sium will be in order and ready for the use of
the students. Lieut. Wolfe, Lieut Pague’s
successor, is said to be a competent instructor
in gymnastics. Why, then, can’t we have an
athletic tournament next year, of a size and
quality that will far exceed any previous con
test held at Pennsylvania State College? It
has been suggested that attendance and exer
cise by the Freshmen and Sophomores be
made compulsory by the Athletic Association
(a sort of rule of eligibility) and we are sure
that the next year’s Senior and Junior classes
will do their part in systematic training also.
Besides, many of the students have now awak
ened to the pleasure such a contest would
create and are “in for it” at any cost. Let
men go into training as early as possible next
term and we are sure that in one year from
now the “annual sports” at Pennsylvania
State College will be one of the leading fea
tures of commencement week. We anxiously
desire that the Athletic Association will take
an immediate step in this direction
'T'HE systems in vogue in this country for
A calling delinquent students to account
are almost as numerous as the educational
institutions themselves. The merits and de
merits of many of these have been frequent
ly discussed by those who are anxiously and
hopefully looking for a change in the policy,
which for a long time has been dominant at
this institution. Among all the fossilized
ideas that hold sway in the minds of the
authorities, no other is so antiquated as our
present “Censure Mark System.” The fond
ness for what has been made sacred by age,
especially in matters of discipline, will doubt
less prevent any innovations unless there is
an overwhelming demand for a change. What
the Free Lance wants to bring to the notice
of parents, guardians and faculty in behalf of
the misrepresented students is the startling
form of the customary notice sent to the
parent for the incurrence of “ sixty censure
E LANCE.
THE FRE
marks,” which in reality means only three
absences in a term of twelve weeks. Al
though the form is familiar to all, yet for the
purpose of calling especial attention to the
wording, it is given below:
TilK I’KNNKYI.VANIA STATIC COI.I.ICtIIC,
Dear Sir :—I regret to inform you that your son lias re
ceived censure marks, on account of unexcused
absences Irom duty, which, under the rules of the Faculty,
places him on probation, and requires a notification of the
same to lie sent to his parents.
This notice is sent in the hope that you may lie aide to
bring such influences to bear upon him ns to prevent him
from incurring any further censure or discipline ; otherwise,
lie will be in danger of suspension.
Your attention is respectfully called to the following ex
tracts from the rules. '
To this is appended a few extracts from
some unwritten rules of which one never
knows the existence until they have been
broken. From this indefinite notifica
tion one, who is unacquainted with the fact
that absences are incurred for non-attendance
at daily chapel and Sunday service, lectures
and rhetorical exercises, would naturally im
agine that the guilty party was neglecting his
studies and regularly absenting himself from
his recitations. Such may not be, and in
fact, very seldom is the case. When parents
receive notice that their son is on probation
and unless they bring a strong restraining in
fluence to bear upon him he will be in danger
of suspension, they do not consider that his
offence in ninety-nine per cent, of the cases
is the absences from some of innumerable
college exercises, but at once decide that he
is becoming dissipated and reckless and has
been neglecting his duties, This naturally
causes great anxiety, and in several cases
serious trouble has arisen from the inter
pretation that parents almost invariably put
upon it, —expecting daily to hear of their
son’s expulsion. It often takes several
closely written pages of fools-cap to eradicate
from the parential mind the false impression
given by this misleading notice.
Ntatk C( 11,1,Win, l’A,,
Yours very respectfully and truly,
President.