Whitman's Freshman Flag Raid Ended With a Presidential Sermon on Anarchy

The bent lettering below the weather vane on the Whitman Memorial building spire and the ragged hole in the back roof of the tower are the only evidences left that the Freshmen had a flag up there. Just before supper last evening the Sophomores, in making a rush on the tower, broke a large pane of glass and stepped through the plastering above chapel. The faculty interfered and demanded that the contest between the classes must immediately cease at the Memorial building and that further destruction of property would be followed by suspension of the guilty parties.

This morning it was decreed that the flag must be taken down by the Freshmen and that they would be debarred from classes until it was down. So about noon a member of the class tore it down by means of a hook fastened to the end of a long pole. Access to the flag was gained by the same hole in the tower roof through which it was put up. A large crowd of students were interested spectators of the flag lowering. The general opinion is that there will be further contests between the Freshies and Sophs to settle beyond dispute the question of the supremacy of the two classes.

President Penrose made the action of the faculty in stopping the proceeding at dusk last night the opportunity for a most sensible talk to the students at chapel this morning on the “Philosophy of College Life.” He said in part:

“Nothing is more valuable than the gaining of college spirit. You cannot get this any other place. You are here to get education, which is not merely for advantages in books but getting into the life of the many. There is no finer virtue that you will gain here than what you call college life. The development of class spirit is an excellent thing. By it you will be prepared to be loyal to the college, to political party, to the church, to the nation, to the world. Good citizenship and loyalty to the commonwealth begin perhaps with class spirit. So I was sorry yesterday to be obliged to interfere between class spirit and college spirit, but it was necessary to interfere. I have no objection to display of college spirit so long as college property is not damaged. The student who is loyal to his class will be loyal to his college, and the world of religion and politics when graduated. It may be said that the students would and did offer to pay for all damage, but you will agree with me that this will not make restitution. It would not make it right should you tear my coat from my back if you would offer to send it to the tailor. A student has no right to destroy college property.

“I am not making this as an apology for the action of the faculty, but that it may be the occasion for you to get the correct idea of the place of class spirit and college spirit. There is a kind of class spirit which endangers and is a bad thing. The destruction of college property is a bad thing. It partakes of the spirit of anarchy, which is the danger of our national life, when a student or a body of students for their own temporary advantage destroy college property. I hope that by these words of mine the right relationship will be understood.”