To the Editor of the Crimson:

Harvard has clearly been moving in the last few months away from the function of education toward a state of confusion and feverish activity.

The policy of the University seems to be an attempt to combine education with preparation for war service. While the two are perfectly compatible in such fields as physics and chemistry, the provision of an accelerated program, compulsory athletics, and special war courses has encouraged an atmosphere of urgency. None of these things can in itself be criticized during a war emergency, but it is now clear that the total effect has been unfavorable to academic work.

On all sides the desire to "get the hell out of here" is expressed. Instructors report that much less work is being done by students, and one has even declared that he can no longer teach in such a place.

War training is just as much a full-time job as education and certainly a vital one under present conditions. But the two cannot be done at the same time by the same students and done well. That those who desire to train themselves for specialized war service should be encouraged to do so goes without saying.

It ought to be just as clear that those who prefer an education to a commission are equally entitled to the resources of the University. Many undergraduates desire to make every moment of their school life count in acquiring what they regard as something of permanent value. Such undergraduates do not represent wasted ability, nor are they useless to their country. It is a pity that America's foremost university should have so easily and casually overlooked the tremendous importance to the nation of liberally educated men.

The matter is in the hands of the University. Is it only to turn out muscle-men and "animated slide-rules" or is it to continue to contribute men of intelligence and ability to the nation? William Snower, Jr. '44.