The Student [1912f]

Abstract

To speak of ‘the student’ is, from the outset, an undertaking doomed to failure, for the student body is not at all uniform. Rather, it is great multitude composed of a variety of individuals, each one of whom possesses an entirely separate character and his own special leanings; a single type of student is not to be extricated from the mass. Yet it is a singularly agitated mass, full of deep stirrings and aspirations; it is, if I may so put it, vital through and through. Movements arise which aim to fire the student with enthusiasm for art, literature, and a broad cultural education; others wish to train him to be a citizen with a concern for politics; others, again, present to him an untroubled life of pleasure as the highest ideal; and still others wish to steel his character by means of systematic physical training. It is a play of waves, in constant motion, and there are as many waves as there are students. Yet there are greater waves and lesser waves, and some combine to from larger complexes. Parties are formed among the student body. Among others, we find the fraternal organizations [eine korpsstudentische und eine burschenschaftliche Partei]; German nationalist, liberal, and socialist parties; Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, and free-thinking parties; organizations dedicated to strengthening the body and the will by means of physical exercises and abstinence from alcohol; parties aiming at the social activation of students; and parties promoting a more thorough professional education or a better liberal general education.