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Show Cambridge Universityn t rJ ; !; H ( r ' J J i V UT" f V" ?" I J '14 rf" 't The Senate House, Cambridge. are curiously abbreviated garments, a survival of the clerks' uniform of the Middle ages; but the forms of each college have distinctive features, fea-tures, such as the three small velvet chevrons on the sleeves of those of St. John's. Normally the gowns are black, but those of Caius (pronounced "Keys") are blue with black facings, fac-ings, those of Trinity a darker blue. They, and their accompanying square mortar-board caps, are often in the most decrepit state, since a tattered gown or a crushed cap is regarded as a sign of seniority; hence, "freshers," as the first-year undergraduates are called, frequently fre-quently indulge in an orgy of near-destruction near-destruction to acquire this outward mark of seniority. This procedure can prove expensive. It may involve in-volve the purchase of an entire new outfit to secure the approval of outraged out-raged authority. Gowns are worn when attending lectures, or when dining in college hall, which is the one occasion when the members of a college meet together, to-gether, a certain number of nights each week, whether they wish to or not. Gowns must also be worn on the streets after dusk, and woe betide the unfortunate undergraduate who encounters a proctor when not In this garb. It is an equally heinous sin if he be found smoking In the streets, even when he Is properly attired. These are two of the offenses of-fenses against the dignity of the university for which the proctors, who have charge of university discipline, dis-cipline, are on the lookout A proctor, to the undergraduate, is an impressive and fear-inspiring being not only because of the moral weight of the authority behind him but also because he is always supported sup-ported by two "bulldogs" or "bull-ers." "bull-ers." These robust college porters, in spite of silk, hats and formal black suits which they are obliged to wear, are often surprisingly agile in their pursuit of a delinquent undergraduate. un-dergraduate. Process of Discipline. But when a capture is effected, proper formalities must be observed. ob-served. "Sir," says the buller, polite but puffing, "the proctor would like to speak to you for a moment." And when you are brought before the majesty of authority, the conversation con-versation is equally courteous. "Sir, I regret to see that you are not properly dressed; I should be glad if you would call on me in the morning." Your name is noted in a book, and when in a spirit of due repentance re-pentance the visit is made the next day, you are fined. If you are a bachelor of arts the fine is larger, for surely years of descretion, accompanied ac-companied by the right to wear a longer gown and a proper tassel on the cap, must be expected to bring a proper respect for the laws of the university. Offenses committed on Sunday also involve a double penalty. No offender escapes. It is on record that King George VI smoked what was probably the most expensive cigarette of his life during dur-ing his undergraduate days at Cambridge. Cam-bridge. Friendly rivalry among the colleges col-leges is shown in the wide variety of sports jackets, or "blazers." They appear in all colors and combinations combina-tions of colors, and may denote not only memhership in some particular college but also some athletic achievement, such as membership in the cricket eleven or the Rugby football team. Most coveted is the pale blue blazer which only those who have represented the university in athletics ath-letics are entitled to wear. For the remainder of their lives these fortunate for-tunate ones will be remembered as Cambridge "blues." There are "half blues" for the less arduous sports, such as shooting, or even chess! "Blazers" owe their very name to Cambridge, for this was the term quite naturally applied to the scarlet scar-let coats which the Lady Margaret Boat club, of St. John's college, adopted as its uniform. Sports in general hold a high place in life at Cambridge. Rugby and association football known as "rugger" and "soccer" are popular pop-ular in the winter, while in summer sum-mer cricket and tennis take their turn. But the sport of sports at Cambridge is rowing. Prepared by National Geop-raphto Society, Washington, D. C. WNU Service. MANY American college men, old and young, find odd contrasts between university uni-versity life in the United States and that of ancient Cambridge. Cam-bridge. These differences are plain in discipline, In daily life, In the relations between faculty and undergraduates un-dergraduates (never "students" at Cambridge), and In certain customs cus-toms peculiar to this venerable seat of learning. There is little about the dingy railroad rail-road station at Cambridge to suggest sug-gest that somewhere thereabouts stands a great university town. A policeman of whom you ask your way to "The University" offers of-fers no help; he cannot, simply because be-cause there are so many colleges here, each in itself a little university. univer-sity. However, after driving into town along a wide thoroughfare which your taxi man tells you had been in ancient times a highway used by Roman soldiers, you finally arrive at St. John's college which you are to enter. Because John Harvard, principal founder of the famous American center of learning which bears his name, was educated at Cambridge, this university holds a special interest in-terest for people in the United States. John Harvard entered Emmanuel college in 1627. In an old leather book there you see his signature, and a notation that he paid a ten-shilling ten-shilling matriculation fee. Now a tablet is set up in the chapel at Emmanuel to his memory; mem-ory; and last year Cambridge in England observed with sympathetic interest the movement in Cambridge, Cam-bridge, Massachusetts, to celebrate the 300th anniversary of the founding found-ing of Harvard college. Each Cambridge college is a separate sep-arate entity. Each has its own chapel, chap-el, lecture rooms and assembly hall, but most of the space is devoted to residential quarters. This independence has been characteristic char-acteristic of Cambridge from its earliest days. It dates from the foundations established by religious orders, such as the Dominicans and the Carmelites, most of which belong be-long to the first part of the Thirteenth Thir-teenth century. It continued with the foundation of the colleges, the first of which was Peterhouse, established es-tablished in 1284. The majority of the others followed in the Fourteenth, Four-teenth, Fifteenth, and Sixteenth centuries, cen-turies, though Selwyn was founded as recently as 1882. Finally Admitted Women. Cambridge long held out against the admission of women students, and, though it was obliged at last to surrender and welcome the two girls' colleges, Newham and Gir-ton, Gir-ton, more than sixty years ago, it still, unlike Oxford, does not allow women to take actual degrees. The "undergraduettes" attend lectures, lec-tures, both university and college, with the undergraduates, and take the same "honors" examinations (they are not allowed to take the easier "pass" examinations), but if successful their reward is merely a "title to a degree." Every college has its own staff of tutors and its own endowments which, together with the fees from its student members, provide for its upkeep. In many cases the colleges col-leges have acquired much landed property. From the beginning it is impressed im-pressed on the student that the loyalty loy-alty of the individual is first to his college. It is by no means uncommon un-common for the members of a family fam-ily to send their sons to one particular partic-ular college, generation after generation. gen-eration. But in the background there remains the Alma Mater, the university uni-versity itself. To the initiated it is your college that you mention first; to the stranger, if asked, you announce yourself as a Cambridge man. The university, like a college, is a corporate body with its own endowments en-dowments supplemented by contributions contri-butions from the colleges and the government. It also has its own lecture lec-ture halls and research laboratories laborato-ries and it alone appoints the professors, pro-fessors, who are the elite among the "dons," or faculty members. While the ultimate governing authority au-thority is the senate, which consists of those who have taken the degree of master of arts, the executive authority au-thority is vested in the chancellor, elected by the senate, who is now always a prominent national figure. In practice, however, his duties are performed by the resident vice chancellor, who is invariably the head of one of the colleges. Gowns Are Important. This division of the university's life into colleges is seen in the differences dif-ferences in the gowns, which all undergraduates must possess. These |
