THE CLASS IN GENERAL ATHLETICS

Mr. Garcelon's class in general athletics, which starts today, is practically the only organized attempt in the University to gather together a squad of men for the sole purpose of showing them the true value of exercise for its own sake. That it fulfills its purpose is evinced by the fact that the membership of the class is three times as great as it was last year. Most of these men are Freshmen, and all are more or less inexperienced, for no man engaged in organized sport is allowed to join the class. The fact that so many men have availed themselves of this opportunity is a hopeful sign that at last the College as a whole is beginning to appreciate that a healthy body is one of the greatest factors in developing and maintaining a vigorous, active brain.

From another point of view, this movement may be considered to disprove largely the charge so often made against American athletics, namely, that they are not undertaken for the sake of sport itself, but only from a desire for victory and fame.

If this innovation continues to be successful it may be used as the entering wedge for a much larger class; and, in a new gymnasium equipped with adequate facilities, its final development may be a system of compulsory exercise for the Freshman classes of the future.