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About The Hesperian / (Lincoln, Neb.) 1885-1899 | View Entire Issue (Dec. 15, 1891)
THE HESPERIAN. Ifi VIyI) It must be admitted that such a policy .does not tend to better the paper. We hope that this subject will receive careful consideration at the annual meeting of The Hes perian Association. A change is surely desirable. We thought the hours for opening and closing the gates were finally satisfactorily arranged; but the small attendance at the special literary programs last Friday night, and the sight of a great many turning away from the south gates, shows that a change must be made. The society programs have always been well attended by fiiends of the students and of the uni versity. Their presence stimulates the students to greater literary effort, and the impressions the visitors get of university social life from the literary societies are always favorable, and are carried even outside of the state. Anything, then, that hinders the free association between students and the people of Lincoln should be removed, we believe. The south gates will be open next Friday night. It is with pleasure that we are able to state that the military department is in a flourishing condition. There are 192 cadets registered. Sixty-five new Springfield rifles have been ordered. They will, probably, arrive soon. The plan of publishing at each drill the names of all delinquencies is one that will, it is hoped, be contin ued. It will tend to give the cadets a more soldierly bearing. It will give the battalion a more orderly and military appearance. It will tend to teach the cadets to pay strict attention to duty, a thing which will be beneficial in their every day life. The cadets will have ample facilities for target practice. A target will be fitted up in the basement of the armory, miniature cartridges will be secured, and every cadet will be required to manipulate his rifle proficiently. This will be supplemented in the spring by practice upon some suitable range near the city. A recording book has recently been procured. In this, the individual records will be kept. This will be ery valuable in as much as the merits and demerits of each cadet will be entered side by side. The records, heretofore were not, compiled in a very systematic form. It will bean excellent improve ment over the old way. Lieutenant Pershing is bound to put, and to keep, the military department on a systematic basis. Let his efforts be fruitful. Among the "special features" of the December issue of The Lasso, we had the pleasure of reading: "Editorial staff given in this issue." We opened the paper and noticed the .composition of the staff. We were surprised to learn that the editors and con tributors of the paper were composed of four persons who are members of the literary societies which are backing The Hesperian, and only two "frats." For four years we have listened to rumors con cerning the future advent of a "frat'' paper. Every attempt of the fraternity people to start a college paper has failed, failed because the "frats" were not strong enough numerically, financially, or ment ally to publish a college paper. At the opening of this year, rumors of a "frat" paper came to us again. We said "chestnuts." The Lasso soon appeared. We supposed that their futile efforts had, at least, materialized. The Hesperian took no notice of The Lasso then, because we sup posed it was a "frat" paper. We knew, if such was the case, it would succumb to the inevitable fate of "frat" enterprise. We based our presumptions upon the enterprise and enthusiasm of the "frats" during the past seven years. When they were expelled from the literary societies in 1884, they lost their grip on university affairs. They made a desperate effort to gain back what they had lobt, but in vain. The Philodicean Society succumbed to "frat" enter prise. In 1SS7, there were about 400 students in the uni versity. Then there were about sixty "frats." To-day, there are 700 students and less than forty "frats." Then there were six Greek letter socie'ties now there are five. Is this enterprise! Is it any wonder that students are continually refusing to join their ranks and don a pretty pin. With these things in view, The Hesperian was not alarmed when the supposed "frat" paper made its debut. After the ' 'frats" had started a paper, they were unable to run it as such. They knew that if they championed the cause of "brotherly love" their paper would end by a painful death. They, evi dently, chose a different course. They would start the paper, seemingly not as a "frat" paper, but "an all round university paper." They would sail under such colors until the time came when they might come out boldly and advocate their lost cause. V. c do not believe that time will eyer come. We hope not. It was when thoy foui.d out that a "frat" paper could not flourish, that they published an edi torial staff. Did they think that, in this way, they could pull the wool ovenjthe students' eyes? As long as the paper remained a fraternity paper, we could not question the demand for such, however small that demand might be. The Lasso is a pri vate concern and, if it chooses, has a right to publish a paper, If the staff had been selected from the frater nity people and fiom students not belonging to any society, then all would be different. We maintain that those members on that staff, who belong to the