The announcement that three men of especial prominence in the intercollegiate athletics of the University have been suspended for low scholarship will undoubtedly come as a distinct shock to the undergraduate mind, with its comfortable smugness in regard to probation. Nothing but this attitude is responsible for the fact that men can go on probation, and still sail calmly on with no change in their lives until the trap upon which they walk is sprung and their footing completely drops from beneath them. When a man is put on probation his friends slightly deplore the fact, but seldom do they exert any moral pressure to impel the man to attend his classes and do the reasonable amount of study that is required to save him.

The most notable feature of the character of the undergraduate is his instinct to conform, to think and act as his fellows think and act. If probation were looked upon as a disgrace, and if a little healthy missionary work were done by classmates--in other words, if undergraduates realized some responsibility for their fellows--the sinking probationer would more often make an effective effort to reform his ways. It may sound extreme to say so, but the fact is that probation in Harvard College is no more of a punishment to a student than an indictment now is to a business man.

Any man who can pass the entrance examinations to the College can, with reasonable effort, proceed to his degree. This incident, which weakens at least two University teams, may be of some benefit in waking men up to the need of assuming some responsibility for the work of their fellows. It is not necessary to call attention to the culpability of men who, such as these three athletes, have not the character to save themselves; but it is necessary to state that their friends and classmates share the blame with them. Perhaps a policy of making public the names of men on probation would do some good in exerting moral pressure on them.