In the report of the Dean of the college is given a statement of the studies which are elected by the freshmen. Instead of dropping the dead languages and mathematics, as many thought would be the case, when elective was substituted for prescribed work in the first year, it is a significant fact that these studies are by far the most popular. Latin stands at the head of the list, with 196 students; then comes Greek with 163, and Mathematics with 141; and the number of freshmen whose choice includes all these studies is 83. The Dean, in commenting on this says, "the freshmen were strongly urged to make their selection of studies with the utmost care, seeking the best advice within their reach, particularly that of their former teachers. They appear to have heeded this injunction, and their choices are on the whole encouraging. To the influence of their teachers is probably due the fact that Greek, Latin, and Mathematics, which have now for the first time been made entirely elective in college, have attracted the largest number of students."

When Harvard, in 1841 made radical changes in the college curriculum, making Greek and Latin elective after the freshman year, the cry was raised by the more conservative colleges that this would be a death blow to the classics, claiming that students, when no longer required to take disciplinary studies, would immediately cease to pursue them. The result was quite the contrary. Greek and Latin became, and have since remained, among the most popular electives. When the work of the freshman year was made almost entirely elective, the same cry was raised by the classicists. Again, as we see, they were mistaken. The classics evidently possess sufficient intrinsic merit to enable them to stand on their own merits, without being protected in a way in which other studies are not.

In looking over the report of the Dean, it is interesting to note the number of students who elected the various subjects last year. First comes History with 521 men; then Natural History with 454; Philosophy, 357; Political Economy, 324; Greek, 229; Latin, 203; English and German, 194 each; French, 189; Fine Arts, 181; Chemistry, 174. We see by this that some of the hardest courses are elected by the greatest number of men, thus showing the falsity of the often-heard statement that, under an elective system, "soft" courses are usually chosen. It is curious to note that Greek and Latin are more popular than either English, French or German. And yet we are told that the elective system has killed the classics!