THE MARKS OF DEPRESSION

Statistics released by University Hall yesterday offer the first definite report on the trend of undergraduate grades during the present year. Confirming a general opinion that the scholastic average has been much higher than last year, the present proof that in comparison with midyear grades last year, the number of men who presented unsatisfactory reports has decreased by three percent of the College enrollment. The general average is extended evenly through all classes, and presents a strong contrast to the reports of the last three years, during which the proportion of unsatisfactory grades fluctuated very little.

The immediate impulse is to ascribe the improvement simply to the House Plan. By creating a more scholarly atmosphere and by placing men in close contact with their tutors, the Houses have unquestionably stimulated upperclassmen to more serious study. Freshmen have certainly profited by their new proximity to the college, and by the greater compactness of the class as a unit. But to find in the House Plan, the sole, or even the chief cause of the improvement is over-hasty optimism.

Any judicious attempt to search out the causes must recognize that this year most undergraduates have felt for the first time the effects of the economic depression. For many the continuation of a college career depends on scholarships, and such aid depends entirely, on the maintenance of high marks. The economic impulse is certainly more tangible and more immediate in its effect than that provided by the House Plan. The chief cause for optimism lies in the possibility that the present tendency will continue after the economic pressure is removed.