Evening star., 1946-09-01


Temporary housing at Mary
land u, 1Dtich 1DiU provide quar-
ters for 800 Ueterdns.
the biggest effort in education in the
| Capitals history, with the Government
taking a part to reverse the training of
thousands from the methods of mass
destruction to the arts of peacetime
and of making living.
In general, despite the demands placed
on the universities, all those of this area
seeking enrolment will be taken care
of, although some who have wanted to
study in particular professional schools
with limited enrolment may not be
able to get in.
Where registrations still are being
taken the explanation is, We're making
room' and that making room" is re-
quiring a lot of labor. When classes
finally get under way most of the facil-
tiles will be taxed almost to the limit.
AS for numbers, there will be about
25 per cent more students than last year
in the five universities in Washington
and in the University of Maryland
nearby. In the past academic year the
total enrolment was $1,000. For the
coming year the total will be about
$4,000.
Veterans to Total 1900.
Of that total, about 1900, or about
As per cent, will be veterans. They will
be several years older than the usual
college student. Many of them will have
returned from strange places in the
world where they have done strange
things. Some will bear the wounds of
| their service
Where formerly the high points in
the past of the average undergraduate
were the events of school and vaca-
| tions, date on the calendar now may
recall the gaining of toehold on some
tiny atoll in the tremendous expanse
of the Pacific, a bitter fight for
mountain top in the ancient lands
surrounding the Mediterranean, or the
steady slugging which gained another
river in the relentless drive into Ger
/ many. Not all, of course, in a mill
! tary establishment that called for a
myriad of efforts and skills, have shared
! these experiences.
What are they interested in? Many,
no doubt, will be attracted by the things
college students have always gone in
for. But oddly enough there is a strong
tendency toward the practical as
preparation for earning a living, and
at the same time a desire for the
theoretical, to resolve doubts and to
answer questions that became impor-
tant during military service.
Professional schools are the aim of
many of the veterans. Large numbers
who were in technical branches of the
armed services want TO carry on in
engineering. There is an interest in
the social sciences, but that is regarded
as trend of the times and not a
special characteristic of the veteran.
Veteran Student Serious.
But whatever the veteran is seeking,
university heads say, he is doing it
seriously. He does not regard college
to use the old saw of educational cir
cles-as the four-year loaf which makes
man well-bred The country club at
mosphere is fading.
In the Washington area the educa-
tional facilities will be used just about
to the saturation point. That is not
necessarily true for the country at
large. The furthest one of the experts
at the United States Office of Educa-
ton would go was to say, This coun-
try will come nearer to the maximum
utilization of its educational facilities
than ever before"
Estimates of college enrollments for
the entire country vary greatly. Prob
ably 1850 900 is as good as any figure
available. 1t is practically double the
figure for last October. In the last
prewar year, 1910, the total was / ,494 900.
OF the total this year about 100000
will be veterans, which is Veterans Ad-
ministrator Bradley's estimate.
With this heavy enrolment this year,
educators find one factor extremely
disquieting. That is the few students
who are going into education. In some
| places teachers colleges are offering
liberal arts courses to attract those seek
ing a general college education and to
justify their very existence.
The reason for this is not difficult to
ascertain. AS one educator said, you
could hardly expect anything else when
girl can get a stenographer's job in
Government at more pay than many a
teacher is offered after four years of
college,
On the local scene again, university
heads are struggling with problems of
more applications for enrolment than
can be accepted, adequate housing, suffi-
cient teachers, ample classrooms But
they unreservedly welcome the veteran
for his earnestness and application.
Here, in brief, is what Washington
educators say about the problems of
their institutions or about the veterans
they are preparing to greet.
President Cloyd Heck Marvin of
George Washington University: This
university is now considering ac-
cepting or rejecting-350 applications a
day. However, we are not providing a
system of mass education. We are shift
ing the full-time faculty members to the
day classes and have brought in able
men and women from the Government
departments for the night classes. Two
extra deans will help take care of the