Sentence:  In behalf of manhood and common sense, he would protest against such a conclusion ; and if any pale <WSD>student,</WSD> glued to his desk here, seek an apology for a way of life whose natural fruit is that pallid and emasculate scholarship of which New England has had too many examples, it will be far better that this sketch had not been written. 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  A person who is enrolled at a college or university (primary or secondary school).