We Interviewed the Doctor "What about going steady?" was our first question. At the moment it seemed the most important. "Frankly, I think it's one of the silliest things I ever heard of at least to the extremes that I find in your western colleges." That was the statement of Dr. Ernest G. Osborne, professor of education, teachers college, Columbia University, and newly elected president of the National Council of Family Relations, in response to a query by the Scribulus staff. The Doctor was interviewed during his recent visit in Ogden as a guest speaker at the family life institute. "I understand that it's a common practice for young people in their early teens to pair off and start going steady out here. It seems to me that it would be a lot healthier condition if there were more shopping around." We asked Dr. Osborne about several subjects we considered pertinent, namely: dating, going steady, early marriage, marriage while in college, social clubs, and student guidance. We found Dr. Osborne a personable man most willing to answer our questions. About the going steady business, we made a casual survey of our students and found that they were almost unanimous in their disapproval of the practice. At the same time we just as casually noticed that over a third of the co-eds queried were wearing club pins or rings that denoted they were all taken-up with one certain individual. All of which is neither here nor there, but it saddens our hearts to think of all the pretty Weber coeds destined to marry some clunker whose a cinch to come home inebriated on week-ends and beat-up the little woman and the kids just because she started to go steady before shopping around. Sad indeed! The real man of her dreams will probably grow up to be president. The next question concerned dates, which the Doctor ardently favor. "It's a fine thing for young people to have dates," he opined, "but not at the expense of neglecting their studies." However, he again put in a plug for more shopping around, which seemed to be a favorite subject with him. Give all the girls a break or vice-versa seems to sum up the Doctor's opinion on dating. "After all you don't buy the first suit you try on" the latter statement probably would provoke a lengthy argument from a well-known sports authority. As for smooching (or petting, or necking, depending upon what era you represent) the Doctor said little. What can be said about it, anyway? It is our opinion that action speaks louder than words. Dr. Osborne, when asked about early marriage, said exactly what Dr. Crane, Dorothy Dix, and James Harvey and Walter Neville all say, "People should marry when they are mature enough, whether that be eighteen years of age or twenty-five, depending upon the individual." He said, however, that marriages of "young people while still in college are increasing, perhaps because more veterans are attending school. Marriage in college was even edvised by Dr. Osborne, if the couple are ready for it. "I see no reason why a young couple should wait until they've graduated from college to marry. A marriage that survives financial difficulties and other problems that confront all marriages, while one or both of the parties involved is attending school is likely to last longer than marriages of young couples who are not in school. I thoroughly approve of such marriages." As for social clubs, "People will naturally group together in some kind of organization. Of course, clubs have their evils and some colleges have solved the problem by abolishing them altogether. I recommend that only when clubs are entirely detrimental to the school and can no longer be governed by the institution that this action be taken. The club problem is just a matter of the good a club accomplishes compensating for the bad it causes. If the good is greater than the bad then stand by the club; if the situation is reverse then abolition is one solution. In most cases clubs are assets to the school." An essential part of the school program that ties in closely with social clubs and student activities is the student guidance provided by the school administration. Dr. Osborne's criticism of that function of the school was most severe. "I believe faculties of our universities and colleges have been blind as far as student guidance is concerned. Most of them are on the wrong track. There's not nearly enough consulting sources in our universities. The student advisory boards are, in most cases, too stiff and formal; not conducive to free and easy student consultation. The student guidance part of our colleges is the most neglected of all administrative obligations." "As for the curriculum itself, it's still too bookish. There's not enough practical training in our American schools. In a few progressive-minded colleges students actually get paid while learning a vocation; that is a medical student will study in a hospital arranged for by the college and get paid for the work he performs while learning. The same is true of law or journalism majors who will obtain a degree while gaining practical knowledge at court or in. the newspaper office. The trend is more toward that kind of practical education, but it's slow in coming." And don't worry, girls, your chances for marriage aren't decreased just because you've obtained a college education if anything your chances are increased. The old axiom that men prefer to marry women with less education than themselves is a lot of bunk. People marry who have the same likes and dislikes and its only natural that college men should marry college women because they have more in common. However, this is not to say that there isn't anything in women going to college just to catch a husband. This latter gem deserves more consideration. Page six Although the above gentleman's Study habits are not typical of Weber College students, they do clearly illustrate those of Jack Oram, the roving-eyed Romeo who posed for the shot. He finds Carol Folkman a most interesting subject for observation, though his expression indicates he is only figuring out a slide rule problem just for practice. Jack, an army veteran, is in his Sophomore year at Weber, while Carol is a Freshman, hailing from Weber high. Page seven