A COLLEGIATE CHRISTMAS

How quickly responsive the colleges are becoming to the needs of the times in the little things as well as the big is evidenced by a decision suddenly announced today from Tufts. President Bumpus has determined to extend the approaching Christmas vacation to cover a period of fully three weeks and a little over. This arrangement will serve two purposes. In the first place, there appear to be an unusual number of students in various departments of the college who are anxious to earn money just now, and the earning is never better that it is during the holiday season. In the second place, an extension of the vacation will mean for Tufts considerable economies in its use of fuel for heating, despite the fact that special provision will be made to continue uninterrupted the work of those students of drafts age who are now taking special intensive course to prepare themselves for service in one or another branch of the military establishment.

What seems of good promise in such a decision as this is not merely its wisdom as a war time measure, but also the responsiveness which it indicates even to a popular need that appears rather late in the day. Colleges have never been obtuse to such necessities, but of ten enough academic red tape has unhealthily restricted what should be the flexibility of collegiate administration, saving a proper measure of firmness and dignity. After all, an academy's calendar is not sacrosanct. Boston Transcript.