Evening star., 1912-09-02

OF any kind. be it even so melodious as
the finest music. 1t acts, Of couroA ~
distracting the attention. Drafts OF air
fiuttering a curtain. a door banging.
heavy or rapid footsteps. whistling, sing
ing: above all, talking. Here is where
students can help one another by gentle
manly consideration for one another. One 3
ears are always "at attention when study
ing, and everything heard distracts at
tention to some degree: the only excep-
ton Is a steady drone or buzz. which
becomes unnoticed because Of its steady
continuance. 1t Is impossible. We admit,
to provide absolute silence for the stu
as far as in their power all disturbing
noises in their houses or dormttories. and
the bOor who insists on disturbing the
peace" unnecessarily should be given his
walking papers: he is the common enemy.
Another cause for distraction Is a COM
mon one In American student life. and
exists just because Of his abundance Of
creature comforts. This Is the proneness
of the student. or possibly of his we'll
meaning but misguided mother or sisters.
to make his room attractive by means of
pictures by souvenirs on the walls and
tables. by bric-a-brac of various kinds
scattered about. When to this are added
the various mementos Of jubilant class
signs. perhaps even a souvenir Of night
In jail. need I say how these distract the
students attention from his book? One
rowing glance. and the family group re-
minds him Of home. that class picture
reminds him OF his comrades. the flaming
poster reminds him of the excitement OF
his freshman experiences. the policeman 8
club reminds him OF the street row when
1t be said that when this unfortunate
wight is trying to study he does not
need to be reminded of these things as
an aid to concentration. that souvenirs
do not help him to keep his attention on
his book. and that the more attractive
his room is the more 1t distracts his at
tention? ] do not confound attractiveness
with comfort: the latter the student
should nave. the more the better. but the
comforts should be real, unobtrusive
ones.
A Comfortable Room.
I am simply protesting against that
misguided custom which often regards
students rooms as ola podrida. muse
ums of bric-a-brac, proper repositories Of
any and every object which can remind
the student Of the glorious life he is lead
ing-and which are all common enemies,
to a smaller or greater degree, to that
concentration Of mind which he most
needs. as a student. to cultivate and to
possess.
However. the room must have some
thing in it, the walls should not be those
Of a bare attic. let us admit. and there
fore. what is the student to do when
studying? On this head we have two
suggestions to make, which have been
tried and found effective. First, when
studying by daylight have the table near
the window. so that the light is sideways.
and ones back is partly toward the "at-
tractive' room. If the window gives on
busy street have the lower half COW
cred by a translucent curtain, to keep
the attention from being distracted by
happenings outside. If the window
looks out on a quiet neighborhood. or
especially on a country scene. the cur
tain is unnecessary. The best situa-
tion is where there is a rather extern
sive view from the window. for then
the student can from time to time rest
his eyes. wearied by their short focus
on the book. by letting them focus on