MARY 1 Soy a GRACE, ‘29. Editors _K. BALCH, '29 awe ‘ Assistant, Eaitors Cc. HOWE, ‘30 . SHRYOCK, ‘31 oS 6 5 = eee aiNCWAsE, ‘81 Ee eOaeE 3 ‘ @ubseription, $2.50. ~ . Malling Price, $3.00. SUBSCRIPT iS MAY BEGIN AT ANY TIME fer at. the “Zntefed as \second-class waiter Wayne, Pa. be Post Office. Editor this week; Cc. Howe, 30 _:$MOKING-IN-THE. VILLAGE. The action of the Self-Govern- ment Board ,in submitting to the undergraduates an amendment. to permit smoking in the tea rooms in “the village came as a- pleasant sur- prise. The conventional attitude towards the board is unfortunately much like that of Tom Sawyer . towards his-aunt. Running to ask permissions and conféss transgres- - sions, we thik of them as thinly disguised policemen,» When, there- fore, we learn that4hey have all the time been, working to secure for us additional privileges, we can hardly _believe our ears. »'There was com- plaint about the - prohibition on smoking in the village; but there has never been any general action. The removal .of the ban has, dropped upon. us like martina from the skies, Perhaps, as’ we enjoy our legal after-dinner cigarette,-we shall think kindly of the board_that won us the right to have it... 4 “THE WORM TURNS In the event of the new year hope has sprung into the heretofore wholly’ unenthusiastic blossoms. —It Hias been effectively brought to our notice that-we are not quite as de-! void of interesting- and amusing en- tertainment /as circumstances have previously led us to. believe. In the past we have been prone to * consider our “home talent” as some- thing to be. tolerated but inwardly despised. We-go-to pass judgment because, as a generation, we enjoy criticizing. And surely the general trend of our attempts at amusement do not elevate us to any considerable pitch of _hilarit Thé initiative exhibited on Satur- ‘day night should not, therefore, be allowed to pass without favorable comment, Although given under adverse spacial cotditions, it could not have failed to entertain the most sophisticated of us. As a whole we are appreciative where appreciation is merited. And if we have ‘such successful talent among us, it would seem cheering if we could anticipate appreciating it more frequently. LO, THE POOR AFGHAN! The Afghans, it seems, will have none of our Western civilization. To us who always thought an Afghan was a woolly pink blanket knitted*by Aunt Maria, it is a sur- prise to learn that they have so much character. They. appear to have decided ideas as to what is good for them, and_ the ‘new- fangled hotions introduced by their young king, Amanullah, do not appeal to them at all: ame Sais The womef who had been sent:to Turkey to be educated are to be re- called and returned to their harems. Henceforward they must cover their naughty faces with a modest veil. Turbans and long robes will _ be donned again.-by the stylish youths who had ordered swallow-tail coats from London. The. soldiers will again be permitted to become fol. _ lowers of-holy men... ue ‘This st menoarg ie onigsofsy |.can blame the poor Afghans ‘for de- |few- years more they will be able to eet not vie: better: than ait at..the. ‘feet of a holy man. In fact, who «| spising the - doubtful _ of ™| civilization ? .We hope that for a ‘hold out, looking down from*heights: *| of Oriental peace on the* feverish|” : es N. S. F. *s ve activity of the West. HAT WE-W. xUNS avi READ © At this point in the. college year when we are hurrying to get reports ‘in, to do our outside reading, even, a few of us, to start studying’ for exams, it is demoralizing to think of other students who are’ having a fairly leisurely time. For this is.the time of the Harvard Reading Pe-| tiod when, for upperclassmen at least, there are no classes and.ex-; ‘ams are not imminent. The stu- dents are given a certain period in which to read around in the sub- jects that interest them. ‘They are enabled to do some. independent work, some sight-seeing without the presence of an often helpful but too often annoyingly persistent guide. Of course, if they: wish to waste the| ime they will, just as they would in | the regular courses of classes, One}. cannot but think, however, that a greater number will profit by the freedom of the Reading Period than would by the restrictions of classes. At any rate, the plan must have had some fheasitre of sticcess last year to warrant its fepetition. Now that the Honors. Work is well started we suggest that the Cur- riculum Committee turn its, attention to a reading period for Bryn’ Mawr. "en | * ~~. “PLAYING POOR” ©: In a spirited article which re- cently appeared in Harper’s, Presi- dent Neilson, of Smith College, de- fends the women’s colleges against the charge of “playing poor.” Some- one seems to have advanced thé idea that American institutions of higher learning are concealing fabulous wealth behind a mask of beggary in order to attract more’ donations. This suspicious individual ought to be condemned for eternity to live in a large city on a professor’s salary. He would be thrifty indeed if he lid not recant inside of two. months. A. glance at the Comptroller's re- port for 1927-8 is sufficient to cor- rect any .snch. idea, in. regard to 3ryn Mawr at least. The cellege balancés like a tight- rope walker be- tween its assets. and its eXpendi- tures, till it seems as if every. leak- ing pipe in the plumbing system would threaten its equilibrium. The report, besides showing how narrow is the margin on. which the college operates, is a document to bé proud of, asa record of able financial management, ) Small a& is the item for te aching salaries when compared to the annual income of a single oil- king, it is so large in proportion. to the revenue that. it seems as if the colleges must live like a: monk on the spirit alone. “STUDENTS ST NOT Just before ation an invisible| policeman had been set up within j college boundaries. They called him Quarantine and put him to work with Conscience’and the Honor Sys- tem to keep us away from stuffy congestion that harbors influenza germs, « Apparently Quaranti fe spent Christmas in Bryn Mawr, for when we returned to classes on Thursday we discovered he was still strutting about the campus. In the past few days we have found his presence a 2reat stimulus for the invention of simple devices for entertainment during leisure hours. Since he for- bids bus riding and train travel we must of necessity walk to learn tbout the world; and greatly to our surprise a bull met by~chance on a shortcut,.through~a field is ‘much more fun than the same bull seen through a train’ window. — Since Quarantine prohibits attendance-at movies. and theaters, any crude horse-play—-out of classes or in— that affords: Comic relief is wel- comed and: highly appreciated. And since Quarantine bans shopping in crowded i told wealth of rare finds have:been Giacovercd « .in the Indeed, a | Finally it. was decided that the magnum t stores” an un-|: the village stores. Leneriomen for marks to be posted in. the hall of Taylor. Excitement-eaters, please: to Wait a bit. ; ‘ de (PONTINUED F FROM biheadod 1 Running a citing is much like planning and. executing ‘May Day—it is a mammoth undertaking. The ease with which this convention achieved itself and the general feeling of the delegates that it had-been inestimably worth while was a tribute to, the ability and energy of. the leaders. - a The work of the Assembly was divided inte three heads: plenary sessions’ of all the delegates, meetings of” diseussior groups and. standing-committees, and regional meetings. The N. S. F. A, is. divided into six geographical areas; dele- gates from colleges in these areas met in separate groups, twice during the convention. They discussed their own local problems, they gave their sugges- tions as to constructive changes possible within the N. S. F. A. and they assigned to members of their group certain dis- cussions to attend, with the purpose of reporting back..to-the--Regional-meeting. Mount Holyoke Self-Gov. Praised . The discussion groups were as” fol- lows: Student Government, Athletics, Fra- ternities and Sororities, Publications, R. O. T. C. Honor System, Foreign Rela- tions and Travel, Curriculum: On’ entering’ a discussion group one was presented with a mimeographed out- line of phases of the subject which might ‘be considered with value. Each carried recommendation to consider specific problems, rather than theories and gen- eralities. ‘ From. Student Government discus- sions, I learned of Mount Holyoke’s sys- tem of community government—one of the _‘most_effective, intelligent: schemes*l have heard of. It is a mixture of faculty and students serving in the judicial, legis- lative and executive branches of govern- ment. After. all, faculty live on the campus—the: line of demarcation is non- sense. : ‘The faculty. also serve on. Com- mittees, Dramatics, etc., being. elected as democratically as the students. Needless to say the result is a. firmer co-operation, and a greater mutual interest. There. were other_things to be gained. I was particularly impressed by one lady from the -south who, wanted to know what. Eas:ern “Women’s Colleges “did” to the incoming Freshmen. I asked her what she meant by “did.” She replied that they had had a great deal of trouble —the 6ld methods of putting freshmen ii their proper places were being frowned upon. Why in her fteshman’ year they nad ‘been painted entirely with house- va.nt, and now they only got their faces smeared. with easily removed goo. All of us from the East waxed. righteously> indignant. I assured her in a Ciceronian manner~that-—Freshmen---were-— human encased in house-paint. that they~ expected We_were dumb. ‘before the without ‘being She retorted treatment. Athletics lengthily. were - harangued opus’ for the coming year would be to correct innumerable evils in one - fell swoop by. standardizing athletic ‘eligi- bility rules all over the country. Military Training Discussed The report of the R. O. T. C. group was one of the most interesting; the dis- cussion itself was the most violent. People can gét pretty eloquent pro and con war and preparation for it. The arguments against the R. O. + C. seemed to me sounder than those for it—but | suspect a sneaking personal prejudice. The Honors system was discussed: in detail and on the whole upheld as a system. A gentleman from Harvard ad- van ed the .osical and beautifully Har- vard objection that one ‘came to college and was accepted as a gentleman. If-one wasn’t, other gentleman should not have to distress themselves with meddling in the affairs of an inferior person. Rules body’s business. Cheating and_ stealing are.,, But they are the business of the law, or the paid agents of the university. De amateur police. (Loud clapping from ‘Bryn Mawr). Foreign relations anc travel is one of the most fascinating aspects of the N. S. F. A,’s work. _ This department of the N.S. F.- 218 Madison | Avenue—it sends t t and made much’ of affic os a a tours. for student inneialaai a pena list of ' f gaits | ‘bi ‘the “quarantined ?; Exants~are-just}] around. the corner, and there’s no}, thedl-quitettke-the thrill“of wafting? stole son |-galleries and waits for beings after all and life was hard enough } such | docility of that.unknown imptébable race. | 2 of personal conduct, are nonsense, and. no- | ‘Others should not be forced into the role |: eae finch afl aos of Salt - Don’t Shoot! ° Somebody nebody’: s.shoe and nowg”*,.one is s Se cep er feet on the} ground with her shoes on ‘them. Shoes have been found hanging on lamp-posts and mysteriously sprouting on trees. Up and down the corridors of a certain hall, a half-clad ghost goes wandering, and this is her cry (with apologies to A. A. Milne): * ’ Hasn’t anybody seen my shge? ! left it here for only a minute, A poor little shoe with nothing in it, A little white shoe, with ‘a hole in the toe, : Only a mother could love it so. Who would go off with a single shoe? How would you like it to happen to you? I can't go around like my son John With one shoe off, and one shoe on. And a_good shoe, too, if it didn’t look it~ Wait till I catch the scum who took-it! Somebody- tell: mé; what do you do When people go off with your. shoe? Thes great shoe. war-is on! *x* * * Einstein has written a new book, five pages long, and it took hit ten years tc do it. That is, estimating 300 words a page, less than a word every two days. It-makes us ashamed. for being. so.talka-, tive. Our one comfort is that the New York Times doesn’t ‘know any~ more about science than we do. Einstein, says the Times, prophesied that “a fay of light’ would deviate from ‘its course. in a gravational field.” Now we. don’t pre- tend to know much, but we bet we can prophesy about fays of light just as well as. anybody. : * * * A whole. month, sinze we last took, up he old salt, shaker’-for the good work of putting*a little flavor in the whole- some soup of academic lifé. It’s needed now, if it ever was, with Mondays com- ing twice a week, exams impending, and Hy sitting in the gates. Whoever rides new on the Paoli local, consumes calories ‘n° Childs, eats peppermints in the peanut trains in’ West Philly, it is not we. as they say in the erammar-—books....Welike.. our__germs pure; and though no one Knows whether we are keeping them in or out, we can be quite sure that the ones we get will be our own breed, born in the blood, dyed in the wool, and aged in the wood of our Alma Mater. home-made bacteria !—We-patronize-our a : ywn industries. ‘ Market -Eighth SS MNTTEOTUSTUIVUUUVULE0CUNA0H4 LSU SS0E00E0LgUs NE Aoetusutttia Hurray for the | <