UNIVERSITY IDEALS.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 781, 2 April 1910, Page 3

UNIVERSITY IDEALS.

FRESHMEN'S DAY AT VICTORIA COLLECE. THE INAUGURAL ADDRESS. Yesterday the first term at Victoria College was formally opened, when the professors met their students and discussed with them the work for the coming year. In conformance with the usual custom, 'the chairman of the Professorial Board (Professor H. B. Kirk) delivered an inaugural address to the students. New students, he said, possessed erroneous ideas concerning their work at the University College. It was presumed, of course, that a student' who entered the university had a certain object in view. What that object should be was. not quite easy to define. To some, the function of the. university was to. supply a "polish" to the student, in very much the same sense that a finish was imparted to a piece of furniture. Otters had an idea that. by attending the university one received the "hall-mark of culture." That might be a 'very desirable object, no doubt, but as an ultimate object it was. not a verj worthy one.. In. the majority of. casesj however, students came to the university to qualify for a profession. Professors, Not Goaches. > What was the object of \the professors ? The ultimate ■ object was not to get students through their exaniina-t-ious. The .professors existed, for the purpose of imparting certain knowledge, out' even, thai} I ,' stfceomphshed, , ', there •• remained other .things—the proper mftntal development of their students'to the ond tnat • they might think correctly, and express themselves clearly; and their moral development, for here there was a responsibility laid upon the university. These things accomplished, there was something gained.. Professor Kirk then touched upon the subject of test books. These, he said, were not. to be- despised; for they were more necessary than might bo supposed,. for they were essential to the requirements ■ of their examinations; and he did not consider it to be" the business of.,the. professor to, prepare students for examinations. It was his business : to develop the. students', powers of ..thinking, .'and • in dealing', with a particular subject, he might find it expedient to develop . that f subject along altogether different lines from that employed by the author of the text book; He enjoined them, to frequent the college library, and freely consult "the literature of their subjects. Their college library \ was one that needed all the apology ; that could be offered] it was yet but a beginning..;' The Refining Process. .

Passing' on to the general aspects of student life at the university, the speaker emphasised the importance, of mutual help /.mong students. Their students were drawn from all classes— he did not'say this in a. derogatory sense—arid the. speech' of some was , not quite so' polished as it might .be. Even among honours; 'students ,fce had .'fre*; quently heard faulty English and. provincialisms.' ' The' tendency of student life should be to / remove these blemishes. The professors were not able to accomplish much themselves, and they looked to the general associations and the commingling of the students'as a process .of refinement. Helpful criticism at the debating society could do much, if exercised in a kindly, spirit. , ' One of the ,first things that cultured men in rite; noticed was ,the ! fashion irr which those with whom they. came' in contact '. expressed themselves.,. Defects in- expression had even been noticed in candidates for the Ehbdes Scholarship. ~' .

. Specialising for Rhodes Scholarships. ' Mention 'of the ■ Rhodes; Scholarship's, Professor Kirk went'on to say, reminded, him of something he , wished to say with regard to these. The idea' was getting abroad that men were being specially selected for ■training as candidates for the Rhodes Scholarship. Such an,,idea wouH be an exceedingly pernicious one if allowed, and he sincerely hoped thai Victoria College would never attempt that sort of thing. The real gain to the-college was not> the number of her students -who carried off the soholanship;.:but':the number of men who were well qualified to enter for it.' : Student Ideals.In conclusion; Professor Kirk urged his hearers to ; conduct themselves to the honour of. the university and of themselves. It might-not be possible for a student to attain a' higher standard than mediocrity. Even so, if; that represented his. maximum he should strive to accomplish it. There* was at least one field in which it was possible to rise far above mediocrity— the field of self-conquest.. The professors valued highly the privilege of addressing their students as "ladies and gentlemen," for these, terms inspired a sense of nobility: •• '■ Gentle bearing consisted in the avoidance of that which was coarse, vulgar',, or indelicate.-. "I will explain by. an illustration,", said Professor Kirk. . 'The college socials,, for example, though'_well'managed,' and conducted with great' heaitiness and niconventionality, were in the matter of gentle conduct, neither better, nor worse than similar functions elsewhere. That was not enough. They should aim higher. If a•" student put his arm round a young lady's' waist—(laughter) —and that young lady did not offer any violent opposition to - his ■ advances — (laughter)—there might not,- in a sense, be anything morally wrong about the proceeding. The 'point, however, was that the student would be. guilty of taking a liberty which a true gentleman would not take; while the young lady would suffer the loss of a portion of her true dignity as a lady. This species of conduct might not be improper for shop-boys and shop-girls, but it ought to be held improper for students." ■'When the professors received new students, they placed the honour of the college in their hands.