New-York tribune., 1920-04-11

n
stltution fails; its service 70 il, s+n
dents declines.
An Effort at Solution
The preservation of the American.
lzing function Of our urban uniyera.
ties Is. for those of them that retail,
anything ike campus He. bound
up in the solution Of thc probls,,
presented by these masses Of ,tu.
dents of foreign extraction. For N.
preservation of its Americanizin,
function New York University ~
ITS College Of Arts and Pure Sci.
cnce and School of Applied scienc.
and IN behalf also Of the university
and Bellevue Medical School. is seet
ing to relieve the problem by proc.
ess of selectivc admission in order so
to modify the composition of III.
student body as TO permit American.
lzing Influences to work more freelv
and efficiently. To that end thes.
schools are requiring a special ex.
animation of every student present
ing himself for admission.
Every such student is now -.
quired to present the standard ac,.
demlc requirements, and. in add.
ton, to submit himself to a nsvcho
logical and to a personnel test anal.
ogous to those used by the army in
selecting officers, and administered
by board Of experts, in order 70 d.
termlne his fitness to profit by th.
opportunities which the uniyersi.v
offers. In addition, the candidate i,
required to pledge loyalty to tn.
government of the United States.
The object of these tests i, not "a
exclude or to refuse admission ia
the foreign student as an individual
nor to any type or class of such str.
dents. We believe that any student
as an individual, if brought under
the proper influence in his college
or ms university, can be American.
ized; that IS to say, that he can be-
made loyal by sound teaching and
sympathetic influence to the ideal,
OF the country in which he has found
his home.
Many Are LOYAL
II, however, the instruction of the
college, proceeds under conditions
which nullify the influence which it
would bring to bear upon the indi-
Vidual, then the desired assimilation
cannot result. The object of the
tests is to check the growth within
the college of masses of students Of
1oreign origin and essentially for
eign N their sympathies, in such
numbers as to prevent their assimI-
iatlon under the ordinary processes
OF collegiate instruction and of cam.
pus life. With the large number. in
the East, of academic institutions Of
good rank. rejection by the commit
tee on admissions by no means in
wolves exclusion from the opportu-
nifty of collegiate training.
This policy is not blind to the fact
that strong Americanizing inhu-
ences have already done efficient
work in the centers of immigrant
population and that the results Of
such work are visible and immortal
IN the recorded heroism and sacri-
ilces in the late war Of thousands Of
young men of foreign extraction,
and Likewise in the persons of thou
sands who emJody in heir lives pub
lic-splrlted American citizenship.
Such men coming as students to our
and colleges in that
spirit present no problem.
Il we are thus to emphasize
Americanism, we must see to it that
our Americanism is worthy of its
name. It must be no mere provin-
cialism stepped in ancient preju-
dices. 1t must give definition to our
vague thinking, and eliminate our
loose American tolerances. II must
be broad and human, sympathetic
and comprehending, if it is TO guide
Us Alright as we seek to train the
'eaders OF the new era for meeting
more successfully the attacks Of
hose who are hostile to civilization,
and for contcnding with the errors
of those who insufficientlv under
stand the nature and operation Of
social laws.
Above all. we must see more
'learly what liberty means; wnat IN
democracy is the relation betwesn
he freedom of the individual AM
he restraints of government. We
must see with the force Of eonyic-
ION that outside the law Of the state
md the proper exercise Of the
.uth"e..y C the state no freedom
'r ilbeFty IS possible. To teach
hesc Fundamentals We mus first
understand them o,lrselvrs The