Mr. Black's Booklet

WASTE AND WANT

In working one's Way through a Great University
One gains a different View of Education;
One loses a variety of helpful Associations,
But profits immensely from forced intensity
Of study and pointed and prudent application
Of all one's faculties for improvement and for growth.
His observations are mixed with the progress of both
The academic and the work-a-day world.
Each of these, so constantly changing, one
Must watch carefully, winnow the mixture and hurl
The shaft to the wind, but hold fast, that nothing may
Detract from the Values left in the sieve. So
A University is clogged with popular but sinister
Activities of Waste and Wordly Attractions! Though
Some may be harmless, yet in no sense minister
To the acquisition of Higher Learning! Quality
Is often Sacrificed in lieu of mediocrity
To bolster Athletics or some other type of sheer
Entertainment! Unpopular is this View,
But Higher Values must come First where
National Honor, Survival, and True
Wisdom are at stake! Athletics in Schools
Should be Wholly intramural; never competitive
Between the Schools! Such competition has Whetted
The appetite for Sinful Gains, become the Tool
Of all kinds of degrading practices, and Warped the Minds
Of millions of Youth who attend and Patrons who pay,
But have little say in the Schools! - - Hardly a Gray
Situation, but Clearly Dark! One finds
Many Evils here, but l mention only one:
The salary of a coach exceeding that of a President
Of a University, or even of the United States!
The Naivety of any who'd frown at this accusation
Is an appalling Indication, and lack of Education!
When Waste is Wanton and Thrift is thwarted by
A Nation or a people, the Nemises Action
Will Bring to mind the Opportunities that
The One-Way Street of Time offers to All!