HOLMES CRITICIZES 'MOOD OF RIOTOUS'

Writing in the Harvard Educational Review's current issue, Dean Henry W. Holmes '08, of the Graduate School of Education, declares that "intolerance, contumely, and disdain expressed against any group, class, race, or creed . . ." as personified by the recent Freshmen vs. American Legion affair, is " . . . an offense against the democratic spirit."

In an editorial entitled "The Mood of the Riotous" Dean Holmes analyzes the "educational issues involved in any clash of this character." He discusses in detail the extent to which the University should be responsible for the actions of a large body of incoming students new to the standards of conduct of the college.

New Freshmen Beyond Control

"It would seem obvious," he writes, "that no college can be sure that its influence will control the words and actions of a large group of newly admitted students. Admonition at opening meetings and the clearest statement of regulations governing public conduct on the part of students may sometimes be ineffective, especially if the group of incoming boys is large."

He goes on to say that the college should do all in its power to prevent students from assuming that they have the right to be riotous, and points out how the preparatory schools and the students themselves should shoulder the responsibility of maintaining the reputation of the university.

College Men Not Privileged Group

"Students who are guilty of riotous action should have no more protection or leniency than any other group."

Dean Holmes continues, "Idle as it is for those in public authority to classify all college students as 'rich boys' or as a 'privileged group,' there is much to be said for holding college students to a special sense of social responsibility. Continued education ought to lead to a heightened sense of the value of freedom and with it a fuller understanding of the fact that freedom rests on respect for the rights of others and for human dignity.