IVESDAY. FEBRUARY 22..1955 Cut Feud Proves Nothing is New The controversy about the University's system of class cutting is not something new. It dates back to the late 1880's when students really had the right to gripe. In those days one unexcused absence was considered a misdemeanor and to leave the immediate grounds of the college it was necessary to gain permission from the "Prexy." In order to be excused from class because of illness it was necessary to get the professor's permission, which could be quite awkward at times. If an offender had two unexcused absences from any class, he - was subjected to public reproof, and if he attained one more cut he was suspended from the class. 'Census* Mark' The administration decided the system of cuts should be more se vere. And it brought into exis tence the ,"censure mark" plan. This was put into effect in the early 1880's. If a student was late for any exercise he was given two marks, and if he was absent from any exercise he was given six marks. The "privilege" of obtaining these marks could be derived from any number of conditions. If a student was absent from any chapel exercise or late beyond the close of the first hymn at the Sunday afternoon service (atten dance at chapel was required at this time) or had a tardiness of more than five minutes at any other exercise, it was regarded as an absence and the student earned himself six marks. Written Notice When the total of these marks reached 25 a written notice of the fact was sent to the students' par ents and one to the student him self; when the total reached 35, El second letter was sent to each; and when the total reached 50, the student was indefinitely sus pended and could regain admit tance only by application to the faculty. If at the end of one session the student had 25 marks or less, the marks were dropped. However, if the student had more than 25 marks they were carried • over to the next session. It was evident from editorials Appearing in , the Free Lance, predecessor to theYenn State Col legian, that tOe - ltudefit, body was adverse to this attendance system. •. In March 'of 1890 an editorial appeared in the Free= Lance con demningthe •ceiisure mark sys tem. Thq editorial described the system as being "antiquated, moss grown, and effete." The editoriali s and student re- Sentment to the system must have had , some effect oh the faculty, for the editorial in the April, 1890 issue of .the \ Free Lance began: ."We are pleased to note the overthrow of., 'the ancient and Moch mEdign'ed 'Censure Mark' sYstem;Wittethe beginning of this tertn-theTe is inaugurated a defi nite and mere liberal govern ment." Iffikw Rules With the expansion of .the col lege, new ruleawere,a4opted, and in 1906 a nev7tattendance system was drawn up. - , Under the new f- lows the student was required "every exercise for Which ',he is scheduled." If a student cut a class, he was required to explain his reason to the professor. And any student who showed irregu larity in attendance and low grades in the subject, he was ex cluded from the class by the in structor, his name being reported to the Registrar and the Dean of his School. When the absences of any stu dent in any subject amounted to one-fourth of the whole numaer of classes, the student was dropped from,, the course ; This time the . Fret -Dante 're: belled against the discrimination made between a college student and a university student. The Free Lance declared: "A University has been defined as composed of men devoted to special and definite lines of study and research—a college, converse ly, is composed of students receiv ing instruction in those branches of learning which be at the foun dation of the several arts, pursuits and professions of life." The editorial went on to con clude that the University man By DON BARLETT Was given attendance freedom be cause he sought to continually crowd in more work. However, it was the belief of the editor that the college man was as capable as the university man when it came down to decid ing which classes should be cut and which classei shouldn't be cut. . -` This time however, there was no apparent effect on the faculty and the attendance system con tinued until 1929. In November of 1929 a new plan was proposed. This new system would provide wider cutting priv ileges for seniors. . Freedom for Seniors Under the proposed system sen iors would have been granted freedom in their class attendance. It was believed that through this, the graduate of tomorrow would be "brought face to face with, the responsibility that is his; he would undergo a test of character and ability without feeling academic pressure; And the eventual out come would indicate to a large degree his future possibilities." This time the students were backed by some of the faculty. The Liberal Arts School Dean, Charles W. Stoddart, believed that a cut plan based on scholastic standing would promote "scholar ship as well as individual respon• sibllity." The Dean pointed out, in an interview with the Penn State Collegian, that in a survey of land grant colleges it was found Greetings—The Blair Count, Penn State Alumnae What you should know about international Business Machines International Business Machines Corporation is one of America's leading engineering, manufactur ing and selling organiza tions, serving business, industry, government, sci ence and education. You'll be joining a company with a 40-year record of growth, stable employ ment, and one of the lowest employee turnover records in the country. Your future will be as big as you make it, with ad ,vancement entirely on merit. Excellent Wary and em ployee benefit program with life-long advantages for you and your family. Complete Initial training in each of the employment classifications listed. THE DAILY COLLEGIAN, STATE COLLEGE. PENNSYLVANIA that 10 out of the 39 institutions had adopted a system of unlimited cuts for seniors. On March 17, 1930, the Student Council committee placed its sen ior attendance plan before the faculty investigating group. The plan proposed that cutting privi leges be extended to all seniors with an average of approximately 1.7. On May 16, 1930, the fateful de cision was given. In a canvass of faculty opinion on the proposed cut plan. 25 were noncommital: 51 favored the plan; and 97 op posed it. Since 1930, the same cut plan has been in effect. The plan which went into effect in 1906 is almost a carbon copy of the one in effect today. The 1930 rebellion had no effect on the cut system. Thus, today there is no real cut system and it is still a contro versial question among students and faculty—one which has been argued for nearly a century. CONGRATULATIONS Pennsylvania State University from the PENN STATE ALUMNI CLUB OF YORK LEADING PRODUCER OF ELECTRONIC AND ELECTRIC ACCOUNTING AND COMPUTING MACHINES, TIME EQUIPMENT AND ELECTRIC TYPEWRITERS . OFFERS EXCEPTIONAL CAREER OPPORTUNITIES TO Graduate aadentg CAMPUS INTERVIEWS f our de ree or ma or is Liberal Arts • Business • Accounting Engineering • Mathematics Safes Physics • Mathematics • Engineering Applied Science Physics . Mechanical • Electrical Engineering Physics " Engineering Industrial • Electrical • Mechanical Manufacturing Accounting • Administration Management • Auditing . . Cni s ot . S and FEB. 23 & 24 Business Administration CALL YOUR COLLEGE PLACEMENT OFFICE FOR APPOINTMENT. TODAYS It you cannot attend interyiewa, write for more information to Mr B N. Luther International Business Mitchum Corporation 590 Madison Ave.. New York 22. N. Y. Sales and Service Offices In Principal Cities throughout the U.S. Official Sees Name Change 23 Years Early Chalk one up for Ray H. Smith, who was College comptroller in 1930. Some 23 years before it hap pened. he predicted that Penn State would become a "great Uni versty" by 1950. It happened on Nov. 13, 1953. Smith, according to the Penn State Collegian of March 11, 1930, said, the campus would be a "col legiate paradise instead of the present building-scarred campus with its mud, trampled sod, and helter-skelter roadways." (Those were• the paper's words, not Smith's.) The College was in the midst of a large-scale expansion program at the time the Comptroller blade his predictions. Old Main, the "Liberal Arts" building, Mineral Industries and the "College Inn" were under construction at the time. Campus paths and roadways were being built and lightposts were planned. "The roadways on the campus have been laid out," Smith said, "to provide ready access to every building, but also with, the idea in mind to keeping them' as far as possible from the main build ings in order to eliminate noise in the latter." "You can see . . . that there is room for expansion of every school," the Comptroller said. "But when the expansion as planned is completed, there should n Interview schedule for 'Saucy' LeMNi, Trustees' Effort Saved University The University may owe its ex istence today to the efforts of its first trustees who personally saved Farmers' High School from cont• plete financial collapse. One of them, Hugh McAllister, went out to the farming areas and got farmers to sign subscription lists. They promised to pay five. ten, sometimes even fifteen or twenty dollars, to help the school get started. A letter from a Quaker farmer, C. C. Way, of Halfmoon, is pre. served among McAllister's corres pondence. It was written in an swer to a request for payment of his subscription: "I received a pretty saucy letter yesterday evening. If thee had not wasted half the paper thou did it would have' done just as well. "This is the first time thee asked me for that money. I think thee told me that morning in the corn field if I would put my name on the paper for a starter thee would pay it thyself so I was easy' about it or I might of had it payed along go, but as thee is a pretty good Republican and old Abe, I guess. is elected, I will enclose in this five dollars and say no more about it only send that receipt as thee prorriest. Thine respectfully." be little need •of growth for a while, for within the area•thatl have described we can care kir more than 10,000 students." For 100 years of vital service to the State and to the Nation, THE BROCKWAY GLASS COMPANY, Inc. • BROCKWAY, PA. Salutes THE PENNSYLVANIA STATE UNIVERSITY ppm me
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers