Swarthmore College - Halcyon Yearbook (Swarthmore, PA)

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Swarthmore College. its orign and some notes upon its early history. By Edward H. Magill. CHAPTER III. HE fifth year of the college opened in the autumn of 1873, the seven members of the Faculty of the previous year remain- ing unchanged. Four of the graduates of the first class con- tinued this year as resident graduates, and three of these acted as assistant instructors in French, German, English, and Mathe- matics. The number of undergraduates during this year was 89, of whom 79 pursued regular courses of study and 10 irregular or partial courses. Of the 79 regular students 46 pursued the Classical, and ; the Scientific Course. The number of preparatory students during the year was 176. It was in the opening of this year that the complete organization of the classes into regular Classical and Scientific Sections was fully effected. While the system of electives was still encouraged, under proper restrictions, the pursuit of one of the regular courses was earnestly recommended ; the regular and elective systems being so combined that the number of elec- tives increased as the students advanced, and in the Junior and Senior Classes the studies were largely elective. The feeling that too many of the younger students in the opening years of the college pursued irregular and elective courses to their disadvantage began now to prevail, and in the annual report for the year under consideration, this language occurs : It is a serious error to suppose that the pursuit of a select course is adapted to immature minds which especially need the advantages of system- 9