University of Tennessee Knoxville - Volunteer Yearbook (Knoxville, TN)

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An active student government system would prove the cure for many student ills and the fact that Tennessee does not possess such a system is due to no fault of the Administration but to the failure of the student body to use the privilege which has been given it. The All-Students Club, still in its infamy, has not become strong enough or rather perfected enough to cope with the many problems that await it. A few of these problems are: ill THE HONOR SYSTEM: When the University Y. M. C. A. cannot operate a refresh- ment counter on the honor plan and break even there is something wrong with the honor system. m THE PUBLICATION SYSTEM: Until the students demand a blanket tax the publica- tions will not only be moxe or less mediocre but will fail to rep1esent the student body. The council members and editors should be elected by the entire student body and not by two per cent of it. : : : . : . : : . : . : Hi SOCIAL FUNCTIONS: The social affairs of the student body should be regulated by the All-Students Club not only in regard to the number of functions permissible during a given time but also in regard to the type of the entertainment. When the student body gives over forty dances during the year with noth'ng else to break the monotony it becomes time for the leaders to legislate against it. The degenerated, modern dance is nothing to boast of either as rec1eation or entertainment. : : ' ' ' ' 2 : Hi HPOLITICS : There is a tendency among ce1tain students to buy their honors by llstring-pullingll and bribery. The student body should make their elect on rules so stringent that no politicing would be possible. There is a tendency also among certain fraternities to heap all the honors 0f the school upon the likeliest individuals of their groupethe result be- ing that said individuals get more than they can handle and the student body suffers therefrom. tSl ORGANIZATIONS: A university can stand just so many organizations and no more. When a new one is born an old one dies out. The All- Students Club should have some- thing to say about the formation of new organizations and also in legend to defunct clubs that never hold meetings : . : . . t ' ' t0 INDIVIDUAL RESPONSIBILITY: Some students become the head of so many organiza- tions that they cannot p1ope1'ly discharge their duties, and, as a result, their organizatmn makes little 01 no plog1'ess.Eve1'y student holding a position of trust should be held to strict account. : : . : : : : : : : ; : . . . : . tm COOPERATION: The university is composed of a multitude of organizations having a multitude of inte1'ests,F-interests which often clash 01' coincide the result being a lack of cooperation in matters of common interests. It is the duty of an AlleStudents Club to devise a means for closer cooperation. ' ' ' ' t ' t ' ' ' ' One could write on indefinitely on student problems but space prohibits. Some people say the Hill is organized to death. They are right. The student body needs reniral organization. : : : : ' ' t t ' t ' ' ' ' t ' We hear much about Ten- nessee Spirit,--and justly, for every student who leaves the University has a strong feeling of respect and reverence for his Alma Mater. The fact this spirit is rarely ever manifested is not because it lacks fervor but because of conditions. The University, with the exception of two dormitories, lives in the city. A few dormitories for men, better housing facilities for women and a better chapel-auditorium would lend a more collegiate Havor to our school spirit. If a few clubs and fraternities would leave off politics and subordinate their interests for the good of the schooLethat, also, would help. Then, too, an active, student gov- ernment system handled by active officers would be a great improve- ment. Page Thirteen

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. e351,? u, a way, EVOLUNTE p; Editorial S a senior stands upon the threshold of the workaday world and pauses for one brief look back into the halls of the University wherein he has i it worked for four long years he feels that he has become familiar with ,i his institution and knows something of its functions, aims, and other .:l characteristics. At the vantage point of the threshold he sees many good , points that in the thick of the tlfrayl, may have been obscure-and also H r' many blemt'shes that come into sharp outline at a more removed View. If a .. senior pauses here, then, and points out a few blemishes, leaving the ?; good points to speak for themselves, it will be with the constructive purpose of attempting t to better the road his fellows are traveling. : : : : : ' - ' - - I' f . . . . et 4 Tennessee is attempting to serve the chief interests of the state which are Education, I m Homes, Commerce, Industry, Manufactur'ng, Agriculture and Government. It is perfecting three programs: Research, Training of Leaders and Extension. This is well and good. . ; A University is expected to serve the interests of its state and it is remunerated for that 1 service by the appropriation of more funds for its upbuilding. But, after all, a certain ;r.' degree of danger lurks in over emphasizing the strictly practical or professionale-the danger ' V of lessening our attention to one of the greatest interests of the peaple, that of Happiness, i5 sought universally and attained only through the aesthetic. We may emphasize the nAg , the Engineer, the Lawyer and other interests to advantage, no doubt. But in wserving the practical are we not making our College of Liberal Arts a mere balancell between colleges? We should remember that fifty per cent of the student body are in the Arts course, and, f: after all, are of primary interest because they will take no small part in developing the state. l f There are a few students left in the state who love the classics and appreciate fine arts. l Ii The state owes these students as much attention as the professionals. It is the poet, the artist, 3 the all- round scientist, the ' Hf dreamer, if you will, that fur- nishes the vision,-and without that the people perish : : The growing tendency to 1 i'! underestimate the tlArts re- Hects itself in the activities of 1 the student body. What has lg become of the old days When : ml our debating halls were crowd- ' . ed to capacity, when our liter- I ' ary societies llwaxed hotll, I when all the seats to Hamlet :i We were sold out and the visiting l t glee club was given an ovation t I tto say nothing of the local 4 onel? Does the student still en- i joy these things? Nay, not so! V He has deemed it wiser to be jocund with the fruitful grape and spends his leisure hours at the dances,--over forty of which have been given this year. a. w- ...4 T Page Ttwelw wwwv- 33.241: Wklrkm WEliSlTY o TENN-EgSEEE5 Vrag'ifiie 1 2-1;;- V I I tuwmim M. LEM, l ' A .mtl2 1--i a g....1

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PRESIDENT H. A. MORGAN Page Fourlegn