Page:Popular Science Monthly Volume 62.djvu/24

18 of refinement and intelligence. That he ordinarily becomes effeminized by such contact is a fantastic theory of some critics which finds absolutely no tangible evidence upon which to rest. Certainly his manners leave much to be desired at times on the side of polite usage and suggest very remotely the adoption of feminine habits, and judged by athletic prowess, which is under the circumstances a very ambiguous index, the facts tell quite another story. At all events, athletic teams of western coeducational colleges have not infrequently defeated the representatives of eastern colleges for men, e. g., Yale, Princeton, Harvard, Brown, etc.

The complementary criticism that women necessarily suffer a loss of refinement and feminine nicety seems equally difficult of proof. It is certainly hard to point out any unavoidable features of coeducation which should inevitably preclude the development or retention of good manners and fine feeling. If the psychologists are correct, the acquirement of what we call manners belongs largely to a period antedating college life, and although a coarsening of the moral and esthetic fiber during this period would unquestionably appear in less refined conduct, it is not obvious that any such change commonly occurs, much less must occur under coeducational conditions. The fact seems rather to be that the college must inevitably expect to reflect in large measure the manners with which its students come already supplied, and these which are often admirable will be determined by the social standards prevailing in the families and communities from which they come. To be sure, the conditions of collegiate life afford an opportunity for throwing into vivid relief acquired social habits. They further afford admirable facilities for the discouragement of extreme variations from the accepted norm. But it is altogether problematic whether they can radically alter the level of the mass, at least this is doubtful under the prevalent conditions in most coeducational institutions where little or no supervision is exercised over students outside the class room. That the general tendency in all such colleges is toward a greater nicety of appreciation for social cultivation, can hardly be questioned. But the process of social leveling up is a slow one. There are no courses in the conventionalities, and no one should confuse the merits of such an institution with those of the young ladies' finishing schools of a great metropolis.

Much was said a few years ago of the certainty that the immediate future in university education belonged to the great urban institutions. It certainly seems probable that some of the most difficult problems in the near future belong to such of these institutions as are coeducational. If there is any serious menace contained in a predominance of the number of women over men in a college, these urban