EXTRACURRICULAR FATIGUE

The fact that before issuing an appeal for Freshman cooperation, the Fatigue Laboratory should feel it necessary to inaugurate a publicity campaign to insure a favorable reception of their demands, speaks poorly for the undergraduate body.

The tendency of the Freshman Class to point a finger of ridicule at anyone who "goes to see the teacher" about something that is not made wholly clear shows a childishness that should have been discarded in high school. When 120 Freshmen volunteered to forward the work of research by undergoing brain tests, it was instantly assumed that these men were freaks of some sort, and life was made unpleasant for many of them.

This puerile attitude took a more sinister form in the forged letters which falsely accused certain Freshmen of having social diseases. This prank has been tried before in other colleges, and has on occasion resulted in suicide when the recipients were more than usually sensitive. Here it had only the effect of further alienating Freshmen from the idea of cooperation.

Too often the Freshmen who arrive at Harvard, view the fame and importance of the University in an impersonal light, attributing them to the work of a highly paid personnel. They do not realize that Harvard has achieved its present position through the work and cooperation of every member of the University, students and officers alike; they fail to see that for the next four years the progress of the College will be to some extent dependent on them.

It is the optimistic hope of the Fatigue Laboratory that the Freshman Class will grow up sufficiently in the next few days to enable it to get on with its research; it is the hope of the University that every student enrolled will come to realize that his first great extra-curricular duty is cooperation in the advancement of Harvard.