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A GREATER WORK Among offenses involving students' academic obligations which came to the attention of the faculty were these: including unapproved material in a public address (1873 and later); cheating, including plagiarism (1880 and later); setting off what were called explosives or torpedoes in the classroom (1880 and later);~breaking into the president's office when everyone should have been in church (1880); not charging library books (1880 and later); plugging classroom keyholes (1882 and later); surreptitiously tampering with College records (1885); breaking into the library (1886); hissing in class (1890); and humming in class (1898)171 Although most students professed to be Lutheran, this did not mean that they welcomed the religious obligations imposed upon them or that they intended to fulfill them conscientiously or without complaint. Readers of the College Monthly learned that by the mid- 18808 Harvard no longer placed any such obligations on its students and that in certain other institutions there was agitation for similar concessions. From time to time the publication chided Gettysburg students for their inattention and occasional disruptive actions in church. In January 1896 the Mercury complained about the conduct of some students in Brua Chapel. If they had no respect for the chaplain, it argued, at least they should for the message that he was giving. The writer had two suggestions to be considered: require the faculty to attend chapel or make student attendance voluntary.172 Neither suggestion was adopted, and the old arrangements con- 171 As already noted, during this entire period, from Wilken to Brede, there were more disturbances in the German classroom than in any others. However, the explosion of 1880 occurred in John A. Himes' classroom. Years ago, an uncle of this writer, a 1904 graduate, commented on the behavior of his fellow-students in a number of their classes. Few if any Gettysburg instructors in the 1980s would tolerate such conduct. Some students used ponies, which they also called bicycles. Most of a Graeff essay of 1882 was found to have been plagiarized. In May 1890 the College Monthly reported that "an enterprising New York City concern is sending circulars to college seniors all over the country offering to furnish, for a consideration, orations, essays or theses on any subject required and at short notice." 172In February 1882, for example, it complained of inattention, whispering, reading of books, and snapping of watch lids by those seated in the rear pews. Students attending Christ Lutheran church on Sunday sat in pews along the west side of the building. Under the honor system, they were expected to report their presence or absence to College authorities on Monday. The Centennial Olio (1876) accused some students of sticking their heads inside the church door at 11:30 Sunday morning, so that they could report the next day that they had been in attendance. In 1885 the faculty assigned each class certain rows of seats and proctors determined who was present. During this entire period a few students had permission to attend other churches in town. Most of them went to St. James Lutheran, where they taught a Sunday school class or were choir members. Until Brua was available for use, the roll was called in daily chapel. After 1890 each student was assigned his own seat and proctors took attendance, marking as absent all who came late. 32