University of the South - Cap and Gown Yearbook (Sewanee, TN)

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Colleges are so much a part of the American scene that we forgot what very odd institutions are. I don ' t know if there are any old-fashioned savages left on any desert islands, but if there are I think one of the phe- nomena a savage would find strangest in what we call civilization would be colleges. Using this one as an example: here we have almost 1000 men and women between 18 and 22. They leave their homes for four years. They come here, but they don ' t exactly move here. They stay these four years during which time society makes few demands on them. Though able-bodied, none of them earns his living and supports himself. They spend several hours each day listening and talking to men and women some years their senior about ideas, about the past, about questions no one has found a final answer to. They read books and write papers. They spend a fantastic amount of time talking to each other. They live in rooms far less pleasant than those at home and endure cooking which they think is considerably below the standard they are accustomed to. Someone, usually their fathers, spends a hugh sum of money to make this all possible. Very strange when you think about it 24

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