The Daily Missoulian. [volume] (Missoula, Mont.) 1904-1961, 1917-01-27
Democracy and
the College Club

A rebellion against the exclusive college club
which may have revolutionary effects upon all
American college life has been started at Princeton
by group Of democratic sophomorcs The Prince
ton clubs the equivalents of the Greek letter fra
ternities established in most other American col
eges. Like the fraternites they have limited
memberships. and to make Of them is fire.
quently the end Of undergraduate ambition. At any
rate to quote the Literary Digest, 1.-The elected
secret societies social clubs have constituted
the elite of the colleges personnel and the unclccted
remnant have willy -niy borne the stigma Of the
undesirables."
The son Of ex-president Cleveland is one of the
group of Princeton sophomores participating in the
rebellion. In a manifesto published in the Prince
ton Alumni Weekly they rccite the belief that 1.-THE
Princeton club system operates against the best in
tercsts of the university They hold that Prince
ton offers conditions most favorable for democ-
racy but "the clubs by setting false standards.
oppose this democracy" They offer these reasons:
This evauaton of sophomores by groups
of upper cassmcn is all the more inaccurate
because the club system raises artificial
barrier between the upper and lower classes.
Bootlicking' and the fear of being suspected
Of boolcking prevent friendship with upper
classmen.
ANY large body of men tends TO divide into
groups But instead Of these groups form
ing naturally social ambition frequently in
flncnces under classmen to choose their asso-
ciates for the sake OF personal advancement.
Some men even avoid others because Of the
fear that such associations may queer them
in the eyes of upper classmen.
Every undergraduate has many different
interests that he instinctivcly wishes to form
such friendships with all the men that he
finds congenial. But such friendship is re-
stricted by the narrowncss and sharply defined
limits Of club groups. which not be nex-
iblc enough to encourage man to continue all
of his former companionships or to form new
ones Then too there the obvious dis
tnctions among various clubs. There are
clubs to which it is more desirable to
belong than to others, and there is a definite
order of desirabiity among all the clubs
Moreover, there are always some who are
not elected to any clubs whatsoever. Such
men feel that II clubs have carefully searched
| their class and have marked them as 'undcsr-
ables' The result is that they experience
sensation of complete failure and a resulting
| loss of self respect.
| THE expense Of maintaining the clubs is SO
| great that large funds must be cxactcd from
| inc Alumni for that end. The money thus
used is diverted from the larger university
| purposes for which, it is fair to believe the
| Alumni would otherwise be glad to contribute
it. Nor is this expense likely to cease in the
| future. since the competition between clubs in
building costly homes is yearly more appar-
| emit In addition membership in the clubs
| necesstates a much greater per capita cx-
| pense. AS n result some parents in order to
| crafty the wishes of their sons make a
| greater outlay than they we'll afford.
| In our belief, any internal reform Of the
| clubs would be unsatisfactory as a social sys-
tenn with all of it's accompanying false stand.
| ards would still exist"
| The alternative to the club life is continuanc
in "the commons eating place. the functo
that brought the clubs originally into being. Nc
who forswear the clubs will thus continue in III
general association through the first two yea,
of their course
President Hbben offers in the Princetonian HI
approval of the sophomores' move, saying that
This new enterprise will serve to relieve
the pressure of undue emphasis now placed by
our undergra duates upon the importance Of be-
| ing elected into the membership Of of the
Il upper.class clubs inasmuch AZ every member