etc., but they think this has been amply
repaid in the College advertising done by
the Club in the recent tour. The present
schedule provides for almost every hour of
the day, and it is felt, by them, that any
additional duty would be a burden. We
think, that if the authorities would, in
some way, recognize the service done by the
singers—and employ a thoroughly competent
instructor—the College Choir would be a suc-
WE are sorry indeed, to see the lack of
interest shown by the authorities in
the athletic sports of our college. Since wc
have no gymnasium, one would think that
much attention would be paid our field work,
but not so. The ball grounds, which should
have been scraped and leveled during the
Spring vacation, are in the same condition as
winter left them. The only tennis court,
possessed by the association, has been made
unfit for playing by the passage of teams over
it, and, as yet, no allowance has been made
for new ones.
With this kind of help towards physical
culture, what can we expect for the posterity
of State College ? The paramount feature in
our courses has always been practical work
combined with mental training. But of what
service can pruning grape-vines,sawing-boards
and forging iron be, if no attention is paid to
the development of the other muscles of the
body. Beauty and grace are acquired by a
proportionate increase of all, and not by an
abnormal growth of a few of the muscles.
How can this equalization be procured ?
Surely not by the use of the knife, the saw,
or the hammer alone, but by the combination
THE FREE LANCE.
with these of the almost invaluable effects of
athletic sports.
A MODERN and practical system of in
struction is gradually dawning upon
State College. Old ideas have been ousted,
and new appliances added, until we, as stu
dents, feel able to compete with any college
of our size in America. Yet, among us, there
are serious complaints, principally, this one,
viz: that professors do not pay attention to
classes in practicums as they should. How
can a student do his study justice, and how
can a professor grade a student conscien
tiously, when the latter only receives prob
ably one-fifth the attention due him ? Most
of our practicums are simply mechanical
efforts, exercised with no thought whatever ;
hurry and push to the end, and then only
leaving a very vague impression behind.
Then there is the relation of the professor
to the student in his practical work. Some
will confuse the student with great flowing
sentences of knowledge, while others, in an
easy, conversational, yet, instructive tone,
will lastingly impress his hearers with the
truth, and still retain the peculiar dignity
.thata professor should have. Look at our
Chemistry Department. It is true, that
it is over-crowded and conveniences limi
(
ted, yet this does not hinder one class
from receiving as much attention as any
other. The Sophomores are elated, and well
they may be, for their Professor in Chemistry
is considered by all an exceptionally good one.
But why cannot the schedule be so arranged,
or the time of the Professor so divided, that
one class shall receive as much attention as
the other ? We only take this department for