Williams College - Gulielmensian Yearbook (Williamstown, MA)

Page 30 text:

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IIVJIN IIHULMENSIANII IINWI 1 Charles Frederick Seeley, Director of the Gymnasium. Was Physical Dircct,o1' :Lt Lehigh Universit,y, from which hc was called to Williams in 1883. I Af HI JUVENIGS CDocs this conflict with Rule 35?D 28

Page 31 text:

IWJI IIGULIELHENSIANII IIWHI The following three selections were chosen as the best articles which have appeared in the Williams Record, the Williams l.ile1'a1'y Monthly, and The Purple Cow, under the 1914 boards. The editors of the G'14lielmens1'an wish here to express their indebtedness to Professor Lewis Perry, who made the selections for them. Zllhe Tllilliillianis Refurb, .illllap 12, 1913 E worshipping the Zlhul Williams men are not all bootlicks. Yet manv undergraduates here conceive . P9 Public Opinion as an idol before which they must remain prostrate. Through three or perhaps four years of their college existence,-we hesitate to call it life - they keep their ear close to the ground to catch the slightest murmur of criticism. They do what the crowd does, think what the crowd thinks, and voice only such opinions as the crowd will find palatable. When many. men enter Williams, they become obsessed with a terror of get- ting in wrong . They cautiously conform to the opinion of the student public, attempting to make themselves a Williams type. The bargain they make is la- mentably poor: they sell their independence for the approbation of their fellows. In less radical cases, they merely extinguish any individual trait which might grate on the community at large. In extreme cases, they become chameleon-like persons who adapt themselves to their companions of the moment. They follow, not their inclination, but the course which they think will meet with popular approval. They never drink too much, for fear of being called drunkards. They never refuse a drink for fear of being called milksops. Idol worshipers are not rare in Williams. What causes the adoration of the fetieh? The provincialism of a small college begets an overpowering interest in one's neighbors business. Knocking becomes prevalent. A man feels that he cannot achieve success unless he escapes criticism, that is, unless he conforms strict- ly to Public Opinion. To win ephemeral distinction, he barters his individuality. We do not presume to attack the institution of Public Opinion. Within eer- tain bounds, it is a great and good force. It safeguards valuable traditions and customs. It prevents the hasty discarding of the fruits of experience. Yet it can be, and is, carried altogether too far,-carried to extremes which are both ludi- erous and harmful. 30