HARVARD AND PRINCETON

Professor P. M. Brown, Professor of International Law at Princeton and a graduate of Williams has written the following comparison of Harvard and Princeton, which appeared recently in the Princetonian:

"Colleges, like individuals, have their distinct virtues and defects. The virtues may blind one to the defects, and vice versa, the defects, in some rare instances, may obscure the virtues. The defects of colleges, moreover, may, as with individuals, prove to be what Sir Thomas Browne has well termed the defects of their qualities.' This seems particularly true in attempting to draw comparisons from as unbiased and detached a point of view as possible, between two such different institutions as Princeton and Harvard. In the case of Harvard, the special 'quality' it would seem to possess is that of individualism. In the case of Princeton, fellowship.

Harvard Individualism.

"Harvard, for more than a generation, has prided itself justly on the perfect freedom of the individual enjoyed by everyone within its walls, whether students or members of the Faculty. This spirit of individualism is very much in evidence in every part of the University, whether in the Yard, the dormitories, or the Harvard Union. In every classroom one becomes immediately connections of an atmosphere of strong, independent thought, of a critical, analytical spirit of challenge, of an almost self-assertive pride of unshackled, fearless, intellectual freedom. The effect of this atmosphere is of course most stimulating. Many a man owes his intellectual rebirth to this very spirit of individualism.

"A man feels free at Harvard to develop his own personality as he will, without help or hindrance. If he has unusual ability he finds many opportunities for development, and at the same time finds a stimulating fellowship of kindred spirits who, though often few in number, have found themselves thrown together by a selective process.

Defects of Individualism."

It is here, however, that the defect of this 'quality' of individualism becomes manifest. Individualism and fellowship are more or less incompatible, just as individualism in politics is incompatible with democracy. If one is free at Harvard to develop as he pleases; if one does not feel the restraint or the stimulus of a college spirit brought directly to bear on the individual, he is likewise free to play the fool. He is also free to be unutterably lonely. Without knowing it he may suffer a partial atrophy of his best self. If he finds congenial associates, they are most likely to be men like himself, and his circle of friendship is rarely large. Most students do not begin to have a speaking acquaintance with many of their own class until the very end of Senior year when they realize dimly for the first time how much of warm, generous fellowship has been missed from their college life.

An Attempt at Change.

"That such a state of affairs is substantially recognized at Harvard is evidenced by the fact that President Lowell is laboring hard to overcome the defect of individualism by such measures as the effort to induce Seniors to room inside the Yard, and by the construction of the Freshman dormitories which aim to throw students in close association at the outset.

"One may well be sceptical as to the probable results of such efforts though admiring their purpose. "The transformation of the spirit of a great university is a great task, and the larger part of this task must be done by the students themselves. It may fairly be questioned whether Harvard students are prepared to help create that common college spirit that demands more or less of conformity: whether they are prepared to sacrifice any considerable amount of that precious freedom of the individual which has its great virtues as well as its defects.

Princeton's Fellowship.

"While one cannot fail to cherish pleasant and grateful memories of his association at Harvard, it is certainty a most agreeable experience for him to enter the life of so distinct a universality as Princeton. The first and enduring impressions are of an atmosphere of strong, considerate fellowship that pervades the whole University and two as well. It is an atmosphere that encourages and stimulates: that makes one soon feel himself to be an integral part of the place.

"It may not be possible for a new-comer to analyze correctly that extraordinary emanation known as the 'Princeton spirit', but he cannot fall to appreciate at once that it exists, and that it exerts its subtle influence on all who come to the University within a very abort time of their arrival. This spirit is evidently something large virile and inspiring.

"Whether or no there may not exist a defect in this quality of fellowship, in a possible tendency towards a too great suppression of individual personality through conformity to common college standards, is a question a newcomer is hardly competent to answer. One thing he can unhesitatingly affirm is his keen appreciation of the spirit of fellowship as contrasted with the spirit of individualism."