STATE COLLEGIAN
Published on Thursday of each week during the
college year in the interest of The Pennsylvania
State College.
EDITORS.
ALEX. HART, Jr., ’O5, Chief,
F. M. TORRENCE,
T. F. FOLTZ, ’O6,
W. J. DUMM, ’O6,
ED. FAWKES, ’O6,
F. K. BREWSTER, ’O7
BUSINESS MANAGER.
W. G. HECKATHORNE, 'O6,
ASSISTANT MANAGER.
C. R. OBERFELL, ’O6.
SUBSCRIPTION.
$1.50 per year or $1.25 if paid within 30 days after
date of subscription.
Thursday, Dec. 15, 1904,
EDITORIAL
The team representing State Col
lege in the semi-final for the Cham
pionship of the Inter-collegiate De
bating League of Pennsylvania met
the Dickinson team Friday evening
Dec. 9th at Carlisle and were de
feated. From the accounts at hand,
State was never in it at any stage of
the contest and the result was never
in doubt after the first Dickinson
man had spoken.
What was the cause? Why should
State College, by far the largest in
this League, be holding down the
tail position. Why is it that State
has not won an intercollegiate debate
since 1899? These are questions
brought to the fore again by the de
cisive result of this debate.
The answer can be found partly
in that State College is not a class
ical institution, that it has no De
partment of Oratory, or Special In
structor in Elocution, and that it
has no societies or debating clubs
where such training can be had. It
is argued then, naturally enough by
the do-nothing class of students, if
we can’t hold up our end, let us get
out of debating or at least engage in
contests with colleges in our own class.
If we can’t win let us withdraw
from it and stick to things we can win,
such as foot ball, basket ball, base
ball, etc.
But wait a moment! Why should
we not be as prominent in the in
tellectual contests as well as in those
which require brute strength chiefly.
Does not the technical man have as
much use for debating as the man
in the classical school? Most
assuredly he does. The tech
nical man of all others needs to be
able to state matters clearly and dis
tinctly and be able to express his
opinion in clear, forcible language.
Debating is the most valuable train
ing there is for such work.
Then if you will grant that a tech
nical student can make good use of
debating ability, why in the name of
all that’s reasonable can’t we get to
gether and build up an organization
and a system of debating that will
give the men of this institution a
suitable training in this work? State
College is not through with this
League yet. We are in it to win,
and we’re going to stay in it until
we learn how to win. There will be
a meeting of all students interested
in debating on Thursday evening at
seven o’clock, in room 367. If you
want to see debating at State put on
a thorough and systematic basis
come out and help the good work
along. “No more defeats” is the
watchword:
Keep Up the Good Work,
The New England members of
the Alumni Association met at the
Burgerbran, Boston on tne 2nd inst.
At the informal meeting which fol
lowed the dinner,W. H. Walker ’9O,
read letters from President Downing
of the Association and Mr. J. F.
Shields, ’93, chairman of one of the
important Committees. Plans for
attending the coming jubilee at State
were enthusiasticaly discussed.
Notice.
This will be the last issue of the
“Collegian” this year. The next
number will appear on Thursday
Jan. sth, 1905.
COLLEGE ORBIT,
The Carnegie Library at Bucknell
is nearing completion.
Compulsory attendance at church
has been abandoned at Wesleyan
University.
The University of Texas has been
honored with a chapter of Phi Beta
Kappa, the scholarship fraternity.
There is a movement on foot to
unite the Massachusetts Institute of
Technology and the Lawrence Sci
entific School of Harvard.
The total number of students at
Harvard is four thousand and eighty
six, in comparison with four thousand
two hundred and ninety-one of last
year.
Yale Freshman physical measure
ments show the following averages:
age, 18 years; weight, 136 pounds;
height, 5 ft.' 8 in; and from among
351, 141 smoke tobacco.
John D. Rockefeller has given to
the Johns Hopkins Hospital of
Baltimore, the sum of $500,000.
This amount has been gratefully ac
cepted by the Board of Trustees of
the institution.
Samuel Hess, a Senior in Lehigh
University, and a son of ex-State
Senator Jere S. Hess, of Heller
town, received injuries in a football
game, from the effects of which he
died at midnight.
In order to see the Michigan-
Chicago game last Saturday, a num
ber of students of the University of
Chicago propose to rent a box car,
paint it in Chicago colors and decoj
rate it with Chicago banners and en
ter the Michigan College city in
state. —Ex.