tion, and how she is gradually forging her way to
an equality with some of the best institutions of the
country in athletics, brains, and equipment.
Another strong reason for a better distribution
of news from this place is the prevention and cor
rection of such malicious stories as the highly
colored and exaggerated account of the visit of
some of our boys to Pine Grove last winter that
went the rounds of the press. Such falsification
and distortion of facts should never have gone un
rebuked ; but as usual, what was everybody's bus
iness was nobody's businss, and nothing was done.
IVhat vejudice still remains against the college is
all the more bitter because of its success, and such
stories are used as effective weapons against the
good name of the institution.
Probably the best suggestion made by this arti
cle is the formation of a Press Club. Attempts
have already been made to form such an organi
zation, but with very discouraging success. The
most successful so far was a merely temporary or
ganization, whose object was to secure due notice
and description of the dedication of the new En
gineering building. It did a great deal of good
work and might have accomplished much more
had it been a fully organized standing body, con
versant with means and methods as a permanent
Press Club should be. Having served its purpose
it dissolved.
The reason for the failure of the others was par
tially from apathy among the students and par
tially because there was no solid permanent nucle
us around which they could crystallize. Its origi
nator was generally one of the faculty, and he had
to be the life, backbone, and hardest worker of the
whole organization. Naturally he could not spare
the time, and the club would die a peaceful death.
If on the other hand, the LANCE had been the
leader, its editors the nucleus, and the whole
movement identified with it, we might have a
thriving Press Club today, doing its members good,
helping the LANCE, and above all ber.efitting our
college.
This is just what the LANCE proposes to do. To
THE FREE LANCE.
attempt the formation of a club any more this year
is out of the question, but when the college opens
in September, it will organize a club. All students
who wish will be invited to join. A permanent,
working organization will be effected, and proba
bly a constitution and by laWs drawn up. Plans
and systems will be discussed and one or more
adopted for the gathering and dispensing of infor
mation. The faculty will probably be asked to
use a measure of supervision over the news sent
out. Above all, methods and means will be stud
ied, and celerity of reporting the news will be made
a prime factor.
Such an organization can do an immense amount
of good. Such blunders for instance as the failure
of our Bucknell game last fall to appear in the pa
pers till two days after it had occurred, and then
only with the briefest notice could easily be obvia
ted, while harmful reports, if untrue or exaggera
ted, could be contradicted and the truth of the
matter told. May we have a Press Club ?
THE '94 La Vie is now in press and will prob
ably be out about the first of June. It prom
ises to equal, if not surpass, in literary val
ue any previous issue, while in artistic worth and
general appearance, it will go far beyond tliose of
other years. The members of the staff have spared
no pains to make it a success, and their efforts have
been ably seconded by other members of the class.
It will be a volume that any student may be proud
of and will easily rank among the best annuals of
the year.
1
r "MI E first handicap meeting for this year's cups
showed a very encouraging outlook in ath
letigs. The records broken and general ex
cellence of performance are very good signs of
progress, but we can not help giving the students
another dig on the matter. Next to the records
broken, the most noticeable feature was the small
number of entries. Almost every contestant was
sure of a place, so few were his opponents. It is