THE SCHOLAR'S CALL TO ARMS

Mr. Archibald MacLeish recently summed up the situation facing all college students today. The great problem is how far we should allow the European war to weigh upon our minds, and, therefore, upon our attitude towards life in general and academic work in particular. Though this problem strikes harder at the Freshmen, a solution is no less demanded by upperclassmen.

The primary attitude of the college generation of today is, in a way, altered from that of its 1914 predecessor. So Mr. MacLeish tells us. We do not look upon this conflagration as a "sea at the end of time." Rather we look upon it as the prelude to a renewed and vigorous attack on the many problems of advancing civilization. From our point of view, this is a war to continue civilization. It becomes of the utmost necessity, thus, that once the war is over, we have many well-educated men in a position to help in building the new world. The question is how college students should prepare for this job of reconstruction.

Some students, having the post-war reconstruction of the social order in the back of their minds, will think it best to concentrate in the social sciences. They reason that a man trained in the theory of government or in the history of socialism will be the Johnnie-on-the-spot. And if these students move into History or Government or Economics for no other reason than this, they will greatly delude themselves.

Furthermore, from a strictly utilitarian point of view, it is disadvantageous to move into these already overcrowded fields. The history of concentration fields shows that in periods of social or economic stress, such as the last ten years, students stampede into the social sciences. This recent stampede has led to overcrowded courses, insufficient tutorial staffs, and insufficient departmental budgets in the social sciences. For the University's funds are pigeon-holed; they cannot be shifted at will.

It must be remembered that this war is not only a war of arms; it is also a war of cultures. From the democracies' viewpoint, this war is a war to preserve existing cultures and standards of values. Thus the greatest emphasis possible in the post-war period will be placed upon culture, and the value to society of a truly cultured man, a man versed in the search for real truth, will be greatly increased. In the near future the world will need as many artists as economists, as many writers as social technicians.

Although the war in Europe has placed a burden upon the present college generation--especially upon the freshmen--we must not allow it to crush us to the earth. We must not permit the "tonight be merry for tomorrow we die" spirit to ruin our academic careers. A full liberal-arts education is still for the having if we desire it strongly enough. Most important of all, we must have widely educated men if civilization is to go on. In this military era, scholars as well as governments can and must be militant too.