University of South Carolina Libraries
PUB1ISllEl) WEEKLY BY T,Il 111TElRARY SOCIETIES Terms $1.50 a Year Enlitered at Columbia, S. C., postoffice November 20, 1908 as second class mail matter. EI)lTR)RIAl, STAFF. S. T. Sp)arkmnan Flditor G. H-. Wittkowskv Associate J. E. Millard Associate BUSINESS. J. S. Nunamaker Manager. The Why of College Writing. A short time ago there was a big gathcring in this city of all the best college writers of this state, in a conference for the itter change of ideas, the gathering of in spiration and all the rest that goes in to the makeup of any normal conven tion of this nature. The natural ques tion that springs l) spontaneously in the in1d of the uilinitiated is. "\hy\? There are many phases of college life that contribute largely to .the build ing of the talents of the youth of the land for more perfect and worth-while efforts when the period of four years o the campus is Ber. I h- there is no one thing .that contributes more to the fitting of young men and women for the work-a-day world than does sonic sort of practical training in the art of journalism. It goes without say ing that in amy clmol s small as are the schools of this section of the coun try, any really first-class publications are improbable. Student hodies are so small that no group can be found to devote all its spare time to the publica tions which must suffer, as a result, from a greater or less amount of ac tual neglect. But we should be primarily interest ed in what the college papers and mag azines DO accomplish, rather than in what they FAIL to accomplish. To us the prime end and aim of ',he college publications are to give as many stu dents as possible a certain amnotnt of training inl writimg onl Siubjects in which they are interested, for the consump tion of readers who are also vitally interested. This is the point of view from which college journalism appeals to us almost strongly. Just as good, and probably much better, writing is done in the classroom, but the element of human intertst is lacking and some how all such work seems hard and cold I:hen compared to the writing that is done for actual printing and reading within the next few days. The written word has largely sup planted the spoleni word as a meanis of "getting across" an idea, and the masses are controlled and taught. in this age, much more generally by books than by word of mouth. The college VnIblications are. nothing more than laboratory courses in the art of trans fering your idea to -te other fellow is print. TPo the man or woman wvho is used to this sort of thing it seems the easy and natural method; to the man or woman who is not accus,tomedI to expulaining or convincing with his pen, it -is tumatural if not absolutely im po)ssible. 'The ecol1lege anid thle in stitutions of higher learning arc p)ri marily intended to make nwn and womn en live better, richer and fuller lives. The college publicatis arc one of the many factors on the colleges camn pus that contribute to this nobler citi zensh ip. A word as to what publication does the most good. Leaving aside the question of advertising -the school, or of unifying the student body, or any of the other more tangible and self evident results. 'rHE PUBICAT ION THi-AT1 DOES Ti-E MOST GOOD IS THIS1F PUBLICATION THAT GIVES THI-E GREATrEST NUMBER A CHANCE TlO WRITE. A final "wvord to the wvise :" The Carolinian and the Gamecock are pub lished for yotur puerusal bunt they are also publ i5hed wvi4h the idea of giv ing you the chance to write. Are you taking advantage of that chance? S. -:o: - Was It Worth While? The foothall season ended last Th'lursday. Several scores of men have devoted every afternoon to the game for a quarter of the school year. Several htundred students, and thous considerable amount of time and ener- t gy to the King of Fall Sports. Thou sands of dollars have been sunk in t expises of all sorts, ranging from s tie coaches' salaries to the uniformt i on the players backs. In short there I has been a tremendous expenditure of r time. energy and money in this college, I as in practically every other college of I any size in the country. Is it worth s while? t \\hat are the tangible results of all t the big dailies after Thanksgiving sliowing the teams that have been suc- r cessful and -umsuccessful from the t standpoint of scores, games won and lost. etc. This is the thing that is I usually in mind when the qestion is U asked, "Did you have a good season?" s it t it is our humble opinion tla-t re- t suits of this kind do not justify the vast amount of attention that is given g to football all over the United States. at A winning team attracts attention and favorable conunent to any particular f college. but in the long run colleges c in general cannot. be benefitted, for if t mn especially good season draws high 1: school meni to Clemson it must be at r the expense of Carolina, Fran, \Voliord and the other schools of the 1 state. The mere fact that the foot- I ball team is a drawing card cannot 1 justify. its existence an( the extreme emphasis that is placed upon it. r It is, of course, true that a football a team advertises a school as no other t one agency can (10, but it is often loubit fl whether the advertisement r that is given, when in tile middle of I the season charges, counter-charges ;md denials are flying in the air,- I it Is .)ften doulbt ful whether the adver ..isemeit that is given to a school is al ways for the best. Few schools, and i particularly small schools, can build up strong teams without something of an i I unhealthy rept,tation being spread E abroad. Huiman nature takes care of that part of the thing: there have al ways been, and there will always be, poor losers. Football may be justified only in a 1 broad and general w(qy. There are i always two elements to be considered. 1 the players and the stands. The I players are generally conceded to gain much, both physically and mentally from playing the game for all it is worth. A man must be a real man to play the modern game of football and (leliver to the extent that is expected and required. Aside from the few men who are seriously injured, and that number is growing less from year I to year, the physique and all-round Ieakh of the players is built vp to a marked degree. The end of the sea son finds the men better men physi call)' than they were before. And more thain that, if the player really mca sres up to the call that comes to hint in the crises of the big games, he is sure to come out of them a bet ter nan than he was whenl he went in. A man can grow much in a short time on the gridiron. It is the fact of consciously making tli supreme ef fmrt along with ten friends and -team mates in wvhat comes to be considered< almos-t in the light of a holy cause< hat brings out the best that is int the mien wvho don the mnoleskins for their alma mater. Tlhe players themselves unquestionably profit from the expe riences of the football season. Can the same be said of the hun dIreds and .thousands who throng thrui the trrnst iles to watch the heroes of the gridiron in action? There is a great deal of talk these days of football hav ing overtshiot the mark, and of the dlanger of .the game being killed en tirely as a college sport because of its over-development. There is much of truth in the statements that we hear to the effct that the same antount of emphasis on other things wvould bring better results than are obtained from King Football. There are twvo objections to argu nmenits of this kind. In the first place, it would be wellnigh impossible to fmad any other one thing that would cre ate the same amoruit of interest in as many people as this game of football. And in the second place, this game of football dloes an infinite amount of goodl to those who hand over their oine, two or five dlollar bills at the gates of the park. Football represents friendly rivalry of the highest "ype. Whent this rival ry becomes intense, as it so often does, theni the stands are in a state of fever ishi excitement dutring the ganme. And yet sportsmanlike behavior is the futn damnital princip)le of football ethics. Tlhe stands must not cheer a penalty, hoot at na offcil,nor. a.,....:.. els hat might reflect discredit upon the istitution they are supporting. It is his necessity of restraining the per onal feelings when the spectators are ii a perfect frenzy of excitement that iclps the thousands in the stands as nuch as anything else about the game. t is the necessity for all hearts, minds Id voices to be working together in uppont of the team on the field below hat disciplines the masses who throng o see the teams of America in action. his country believes in good sports tiaiship as it believes in no other hing. We stand firm for the man vho can fight hard and lose fighting iard-and then congratulate the win er. We do honor to the school whose tudent body and supporters can cheer c the last and not he overhearing in 'ictory or bitter in defeat. The great ame of Football contributes largely > the moulding of thousands of lives long substantial lines. It is an in itence for good as long as it is kept lean. Up to that point it is one of lie foundations of American college ife-past that point a stain upon the ecord of any school. Football has be omne a tradition in this school as in lany others. From year to year Caro na teams represent the highest and est that there is at Carolina--he arolina cheering sections are equally esponsible and acco.jitable for their ctions. The man who is thrown off lie squad for some disgraceful action and we are glad there are no such ian here) casts no more of a dis ionor upon the good name of his chool than the man who throws a ig drunk after a game. Football is big, a vital thing in our life here now. t will either be made or marred wi-th n the next few years. Carolina has lways had an enviable reputation with espect to her 'teams, a reputation not 1ways so enviable with respect to her upporters. From this time on we hould be more anxious than ever for >r team and our studen body to be nade up exclusively of good sports, vin or lose. We will have a fine team iext year. Let's only hope that we vill be worthy of it. The responsibi i.ty for the future of football, and IlI that it means, is on our shoulders. S. :o: That Christmas Tree. How about that Christmas tree that he Y. M. C. A. and the Y. W. C. A. -41mbined to give for the poor little cids of Columbia's mill villages who >therwise would have had no Christ nas at all last year? Don't you think t was a mijghty good idea? And, if ;o, why not put it across again this 'ear? ' Any of the men and girls on the :ampus who knew of this little party ast year and were able to get in on it :an vouch for the fact that the small !xpense is a mere bagatelle compared o the happiness given to the little tots vho are brought to Flinn Hall for a 'hristnas Tree. Each man contributes nough to get some inexpensive pres nts for one boy, and each of the Co ds enough to take care of one girl's uresents from 'the Christmas tree. The kids are all stuffed with can<dy mod puolcorn, given some useful pres nt and something that will bring some ittle bright spot into their lives for a ime andI are -thent escorted to their -espective homes by their "guardians For the night." Thle trick wvas turned o the queen's taste last year, thanks argely to .the efforts of Luke Cox andl Mfiss Mary Graydon. Why not call For an encore, fellowvs? Flinn Hall's here for our use, let's keep up the good work ! S. No, dlear hear-t, the man who tips you Ito liquor bargains, is not called a piritual adlvisor. Wingfi You can get it at The S Meeting At Chicora. On the night o' the 23rd the South [Jarolina College Press Association net at Chicora College, where they mijoyed a delightful pregram. The meeting was presided over by Niss ',idys Adkinson of Anderson Col ege. Dr. Ilird, president of Chicora, was introduced and on behalf of the -ollege, he delivered the address of welkomle. D)r. Bird discussed inl a very interesting manner the way in which the name Chicora was given Lo the college. He also gave some nteresting facts about the Hampton P'reston home, which is now Chicora -!ollege. The next speaker of the evening .vas Prof. Yates Snowden, poplikir Universit.y professor and erstwhile Journalist. The subject of Prof. Snow len's speech was "The Evolution of College Journalism. "Dr. Snowden ;ave some facts of interest about Aollege journalism and instanced sev Iral men who made their start as col lege journalists. He called oil the 3ditors of the college magazines to naintain a literary standard, even it fihe risk of cutting the size of the nagazine in half. Tie college publi -atjonis are goo(l indices of the liter tdure standing of a college and for hat reason should be edited with the !losest care, according to th.is speaker. 'rof. Snowdenl's paper was listened o with close attention. The next speaker was )r. Josiah \lorse, who was called on to take lhie plav of Mr. ('harlton Wright. Alr. Wright was prevented from comn ing, duie to sicklness. Dr. Morse chose is his subject "The Ethics of .Jour nalis-m." To anyone who has ever had the ple1asu re of hearing 1)r. Morse it is needless to say that his Iddress Was except.iotially good. Dr. Niorsv spoke of tle power of the pIress aid the grave responsibilities whiclih rest on the shouldyrs of the IlmoIern jourinia"list. He urged that these MouI ders of public opinion al ways put right before everything else and allows themselves to be gu'ided by a (lesire to serve the end of morality, in the broadest sense of the word. Dr. Morse said that the four things which above all others the Journalist should strive for, were pu-blic health, purity, the propagation of the truth and the dissemina'tion of knowledge. Dr. Morse made a pro found impression o Iiis hearers. The last speaker . was NMr. G. A. 1uchanan, of the Columbia State. The subject of Air. u-chainan's paper was "'Tle Revival of Lying." In his paper Mr. I1uichianan discussed at some length realisi in modern literature. His paper was one of high literary merit, and was thoiroughly enjoyed. Huck is onle of the coming Jou rnalists of the State and CItr.olinla is glad to cIaiiii I 'i as an alumnus. A-ter tlie rUgilar meeting the (ele gates were tendlered a reception in Sbeaultiful parlors of tile college. Iefreshiimeits anid music were enjoyed by thIiose pr ieset. WHERE ARE THE FRESHMEN CAPS? Earlier in the session a very imn portant tmeetinig of the student-body was 1he1( foir the purpose of discuss itng the kind( of head-piece foir the I"mor iemn. As a r'estult of the meet inig a c~omituttee was apploinitedI by the cha ir to dlecide 'on the most suitable headgear. The wri'ter is o fthue opinion that this commiiittee rep)ortedl back to the studenemt-hiOdy andl were listruictedl to place an ordeir for the caps. These caps1) wer*e supplosedl to have been gotten in time for the Clemsoni game. Th'lis game hats come and gone but the caps failed to arrive. eld's Drus 1443 Main Street tate Book n The State Newspaper Building The chief object in the wearing of this honored head-pliece is to make the Freshmen conspicuous at the foot ball games. The football season is now over, but that is no reason why we should not have these caps. At ter Christmas the basketball season will be on and followed with baseball. They will serve their purpose at these ganes. Further, the Freshmen should be designated from the other students on the campus. Our campus is open and we do not have the true class spirit here that is to be found at a military college. Consequently it is a hard thing to distinguish a Fresh man from an supper classman. Sonie may contend that it is too late in the year for this head-piece, but if any of you saw the Greenville News the other day you noticed that an en tire columns was given over to a write up about the new Freshmen caps for the Furman ]Freshmen. Now, fellows, we (1o not want to let we would like for some member of Furman get ahead of us. Therefore, the committee to Come forward and give its soile definite information in regard to this matter, and then for the student-body to take some action. C. T. SNOWFLAKES. Any student walking on the campus or gazing out of his window about 3:30 o'clock Sunday afternoon noticed some white particles falling from the sky. 0On a close observation they found these saile whilite particles to be noth. ing other thUa snowflakes. We have been having quite a bit of col weather the last few days, and Imlost of Its were not surprised to see the 1lakes falling to earth; but it is the writer's opinion that this is rather early in the year for these white flakes to put in their appearance. In fact, lie has never seen any signs of snow as early as November before. C. T. Professor Dabbs is representing the English Department this week at the annual meeting of the National Coun cil of English Teachers in Chatta nooga. He will read a paper on "What the College Ilas a Right to E'xpect of tihe High School." He is accompanied by \lrs. Dabbs. .: People I Know. A boy who liever wears a hat, and wiho used to wear a palm-beach on the rainy days of winter, but who now devotes all his time to cul-tivating the acYiuaintances -<of girls wVith hutomo biles. Another lady's Ian ylio is one of Chicora's sweetest papas, and who cati usually be found in dhe balcony of the Imperial on Monday afternoons. * * * A Columbia co-ed who has brown bobbed hair, and who thinks that one of the varsity ends ought to make All Southern. * * * Tw~o Columbia boys whlo wvill he glad when footb)all is over becauise it con flict s withI th un imtiing seasoin. * * * A one-girl manr wh'o hopes that the university will lbe mioved closer to thte 1300 block of I ,aurel Street be fore lie gets his LLB. A dimlitit ve foiotbiall cand(lidate who wvishecs that lie coulld vote at least ten times in the Oolumbiia nmuncipal elect ionis and ihereby acquire dinighes ini a certaini (desired household. A co-ed wvith red hair wvho wonders whether shte wvill get anothe-r vaca tioni biy regnest this year, as she did last spring. t Store Store