The Free lance. (State College, Pa.) 1887-1904, May 01, 1891, Image 7

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    THE bi-yearly meetings of the Inter-Collegiate
Press Association are occurrences that are
productive of much good inasmuch as the
united interests of the whole tend to lift the in
dividual to a higher plane. By these meetings the
exchange of ideas,' the discussion of common in
terests, the acquaintance with men of other col
leges, the knowledge of different methods acquired,
all go to raise the standard of college journalism.
The only drawback that lies in these meetings
is the limited time. . They are entirely too short
for the business that is to be and should be trans
acted. Where the meeting is limited to a few
hours, or but one session, there is too much of a
tendency to hurry through with the work on hand.
There is not the freedom of discussion that would
exist if the members felt that when they were
talking or seeking some further information upon
a certain subject they were not delaying or post
poning perhaps some more important matter.
With more time there would be a greater amount
of free interchange of thoughts and methods in
reference to questions that are important in them
selves and yet not deserving the dignity of being
discussed in a paper or by studied preparation. We
would suggest that the next meeting be extended
in time to at least two full sessions of not less than
two and a half hours each.
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WE are glad to see that at last some decisive
. action has been taken by the Athletic
Association in regard to getting an Ath
letic Instructor. It does not take a person, who
inspects our gymnasium, long to see that the ap
paratus is not kept in proper condition and that
it is not handled so as to best benefit the physical
condition of users. What we want, is to have a
competent man who will have constant charge of
the apparatus in the gymnasium, and who will
prescribe for the students that kind of exercise
which they most need. Again, in past years our
foot-ball men have never been properly trained.
For a few weeks, probably, at the opening of the
'ME FREE LAlst-CE.
season they will undergo an irregular sort of
training, such as a run every morning before
breakfast, but in a short time even that usually
dies out and the practice games comprise, in the
end, all the exercise that the team gets. The
reason for the lack of proper training has simply
been the want of a man who would have constant
oversight over the eleven and keep them regularly
at work exercising, If we are to make a credit
able showing in the foot-ball and athletic field
in the future we must have an Athletic Instructor
and whether we shall have one now lies entirely
with the Board of Trustees of the college. The
petition which has been handed to them, signed
by the whole body of the students, contains in it
one clause which renders the foundation of a
chair of Physical Culture practicable at our col
lege. That clause is an agreement on the part
of the college students to pay towards the support
of the chair a fee of not less than one dollar a
term, This limits the minimum sum of money
which can be collected from the students to
about $6OO a year, while at the same time, if nec
essary, allows for a larger fee. As the salaries of
good men range from ten to fifteen hundred per
annum, this would necessitate the college paying
out only from five to six hundred a year. That
the petition is reasonable and practical is, without
doubt, cleat to every one, while merely a careless
study of the present condition of our athletics
shows the great need of a trainer here.
We hope that the Board will at their next
meeting grant the petition, coming as it does
from the body of the students, and we predict
that as a result the reputation of P. S. C. as a
college, will be greatly increased by her having
a good reputation in the Athletic Field.
THE question which has been greatly agitated
among athletic men at colleges is,—should
the tug-of-war be abolished ? The senti
ment against the contest had nevercome much to
the front until the recent meeting of the Inter-
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