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.
