The Gavelyte, April 1909

The Gavelyte. I ---- VOL. IV. APRI L, 1909. NO. 4 . The Large vs the .Small College. ANDREW S. CRES'WEL'i,. In appearing ·to advocate the small college, ~e are not at all inclined io think that the large 0?llege is useless. ' -· colleges such as Harvard, Yale, Princeton and others do afford opportunities n9t to be obtained at the ~mall college. But the real question is. do the advantages to be obtained at the university counterbalancP the disadvantages existing there. Unless thPy do, the small colleg(t would seem to be the most woithy of our pa– tronage and support. But a~suming that we have to do with a difference of quantity rathn than quality and assuming that the small institution is not ~o small as to shut off its stude~ts from that awakening of their facul– ties and the broadening uf their inter~sts, that come from contact with var– iou~ typPs of life and character, we believe that, taken all in all, the small college has the leaiilt· reason to shrink frorn the test as shown by its fruits. We have just intimated that the smallness of a college may work agaim;t its efficiency; we also desire to say that the mere lar~eness of a college may do the same thing though in a different way. The larger the college the smaller the probability that the ordinary student will make his influence felt, and the greater probability that he will look upon himself as a mere unit in a mass. 1'1)0 often this results in suppressing his individuali– ty by conforming him to a type and thereby laming him so that he cannot develop into that Rtrong and vigorous pen;onality that is expected of him in life. Again the numeric·al supremary of a rollPge works against that individ-