FRESHMEN ON THEIR PROBLEMS

The Freshman Confidential Guide Committee have submitted an excellent report to Dean Leighton on the Freshman year. While their recommendations may not be 100 per cent accurate, they have pointed out most of the serious problems of the first year. As the undergraduate viewpoint in solving these faults, the report should possess great value for the Freshman deans and for the Faculty.

Even a casual reading of the report should show one that it was written in neither a belligerent nor an impertinent spirit. It was self-evident to the Committee that Mr. Leighton and his staff not only comprehend thoroughly the significance of the questions discussed but are working hard to solve them. The intention behind the report is cooperative; that of presenting an accurate and constructive Freshman viewpoint for consideration in the formation of any policies.

The Freshman Committee, headed by Francis Keppel, deserves high praise for the job that it has performed. It did not propose anything impossible of attainment and deliberately neglected problems which are outside its province, such as the House Plan. As a result, its criticisms, such as the maladjustment between school and specific courses, preparation and the Freshman year, the Adviser System, form an intelligent basis for discussion.

This is the real value of the report. It offers Mr. Leighton, Mr. Gummere, the new chairman of Admissions, and the Faculty an opportunity to learn the opinion of such a representative group from the Freshman Class and to determine in the light of their experience whether it is feasible to put the suggestions into practice.