The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1916-1920, 1917-09-17
WAR CUTS ROLL
OF COLLEGES 10
TO 50 PER CENT.
Thousands of American
Students Sacrificing De-
grees to Defend U. s.
FRATERNITIES HARD HIT
Professional and Trade Schools
Send Big Quotas Into
Army and Navy.

Americas college population, students
from football field and fraternity. from
laboratory and library are answering
the war call with unequaIied patriotism.
Information from officials of colleges
and universities Of the East and middle
West indicates the enrolment figures tAis
fall will be from 10 to SO per cent. lower
than those Of last fall. This means that
thousands of college youths-men. as
they always are called on the campus
In each of the country's institutions Of
learning are sacrificing degrees for the
war cause.
In most instances heaviest losses are
felt in the upper classes, the junior and
senior classes. Those who enter coll
lege nowadays as freshmen almost with
out exception are too young for service.
Most second year men also are under the
age limit; still. most sophomore classes
this fall will be considerably smaller
than normal
Enrolment figures in most cases.
show big increases in women students.
In some instances. as In one or two de-
partments at the Columbia summer
school just ended. the number Of goods.
up for the great loss in men students.
Despite this the summer school enroll
ment was 200 under what 1t would have
been without the war. When Cornell
opens September 26 the number of
women students. 1t Ii believed, will be
larger than ever before.
Athletics on Reduced scale.
Reports indicate that athletics will be
- uvHA
universities, though on a reduced scale.
Previously II had been given out that
sports. especially football. would be dis
continued on account OF the war. but
coEnixance has been taken OF requests
from Washington that these sports 90
forward uninterruptedly as much ~
possible, on the theory they will con-
tribute to the nations manhood. Mill
tary training. though. will be suosti.
tuted for more intensive football and
basketball practice. It is believed.
The reduction in students necessarily
will handicap GraAsnnitieA and other
societies Many Of them depend largely
upon support Of upper class men. and
II is from these ranks the greatest
exodus from colleges 10 taking place.
An official at Columbia University. him.
SELF fraternity man. says Columbia
fraternlties especially will be hard hit.
For one thing, a great. many members
have enlisted in the army and navy, or
have been selected In the draft or gone
abroad with the Red Cross. Fraternity
houses at Morningside pay exceedingly
high rents, and unless the societies are
well supported by their members. or
break rule which many OF them nave
BY taking in freshmen, their treasurers
may find themselves In distress. The
official at Columbia believes. however.
that alumni members Of these societies
will come to their aid and that few OF
the forty houses will be forced to close
for the winter. Reports from some OF
the colleges say the fraternities either
will have to rent out their rooms to nom
members, a practice which never before
has been tolerated. or give up tnear
houses temporarily.
Professional and trade schools are
more generally affected by the war than
the colleges. Such students are more
mature OF age and have learning which
is OF value in a military way. Engineers,
for instance. and medical students are
greatly in demand at this time. In
some instances instructors themselves
sre enlisting in such numbers that their
departments are forced to suspend.
Many ENLISTED In New England.
New England appears to be most seri-
Try, according to reports from Boston.
Here university prospects for 1el7-111S
are extremely pessimistic. IT is feared
the average enrolment will crop in pro-
portions ranging from 20 per cent. at
Harvard to so per cent at the UNI
versity of Maine. Other institutions will
lose varying proportions Of their upper
class men. and nowhere in this part of
the country Is there the slightest op-
M in, I'd tn
In Maine the State University has
raised its tuition rates and many Of the
Instructors have been dismissed. De-
creases even in freshman classes at
Brown, Dartmouth and the western
Massachusetts institutions are being
looked forward to by college officials.
At some of the colleges, where UNDER
graduate life is centred around fraternity
houses. at Amherst. Williams and
Dartmouth the leaders OF the principal
societies are almost panicky about
economies and the vacancies brought
about by the war. Many ofNtRe frats. II
Is said. with national regulations already
nave made plans for retrenchment.
Last year the infantle paralysis epi-
oemic caused a delay In opening New
England institutions OF learning. This
fall three OF the Maine colleges-Bates,
Colby and the University Of Maine-will
postpone opening until October II.
month later than usual. The war -
largely responsible for this. and one Of
lhe leading contributing reasons is the
large number of students engaged in
emergency work on the Aroostook potato
farms.
Undergraduate publications will In
many cases be suspended One Of these,
the Harvard Illustrated, already has an
hounced such Intentions. while the Har-
ward Crrmson's publishArs say that II II
noes not suspend as least II will reduce
us size. Publishers Of the L0mpoon, how
ever, believe they can continue this hu-
niorous magazine as usual. The Yale
Ne~s and the Brown Herald will pe