THE VIRGIN AND THE DYNAMO

In departing from purely routine affairs of his department and daring to interpret sickness in terms of underlying anxiety and worry, Dr. Bock in his Report to the President has shown his insight into student problems and has gone far in implying a solution to the factors of modern civilization as they threaten to impede Harvard's progress. His words are proof, if proof be needed, that the University's attitude toward the undergraduate must change with changing times if he is fully to benefit from what the College has to offer.

Yet in justice to the University it must be said that a conscious effort has been made to eliminate "the stresses and strains of living" to which Dr. Bock attributes much of the illness treated by his department. Every attempt has been made to relieve the undergraduate from financial worry, although many of these services are not fully appreciated. In addition to an increasing effort to provide scholarships for deserving students, excellent work has been done by the Placement Bureau and the Student Employment Office in finding jobs for men during and after college, and this service has been supplemented by loans from Lehman Hall when circumstances warranted.

The Hygiene Department itself has been of great service in ironing out student problems, and the personnel director of Phillips Brooks House has also done much to make the social life of undergraduates run smoother.

Perhaps even more valuable in erasing worry from the undergraduate mind is the policy of the officers of the University in remaining accessable to students at all times. Despite the growth of the University, this personal note has been carried over from the Harvard "of thirty years ago,"--when students were less harassed, according to Dr. Bock--and is one of the most valuable assets of the college today.

Yet rising admissions to Stillman indicate that there is still much to be done in this field. Just what additional measures should be taken to secure tranquility in the Yard, at least, will have to be decided by University Hall, possibly with the assistance of Dr. Bock, But the cardinal point of the Hygiene report, that present conditions of life are impairing the efficiency of the undergraduate, must not be overlooked. Dr. Bock in underlining this basic malady, has rendered a service to the University.