NEEDLESS RECUPERATION

That the good to be derived from intercollegiate athletics far outweighs any harm that may be done by a certain amount of distraction from our studies the CRIMSON has always maintained. And yet, as our contributor argues this morning, interference with studies is far greater than it should be, simply because the athletes are abusing their privileges and hurting the very cause which they all have at heart. There is no necessity to curtail schedules, no necessity to deplore the natural tendency of mankind to test the strength and skill of one body of men against another; but there is a necessity to impress upon the athletes that their first duty is to their studies, and that participation in a hard athletic season is no excuse for an extended tour of recuperation. The opportunity is seized merely as an easy chance for a vacation, the uselessness of which is already realized by many of our most active athletic competitors. It is high time to give up selfish motives in the interest of our athletics. A few years of strict attention to duty will create a lasting precedent against a practice that is causing perfectly legitimate complaint.