University Missourian. [volume] (Columbia, Mo.) 1908-1916, 1909-03-25

would he reltSattu 10 thilu vi
rank.
The public is not - unSophI>ticated
- We think. When Columbia Univer-
>itv abolished inter collegiate games II
was prophe-ied that there would he Il
mad exodus of students To- other in>ti-
,ution>: the authorities even c"ntem-
plated such result. What was the
surprise of everyone to find that the
following wear the college halls were
crowded IL never before.
Gambling Curse to Athletics.
Eut even il success in athletics were
ii ground of popular appeal. colleges
and universities ought To have TOO
much honesty. too much dignity t."
humbu. the public in this way.
, Where the football team or any
college team i exploited by the gam
bling element "r Il community Tor bet
tin. purposes. Such backin" ha- al
WAYS been Il curse 1" college athletics
bcca,r-c il- influence j. altogether on
the side nf professionalism. What 81"
these people care about purity i'll ath-
lrtic~. 1t i cold business proposition
To- them. II i GOOD business To pay out
money in order To he sur" of winning"
more and it i good sport 1" out-trick.
out il"nlr. ont ,t-~tcal the other side.
| Now where men "f this stamp. hccau-"
of their apparent loyalty t" the team
come into friendly contact with players
md students -omrthin" al their de-
-,Iuctivr influence i bound To p"rrad"
more or less the whole college atmoS-
pl,rrc. This j. indeed one of the great
difficulties which We have To face. BE
cause "f Nour lack of active interest
anI NV lack of active interest. the ar-
craze immature student j. more closely
| in touch with the ideals "f the cheap
/ sport than he l. with Your standard "i
honor and my standard "f honor. Why
| i il: J. il his fault: Are we dom"
our duty:
| recognize that this problem i Il
difficult, one for the college I" deal with.
But we can do something. We can at
least insist that the athletic manage
mcnt should not he hand in glove with
| the so-callcd >portin" element of the
community. And We can AT least in
>i>t To our students that aside from the
question Of morality. brttin" j. the
poorest way Of supporting the team
The president and regents Of our uni
vcr~ity have recently passed Il law pro
hibitin" brttin" anon" the students.
Al present this i significant a. dec
laration of sentiment 1t i 10 b. fol-
| lowed. | understand. by an aggressive
campaign on this subject. and hereafter
any"nc seen llauntin" "ra,nback- on
our athletic field will br p"Iitcly hut
firmly Y escorted from the grounds
Should Be Truly Representative.
:. Where men who represent an in
~tituri"n in intercollegiate contests are
in no real ~rn-c representative of its
life and traiitinn-
Suppose that the American commi,
tee ior the last Olympic games had dis
covered anon" our recent immigrants il
number "f star athletes and had sent
t. London tn represent this country.
men who had not been here Ion" enough
t" ~p"ak our language even br"kcnly.
what would the world have thought al
n-: And Vet i no; that almost en-
actly the situation in some of our col
lr"c> today:
! am convinced HAT all Of lis who
want athletics To br Il sane and rational
element i'm our college life shall have To
agree sooner or later. and the sooner
the better. on this principle: That no
one shall br allowed to represent his
institution in any INTERCOLLEGIATE con-
test until h" has been in the institution
Ion" enough and made sufficient credits
a. IL student. I" hr part and parcel OF
H. life and training. That i. believe
We shall have to follow the lead of the
East and Middle West in requiring tha,
any student whether u college graduate
or undergraduate or u>t out OF high
school. shall remain in an institution
one year before h" can represent it in
inter collegiate sports. Ii in addition
:" This We insist on Il scholarship stand ,
in" for all athletes IL We are ~uppo-rd
I" he dom" now: and ii We cont inur T."
regard il IL Il high crime and mi-dr- /
mrannr for any Institution or any So
called friend of the institution To offer F.,
Inducements I" PLAYER whether in the /
way nf room. board. tuition or at her |
cm"lumcnt-. then oulr teams will he
really representative and We shall have
Il sane and rational ground for cnthu- |
>ia>tic support "f them bccau>e We can |
say. "Thr>" are our boys We know /
them. we've trained them and are in !
tcrc>tcd in them and all that they do" /