Evening star., 1923-06-20
REFUSE
AMHERST DEGREES
Action Taken in Protest of
Enforced Resignation of
President MeikIejohn.
By tho Associated Press.

BY tho Associated Press.
AMHERST. Mass. June 26.-Led by
Carlile Bolton-Smith of Memphis,
Tenn, eleven members of the senior
class at Amherst College and one
candidate for the degree of master of
arts refused to accept their degrees
at the 1920 commencement exercises
today. Despite the urging of parents
and friends the twelve men filed from
College Hall and declared they would
never accept a degree from Amherst.
Their action is the aftermath of the
resignation of President Alexander
Meiklejohn yesterday at the request
of the trustees.
New President Elected.
Announcement was made today OF
the election of Prof. George Daniel
Olds as president OF Amherst College
to succeed DR.. Meiklejohn, who re-
signed under protest yesterday. Mr..
Olds has been professor OF mathematics
at Amherst since 1921.
DR.. Meiklejohn resigned yesterday
after he had received formal notice
from the trustees that they and a
majority of the faculty considered II
inadvisable for him to continue as
the administrative head of the insti-
tuition.
In his letter of resignation DR..
Meiklejohn declined to accept the
judgment of the trustees as to the
wisdom of the step. He said he was
convinced that the situation was such
that his withdrawal would be harm
full rather than helpful, but in view
of a certain lack of support he felt
compelled to sever his connection
with the college. He declined the
boards invitation that he continue In
the chair Of logic and metaphysics.
Resignation I'm Effect Year Hence.
The resignation is to take effect in
June. 1924, and. meanwhile. accord
ing to the resolution passed by the
board, DR.. Meiklejohn will be granted
leave of absence The announeement m no1r;
the trustees. came this afternoon at
the conclusion of the annual meeting
OF the board. which lasted several
hours. This meeting followed long
of the trustees with DR.. Meiklejohn
regarding his educational policies.
which many of the alumni and facul
ty members have come to regard as
too liberal in tendency to coincide
with the traditions of the college.
Up until almost midnight small
groups of alumni and students of Am
herst College stood about the college
grounds discussing the situation
which eliminated in the resignation
OIL MelkleJonn.
Honorary Degree Postponed.
Among the immediate results OF
the resignation was an agreement en-
tered into by the president. George
A. Plimpton, chairman of the board
Of trustees, and Frederick S. Allis,
secretary of the alumni council. to
postpone the granting of an honorary
degree to the last named in order that q
possibly embarrassing situation might
not arise at the commencement exer-
cises. New lists of honorary degrees
were sent out omitting the name of
Mr.. Allis.
The first word of the resignation
of the president came from the Am
herst Student, a college publication.
which in the same issue carried an
editorial criticizing the administra-
ton of the board of trustees of the
college. Immediately the flag on
Johnson Chapel was lowered to half
mast and the bells in the chapel
tower were tolled.
President Meikeljohn said last
night that he had made no plans for
the future.