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About Hesperian student / (Lincoln [Neb.]) 1872-1885 | View Entire Issue (March 1, 1879)
CO K1HT01UAI.S. VOL. VIII, Hi ma of imperfections. Of course tlioro were some who let! in tho matter, but tlio stu dents arc not more school children and we do not believe they would have rcadi ly indorsed the head of their Institution Inula belief of misdemeanors on ills purl obtained much credence among them. VHYr We regret that tho literary societies have hardly made so good a record Ibis vear as usual. The late invostijrnlion and the lectures given under 'he auspices of the students' association, have caused several interruptions during the present term, and the faculty have not been back ward in urging the performance of a large share of work on the part of the students; but all this doos not entirely cover the case. When the names of those on perform ance for declamation and essay are read oil", two or three straggler's respond and perhaps a fourth will enter the hall and perform his part when the exercises arc half finished. The debates will begin witli the old, old prelude that "ihey are not prepared; had not known which side of the question they were on," etc., etc., ad nauseam. These skeleton delegations, comparable ill numbers to the attendance of the facul ty at chapel service, fairly indicate the percentage of willing workers in tho so cielies. After recess, a lew forlorn, reso lute individuals, hardly more than enough, sometimes, to form a quorum, remain to assume the responsibility of the business meetings. It is of course remarked that the members "don't show the interest they ought to;" in short, that "the society has run down." Is this lisllessnes unavoidable V l'er. haps we have scales on our eyes or wear specs that make things appear in an upside-down pos'lion, but we see no good reason why tho societies may not be brought tn as high a degree of efficiency as they have thus far ever enjoyed. We venture the opinion that if a student lias not, as a rule, time to attend every meet ing of a society, and to prepare himself well every time ho is regularly placed on performance, he lias no lime to belong to a society at all. Why need society work he of no higher a type than oil' hand debating, and a repe tition of old essays and declamations? If class-room work compels this result, we may as well dispense witli our society organizations and allow the halls to be come repositories lor slacks ot bones and shells, or vaeationary aByluuis for the broken stoves and rusty mush-pots of the self-boarding students. If Ibis state of af fairs should obtain for one or two terms, wo would doubtless wake up to a realiz ing sense of the worth of a literary society and bojrin anew with fresh zeal. ;OUU ADVKRTISKKS. The patronage of Sot) students in the city of Lincoln amounts to no small sum within a year. Hence wo take this oppor tunity to direct the attention of the stud ents to those firms that advertise in our columns. "We do this, partly because they merit the trade of the students and partly because students tripling with our advertisers will find better rates at which to purchase. Hence before purchasing, glance at the columns of our advertise incuts, and see that you appreciate as sistance, as well as responsible firms, for we advertise no other. The complaint is often made by some of our advertisers, that an advertisement in our columns' brings thorn little profit. This however they cannot say with exact certainty; for students, as a general rule, make few acquaintances in the city, and hence are not well known; consequently they arc unknown by our businessmen and treated as strangers, and those, who chance lo bo our advertisers, are none the wiser that students ever trade with them. This is the case lime and again. But those who do not believe that it pays to