Life, 1926-01-07 · page 17 of 40
Life — January 7, 1926 — page 17: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page satirizes college life through a humorous daily schedule. The top cartoon depicts a car overloaded with freshmen and professors, captioned "Sorry to trouble you, officer, but could you direct me to the jail?" — mocking the chaotic collision of academic demands. The schedule ridicules excessive coursework: Economics requires three hours daily preparation, History four hours of outside reading, Mathematics demands theoretical rigor, Chemistry involves lab work, and English requires five hours of outside reading. Two additional cartoons illustrate student life: one shows roadside car repairs, suggesting financial or practical struggles; another depicts window-washing as manual labor. The satire targets the unrealistic workload imposed on college students, suggesting that following all professors' demands would lead to exhaustion or imprisonment — a commentary on early 20th-century educational excess.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
6 sain At. How to Pass the Time at College Prace: Any College. Time: Any Opening Day. Persons: Our Hero—a Freshman; Chorus of Freshmen and Professors. 9 a.m. Economics Class: ROFESSOR: Gentlemen, Econom- ics is by far the most important and vital subject in the college curriculum. Gur-gur-gur...necessary to spend at least three hours a day in prepara- tion... 10 a. M. History: Proressor: Gentlemen, History is certainly the mainstay of learning. Gur- gur-gur...must devote at least four hours a day to outside reading... 11 a, mM. Mathematics: Proressor: In no study, gentlemen, must you be so thorough in prepara- tion as in mathematics. It is the only true theoretical science; without it the world could not turn on its axis... Gur-gur-gur... 1 pM. Chemistry: Proressor: Chemistry is the basis of industrial life, of Life itself. Nine hours a week in the laboratory, three hours in class, and four hours cach night in preparation...Gur-gur-gur... 2p. Mm. English: Proressor: Gentlemen, it will be necessary for you to do at least five hours a day outside reading for this course, as it is the most important... Gur-gur-gur... “SORRY TO TROUBLE YOU, OFFICER, BUT COULD YOU DIRECT ME TO THE JAIL?” (At this point Our Hero, feeling the cumulative effect of all these orders, cannot restrain an anguished shriek. Quiet is at last restored. Class pro- ceeds.) 3p... Steimming Pool: Coacn: Boys, swimming develops you like no other sport and is the most important part of physical education. [rll be necessary to practice at least two hours a day... (Our Hero and several other fresh- ies are seen to slip silently into the pool. No amount of persuasion brings them to the surface.) T. A. Curry. ROADSIDE REPAIRS For Art's Sake 'HE scene was Florence, Italy, in a “chemist’s shop" modeled on the American drugstore and stocked, for the tourist trade, with American patent medicines and toilet goods. A middle- aged Middle Westerner, short and stout, with a ldng cigar in the corner of his mouth, was buying everything with an American label, from Colgate’s toothpaste to Listerine. Having found a sympathetic listener in the shop as- sistant, he was reciting the sad experi- ences of a traveler abroad—being pulled about from one museum to another— when suddenly the door opened and a boy of about sixteen rushed in. “Pa,” he shouted; “Ma says to come quick to the art shop on the corner. She's found a statue of Venus and wants to buy it for the hall.” The middle-aged man turned to the clerk. “Can you beat it?” he said disgustedly. “This Florence is just lousy with art!” What of It? E window-washer's job is one Requiring beaucoup brains; For he must go (oh, what a pun!) To such a lot of panes. “How. was your trip to Russia?” “Fine! I met ever so many people who were acquainted with Sec- retary Kellogg.” cbooks.com