X
t
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was more or less posing, has become
almost a rule of life and conduct.
; , Gone to Extreme
t ' On th other hand, some university
, men have gone to the other extreme.
I Thejr have tried to storm the respect
. of the public by the blowing of the
ram's horn. They have filled the col-
umns of the press with news stories
. of the things done by the wonderful
president, or professor with his super
. students. A tendency to magnify
, every petty discovery into something
of fundamental importance has devel
! oped. Men that represent this type
:, have departed so far from the cold,
gray monastic atmosphere that their
conduct suggests that they have be
; come filled with the spirit of that great
American institution, the circus and
menagerie, with its glaring lights, its
spielers, its performers, and its
freaks. This is the other extreme. The j
universities, must, in the words of
Bryce. "Serve the pumlc, but never
cater to the public." They must be In
full sympathy with every worthy
movement and constantly remember
that their mission is to serve and that
the public should be fully and fairly
informed of th3 service. Somewhere
between the heights of the monastery
and the low valley where the circus
tents are pitched lies the table land of
the university campus. Even here I
would not be narrow minded, but
haste to state that I mildly approve
of a few monkeys in its parks and a
few gargoyles on Its btately halls.
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Referring again to the words of
Bryce before passing on to the next
topic, I take this opportunity of say
ing that in our university those lines
of work of a naturally popular char
acter, such as agriculture, extension,
conservation, the geological and other
surveys, have most laudably main
tained, in spite of some temptation,
the spirit of Bryce's ideal.
A Proof of Strength
Nothing gives to a family, state or
nation greater respect than solidarity
of feeling, unity of action, and oneness
of purpose. The weakness of repub
lics is the perpetual jangle of voices
and the opportunity they afford for
agitators, fanatics and chronic dis
turbers. When republics become
strong and their internal interests be
come solidified and crystallized, public
opinion frowns into silence the antics
of unworthy agitation. I do not mean
to say that agitation is uot necessary
to correct abuse and educate the pub
lic. Without legitimate agitation, lit
tle progress would be made in the
world. But when the desire to agitate
becomes superior to the purpose to
accomplish some great object, as fre
quently happens, it is disastrous in
almost every respect and has no place
in an educational system.
As a method of obtaining results,
public agitation is less crude than
riots and wars. Nevertheless, as com
pared with a calm and academic ap
peal to reason, it is intensely crude
and primitive. Let me illustrate what
I mean. The chemist Liebig, eminent
discoverer as he was, in trying to pro
mote or defend his chemical concep
tions, used in scientific circles the
methods of the partisan press, almost
those of the demagogue in the street.
Bunsen, on the other hand, equally
great,, quietly published his results
and never replied to those who at
tacked him. When asked to defend
bis position, he used to say, "Die Leute
werden finden wer Recht hat." Great
as both men were, the record of his
tory is that Bunsen more nearly rep
resented the general, permanent, aca
demic ideal toward which the world
is coming.
Harmony and Loyalty
Akin to harmony is loyalty. Loyalty
is not emphasized in the state univer
sities as it is in private foundations,
because we can live without It and the
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private foundations cannoL Never-
. theless, the presence or the absence
of loyalty on the part of alumni, facul
ty and students can to a very large
extent make or unmake the respect
that the institution will hold in the
part of officials and faculty to be dis
loyal comes from many sources, such
as jealousy of others, the feeling that
one's talents and attainments are not
Iduly appreciated, and sometimes the
affliction of a hypercritical, pessimis-
tic attitude that is to some extent the
I bane of the academic world. The dis
loyalty on the part of the students
1 comes from inexperience with the af
j fairs of the world, the absence of any
' adequate basis for; making relative
values. It comes further from the
iconoclastic temper which frequently
pervades the mind of youth; from a
desire to throw on to others responsi
bility that comes from one's own
omissions or commissions; and per
haps most of all, lack of appreciation
that a little "knocking" is harmful.
Let me give an illustration. I recall
an instance of a parent who com
plained bitterly of the university on
account of the expenses to his son,
particularly in the matter of text
books. A little investigation on my
part showed that the son's expense
account to his father was not item
ized, and that the bulK of it was going
not for books, but for gasoline. This
may seem trivial, but nothing that a
student may say concerning the insti
tution or his treatment here is entire
ly lost in its influence upon the state.
Nothing perhaps contributes more
to respect than patient industry. The
dominant position of Germany in cen
tral Europe has been won through the
industrious character of the German
peoples. The competent, patient toil
er in the field, in the factory, in the
study, in the library, and in the lab
oratory, have combined in a very
marked degree to produce the strength
of the Empire. Inspiration comes only
once in a while. Industry cm be cul
tivated from day to day, and inspira
tion is most likely to come to those
who are industrious. There have been
thinkers whose brilliant thoughts
came to them in their idle moments.
More frequently, however, the best
conceptions came when one was slowly j
and patiently ascertaing facts that.
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might in themselves seem relatively
trivial. Occasionally the genius of
the class has been lowest in scholar
ship, but on the average those who
have made a success in after life are
those who have shown a willingness to
use their minds constantly and intelli
gently along the line of their regular
work during their college course. The
person who is successful in his uni
versity work has about ninety-five
chances out of one hundred in being
successful in life, while the person
who Is unsuccessful in his university
career has about five chances in one
hundred of being equally successful.
Basis of Respect
The basis of respect, of course
shifts a little from generation to gen
eration. There may have been a time
when a considerable portion of the
thinking public had a sort of awe akin
to respect for the pale, emaciated stu
dent with a hectic flush on his cheeks
This ideal, if it ever existed, has long
passed away, and this is true not only
in America, where college athletics
reign supreme, but even in Europe,
with its somewhat sounder educa
tional ideals. During my studies in
Heidelberg one of the most successful
students that I knew weighed 190
pounds and was as expert in the Turn
verein as in his studies. Vigor in
scholarship and a wholesome view of
life are dependent upon sound physical
makeup. There can be no alliance be
tween mental activity and bad vital
organs. With health, too, should be
happiness supported, like health, by
moderation and well regulated habits.
But students should make the happi
ness that springs from physical well-
being a by product, and not the main
purpose of their university work. In
all their activities they should remem
ber that moderation is still as import
ant as when Marcus Aurelius made it
the keynote of his philosophy. The
ardent pursuit of happiness, especial
ly material pleasures, as has been ob
served by every thinker and philos
opher from the earliest dawn of
thought, too often defeats its own
ends.
Finally, a few institutions have lost
the respect of at least a portion of the
public because they have failed to
carry out the ideals of the founders.
Thus, a certain eastern college, found
ed to train young men for the Chris-
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process of transforming itself into a
cultured club for the sons of rich
alumni. Colleges founded to train
men in agriculture and mechanic arts
have spent at times the major portion
of their efforts along other lines. We
in Nebraska are fortunate that the
university was founded by broad
minded men who recognized that in a
university all worthy phases of higher
education should find a place. We are
not obliged to stand on a narrow plat
form. We can carry out the ideas of
the founders in maintaining a broad
institution. It falls to us to train along
along with farmers, engineers, and
business men, intellectual leaders in
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! many o'ther lines, to produce men ex
pert In the learned professions, to be
hospitable to new forms of learning,
and we have .the privilege of extending
our sphere of activity in accordance
with the demands and tendencies of
the times as far as our resources will
permit. If, then, we continue to serve
the people of the state in accordance
with the broad policy outlined by the
founders and at the same time do our
best to foster both within and without
the walls of the institution the devel
opment of the best type of American
citizenship, we shall continue to have
not only the respect of the world, but
the love and gratitude of our own
people.
ebrasK
an
