from F to 2 are years when a young man Is still a fit sub- ject for true educational work. As President Eliot said, the nation must be l led by college men, and in order to insure that it be led forward and not back | ward, its leaders must be the right sort of college men. If young men, while at 1 college, have been in atmosphere of , honesty and morality, if they have &C., | quired moral backbone by contact with positive teachers, their course in after life, as a general thing, will be free from 1 immortality and moral indifference; but , If while at college they have been sur rounded by moral carelessness, with a
 false sense of the proportion of things, in
 httle world where the guiding spirit is ] the unmodified "get there" they will apply the methods learned at school to their civil and political life, and 1t will be hard indeed for honesty and purity of
 motive to find place In their creed. Here | in college lies the disease, and here also l lies the remedy.
 ! The faculty and the administration have
 it in their power to end this too com-