The philosophies that direct the two universities also lie poles apart. With the continually increasing number of applicants and the relative impossibility of expansion in Cambridge, Harvard is becoming more and more dedicated to an elitist education. Many apply; few are accepted. And this education is as expensive as it is selective. The state institution, on the other hand, is surrounded by farm lands which can easily be purchased for expansion, and with greater numbers of applicants the number of students will rise. State subsidies keep tuition costs low. Many apply--and many are accepted. Thus, the University of Massachusetts definitely favors expansion to accommodate an influx of new students.
More than any other factor, the problem of cost lies behind the efforts of the state college to expand. By means of this low cost, a public college can attract able students whose parents simply cannot afford a private education. Despite the preaching of Seymour Harris, it is doubtful whether 20year payment plans, interest-free loans, or other similar proposals will enable all persons to enter private schools. State colleges must expand to fill the gap. President Mather's latest report well illustrates this belief:
"In our rapidly growing population, regardless of the level of total productivity, there will always be a greater relative proportion of middle and lower income class people who have children deserving of a higher education but unable to pay the price of the private institution. . . . As the college-age population pressures generated after 1940 come upon all higher education in the next ten years, it is possible the private institutions should devote less of their energies to the problem of providing financial aid to needy students and gird up their internal programs against rising inflationary costs. Public institutions, by means of low tuition rates, can perhaps work more effectively on this problem of higher education without economic discrimination.
"In continuing to support a low nominal tuition rate at the University of Massachusetts, I would still maintain that the Commonwealth does not owe anyone an education. . . . What I believe the Commonwealth does owe its citizenry is public tax-supported higher educational opportunity in an amount that will enable all students with limited means but intellectual potential and motivation, to realize that potential to the utmost." Thus, the state university directly attempts to attract students that could not afford a private education--and in this respect the public and private colleges are complementary.
The desire of so many people to attend college cannot be denied. And to accommodate these hordes of new students, the University of Massachusetts has embarked upon an impressive expansion program designed to provide facilities for 10,000 students by 1963. At present, 4,852 undergraduates attend UMass along with a smattering of graduate students. The present freshman class of 1,758 would have been larger had additional dormitory space been ready; next year the freshman class may reach 2,000.
Expansion keynotes the UMass atmosphere. From almost every point on the 800-acre campus one can see new buildings arising: a new science center, a seven-floor addition doubling the size of the Goodell Library, a new women's dormitory, a liberal arts building. This expansion has definitely been keyed to the future, to the day when a student body of 10,000 will matriculate. Perhaps the most impressive document on display in the UMass information office is the Master Plan. Drawn up in 1954, this 42-page booklet talks airily of 15 more men's dormitories, 5,000 new parking places for student automobiles, re-routing of intrastate highways, a new stadium, field house, and two physical education buildings, 30 fraternities, plus many other such structures.
In five years, many of the new buildings envisioned in the Master Plan have become reality. The state government has appropriated over $26 million in this period, and an independent corporation, the University of Massachusetts Building Association, has spent $11.2 million for construction. The Building Association sells bonds and uses the proceeds for dormitories and other student facilities; at the end of a certain period of time, the buildings revert to the state.
One part of the expansion, the Student Union, has become the focal point of student activity in the last two years. The size of Sever, this building serves