THE ATHLETIC SITUATION

The proposed meeting of the heads of the Athletic Committees of Harvard, Yale and Princeton to discuss the policy for this spring promises to be an interesting event for undergraduates. Last fall, with all the natural leaders of athletics in war service, it was felt that any attempt at usual organization would be farcical, and the informal system was inaugurated. Contrary to expectations; there was more than a small amount of interest in athletics left at the colleges. In football the informal system worked tolerably well, but everyone realized that something fundamental was lacking. There was no demand for the old style of spectacles with huge crowds, but there was a decided demand for games with other colleges. In hockey the informal system is proving no more of a success than it did in football.

Within the last fortnight Yale and Princeton have unofficially come out for intercollegiate athletics this spring. Harvard has yet to make known her position, but the vast majority of undergraduates are certainly heart and soul for some form of intercollegiate games. It has been well proved that to keep an interest in a sport it is necessary to meet rivals of a similar status and playing under similar eligibility rules. Harvard unofficially is unquestionably for the resumption of intercollegiate games.

This does not mean we have to rush back to the old system with its numerous faults. We do not need to have coaches drawing enormous salaries, nor advertising campaigns to attract crowds of thousands. We simply desire to play in a contest with teams which are like our own. Baseball and possibly track could be dragged out along informal lines, but to try to have an informal crew would be the heighth of absurdity. Two facts argue strongly for intercollegiate games. The first is that the President of the United States and the leading men of the War Department advocate them. Second, the colleges which have maintained an intercollegiate system have not shown that their patriotic fervor or their interest in their nation's affairs has waned, while their athletics have been much more substantial and have done more good for a greater number.