THE PURE OF HEART

As though to give a crown of complete fatuity to all that has been said and done about limiting the freedom of the college press, from the University of Northwestern comes the report of a series of restrictions by which the morality of the editor will be strictly guarded from any taint. In the new order of sweetness and light, any reference to birth control is taboo; Miss Margaret Sanger is not to be named in print; Al Capone and his boy friends must not be mentioned; no stories may be printed reflecting on the morality of coeds at Northwestern or any other school, not even Chicago; nothing which ridicules or criticises the administration, the curricula, the town of Evanston, its residents or their conduct will be tolerated. This code has been drafted by the board of student publications, and presented for ratification by the faculty supervisors. With the hope that they will shield the boys from the contamination which the name of Mrs. Sanger imparts.

That the reign of Elmer Gantry would seek to establish itself among us again is not in itself astonishing, though the least knowing might be aware at this date that objectionable things are not driven either from society or the mind by covering up their existence. That such a step could be taken in a university, and taken seriously, is a sardonic commentary on the maturity of the undergraduate mind. Perhaps "the faculty board of supervisors of student activities" will display a sense of balance which evidently is not found elsewhere at Northwestern. If not, they will at least have the assurance of freedom from any embarrassing criticism. And the morals of the coeds of Northwestern will be adequately protected.