8 



SCIENCE 



[N. S. Vol. XXVI. No. 663 



dent. The newcomer at a college "may not 

 possess the information needed to enable 

 him to exercise this freedom; but during 

 the first half-year or quarter of residence 

 most students can acquire sufficient in- 

 formation about the different teachers of 

 the subjects which interest them to enable 

 them to exercise discreetly this freedom of 

 choice among teachers. Having found his 

 best teacher, the student ought to find him- 

 self free to follow him for several years. 

 Unfortunately faculties are more likely to 

 interfere with this particular liberty than 

 with any other, as for instance by enacting 

 that philosophy, or economics, or political 

 science shall not be accessible to any stu- 

 dent before the sophomore year. 



Under a broad elective system in the ai-ts 

 and sciences the students will ahvays make 

 many choices of single courses which in- 

 terest them, or look to them profitable; but 

 there will also be a great variety of volun- 

 tary groupings of courses, and the liberty 

 to make an approp»iate grouping is a very 

 important part of academic freedom for the 

 student. Such groupings are often deter- 

 mined by the student's foreknowledge of 

 his professional career, or if this knowledge 

 is lacking, by his own selection of kindred 

 subjects, all of which commend themselves 

 to his taste or his judgment. This liberty 

 to make groupings, each one for himself, is 

 another important element in a just aca- 

 demic freedom. Almost all students who 

 decide on their profession early in their 

 college, course make groupings which will 

 further them in their professional career, 

 and in their preparation therefor, and for 

 the student there is no safer principle of 

 selection among appropriate college sub- 

 jects. A student who lacks this clear guid- 

 ance may most safely depend for guidance 

 in the choice of his studies on the tastes 

 and capacities of which he is conscious. 

 Among the multitude of culture courses 

 which a large college offers, the safest selec- 



tion for the individual student is that of 

 courses in which he has the capacity to 

 achieve something considerable. Interest 

 in a subject is an indication of fitness for 

 its study, or, in other words, a student is 

 much more likely to succeed in a subject 

 which interests him strongly than in a sub- 

 ject which does not. Achievement and 

 gain in power are the true rewards of per- 

 sistent exertion, and the best spurs to 

 further effort. The college student ought 

 to be free to specialize early in his course, 

 or not to specialize at all; to make his 

 education turn on languages, mathematics, 

 history, science or philosophy— for ex- 

 ample — or on any mixture of these great 

 subjects. 



The college student may reasonably ex- 

 pect to find himself free from attempts to 

 impose opinions on him. These attempts 

 may be made by his teachers, or by inti- 

 mate comrades, or by groups of companions 

 and friends, or by mass meetings. He has 

 a right in these days to be free from the 

 imposition of opinions, whether attempted 

 by elders or associates, by one individual or 

 a multitude. He has also a right to be 

 free from all inducements to cant, hy- 

 pocrisy, or conformity. On this account, 

 voluntary attendance at all religious exer- 

 cises is a valuable element in academic free- 

 dom. No student ought to be able to sup- 

 pose that he will gain anything towards 

 high rank as a scholar, or social standing, 

 or popularity among his fellows by any 

 religious observance or affiliation whatso- 

 ever. A mercenary or profit-seeking spirit 

 in religious practices is very injurious to 

 young people, and is peculiarly repulsive 

 in them. 



The student Avho needs pecuniary aid in 

 college, or desires employment in which he 

 can partly earn his livelihood, ought to find 

 an absolutely free competition for such as- 

 sistance on merit only, without regard to 

 any opinions or practices of his. It is 



