The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1909-11-25

the leading papers being among the
crowd
Tampa's New Track Ready.
Tampa, Fla, November 24.-Tampa's
new one-nlle race track will be formally
christened tomorrow, the opening day of a
To-day meet. More than 400 horses are
in the stalls here and with the closing
of the Latonia meeting tomorrow others
will arrive. The meeting here Is under
the auspices OF the Florida State Fair as
ISOLATION. The new racing plant has been
built at an enormous cost as II is expected
to conduct winter race meetings here
for many years to come. The feature
event Thursday is the Inaugural handicap
at six furlongs for $1,000 purse and the
Florida State Fair association trophy. In
this race that royal old campaigner, Hal
flax, picks up the top weight, 119 pounds,
to contest against such sprinters as Kid
Lasalle, Joe Moser, Hyperion II, Alice
Ozanona and others.
is, the requiring OF passing an examina-
ton before the athletic season begins;
but We have general rules requiring regu
lar attendance on classes and a fair
amount of scholarship as a condition of
eligibility for the teams. 1 do not think
1t Is practicable to make a high scholar
ship requirements for members of the
athletic teams because the conditions
OF mind and body required for the sue
cussful athlete are not conducive to
study while the athletic season is at
Its height. My desire Is that our students
who are on the athletics team should be
able to hold on during the season, suf-
flciently to prevent them from failing ut
terly later on, SO that they can recover
any scholarship loss that they may have
experienced during the athletic season.
BROWN AYRES, President"
The only colleges in the association not
represent In the above quotations are
Sewanee, Clemson, Howard and Charles
ton Citadel. At the time the letters were
sent the two last mentioned, If we mis-
take not, had not yet Joined the associa-
ton and hence were not written to. No
information was received from Sewanee
or Clemson. In conversation, however,
which a member of our university coun-
Gil had recently with Dean Sioussat OF
sewanee, 1t was learned that at the time
of our letter Sewanee had only a general
scholarship requirement but that she had
since adopted more specific rule under
the operation of which one OF her base
ball team was last season debarred from
playing.
An examination Of these statements re-
veals the significant fact that while
some of our sister institutions have rules
more stringent than ours and others less,
they all with one exception express I'M
qualified sympathy with the spirit of our
rule, and conviction that 1t is reason
able and just. The one exception, we
may add, Is an institution whose present
deplorable athletic condition would seem
enough to prevent any friend of the uni
versity from suggesting that we initiate
1t in any of its athletic features.
If further evidence be needed to refute
the charge of faculty hostility to ath-
letics, 1t may be found in the exceed
ingly liberal Interpretation of our ath-
lectic rule by the faculty committee on
athletics. While the letter OF the law is
that no student may be a member of
any team II he has more than two con-
dtions In his past record, this commit
tee has permitted students having more
than two conditions to play provided they
are taking or propose to take over in
class all the subjects they are delinquent
in except the two allowed. Further
more, while our scholastic rule is that
students receiving grade K 40 to 60) may
remove their conditions by special exam
nation, but students receiving grade F
20 to 40 are denied this privilege and
required to take the work over, our com
mittee has always ruled that as far as
qualifying for membership on the teams
is concerned, there should be no disffnc-
ton between Els and Fs. The effect
of this ruling Is that even student who
may have received in any subject is
entitled to as many as two special ex-
aminations in that subject for the pur-
pose of regaining his athletic standing
We may add that had these perhaps too
liberal interpretations not been put upon
our rules, the present captain of our foot
ball team would have been disqualified
from participating in any of this sea-
sons games.
In its belief in the reasonableness and
general excellence of It's present athletic
rule the faculty has been Furthermore
confirmed and strengthened by the at
titude of the students themselves. While
We do not pretend to know the opin-
ions of any large proportion of students.
ana have little doubt that some Of them
hold as radical views in regard to the in
justice of the rule as any of those which
have been publicly expressed. it is a note
worthy fact that of all those who have
represented the students side of this case
in conferences with the authorities, no
one, not member of the team, has ques-
toned the propriety of the rule or ad-
vocated it's repeal Nor have they argued
that the one player whose Disqualified
ton has been the sole cause of these
regrettabie differences of opinion is In
any way deserving of special consideration
at the hands of the faculty. On the con-
trary, they have approved of the rule
and expressed the opinion that under any
but the present very exceptional circum-
stances the player in question should
properly have been debarred 1t was only
the series Of misfortunes that had sud
denly befalen the team and the brilliant
record 1t has thus far made under adj
verse conditions. that moved them to re-
quest that a special dispensation be
granted. This request the faculty, IN
Justice to the other studerts who during
the past two years have been rigidly de-
barred by the operation OF this rule, ape
to protect itself against precedent that
would surely have proved most embar-
RAISING In the years to come, felt COM
PEELED reluctantly to decline.
In conclusion, the faculty sincerely re-
grets that In its ideas with references
TO intercollegiate athletics 1t finds itself
seemingly at variance with so large and
influential a body OF its alumni. This
difference of opinion we believe to be due
at least In large measure 10 pisunder-
standing of the universities attitude. and
this public statement Is being issued In
the confident hope that such differences
of opinion will disappear when the facts
have become generally known. The un-
dersigned members OF the university
council hope that they will at least be
credited with SINCERITY when they declare
that they. and with them practically the
entire university faculty. are and have
con sfstenfl,. heeu N, favor of intercolieei-