The University Student Who Refused the Drill
A Seattle college student takes the faculty to court, arguing that mandatory military training interferes with his ability to work and pay his way through school.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
The trouble between the faculty and the students of the State University over the question of compulsory military drill was taken into the courts yesterday by the filing of a suit by Owen Taylor, one of the suspended students, asking for a writ of mandamus to compel the faculty to reinstate him. The petition recites that Taylor, a student since October 1889, was not informed that military tactics would be a part of his course. On January 17, the faculty made a 50-minute drill every Wednesday compulsory, which interfered with the work Taylor is compelled to do to make his way through college. When he refused, he was suspended. The suit argues that the university charter provides for a 'liberal education' in literature, arts, and sciences, and that military drill does not fall within these categories. Compulsory drilling is an especially heavy burden on Taylor, who has been a paper carrier for the Post-Intelligencer for over two years and is employed in the mailing room every Wednesday—the very hour set for the drill.
“There is nothing in the charter of the university which permits any such action on the part of the faculty in enforcing military drill.”
This 1892 clash mirrors the modern tension between institutional requirements and the economic reality of working-class students. Today's students continue to struggle against rigid academic schedules that do not account for the necessity of working multiple jobs to cover tuition and living expenses in an expensive city.
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