University of Massachusetts Amherst - Index Yearbook (Amherst, MA)

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THE INDEX. soldiers, — veterans in all the details of war. To be able to marshal, equip, arm and set in motion an army of drilled men at a moment ' s notice, — this constitutes the reliable independence of a country. Our military or- ganization has always been a great feature of the college, and it bids fair to become doubly so under the present instructor. As regards practice, we knoAv of none so demoralizing as to deserve censure. College students are usually de- nominated wild ; perhaps there are some of us who come under the general epithet. But we know that wild gen- erally means wide-awake, and the more of such men we get here, the better. The athletic games were a success. A comparison of our records, with those of other colleges, will show that we are far from being behind in field sports. The thanks of the college are due the Committee for their judicious selection of prizes and complete arrangements. We hope to see a continued interest in these games, believing that there are real benefits resulting from them. We have a word to say to the succeeding class : Do not fail to publish the Index ; there are some in every class who will be indifferent or opposed to the publica- tion. This is the only exponent there is in college to rep- resent the students, which ought to be a sufficient reason for its continuance.

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Ediioirial, Fellow Students : In submitting to you tliis volume of the Index, we have to offer a congratulation upon being enabled to look back on a year full of prosperity and satisfaction, and replete with facts which, as bearing on the future of our institution, are significant. We allude to the growing popularity of our college and the rank it is taking among institutions of learning. From the year of its foundation the college has had to encounter oppositions of every sort and magnitude ; and, worse than all others, that know-nothing opposition that opposes simply because it don ' t know. We are slowly but surely living down all this unfriendliness ; and, fel- low-student, don ' t leave all this work of conversion to the man at the wheel. Although the ship is in good hands, yet we, as students, in onr peculiar relations with one another and with the public, act an important part in giving character and place to the college. We suppose it is our province to criticise departments and practices. As for the former, they are all that could be desired ; we are instructed by live men whose con- stant effort it is to give us the latest and best. Especial- ly do we notice the activity and interest that has sprung up in the Military Department, since the advent of the new Professor. Much has been urged against the ex- tended system of military instruction recently started in this country. In this age of rivalry a people, to be great and to maintain its greatness, must be a nation of

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, gfp ' 76. In accordance with the regular course of yearly change, the class of ' 76 linds itself enrolled at the head of the College lists. One after another of the classes preceding it have completed their four years journey through the different branches of science, and have departed with their sheep- skins to plow their way to fortune or fame, and ' 76 has been left in the responsible position of Sen- iors, the leaders and mentors of the College. In any question of importance or interest, all eyes are directed towards ' 76 for advice and guidance, and they find us not unprepared. We have only to consider the immeasurable influence that a Senior class may exert up- on the College, to remember that our efforts will be seconded by the other classes, no matter in what direc- tion they may be turned ; to resolve, that whatever in- fluence we may exert may be for the benefit and im- provement of our institution. Already, under our di- rection and management, many of the old fashioned col- lege customs have vanished ; hazing and cane rushing are for us things of the past, and in their place has sprung up a worthy class rivalry in manly sports, that for so many years have been here either entirely unknown, or only very tamely carried on. On every pleasant evening men may be seen, stripped to the waist, running around the mile square, and in every spare hour, during the day, base-ball and other athletic exercises are pursued. In all these various games many members of our class