Evening star., 1934-11-15
TO the Editor Of The Star:

TO the Editor Of The Star:
Apropos Of the recent unpleasant
ness in the high school foot ball fracas,
one thing seems to have been entirely
lost sight Of, and that is the true
responsibility Of student conduct. No
one in authority, I believe, even allow
ing there was little unsportsmanship
on the part Of few players and spec
tators, wished the cessation of the
remaining games as the major object
I believe that was incidental and of
little consequence in the larger outlook
on the whole matter. Truly it was q
matter Of conduct on the part Of the
students themselves that was the pre-
dominant thought in the minds of
those in authority. I believe the stu
dents, in their calmer moments, will
come to a full realization of this fact.
As one who has played foot ball in
his day. whose two sons love the game,
one OF whom was member of one of
the local teams and who graduated
last June, I feel I can speak without
bias. One who played foot ball and
whose own sons play does not lose the
love for the finest game that youth
knows even when the years have scared
his once red hairs to thin grey field
whose numbers may be counted on the
fingers twice over. In my day we had
Yale man for a coach, who. in
cidentally. was the president of the COL
lege. This Yale man taught the boys
more on the foot ball field than he did
in the class room, because he taught
us to be real men, how to take it."
and, best Of all, he taught us the mean
ing Of sand" Ask any Yale man what
they mean by sand" and I'll wager
you will have learned something new
not only about foot ball, but what it
takes to make a man.
Talking with scientist once at an
exciting game few years ago, we be-
came interested in the conduct and
varying moods of the crowd. He
mentioned the fact that the whole
gamut of human emotions was ex-
pressed at such times. Before the
game there was expectancy, hope,
fear; the heights of emotion one way
or the other would be reached during
the progress of the game. To the
winners the Joy and elation would
suffice for the moment and in some
cases there would be a reaction; to
the losers a resultant dependency for
the time being. But tomorrow all
would be forgotten and the next game
would soon be in mind. I asked him
If at such emotional times one realized
the moral standard of conduct.
He laughingly replied, "No, we are
all crazy at such times, but only at
the moment Of the actual exciting
play-it's all over in q second"
He doubted that an exciting play
had a detrimental effect on the boy,
rather the reverse. But that boy
should remember that he is a member
Of q team, playing his part, playing
for the whole team and, accordingly,
should make his play on the scene in
a manly way and a credit to his
school. My friend seemed impressed
more with what he termed true be-
havior," as opposed to "roughness"
and "coarseness," as the predominant
result Of his years in high school or
college; that the school had given
him the opportunity to prove what
he possessed; that the school had a
right to demand of him every ounce
Of his craftsmanship while on the
field and that his sportsmanship was
his code Of a man and was Just the
same of the foot ball field.
No one regrets the punishment the
teams have received more than I do.
But really believe that DR.. Kramer
and the other authorities really have
the best interest Of the boys at heart
and, as time passes, that the better
part Of the students themselves will
realize this, that the alchemy of time
will soothe their feelings and broaden
their vision. and that next year they
will strive all the harder to win the
appreciation Of the school authorities
and the public. 4 -.
Even IN the face Of what may seem