CURRENT EVENTS CONTEST OPEN TO UNDERGRADUATES

The New York Times Current Events Contest, which has become an annual affair, will take place this year at 3 o' clock in Widener N on March 4, it was announced yesterday by Dr. J. F. Sly Ph.D. '26, of the Department of Government.

This contest is open to any undergraduate student of Harvard, the winner to receive a medal and a cash prize of $250. The basis for the competition is general and specific knowledge of the news of the world over a set period of time. No special preparation in the nature of courses is required nor is any registration necessary. The contest is open to all men in any branch of the College who have an interest in the news, and it is only necessary to appear at the designated hour and place to take the examination.

At the same time that the examination is given at Harvard, 19 other colleges will also receive the test. The paper of each of these contests which obtains the highest ranking will be submitted in an intercollegiate contest of these 20 colleges to compete for an additional prize of $500.

The extent of the news to be covered will be from April 1, 1929 to the date of the examination, and the type of examination will be similar to those of previous years. The test will last for three hours and will be divided into two main subdivisions: the first of these will include a number of factual questions which will call for knowledge of small bits of information on various subjects; the second group will call for much wider information and longer answers. The latter are to be in "editorial style" and are to be no longer than 500 and no shorter than 250 words.

Last year the examination covered the news from June 1, 1928 until February 15, 1929. A certain amount of time was also allotted to each division of the test last year; but as it became complicated in keeping track of this in the examination, this has been given up, and the contestants may this year spend their time as they choose on the various portions of the test. Last year the Harvard contestants did well on the essay group of questions; but their showing was not as good in the factual division.

The questions of last year were in part as follows:

A. I. Identify definitely but briefly, bringing out the part played in news of recent notice:

1. Lord Dawson of Penn.

2. William F. Whiting.

3. Claude G. Bowers.

4. Kittyhawk.

5. Roald Amundsen, etc.

II. Answer the following questions in a word when possible:

1. Who was chairman of the Republican National Committee during the recent campaign?

2. Who is the president of Mexico and whom did he succeed?

3. Who is "Big Bill Thompson"?

4. What states in the South did Hoover carry in the recent election?

5. What country has had three kings in the last three months? etc.

III. Write answers briefly, in general about 40 words apiece:

1. What did the Supreme Court hold in the Wire-tapping Case?

2. What is the Crown Council in England, and why was it established?

3. What was the controversy in connection with the library at Louvain?

4. What is the present status of the Boulder dam controversy?

5. What was the relation of the League of Nations to the Bolivia-Paraguay dispute? etc.

B. Write a few paragraphs including editorial comment in an essay of 250 to 500 words on five of the following subjects:

President Coolidge's Armistice Day address; Byrd's Antarctic expedition; Recent developments in China; Pan American relations in recent months; The Coronation of Hirohito; etc