Many people blame the faculty and trustees for the intellectual lethargy in our colleges. But how about the students themselves? Why is that the majority of college papers, which are entirely in the students' own hands, have pages filled with accounts of athletics, poor comic columns, and trite editorials that try so hard to be clever? Why is there so little mention of education, and intellectual discussions, why no word on things that go on outside the college walls?

All this is true but not as universally true as it was last October. Some papers are waking up, particularly the ones in the east--perhaps because they are more alive to the influence of Europe, which in the case of higher education, seems to be in advance of us.

After careful consideration, we should rate the "Amherst Student" as the best American college paper, and we particularly compliment Mr. Warner on his excellent editorials--excellent both in subject and treatment. Amherst has close rivals in the "Yale Daily News", the "Vassar Miscellany," the "Harvard CRIMSON", the "Bryn Mawr College News" the Barnard "Bulletin," and the "Mt. Holyoke News." It seems to us that these papers in the order given come nearest to being well-balanced news sheets, giving due space not only to athletics but to religious, political, social, and educational questions of the day, with good discussions and editorials. They are for the most part aware of modern life, and are better balanced in their outlook on it. Football is a fine thing, no one regrets it, until it comes to usurp the place of other things just as fine and finer.

Next there is a group of papers which devote some space to what we call these larger interests, but the articles are accounts rather than thoughtful opinions. Life in these colleges seems to be contentedly intra-mural, with a superficial reporting of what goes on outside. They seem to forget, except for short intervals, that they are in life themselves not just looking at it disinterestedly. But they do wake up sometimes, and each time with increasing vigor and justness.

The third group, and unfortunately still the largest, apparently, lives for nothing but athletics and parties. Sometimes they like debates. These papers have appreciative summaries of their speakers, outs little editorials about spring, or talking in the library, and announcements of engagements. The New Student.