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The University Courier.
cord it is necessary that it receive all possible encouragement at home; hence no patriotic student should consider an hour wasted that is spent at the athletic field watching practice games. It may be a small thing but every little helps.
It is hard to understand the lack of interest in a gymnasium manifested by the students. The one we possess is entirely inadequate to the needs of the student body, yet practically no effort is being made to obtain a better one. The students need to raise only half the amount necessary to build one, for it is generally understood that our benefactor, Col. McCook, will give us as much more as we succeed in raising. One plan for obtaining the money which is being mildly advocated by a few of the students is to make a corporate body of the Athletic Association and, instead of considering every member of the University a member, as at present, extend the privileges of membership to those only who take sufficient interest in the Association to pay a membership fee. While the amount thus obtained would do much toward building a gymnasium, the greater benefit which would arise from the adoption of such a plan would be the correction of the evils which now exist in the election and qualifications of officers.
We hope soon to give a definite account of the plans upon which the more successful Associations of our sister institutions are organized. Until then let every student who takes even a passing interest in the improvement of Athletics in the University, work upon some plan for obtaining a gymnasium.
It is difficult to understand why the Literary society does not flourish in the University of Kansas. By the majority of the students it is thought good enough for small colleges and normal schools, but beneath the dignity of University students; but that idea does not obtain in any other western University. Some of our fanatical students say that the fraternities would immediately assume the control of the society and crowd out a large portion of the best workers, and, hence, that it is impossible for the Literary society to flourish here; but a glance at our exchanges will demonstrate the falsity of these statements. There is not a single college, east or west, from which we receive exchanges that has not its Literary societies; yet the fraternity exists in all of the large schools, and the fraternity student is found in hearty co-operation with the non-fraternity student in this Literary work; and there is no evident reason why a similar condition could not exist here. Many of the scientific students are doing good work in the Scientific Club; but, with the exception of the necessary themes and forensies, the Literary student is doing almost no work which calls for any creative effort on his part. Our place in the state oratorical contest for several years has shown a deplorable lack of address in even the best prepared of our students; and the Regents have been severely censured because they have not established a chair of Oratory to remedy this evil; yet the students have shown so little interest in their own improvement in this direction that they have not made use of the opportunities they possess. The time necessary to carry on such work would be well spent. The expense of such societies would be practically nothing. If more than one were founded, a healthful spirit of rivalry that would lend sufficient interest to the work would soon arise; and we would find ourselves better prepared for the work that will be required of us when we leave the University than we can possibly be under the existing conditions. We have the talent; we have the ambition; we have the energy; why shall we not use them for our own good?
The umbrella and rubber "fiend" has commenced his work. Several students have reported the loss of umbrellas and rubbers, and as in most cases the name of the owner has been either carved or written in plain sight on the object stolen, it is certain the articles were not taken by mistake. If the thief is apprehended he will be roughly dealt with. Something should be done to stop this malicious practice.
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