By a slight majority the members of the Harvard Debating Union went on record last night to the effect that CRIMSON and managership competitione as they are conducted at Harvard are not an evil.
Speaking for the affirmative side of the question: "Resolved, that CRIMSON competitions and managership competitions at Harvard are an evil", were R. K. Lamb '28 and J. C. Furnas '27, while the negative was upheld by H. C. Bartlett '28 and R. A. Magowan '27. At the conclusion of prepared speeches by the four undergraduates, a spirited discussion took place from the floor, which was concluded by a vote of the audience.
As the first speaker for the affirmative, Lamb maintained that all competitions were an evil both to the individual, and to the organization. He believed that candidates lose themselves in their competitions, and are therefore deprived of the true essence of college life.
Answering Lamb as the first speaker for the negative, Bartlett declared that the discipline, promoting self-reliance, and the ability to make rapid decisions justified the conduct of CRIMSON competitions.
Leisure Wanted
Furnas emphasized there was enough competition in the outside world, and that the college defied its purpose in permitting the existence of an institution such as the competition. The leisure that is available to college men was regarded as a necessary adjunct to college life by Furnas.
In the final speech of the evening. Mogowan declared that since the competitions implied voluntary service, and that they attracted approximately 500 men each year, they could not be characterized as an evil. Managerships according to Magowan offered an opportunity for men who had participated in preparatory athletics and who were unable to make a varsity squad to retain this interest.
"I think you will all agree with me," said Magowan, "that there is a larger life in college than that included in the bounds of scholastic work, and I believe the CRIMSON and the managership competitions supply an outlet for this extraneous field of interest."
