A Personal impression

To the Editor of the CRIMSON:

The very interesting communication from Principal Irvine in today's CRIMSON is, I fear, likely to prove misleading. As a description of British Universities it is excellent but incomplete. It applies fully to Oxford and Cambridge, fairly well to St. Andrews. very ill to the other versities. Even if it be argued that Oxford and Cambridge are the English University system, St. Andrews is very far from being the Scottish system. The English system is by far the smallest in numbers. (about one-tenth of the enrolment in Glasgow or Edinburgh) and, Apart from its seniority, has no special assets to offset its numerical weakness. St. Andrews, like Oxford and Cambridge, is if the system described by Principal Irvine is to be imitated here the task should be approached with knowledge of how much the three senior British universities owe to historical accident. Principal Irvine seems to imply that the college system can be created quite easily, that it has been so created revived in the new Universities of England and revived in the old universities of Scotland all of which I believe fake.

Finally from my own experience I can testify that Harvard and Glasgow have much the same problems in policy, that Harvard is in many wavs, nearer Oxford than is the biggest Scottish university and I believe this to be true of all the Scottish universities including St. Andrews.

This is not to imply that Harvard is as yet, very near the Oxford system and still less I imply that the considerable divergence is necessarily a matter for regret. D. W. Brown. Glasgow. Oxford, and G2.

Finally from my own experience I can testify that Harvard and Glasgow have much the same problems in policy, that Harvard is in many wavs, nearer Oxford than is the biggest Scottish university and I believe this to be true of all the Scottish universities including St. Andrews.

This is not to imply that Harvard is as yet, very near the Oxford system and still less I imply that the considerable divergence is necessarily a matter for regret. D. W. Brown. Glasgow. Oxford, and G2.