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About Hesperian student / (Lincoln [Neb.]) 1872-1885 | View Entire Issue (Dec. 2, 1889)
to THE HESPERIAN. I to our Illinois hauls, who have suffered defeat, Hint ihcy I I only make tlicmscivrs ridiculous by any such performance as the Blackbtirnian criticises. They should submit gracefully to their defeat, and when the time comes around for another i oratorical contest put forth their best efforts to win. The faculty of the Illinois college excuses the editors of the Rambler from one essay each term, and yet n writer in I that paper laments the harsh treatment that the Rambler cd- i itors receive at the hands of the faculty. In the University ) , of Nebraska HESPERIAN editors arc not excused from any- thing, but must do all their class room work in addition to j ' what they do on the paper. , The Aegis contains a letter that should be of interest to i , many of our students. Read it and you may obtain some j' idea of the way in which frats work, and also of the kind of people that they wish to have join them. The writer of this I letter shows what we have known for sometime that frats care more for the style of a man's clothes or the way in which he ' has his hair cut, than they do for real worth. I " The authorities of the University of Pennsylvania have adopted co-education. Strange to say, the students there were the only ones who offer any serious opposition to it. Those students don't know a good thing when they sec it. Put them in contact with the inspiring and civilizing influ ence ot the "co eds" lor about a year and we will wager that they will no longer be opposed to giving their sisters a place by their side. We take pleasure in acknowledging the acquaintance of the Free Lance, of Pennsylvania state college, a journal that was introduced to us by a formct student of that institution. We were favorably impressed with the outside appearance of the paper, and found, upon an examination of the contents, that it possesses many merits. The editorial and literary de partments arc good. The local department, however, might be improved. Four years ago, when the writer of this department en tered the University as a prep, he chanced to drop into the Hesperian office. Picking up an exchange he noticed the following jokes: Professor "What is the Diet of Worms?" Student (fresh from biology) "Dirt and dead leaves." "An apron trust is threatened and all the boys want to "sit down" on it. It is cheerful to read those jokes as they go their rounds again and again. This fall they seemed to have started on a new circle. The whiskers on them are becoming somewhat grizzled now. We were surprised and astonished to receive a copy of the Carletonia the other day. We recognized it in spite of of its long absence. We presume its bold visit is due to the fact that a new board of editors, unacquainted with The Hesperian, have taken charge of the paper. About a year ago its editors considered themselves deeply hurt, injured, insulted, and traduced by a criticism from our former exchange editor, and refused to sustain fraternal relations with such cruel monstcis as ourselves. Taking into account the inno cent trustfulness with which the Carletonia fluttered into our den, we will not devour it this time. Call again. Oh no, A'ansan, the exchange editor of The Hesperian did not have a fit of indigestion before he wrote the exchange column. Nebraska is, on the whole, a healthful state, and the students of Nebraska university arc not troubled much with dyspepsia. Perhaps because some of the Kansas stu dents have suffered from an overdose of "spikes" (strange word, but Kansas is a dry state) you arc apt to imagine that others are afflicted with the same disease, but such is not the case. We simply stated a lew plain facts which you cannot deny, and which you have not the courage to admit, and con sequently you try to crawl out of the affair as gracefully as possible. We learn from an exchange that there has been organized a strictly barb society at the Kansas state pnivcrsity. We have found by experience that a literary society which is open to frats cannot flourish. If the society contains both frats and barbs then the frats are forever scheming to get hold of the offices; they are willing to take part on special programs but do not desire to take upon themselves any of the hard work. As long as lhe frats arc outnumbered by the barbs they will pull harmoniously together and generously share with eachothcr the spoils, but as soon as the frats arc in a majority they fight among themselves and their everlast ing wrangling soon brings about the demise of the literary society. The Niagara Index, "a journal of civilisation" from the far East, comes to hand so much improved in the clearness of its print that we believe it has followed our advice, throw ing away the poor excuse of a printing press that it formerly employed and will henceforth use a cider press. Judging from your language, Index, one would never suppose that you dwelt in the quiet "seclusion of refinement and civiliza tion," but would rather think that you dwelt in seclusion with the street arabs, for which the East is noted. There arc several reasons for concluding thus. Your vocabulary lacks almost entirely words that are used by refined people, but is extremely rich in the dialect of street urchins; you have strayed far from the paths of veracity when you accuse The Hesperian of publishing matter clipped from other papers, and we defy you to prove your assertion; your conceit is su premely ridiculous and your bombastic eulogy of yourself sounds very childish. Did you ever stop to think how kind college papers arc in allowing you to sound your own praises? They do not assist you, do they? Possibly we do you an in justice, for it may be that you were influenced by powers en tirely beyond your control, when you wrote your exchange column. Perhaps you get payed "in kind" foryour advertis ing, and sometimes become overcome with the sweet nectar of that lager beer brewery whose ad. graces the back part of your paper. It may be from such sources that you derive your "refinement" as well as your revenue. Now a word or two about the matter you publish. We believe that your pa per should not be devoted almost exclusively to the Catholic world, bccaus.2 it might become fossilized by running around constantly in the same track. Enlarge your views and look upon affairs from a cosmopolitan stand point. The isotre Dame Scholastic takes occasion to assail us be cause wc ventured to suggest several weeks ago that some of the matter which it publishes is of no interest to the ma jority of college students. In the course of his remarks the Notre Dame man refers to the "bear's skin and trees and rattlers" on the cover of The Hesperian. llcar's skin, did you say? Poor soft-brained editor, did you ever sec a bear with horns? You had better borrow fifty cents and go to the next show that comes to your town (providing the faculty of your institution would allow such a privilege lo one so young and foolish) and there learn to distinguish between a bear and an American buffalo. You should also go out in the country a short time and study botany under the guidance of some rustic, who will doubtless be able to explain to you the difference between corn and trees. We beg the pardon of the public, but your mud slinging ii becoming somewhat of a chestnut. Especially does any allusion to delirium tremens come with poor grace from Mie students of any insti tution where it is necessary for the faculty lo prohibit all in toxicating liquors. We once sericusly thought of entering Notre Dame university and sent for a catalogue, but judging from its contents concluded that students ol that institution are a spoon fed, vicious set. If they arc not depraved why is it necessary for the faculty to lay down such stringent rules for their government? You have some good articles in your paper, Scholastic, but there are other things in it which re mind one more of a kindergarten school than ol an American college. V
