HEADS AND SHOULDERS

William Lyon Phelps, the effluent literary critic from New Haven, has recently stated in an interview in the Pennsylvanian that college men spend half their time studying, and that the time spent not so doing is one of the important reasons why men go to college. It is the professor's opinion that the required work could be completed in two years, but if this were done to the exclusion of extra-curricular and social activities most of the benefit to be derived from a college education would be lost.

This is true in regard to certain aspects of non-academic life which are intrinsically worth while in as much as they tend to develop the mind by stimulating intellectual curiosity. In this category fall the unrequired reading and casual interchange of ideas in conversation with others. However, if Professor Phelps means only the more active and competitive forms of outside activity his statements are rather strong.

From his remarks it would seem that the primary purpose of attending a college has been somewhat under-emphasized. First things should be first. If the ultimate importance of study and participation in activities are weighed, the latter, if emphasized at the expense of scholastic pursuits, will be found wanting. A true sense of values, which is not always exhibited by college students, prevents any confusion between these fields of endeavor. It is true that in the past the stress was laid more heavily on activities, but recently there have come loud complaints from organizations within colleges that interest is waning, and insufficient numbers of men are trying out for positions.

It would seem that the pendulum has completed its arch and is on the back swing. The day is gone when a man's worth is judged by the amount of extracurricular work with which he has tampered. The proper ratio between these two elements of undergraduate life pertains solely to the individual, and in seeking it it would do no harm to bear in mind the remark of Woodrow Wilson to the effect that the side shows should not be allowed to overshadow the big tent.