NOT OF MAJOR IMPORTANCE

In several colleges there has lately been a discussion on the feasibility of abolishing the distinction between major and minor sports and of awarding the letter to all men who have played on a university team. The accompanying press clipping from the Yale News is indicative of the abolitionist attitude while an interview with William J. Bingham, Director of Athletics, running elsewhere in the paper presents the argument for the retention of the present system.

The only distinction between a major and minor sport is the difference in the size of the letter awarded. Since the wearing of letter sweaters at Harvard is practically taboo the matter is of relatively small importance here. The athlete who has won his insignia rarely ever wears it except in practice sessions and during the summer months. There is also a certain tradition built around the athletic curriculum which designates the various sports.

As Mr. Bingham explains, to break this tradition would undoubtedly cause alumni and a percentage of the undergraduates to protest. Harvard has never feared a protest. Neither should sentimentality for customs ever be allowed to influence their retention if conditions warrant their being broken. But in this case there seems to be no immediate reason for breaking with the past--especially at Harvard. The cries from many of the other colleges seem mainly to have been issued by youthful iconoclasts ever on the lookout for a change.

Of the five major sports at Harvard only one--baseball--is possibly over-rated in that position. The waning interest in the collegiate diamond game in the last decade has been marked. There would, perhaps, be some justification if it would be relegated to the minor class. The Athletic Council removed distinction between the minor sports two years ago and some of them might be in their right in clamoring for a raise in prestige now. But since the difference between the two categories is one to which so slight attention is paid at Harvard there seems to be no need for agitation in one way or another.