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About Yale Alumni Magazine | View Entire Issue (Dec. 3, 1896)
Votume VI. No. 10. NEW HAVEN, CONN., THURSDAY, DECEMBER 3, 1896. Price Tren CENTS. FACULTY COACHING IN DEBATE, Explanation and Discussion bya For- mer Yale Debater. In reference to an editorial which appeared in the Harvard Crimson last week supporting the action of the Ad- visory Committee in limiting ‘Faculty coaching’’ for intercollegiate debaters and making certain statements about the system of coaching by the Fac- ulty at Yale, an officer of the Yale Union makes the following statement, which was published in the Yale News: “This question of ‘Faculty coach- ing’ is not a new matter. It was thor- oughly discussed at the meeting of Harvard-Princeton-Yale delegates held here last Spring. It was found impos- sible to come to any agreement on the subject, Harvard holding a different opinion as to the point at which Fac- ulty assistance becomes unjustifiable, from that of either Yale or Prince- ton. All agree that there are objec- tionable features in any system in which the Faculty should give aid; but the .... . prohibition of Faculty help, proposed by one of the Harvard dele- gates, was considered impracticable; and the scheme now proposed by the Harvard Advisory Board is likewise imperfect, ‘‘No professor can suggests general analysis to a debater, for instance, without indulging in more or less of a criticism of the speech which the de- bater has already prepared. Thus any such measure as this leaves the way open for just such practices as the Board condemns. The misunderstand- ing seems to have arisen from the ex- aggerated newspaper reports of ‘Fac- ulty coaching’ here. Such reports have evidently furnished the basis for the Crimson’s statements as to the con- duct of preparations for debates at Yale, ‘“‘Having taken part in an intercol- legiate debate, my own experience may perhaps throw light on the question. Before becoming a member of the team which debated against Princeton a year ago, I neither asked nor received any assistance whatever from any graduate or member of the Faculty. After the final selections -we speakers met and mapped out our work. We went to members of the Faculty, who criticized this division slightly, without making any material change. They gave us no new facts and suggested but few new arguments. Various members of the Faculty were present at our practice debates. Their assistance was almost wholly confined to criticisms of the method of presen- tation and delivery. Such aid the Ad- visory Board considers justifiable and it was of great assistance to us. Twice when undergraduates who had prom- ised to debate against us, failed to ap- pear, members of the Faculty who were there to criticize us, kindly vol- unteered and spoke extemporaneously against us. It is upon the slender basis of such facts as these that reports were circulated claiming’ that we were ‘mere mouth-pieces of the Faculty.’ We fully explained these exaggerated accounts to the Harvard delegates last Spring, apparently to their satisfac- tion; and we are much surprised at their re-appearance in the Crimson, as well as at the resurrection of the whole question which we Yale dele- gates supposed that convention had settled. “Intercollegiate contests are only pos-_ sible through mutual concession. The Princeton and Yale delegates felt that this matter was not of so much jm- portance as the question of confining . three - eic", delegates to undergraduates working for a degree. On this subject they could not get the Harvard dele- gates to agree with them. Under the present arrangement, any special stu- dent, even a practicing lawyer, taking one hour a week in some. graduate school may enter an intercollegiate d>2- bate. The Yale and Princeton dele- gates, however, did not press this point when Harvard had expressed her <de- termination not to yield it. This was one of the mutual concessions which the Colleges made; and it seems to us that the point of no restriction upon ‘Faculty coaching,’ though it may con- ceivably lead to practices which we would condemn just as strongly as Harvard, belongs to the same cate- gory.” +44 — TO HEAR TAN MACLAREN, How Yale Weekly Readers May Se- cure Tickets. Mr. E. Lawrence Hunt, Secretary of the Students’ Club, authorizes the Yale Alumni Weekly to announce to its read- ers that they may secure tickets for the address by Ian MacLaren (Dr. John Watson) in the Fifth Avenue Presby- terian Church next Sunday, December 8, at 8 p.m., by applying at his office, 129 Lexington Avenue, on or before Saturday noon. The presentation of this copy of the Weekly will be the only © necessary identification. The meeting which Dr. Watson will address is peculiarly for college men and he was secured for it on the invita- tion of Mr. John Sloane, seconded by the cordial request of the Rev. John Hall. It is the only occasion on which he preaches in New York City. His lec- tures and addresses at New Haven are a sufficient guarantee, if any is needed, of the interest of this occasion. pe Football Captain to be Soon Elected. The football team has not yet met to elect a captain for next year as H. FE. Benjamin has not yet returned to College. He received the most’ se- rious injury of all the players who were forced to retire from the Prince- ton game, having sustained a Severe nervous shock. He is reported to have fully recovered by this time and is ex- pected to return to College by the end of this week. Captain EF. T. Murphy’s arm and Shoulder were temporarily paralyzed after he left the game, but by the fol- lowing Monday he had partially re- gained the use of his arm. A. H. Hine’s injury was only slight and has caused him no serious inconvenience. There seem to be two men now con- sidered as candidates for next year’s captaincy, Rodgers, ’98, and SBenja- min, 98S. Both men played. strong games at New York. Rodgers is an old- er and more experienced player and for this reason would. be preferred to Benjamin, who this Fall played for the first time regularly on the Univer- sity eleven. It has been stated, how- ever, that Rodgers has a preference for the captaincy of the crew, in which case he would hardly be able to ac- cept the other election. PROFESSOR ANDREW W.. PHILLIPS. Dean of the Graduate Department. - TO MEET HARVARD AGAIN, Athletic Relations will be Renewed in all Branches, \ A notice signed by the four presi- dents of the various university ath- letic organizations was published in last Saturday’s Yale News, stating that the Harvard Athletic Committee and the Yale Athletic Managers had severally held meetings and resolved that a renewal of athletic relations between the two universities was de- sirable. In consequence of this fact a University meeting was called on Monday evening, November 30, for the purpose of granting power to the Yale managers to make the necessary ar- rangements for the actual continu- ance of contests in football, baseball, track athletics and rowing. This question was stated by the pre- siding officer of. the meeting, and a vote by ballot was taken, which showed only six opposing voices. Such a strong sentiment in favor of again meeting Harvard in the various fields of athletics, though actually expect- eq from the University, nevertheless gives the various managers more con- fidence in taking steps toward a rad- ical change in Yale’s athletic rela- tions. No definite plan was proposed to the University at this meeting, but the plan in the minds of the athletic au- thorities of both Harvard and Yale is to enter into an agreement for a certain period of years, during which contests in all branches of athletics shall be arranged by the temporary managers. Some plan for the settle- ment of disputes, such as the appoint- ment of a board of arbitration, consist- ing of graduate; representatives from each University, will probably be ar- ranged. Whatever arrangement is made will aim to minimize the oppor- tunities for quarrels and disagree- ments of any kind between the two Universities and to obviate the disad- vantages of a constantly changing legislation, * —_—__++—______ Freshman Navy Officers. A meeting of the Freshman Class was held Tuesday evening, December 1, for the purpose of electing the officers of the Freshman Navy. J. S. Wheel- wright, ’97, President of the Yale Navy, presided. For President, J. C. Green- way 1900 was elected by acclamation. A. H. Durston, 99S. was elected Vice- President and J. H. Niedecken, 1900, Treasurer. _——__+4—___ In the next issue the Weekly expects to print an article on the condition and plans of the Graduate Department.
