Evening star., 1931-12-20

movements IN the student field are not
lacking. This Is particularly true Of
nose countries in which the students
nave TO Sutfer most from economic
penurE The most striking examples
are Greece and Austria In Greece the
ConmunSt party has had rich hay
vest as there the students who come
from refugee families that is to say
IRON families who in 1922 were forces
to quit Turkey. leaving everything he
hlnd thenl-are up against terrific eco
nomic odds.
a 1eW years ago when visited some
OF the government barracks in which
tEeSe students live, ! was told that OUT
OF 800 students living in one particular
barracks 23J belonged TO the Commu-
INST party. Since then the situation
mas improved somewhat. but the Conn
h'IlllSr element among the students is
sun strong. In Austria more than
-.ooO OF the $4,000 students in Vienna
oelohg TO the Socialist party, and are
at'Ne N The Various Socialist Youth
otsaAlZalnnS, III workers education
courses and in the trade union moys-
ment Austrian students were the first
10 take the Initiative for the formation
ol an international confederate ton of
socialist students, which came into
pe!As TWO years ago ana has been grow
ing steadily ever since.
IL "ou4d be wrong 10 give the i'm
presSlon that European students Spend
loSl OF ther time in organizing reyo-
4utloES ana political riots. As has Al
teaay been pointed out. a great deal of
Inelr pohtlcsl work is really construc-
I'VE anc the time they give to the study
oI poiltlCal problems is well spent In
solue countries, for instance, IN Spain
tllelr activities have led to actual
teFoIu'lonS. but no one NAV say that
ILeSe revolutions have been purely de-
2tiuCtlFe' however, even extreme die
naioS cannot doubt the great value of
we various study circles and clubs on
p2.l!lcai questions which exist every
"nere. II Is not accidental that very
often the prominent leaders OF the
Union Societies in Oxford and Cam
orloge go directly from the university
10 the private SecretaryShip of some biz
poutlca1 leader as the first step in theiT.
political career.
Wheh tne American delegates to the
Mount HoNoke Conference OF Interna-
tioilal Student Service heard of all
tnese poIltlcal activities On the part Of
students they asked, What could he
cone In America" There is a stron2
consensus OF opinion that the universi
Ties and the student organiza tions in
America are failing to provide opnor-
, tunitles for real education in political
thought. 1t was felt that, in view of
the influential position which TODAY the
united States held in international af
lalrS, more ought to be done to acuuaint
American students with The political
Il1e OF their own country and with that
OF other nations. The task is not easy
out 1t is In no way hopeless.
Political Cooperation Suggested.
If the political parties in America
made real attempt to present their
programs to university students in an
Intelligent form and to give them an
opportunity to discuss and to criticize
it, this would probably not only help
in the political education Of American
students, but also reac: favorably on
the parties. II. at the same time. the
various organizations interested in III
ternati0nal relations correlated their
efforts to make a real impact on the
American university field, great deal
could be done for the widening of the
international outlook of the American
SIGuStlI SluuS tHtiCS, uLSCuS-
sion clubs and the organization of in
, ternational institutes and model League
of Nations assemblies. In addition,
educational travel should be organized
on sounder lines than it is at present.
Every year tens Of thousands Of
American students come over 70 Europe,
and when they leave most Of them
have never met European student,
nor have they got in contact with any
Of the political and economic problems
Of the Old World Too often their
knowledge Of Europe is confined merely
to hotel porters, music halls and few
cathedras. At present, international
Student Service plans to set up IN vari-
ous European capitals during the SUM-
mer months number of seminars open
to students from America at which
kshort, vet intensive. courses VII be given
on the political, economic, educatlonal
and cultural problems OF Europe 1t IS
upon the basis OF real knoWledge OF
the problems and OF the outlook OF the
different nations that new World Is
to be built. Both European ana Amerl-
/ can students still have a great deal to
learn: European students in order to
get away from Somtlnes wooly-
headed radicalism, and American stu
dents in order to take an Inteliigent
share in the future. leadership OF their