THE HESPERIAN. UNIVERSITY of NEBRASKA. Vol. XVIII. LINCOLN NEBRASKA, DECEMBER is, i888: No. VI. THE HESPERIAN (HESPERIAN STUDENT.) Issued semi-monthly by the HnsrERlAN Publishing Associ ation, of the University of Nebraska. C. F. ANSLEY, Editor-in-Chief. ASSOCIATES: G. V. GERWIG, '8g. O. V. FIFER, '89. -T. S. ALLEN, '89. H. PETERSON, '90. E. P. BROWN, 9i. D. D. Forsyth. business managers: Literary. Sketches. - Comment. Local. - Exchange. E. R. Holmes. terxis of subscription: One copy, per college year, .... $1.00 One copy, one college term 35 Single copy, 10 advertising rates on application. alumni and ex-students. Special endeavor will be made to make The Hesperian interesting to former students. Please send us your sub scriptions. Address all communications to The HESPERiAN,Univcrsity of Nebraska, Lincoln, Neb. EDITORIAL NOTES. Among the newspapers, it seems to be popular just now to criticise college journalism. This pleases us, for we know that we need it. The more the better. We already owe thanks for many suggested improvements, whether we have adopted tl.em or not. The proverbial perfection of newspaper liter ature prevents our replying in kind. Among the students, the general opinion seems to be that the term just at a close has been the most prosperous that the University has seen for years. In every way progress is apparent; and the progress has been limited only by the range of present possibili ties. Of course we cannot go at a bound from where we are to where we ought to be; but we are climbing steadily, and at no snail's pace. It should be remembered that it rests largely with the students and the alumni to decide whether or not the Alma Mater is to be the educational center of the West. The faculty and the people of the state are doing their duty. Let us see that we do ours. If we glance over the list of alumni and observe the present stndents and what they are doing, we shall see that a powerful silent influence is at work for the best. As a body, they exemplify the work of the University in a satisfactory manner, to say the least, B"ut there is no reason why silent influ ence should be all that we give. A few words rightly spoken now and then may accomplish more than we look forj and they will certainly do nd harm. By the united work of us all, it is possible" to bring a thousand students to the University two years from now. This is hardly to be expected, yet it is possible. The work is far less than what we owe; and by doing it we shall receive the gratitude both of the University and the students we cause to attend. Let each of us see that what lies in his own power is done. With the close of the term ends the present management of The Hesperian. We have no cus tom made tears to shed over the occasion, and neither do we congratulate ourselves upon it. The work has been pleasant and congenial, but it has been work none the less. We have tried to do our duty by the paper and the students. We have done as well as we could under the circumstances to pub lish a paper that would not altogether disgrace the institution and the part of it we represent. If we have not succeeded, we hope it will be charged to want of ability or of time, rather than to any lack of good will. The end of a work is the best place to put the preface, if etymology can be forgotten. The time to judge a plan is after it has been tried. Possibly we may now safely occupy a small amount of space in -telling what we have tried to do and what we have tried not to do. It seemed that our sphere did not include enlight ening the world or adding to the sum of knowledge. Nor even did it seem necessary or practicable to attempt to supply the students with the best of prose and verse. But we have tried to mirror student life at the University of Nebraska. This is not a remarkably lofty aim, we admit; but we think that if The Hesperian ever comes to do this successfully, it will be doing enough. Student life in general is peculiar enough; and at the University of Nebraska, it is probably even nore peculiar than usual. This life is not represented in books, magazines or news papers: and instead of striving to be humble imi tators of any of these, we have wished rather to