South's Admissions Show Tensions

Among the Southern students who left Harvard in the foreboding winter of 1860, many never lived to see Cambridge again. For those who did return years later, Memorial Hall had arisen as a phantasmagorical reminder of their bitterness toward the North.

The Civil War temporarily ended the Southern experiment in Eastern education. No longer did a John Calhoun enroll at Yale, or the son of Robert E. Lee study in Cambridge. While bitterness has passed with the years, the South still remains in half-isolation from national main currents of education. And for schools such as Harvard, interested in a diversified student body, the problem still remains of one breaking through the barrier.

Post-war Provincialism

Both economic necessity and natural inclination, caused Southerners in the post-bellum years to turn their educational energies toward developing a group of distinctively Southern schools. In this they were partially successful, but the limitations of educational provincialism became only too apparent.

By the last decade of the nineteenth century, Southerners in significant numbers were again cautiously proceeding eastward, particularly to Princeton. Harvard was definitely in the hinterlands, and as late as 1929 only 24 students entered the college from the thirteen Southern states.

Recruiting Efforts

With efforts by the University and help from Harvard Clubs, the Southern enrollment over the next twenty-five years tripled to 74 for the Class of 1959. Considering the special sectional problems involved in recruiting able Southern students, the increase in surprisingly high.

Even today the South retains more sectionalism than any geographical area of the United States. The average Southerner considers himself somehow different and feels a natural reluctance to force himself into a non-Southern atmosphere. Consequently, while the Southerner may not depreciate the value of going to schools outside his region, he is likely to be content with attending "The Princeton of the South"--Vanderbilt University--or a similar school with a good reputation and Eastern educational influences. This tendency is heightened by the fact that so much effort has been placed upon developing the South as a region.

There can be no argument that development of the South, particularly in the field of education, is a very good thing. But in many instances a chamber of commerce approach to the region has fostered a feeling of self-contentment and congratulation: "Why should I go to Harvard for my college education, when Mississippi has a wonderful university at Oxford?" Such sectional attitudes are unfortunate, without the least reflection on the University of Mississippi.

An even more real problem determining Southern college application is the quality of secondary education in the South. The average level of public schools in the Deep South states such as Georgia and Mississippi is far below the national level. In the urban areas this disparity tends to disappear, but even there instruction is below the national par. Thus the student who may be inclined to go outside his area often finds that he is insufficiently prepared.

Selling in the South

By concentrating on the urban areas such as Birmingham, Atlanta, and Miami, however, Harvard Clubs in those cities have made remarkable progress in "selling" their school. This job has been made easier because often the Harvard graduate occupies a place of responsibility and influence in his city. In addition, the University has co-operated by sending top-level members of the faculty into the South to talk with students.

It is possible to demonstrate that the states where active Harvard Clubs exist are the ones which send the largest number of students to Cambridge. For instance, Alabama has seven students in the Class of 1959 while its neighboring state of Mississippi has only two.

Few Negroes, Too

As might be expected, the South sends virtually no Negroes to schools such as Harvard, although the colored population in many Southern states is very nearly equal to the white. There are multiple reasons for this, not least among them that Negro schools are generally much inferior to white schools.

In addition, the economic position of the Negro makes it difficult for him to leave the South for his education even if he wants to. Only with highly exceptional students can Eastern schools provide the amount of financial aid which a Southern Negro student often requires.

To complicate matters even more, few Southern alumni of even a school such as Harvard are inclined to search for qualified Negroes. And even if the inclination were present, circumstances would not allow the type of social intercourse necessary to influence a student to consider a bi-racial school outside the South The barriers are too great.

Integration Effects

It is not yet clear what effect, if any, the present acrimonious debate on segregation will have on tightening the lines of communication between North and South. Quite possibly the issue will tend to increase the sectionalism of the South in regard to education.

Nevertheless, it is clear, that despite a modest increase in the numbers of southerners attending Harvard, the major task of an enlightened admission policy must continue to be that of breaking down old stereotypes and prejudices.