Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1927-06-10
BY LAWRENCE PERRY.

NEW YORK, June 10.-Now that
commencement days are here educa-
tors with a penchant for statistics are
delving into records to the end that
they may know just where the stu
: dents and incidentally themselves are
getting.
- At the University of California at
~-Los Angeles they have just made a
close and detailed study of the effec.
! of activities outside of scholastic work
upon the undergraduates. So far DIS
the writer knows, results of this work
throws light for the first time on a
: matter which has been more the sub
-ject of random speculation than of
scientific analysis.
Is the tail waggtng the dog? That
Is TO say, are athletes, proms. college
Journalism and the like claiming in
terest and producing results Of vari-
Gus sorts out of all proportion TO the
work accomplished in the classroom?
Has the side show. as Woodrow Will
son once put it, swallowed the circus?
Questions Are Answered.
These questions are answered at the
University of California at Los An
geles and since students are pretty
much alike everywhere it is not at all
improbable that these findings apply
generally.
r. In the case of the 1854 male students
at Los Angeles. the average grade
was found to be 1.21 on the basis OF
three as a perfect mark.
In the case Of students who did not
participate in any extra urricular
work whatever-students, that is to
say, who did nothing but study-the
total number of such was 1,414. The
average grade was 1.16.
--Sa OF the 379 men who were engaged
I'm one form or another of intercol-
= legiate athletics the average grade
was 1.25.
The showing was exceeded by the
80 men who participated in minor
sports, whose average was 1873.
Students engaged in activities other
than athletics had an average of 1.2S.
and it is interesting to note that of
students whose activities. athletic and
otherwise, required from so to 100
hours time in the course of the year,
. the grade average was 1.2T. whereas
: students whose activities outside the
classroom required less than so hours
Ibid not do so WELL their average being
! 1.23.
= OF the $40 men engaged in extra
= curricular activities, s per cent were
!. dismissed for deficient scholarship,
v.while of the 1,414 students not en-
aEaged in outside interests, II per cent
left college because of poor scholar
ship.
81 The 25 students engaged in three or
1nore activities attained grade aver
ssage Of LA. OF all college groups, the
fraternity section with 1.19 was the
geonly one to fall below the average for
esGA men in the university.
60. Athletes Set Pace.
Recapitulating it appears that the
students engaged in athletics made
-hetter grades at the University of
<EaIifornia at Los Angeles than those
-SS0t engaged in athletics. A much
S-higher percentage of men not engaged
IN interests outside the classroom
were dropped for deficient scholarship
s1a1an or those who were active in sport
and other pursuits.
-Care is taken to point out, however,
Fiat in exceptional cases extra curricu-
lar activities have caused serious
deficiency In scholarship and that
these exceptional cases must be
remedies no less than IL they were
usual. The fact that students in
athletics make high grades may be
because the best students go in for