Students Association, formed in 1835, was said to have “wielded a power next to that of the Faculty.” Its leaders repressed many customs observed at colleges as contrary to good order and fostered a sense of personal discipline and “esprit de corps” which stressed “close study, and religious culture.” The organization provided for lighting, heating, and sweeping the classrooms, carrying mail, and the maintenance of the grounds. The faculty permitted the Association to require labor from its members for these activities and to tax them for necessary funds. Students also published the Institution’s annual Catalogue, though not without friction with Dr. Kendrick on at least one occasion over the type to be used.
Next in importance to the Students Association was the Society for Inquiry which prospered. An active exchange of letters was conducted with foreign missionaries and with similar groups at other colleges and seminaries. One corresponding secretary in 1837 informed his counterpart at Rutgers College: “Our Society is founded on strictly Catholic principles, and it holds correspondence with Institutions of every Evangelical denomination. We are engaged in the same glorious enterprise, though belonging to different wings of the great army.”
The members found letters from the Far East particularly interesting. A student wrote in 1838 to William Dean, Class of 1833, then at Bangkok, Siam, “Cloistered here we scarcely look out upon the changing scenes of the world, and our views of it must be partial and are, perhaps, erroneous… But you stand upon the vantage ground. …” Several missionaries sent the Association articles for the museum which the organization maintained to illustrate the life and customs of foreign lands. Regular meetings were usually devoted to reports by the members. The subjects included a wide range of interests, but attention was given also to such topics as “The Origin, Progress, & Influence of Harvard University,” “The Present State of the Church of England,” and “The Present Conditions of Popery.” The Society’s public meeting at commencement time were often notable for outstanding speakers. President Eliphalet Nott of Union College, a friend of Professor Eaton, addressed then in 1844.
The Eastern Association, like the Society for Inquiry, also carried on extensive correspondence with foreign missionaries in the Far East and with comparable organizations in other colleges and seminaries. Members continually struggled with themselves over whether or not they
