THE INTEREST OF SCIENCE

As the half courses of the second semester get under way, a question arises which has in the past received considerable attention in the columns of the CRIMSON, and under the circumstances is deserving of more. This is the matter of keeping the University laboratories and particularly those in the department of Chemistry open to undergraduates after the usual hours.

Reasons for such an innovation have been supplied in ample numbers before but the notable absence of any results which might have been brought forth, or even any definite statement of policy on the part of the departments in question, make necessary some further discussion of the subject.

A canvass of student opinion conducted by the CRIMSON last May, proved conclusively that any opportunity for evening work in the laboratories would be taken advantage of in the vast majority of cases. And reasons for this expression are not far to seek. Men who have classes in the mornings, and those taking sciences are not usually the type who choose their classes according to the hours at which they come, find the major portion of their afternoon time taken up in the laboratory. This precludes any opportunity for outside activities, and in some cases even a normally healthy amount of exercise. Such persons are forced to choose between one or the other of these two possibilities, for those who attempt to do both usually find that the premium is far out of proportion to the returns.

It has been pointed out that graduate students work in the chemical laboratories after hours, and that the cost of keeping Mallinckrodt open in the evenings would be $10,000 at a maximum. In this connection it is noteworthy that the interest on the recent Wyeth bequest would amount to approximately 20 times that figure. There seems to be no reason why such a plan is not feasible as well as beneficial, and the fact remains that so far any such adequate reason has been conspicuously lacking.