social organizations, which had been frowned upon theretofore, but
stated that they did not "propose to chafe much under the restrictions
at present imposed by maturer judgment." Harmless student pranks and
the main events of the three years were chronicled in the veiled
language of schoolboys. The professors were subjected to remarkably
little criticism, but the word went forth that no more such books
would be tolerated. A later commentary assumed that this ban was due
to a repressive attitude on the part of the administration. "We are
here for a nobler purpose," was the ironic comment, "we have not a
minute to throw away upon a publication; in virtue of our short and
necessarily crowded course, our success in life depends upon our
dropping everything else, and subjecting our stay to one continuous
grind."
This appeared in an editorial among the "Reminiscences of
Seventy-Seven," an admirably written but fiery little book that gave
expression to the pent-up forces of student opinion. Prudent, its
editors withheld the publication until after graduation. In the ranks
of faculty and trustees it must have had the effect of a bombshell. It
bore down heavily on faculty restrictions on student organizations,
publications and other extra-curricular activities, which it believed
might have served as pleasant changes from a life of arduous routine,
without serious effect on the quality or amount of work
accomplished. It charged the faculty with not daring to risk the loss
of "any of that petty authority which they have been wont to
exercise." Specifically, the editors deprecated the use of bulldozing
in the classroom, and the demand for written apologies when students
attempted to defend themselves. They charged certain departments with
incompetency and criticized the shop management for not permitting
students to tackle any of the work that required skill. Physics
lectures they characterized as "the vaguest kind of talk," and the
time spent on making a chart of English literature was "a stupid
waste." Some uncomplimentary remarks were included about "cram"
examinations and the "personal estimate" in marking.
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