realization of their fondest hopes. Who are the people that constitute the greater part of a com mencement audience? Is it not the friends of the graduating class ; the parent, the brother or sister, the friend, sweetheart or lover ? All are there to see their favorite one show off and to rejoice with him or her in their hard won honor. To sit and watch a Graduation Day audience is to realize how deep-ground is the love of this institution. The strained expectancy, self satisfied pride, the joy of realized hopes, the smile, the tear, the proud looks of love all are portrayed and seem to eminate from the upturned faces like a ray of sunshine only to be focussed on that half fearful, half joyous group upon the stage. No ! It is not time' yet to do away with this time honored custom. These people will not hear to it. What would be the use of their coming to commencement at all ? What do they care for the addresses of the hired orators, and the other exercises not directly con• nected with those in whom they are so deeply in terested ? Commencement would simply be a closing of college much as the ending of the spring or winter session. A hurried packing up, a few handshakes and a final departure. Many of the most joyous memories 'of a college course would cease and one of the happiest periods that it is the privilege of the student to anticipate would be gone. \ — OW that the season for out door sports is near, it is time to commence thinking ... about our athletic grounds. There is work yet to do on them that needs pushing. The track needs to be put in good shape, the base-ball grounds laid out, a back stop put up and tennis grounds laid out. Plans for a grand stand should be gotten up and the work commenced on it assoon possible. We do not know how much of the money, that was appropriated for the athletic grounds yet remains over and above the expenses of grading and putting in the track ; but whatever the amount is, even if it is not large, it should not entirely influence the plans upon which the grand THE FREE LANCE. stand is to be • built. If a grand stand is to be built at all it should be one that is in keeping with the grounds. To put up a shabby looking stand just to use up the balance of money on hand would be very bad policy. It would be much bet ter to keep what money we have on hand and try to add more to it until we would have enough to put up the kind of a building that ought to be erected on the grounds. Another thought that should receive attention, in the very near future, is the selection of some suitable or appropriate name by which our athletic grounds ,hall be known. We might honor some past benefactor of our college by giving his name to the field or if some one of our alumni should be so generous as to donate a liberal sum it would be a fitting honor to give his name to the grounds. By the way ofa suggestion, should these thoughts be acted upon we would like to mention two names that deserve more than passing attention when it comes to the consideration of to whom we should pay honoi. Gen. James A. Beaver and Capt. Chas. W. Roberts, are two names so intimately connected with the history and success of our col lege, that it would be impossible to make a more fitting choice than of one of these names THE Seniors have decided to adopt the cap and gown as the proper garb in which to appear on graduation day. There are several good reasons in favor of this scheme and nogood reasons, in particular, against it; so that if it does establish a precedent it will be one that need not give the college authorities any ground to offer objections to. ATTENTION has been called repeatedly, in these columns to the, all too, evident lack of interest by the students in the work of the Literary Societies ; While the number of stu dents have been steadily increasing in the past few years the membership of the societies , have rather decreased instead of even holding on to the
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