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About Hesperian student / (Lincoln [Neb.]) 1872-1885 | View Entire Issue (May 1, 1879)
NO. EDITORIALS. ion upon the programmes, and but little vari ation is to be made in the variety of pro. ductious. To remove the monotony of these performances, is a dillleull task. Since it is naturally expected that here will be found the progress made by the students in the University from year to year in their literary pursuits. The essential caution to be given, is the danger of so many performers upon each programme. If these entertainments are to be made attractive , they must be made reasonably short. And if so many per. formers are to be permitted to appear, it is well that the committes in charge see that productions do not exceed a proper length. For there is no greater misfort une in these exercises than to weary an audience, with a continual transition from oratory to music and music to ora tory. Let, then, the exercises of the approach ing entertainments produce an example that may induce others to follow it. Let the programme be concise, and the prep aration.be perfect from beginning to end. And if the exercises are to be opehed at a fixed time, let tltat time be rigorously ob served. By such a mode of procedure, we may win back the good reputation that we have lost by conducting, in a care less and loose manner, these exercises. UNI VKHSITY ATTEN DAN OK. Notwithstanding the remarkable in crease in the population i.four stale dur. ing the last few years, the attendance at our University seems not to have kept pace with it. The numbers of students have fluctuated in a way not altogether easy to interpret. And now, at the end ol the eighth year of the existence of our school, the attendance seems but little larger than at first. Few have persevered to t lie end of a coursu of study, and the proportion of lloating or transitory stu dents has consequently been very large. In view ol'lliu improved facilities of the University, we see no sound reason for this meagre attendance. It will certainly become more inexcusable with each sue. cessive year. A prominent reason is our lack of acad emies which characterise the older states. Perhaps our state will always be preeminently agricultural, and therefore lojs thickly dotted with towns than some others. Hence the imperative need of good intermediate schools in all of our villages that are large enough to sustain them. Parents arc not always willing to send their sons and daughters to the pre paratory department of a distant college, when, at no greater expense, they may keep them nearer home. At the same time, they can be pursuing the same studies that are taught at our Latin school. Intermediate schools are the natural feed ers of a college, and unless they are nu merous and nourishing, we may expect our attendance to consist chiefly of trans ient preparatory studen's. A prepar itory department in connection with a college, is an expedient justified by necessity only, and is dispensed with when possible. It is not good economy to hire a professoi at a high salary to teach common school branches. Wo have many inducements, that arc tempting, to enlarge the Juno number of the Student. Containing the Commence ment news, together witli a review of the years work, it will be interesting to both the students and the patrons of the Stu hunt in general. But one and the great est inducement has not yet occured. Our books are not yet balanced, our de linquent subscribers have forgotten their indebtedness. We need the small sum to balance our accounts and then wo will have a little courage to proceed. It must be remembered that even col. lege journals cannot succeed without funds. For, however ambitious may be the Editois, their individual purses may not equal their generosity of soul. Hence if there are those among us who wish to see the June number of the Student a HMBSBBBmBMH 22 !,! WEttfsiH 4'ki