A local Rhodes Scholar – Covell Skeels
Rhodes Scholar Describes Life at College in Oxford
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Covell Skeels Tells of Customs and Rules at English University
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“You behold me a full fleged Oxonian with a pipe, bags, academic gown, and a bicycle. However I haven’t yet been reduced to wearing an English shirt with its high detachable collar,” writes Covell Skeels from Oxford, to a friend at the University of Montana. Covell graduated from Missoula High with the class of 1926. He is a member of the National Honor Society, edited the Bitter Root in 1926, and the first few issues of the Konah in the fall of 1925. He entered Oxford college as a Rhodes scholar from the district which includes Montana last October.
“On the whole I’m delighted with the place,” Covell’s letter continues. “Some aspects are hard to take—for instance, the gate is locked at 9:00 p. m. and you come in if you are out until 10:45 without penalty. Between then and midnight, you are fined 9d, and after midnight, it is a crime of serious nature. . .
“Some of the more pleasant aspects are almost perfect academic freedom, more than occasional intelligent conversation, a good deal of music, a half-dozen or more good books stores, and as many art shops. . .
“If you had the idea that Rhodes Scholars were quiet, studious men, dismiss the thought from your mind! With the exception of one or two who seem to have grown up in a sheltered climate, all of them were the most likeable of persons. . .
“All in all, students here are surprisingly like those at home. . . But you’d be surprised at the amount of Rah-Rah-Rah stuff – for instance, the favorite amusement here appears to be pouring water out of the windows on whoever may be walking underneath. And another thing which gave me a jolt was the great popularity of the movies or ‘flick’ as they call them.”
The above article appeared in the Missoula County High School newspaper, “The Konah”, on Feb. 13, 1931.