Norwich bulletin., 1917-10-27
STATE DEFENSE COUNCIL T. GATHERS COLLEGE FIGURES. Almost One-haif of Students Enrolled
 Left Studies to Serve the Country.

Almost one-half of the students en- rolled in all the colleges and universi- ties, tec1nical and agricultural schools of New England enlisted in the active military or naval service of the United States or dropped their studies and de- voted alI' their attention to indirect war service within short time of the entry of this country into war last spring. according to statistics gathered by the committee on publicity of the Connec- tlcut state council of defense. The figures upon which this estimate is based were received by the commit
 tee in response to a questionaire sent 1 to each of the colleges and schools.
 A little over one-fourth of the total enrolment of the colleges enlisted di-
 rectly in the military service of their country. There were approximately zG,000 students in the 20 colleges of New England when this nation became involved in the war. Of these 5,24s Joined the colors almost immediately. Nearly 5000 more took up one form or another of indirect war service, such as agriculture or technical work, bring ing the total of war workers to 8 200. enlistments nor enlistments by under graduates since the selectiye service act became effective.
 All the colleges gave heartily of their sons when the call came. Statistics
 gathered by the registrars of Yale and Harvard, though. more carefully com piled than those of some of the small CT colleges. are thought to be only
 tutions lost approximately 65 per cent.
 of their. enrollments through enlist
 lnents, although it has been estimated
 tt:at on an average only 70 per cent. of the average, college enrolment is physically fit for active war service. A midsummer number of the Harvard Alumni Bulletin recorded 1850 of the 2,oS5 undergraduates who were study
 ing when the war started as enrolled iE training camps, regular or reserve
 army, navy and aviation service, field
 ambulance work or other active war
 service. With the addition of gradu- ates the Harvard honor roll reached a
 total of 5000. At Yale with smaller
 undergraduate enrolment. the total
 loss caused by war was estimated at
 1900 in the undergraduate body and 40
 IT. the faculty.
 Composite statistics of, the eight
 largest New England colleges, exclud-
 ing Yale and Harvard and the various
 technical and agricultural schools,
 show a similar patriotic spirit. though
 the available figures indicate only those
 students who left their books at the
 first alarm of war and enlisted imme-
 diately. Of the undergraduates of
 Amherst, Brown, Dartmouth Holy
 Cross, Tufts. University of Maine,
 Wesleyan and Williams, 9 per cent. left college before commencement day
 to enlist in some branch of the mili-
 tary service ana 20 per cent. more left
 at once to, engage in farming or in
 similar indirect war. activities. Many
 more enlisted just after commencement
 or early in the, summer. Those who
 enlisted at once were approximately
 equal in, number to the students en-
 rolled in the senior classes, which i'm
 clude most of the men above the age
 off21 years. The record of Dartmodth
 was notable one. for one-third of ifs
 undergraduate kody enlisted at once
 and + per cent. additional engaged in
 indirect war service. Practical all who remained for the completion of the college. year enrolled in military training, courses. which required from 12 to A hours of work week:
 what stuff the smaller colleges are made. Oyers one fourth of .Trinity's total enrolment enlisted within a short time of the declaration of war, a considerable proportion of them in Hartford's- two cavalry troops. now part of. the 101st Machine Gun battaI- ion. One-third of the students at Colby who, were. physically fit offered themselves to their country when the
 The agricultural. schools of New England were not slow in responding | to the appeal for men. The Connecti- | on %aH tS SoeE nni at left out of enroIlment. Of '192.: the | M ssachusetts Agricultural college l closed on Apr1 12 to allow s9S per | cent of it's enrollment of 47o ito go | into some form of war work. The New | Hampshire Agricultural college re- | leased four ffths of its men. Of the l 1040 men, enrolled. in the agricultural 1 department of Maine university 200 l left college to go on to farms and every man of the agricultural department of | the University Of Vermont .vounteered | his service to aid the, government in raising food forrits soldiers and those of tha allies the three colleges of Connecticut Massa chusetts and New Hampshire ST Der cent. of the left to go into war work of enc kind or another, mostly, of course.