THE COLLEGE FRONT

The Elis have popped up gleefully with another "Yale Plan"--this time it's a steam roller advisory system which pushes undergraduates into deferred status quotas as quickly as the local advisers can shuffle their cards in the filing case.

The new plan, according to the Yale News, "has established Yale as the leader among the country's universities in filling their present roles in preparing students for some actual participation in the war effort." Armed with a governmental letter "recognizing Yale's war preparation leadership," the News has tolerantly conceded that other universities are gradually dragging themselves into position behind Elihu's aggressive leaderships.

On this particular "Yale plan," the Harvard Crimson has a few effective remarks:

"The net change is the addition of steam roller tactics to what was an advisory system. Planning to fill all deferred-status quotas at the earliest possible moment, Yale's advisers may assume the guise of recruiting officers. This will work little hardship on the men now in college who know the difference between V-1 and Army enlisted reserve and who have checked on their qualifications for each, but the maze of available delayed-action enlistment plans can only add to the bewilderment of the new Freshman. High pressured into enlisting with the rest of his class within a few weeks of his arrival in New Haven, the confused reservist will find himself with two years of hard-earned deferment in which to decide which branch of the service he should have joined. Meanwhile, new opportunities in the armed service or in technical fields will be closed to him.

"As a program to distribute war service information the new plan could be as helpful at Yale as it has proved throughout the country. But the panicked speed with which all Yale men are being called to the colors adds little to a cause which requires clear thought instead of hysterical action."

Every change at Yale produces gleeful excitement and the announcement that Yale has produced another "Yale Plan" to revolutionize collegiate training. Don't worry about it too much; more often than not, it is a rehash of something in established practice elsewhere improved by a lot of window-dressing. Most "Yale plans" are just Christmas wrappings around last year's shoes.