Tufts University - Jumbo Yearbook (Medford, MA)

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The present Senior Class reorganized at an early date, and held their Junior Prom in May at the Gym. Tufts Night at the Pops followed soon after, and was a rousing success. New buildings began to go up—the Hamilton Pool, the ME Lab, and for married students, Stearns Village. But the spring semester of ' 46 was only a har¬ binger of times ahead. The short summer semester found few students on Hill, for most people were taking a well earned rest. But the Fall term of ' 46 marked the inception of a new stage in the 95-year history of Tufts. Old students trooped back by the hundreds, and new ones poured in by just as many hundreds. A record en¬ rollment of over 3000 was reached. Housing problems were seemingly insurmountable, classes were uncomfortably crowded, text¬ books were unavailable. Life was anything but collegiate. It was chiefly confused. Many of the pre-war activities returned in full array. Fraternities, with the largest mem¬ bership in years, were once again a potent force in campus affairs. The Honorary So¬ cieties, bulwarks of college activities, were reactivated, but the light election vote was a discouraging sign in a hopeful situation. Clubs and societies sprang up by the dozen, For the Students . . . organized confusion and it began to look as if Tufts was to have one of its busiest extra-curricular years. Ath¬ letics, greatly bolstered by the Navy during the war, reverted to its peacetime pattern. The teams were not all headliners, but the coaches and the men did their best, under unique and trying conditions. But in the overall sense, the campus seemed to be afflicted with a sort of lethargy. True, activities of all sorts were being rejuvenated in surprising numbers, but closer examination revealed that only a small group of workers were actually responsible for these advances. Most people were simply not interested in taking a personal part in college affairs. The causes for this situation were complex, but one chief component was the greatly increased enrollment, which created a natural reluctance on the part of many persons to engage in activities with totally unfamiliar people. Attitudes developed by men who had suddenly matured during the war un¬ doubtedly contributed to the complexity. In defense of these people, it has been sug¬ gested that the college is primarily a place to gather knowledge and gain wisdom, but it is questionable that these ends can be attained without a certain amount of outside endeavor in more social fields than are or¬ dinarily found in classrooms. A person who is a scholar, and nothing more, is likely to be a dull character, and does not often con¬ tribute his due share to the whole community. However, this year ' s problems seem to be those of a transition state, a sort of bridge between a purposeful, wartime Tufts, and a progressive, peacetime one. Only when the underclasses have been properly organized and trained, and when all the students, fac¬ ulty members, and administrators, become thoroughly adjusted to these unprecedented conditions, will Tufts move positively forward. The new College on the Hill can be one of the leaders in the eternal task of appropriate¬ ly educating young people for the future. To do this, many improvements should be made here, but they will take time. It should be the duty of every loyal student and Alum¬ nus to give assistance in all possible ways to shorten this time, and to hasten the advent of the new progressive Tufts.

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i xi% i For Tufts Music Lovers . a choral treat 1 1 1

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Mcuf. 194-6 becemb i 1946 GUtiMtmaA,