HAZING.

DEAR SIR, - Two years ago the members of the present Senior and Junior Classes entered into an agreement that they would themselves refrain from the practice of "hazing," and would discountenace it in others. This agreement they have faithfully adhered to, and for two years Freshmen have been free from annoyance proceeding from Sophomores.

Could this abandonment of a practice which has been a serious blot upon the character of American Colleges be prolonged for two years more, we may fairly hope that in ceasing to be a "College Custom," the practice would lose its last hold upon young men who are justly proud of the good name of Harvard Students as gentlemen.

With the abandonment of the usage here, a long step would be taken towards securing its abolition elsewhere; and it seems eminently proper that the College which has taken the lead in widening the range and elevating the spirit of College instruction, in recognition of the increased maturity of its students, should also be foremost n discarding and discountenancing a tradition which could have sprung up only when students were mere boys, not yet come to that sense of personal dignity which shrinks alike from inflicting and from accepting a wound to self-respect.

The College authorities are powerless to do more than keep such an evil in check, as in past years, by the painful method of dismissing detected students, - usually not the most culpable, - thus perhaps blighting their prospects for life. The responsibility or the credit for breaking up such a custom must rest with the students themselves, especially with the members of the Sophomore and Freshman Classes.

Few Sophomores really think that the character or bearing which they disapprove in Freshmen will be corrected by the process of "hazing"; very few of them can be induced even by the authority of a College custom to violate their instincts as gentlemen by taking part in subjecting fellow-students to indignities. What is needed is that those who are above all participation in the annoyance of Freshmen should shake off the influence which hinders them from actively discountenancing all such practices.

The hold of the custom lies mainly in that conservative instinct which makes us all slow to give up an old usage, even though a mischievous one; and doubly so when its abandonment may seem due to lack of spirit. This instinct is strongest where experience is least; and young men can hardly be expected to resolve not to do what their predecessors for generations have done, unless they receive in this course encouragement and support from the emphatic counsels and warnings of those whose opinions and advice they have learned to respect and follow.

As my experience has shown me that Freshmen not infrequently provoke attack by offensive manners, misinterpretation of non-interference, challenges, and the like, and are thus at times no less responsible than Sophomores for the continuance of the practice of hazing, I send this circular to the parents of both Sophomores and Freshmen, and I urge upon them promptly to throw the whole weight of their influence and authority in favor of the continued abandonment of a custom which has been a reproach to the College and its students, a serious obstacle to the work of both, and which, if not now revived, we may hope has lost its vitality forever.

Truly yours,

E. W. GURNEY,Dean of the Faculty.