The Washington herald. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1906-1939, 1922-02-08
College Morals High,
Sags NJ. E. Educator

Morality among students in COL
leges is higher than in any other
group of corresponding numbers,
according to the Rev. DIR. Warren
F. Sheldon of the board of educa-
ton of the Methodist Episcopal
Church. after an extensive investi-
cation Of moral conditions in more
than a hundred private and State
universities of this country. He is
one OF the secretaries of the Metho-
dist educational board in charge of
the Wesl,S' Foundation for provid-
Ing religious activities of members
of the denomination in the student
bodies of the various educational
institutions of this country.
"A great deal has been said about
the present low moral standard Of
college students today" said DR..
Sheldon recently, but investigation
does not confirm the general i'm
preston. We have been impressed
with the high moral standard OF
college students after investigation
OF this very thing. Two or three
rowdy students attract more atten-
tion and make more noise than 500
quiet, diliEent men about them.
There is small percentage Of
young men In every college who rive
riotous lives and often give the
whole college student class a bad
name.
'Ihe fact thai man behaves
himself at college is no news Rut
when one does not. II Is news. be-
cause II is the unusual thing. There
is ais a fringe of young men liy-
ing about nearly every college who
are usually regarded as college stu
dents. and their conduct often is
the cause of false Impressions about
the student behavior.
do not mean to imply that COL
IeGe dormitories are glowing exam
pies of rectitude. for single men
iiVlnE in barracks do net naturally
grow into plaster saints. NY con-
tention is that the moral standard
OF any representative group O. col
lege men is higher than a CORE
spending group of young men from
any other field Of activity. There Is
a certain sense OF Independence, free
and easy manner and modes OIL
dress, but the moral side of these
young men will stanu Investigat-
ing. The fact that the colleges to-
day are in the limelight makes a
great difference. But il we were
to turn the spotlight on other
groups of young men in other call
ings outside of college,, we would
then come to appreciate the high
moral standard of college students
"A great deal has also been said
about colleges being hot-beds Of
Bolshevism today. Our experience
has not borne this out. The college
students today insist on liberty IN
many forms, and justly. They are
the original lovers of free speech
In my experience I have known
cases in which a nan was a minor
ity Of one in a crowd Of a hundred,
and yet he was permitted to have
his say as long as the crowd could
reasonably be expected to tolerate
it
1T all comes back to the college
mans inherent love re good SPORTS
manship.. He IL taught by his pro.
fessors to consider all sides OF a
subject. and be Gets accustomed IN
classes to hear arguments which he
does not agree with. The professor
may be- a sage or an ass, but very
often the accusations aimed against
college professors are founded upon
an erroneous impression. He Is
bound TO state all sfties of the uues-
ton at issue, and 1t Is very easy
for single ten-minute section to
be taken out of a fifty-minute lee
ture and seem like the craziest Of
fallacies and the most dangerous
kind of socialism. when it is only
a statement of what one wing %
human thought Is upon the subject
IN hand /"