Allport Says Return to College Will Be Direct Function of Length of War

Psychologically speaking, the tendency for a student to return to Harvard after the war is over is a function of the length of time that the man participates in the war, explained Gordon W. Allport '19, professor of Psychology yesterday.

Reduced to plain English, that means that a man who has come into contact with the seamier side of battle for four years running will have less chance of returning to College than the man who has only been subjected to the whistling of bullets for one or two years.

Allport in War Class

Allport, himself, was in a war class that was hard-hit by the war. It was his personal observation that the men who both saw the toughest fighting and who were away the longest had the least desire to return while almost all of the one-year men were back in College after the Armistice.

But in addition to the function of the length of the war, another psychological factor which influences the return of the soldier to Harvard is a natural tension to continue what has not yet been completed. Each normal individual doesn't like to see things left up in the air, and a Harvard education is not the exception to the rule.

Must Prepare for Future

The solution to the problem of what step to take to correlate their college life with past and future is for the students to set their minds for what is to follow. This problem is largely up to them and no amount of College Adjustment programs can settle this for the students.

The 'lost generation,' men who go to college for the deb parties and social prestige of a Harvard education, will probably not be affected by the war, Allport reported. Before the war or after, college will still be a pleasant waste of time, and no amount of shell-shock can change this attitude.

Seriousness Necessary

An increase in seriousness is needed in the meantime, stated Allport. Such a seriousness is largely being exhibited by those younger members of the College who have made the sacrifices of accelerated high school programs, summer preparatory courses and the like to insure their early entrance into College in order for them to get as full a share of education as possible before being summoned for the Armed Forces.

This war must are a different emphasis, hypothesized Allport. Rather than forget important technical courses and concentrated programs, these subjects should be kept vitally alive in the postwar years to follow. Peacetime courses should turn to the practical rather than the theoretical in the University's greatest challenge making the man behind the gun interested enough in the College to become the man behind the desk all over again.