1903-04 Volume 28 No 1–5 - Phi Delta Theta Scroll Archive

334 THE SCROLL.societies in general than any book ever published except"American College Fraternities" and "The Cyclopsedia ofFraternities." The author has been industrious in the collectionof material from scattered sources, and has broughttogether a fund of facts and incidents that is most interestingto college men, whether under-graduates or alumni.The book opens with a chapter on ' Student Life inEurope"—German universities, English universities andScottish universities. The account of student life at Oxfordand Cambridge says:"The early years of the nineteenth century witnessed a complete changein the attitude of the English student toward athletics. It is no longer theoccasional student who rows or plays football or cricket whenfancy dictates;now almost every undergraduate as a matter of course follows some sport.Athletics are not only the most picturesque feature of Oxford and Cambridgelife, but also form the chief ties which bring men together. Chronologically,boating was developed first, followed by cricket, football, track and fieldathleticsThe college serves as a unit of university organization; each college hasits own set of clubs, athletic, debating, literary, and social. Of these, theathletic is the most important to the average undergraduateThe existence of separate colleges within the university greatly simplifies theproblem of organization. Mention has already been made of the full set ofathletic clubs maintained by each college. The athletic interests of theentire university are provided for by a number of general clubs, one for eachbranch of sport. The interference of academic authorities in the attempt tocheck abuses is unheard of, chiefly because the athletic traditions among the'undergraduates is sufficiently strong to preserve a healthy athletic spirit.The greater maturity of the average English collegian is another factor whichmakes for clean sport.While the percentage of undergraduates actively participating in athleticsis much greater than in America, the contests lack the fierceness of energyand sense of tension which accompany similar trials of skill across theAtlantic. The English seem to play more for the love of sport and lessfrom a desire to beai somebody than their American cousins. Controversiesover details of matches and recriminations back and forth seldom occur.The athletic class is more highly differentiated from the mass of the studentsthan in the United States, but there is an absence of professionalism in theworst sense of the term—e. g., outsiders are not hired to attend college forthe only purpose of participating in athletics.We have yet to speak of a number of miscellaneous organizations of minorsignificance, the most notable of which are the university social clubs, patternedafter the ordinary club of London. The clubs of Oxford are theBullingdon, Vincents, and Gridiron. Of these, the Bullingdon is the most exclusive,and was formerly the most popular, although in late years it hasabdicated the leadership in favour of Vincents. Membership in Vincents iscoveted by all the undergraduates who regard social success as an importantpart of their academic career. Its membership is largely made up of successfulathletes, although it usually secures the most popular men from allthe colleges regardless of muscle, Still, in some quarters, Vincents isregarded as an athletic clique. It plays an important part in the social lifeof Oxford, forming a centre where men from tlie different colleges cap meet