MINUTES OF THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES,Dec.11,1906 Page 118(cont'd)



whom are disposed to be idle, afford facilities for combinatiaa
to disturb the peace and to ctmmitt excesses such as occurred
on Halloween. All this seriously interferes with the work of
those who desire to make an economic use of their time. The un-
fortunate exemption by the Board some years ago of Seniors from
drill has had a demoralizing effect. They claim exemption from
military formation to march to chapel, from roll-call and other
duties hitherto required. These were conceded by Captain By-
rode, the predecessor of the present commandent, and were followed
by other concessions which gives them the impression that they
are not amenable to control as other students are.  Oftentimes
till late at night, especially on Fridays and Saturday, yelling
and discharging of fire-arms make night hideous. These excesses,
accompanied by broken glass and furniture, betray the disposition
to disorder which culminates in occurrences such as Halloween.
When an officer of the College, attracted by the noise, appears
lipon the scene, all hurriedly get into their rooms, lights are
extinguished and it becomes impossible to discover the disturbers
of the peace. The majority of the occupants want to demean them-
selves, with propriety and to employ their time to advantage, but
they cannot control the lawless element and will not inform upon
the offenders. The only effective remedy for this is to abolish
the dormitory system, root and branch.                      Page 119


     Nearness to an occurrence is sometimes not conducive to a
proper estimate of its proportions and of its relations.  For this
reason one is likey to over-estimate or under estimate its im-
portance. 'Distant in time and in place supplies the necessary
correctives. Yet I think that it must be admitted that there are
conditions existing in the State College now with which we were
not confronted in the earlier years of its history. Courses of
study have become more crowded, while the time available for their
mastery has from the various preoccupations and distractions from
study sensibly diminished. Indoor and outdoor athletics, foot-
ball, base-ball, Greek letter fraternities, holidays, dances,
banquet and other minor affairs make heavy drafts upon both time
and money.


     The Board of Trustees should look into these matters. The
Faculty seldom came into touch with the Board and oftentimes have
need of their advice and counsel. They should through a committee
of the whole Board or throughc a select committee give the college
the necessary time to look into its affairs, see its departments
in operation, note their growth and their necessities, discipline
class organization and management, note deficiencies, encourage,
reprove admonish, where encouragement, reproof and admonition are
needed. A Board of Trustees cannot in two days' session twice
each year know much about the College in operation. Exparte state-
ments oftentimes require to be discounted. But to see is to know.
Captain Mahan has shown that there is all the difference in the