MILITARY GRADES

An E or a D grade is never a thing to be proud of but it is sometimes a cause for sympathy. We are wont to condole with the man who fails in a course provided he has done honest work. There are, however, some courses in which failure comes from loafing and no other cause. Military Science, both 1 and 2, come under this heading. The sole requisite for a passing grade in these courses is to attend drills and lectures conscientiously and without any other work a C is assured.

When a man "lies down" in a purely academic course we feel that such laziness is his own business, but when someone does his best to skin drills and thus shirks his military duty, he becomes a liability to the nation. This Corps is a preparatory school for national service and everything we learn here is a drop in the bucket we must fill before we can become officers. There have been times when the thermometer was around zero and bed seemed more attractive than Soldiers Field; we have of weakness, but the systematic skipping is the symptom of a D or an F man. A habit of this kind grows, and when such men get their chance to become officers they will not only know less than their companions in arms, but they will also have bad habits to conquer.

In the old days of the first Harvard Regiment drill was a big game and the Sunday battles became social picnics, but now with a great war on our hands we must all take things more seriously. Men who are not passing should in the future not be allowed to represent the University at Yaphank and similar camps. By some such move alone can this Corps become a business-like, war-time regiment.