ORGANISING UNIVERSITY WOMEN.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 203, 21 May 1908, Page 5

ORGANISING UNIVERSITY WOMEN.

• INTERVIEW WITH MISS RUTH ROUSE. ' Among tho passengers from Sydnoy by the. Mooraki yesterday was Miss lluth Rouso, of ■.Girtori . College, ; :''the. travelling .Secretary of the women's department,'of : the World's ' StSdent Christian . federation, who has como over 'to visit the • New - Zealand Students'Unions.' - . '•' .. . ': : M' t : ". -A It ; is '.difficult-.tb-think of any other posi-' ,tion- a .womani could hold moro interesting : than this, which brings Miss. ; Rouso into. ;; ' ''close, touch'-with tho.'-wopieir students'of: all ' the groat universities and colleges _through-' out,:' ,tho '~ British .'Empire,--. Europe,,..'.arid , -...:'■ America.- who. : interviewedtlio :. la'dy; yesterday..afternoon, i? did :%not;; know ■ - where to ; begin, asking'questions, norwhere to :end. ;Tho University,ofvFihland •was. among ■ those . mentioned 'by.,,Miss. : 'Rouse, ,as :.lately visited by:her. Now, 'i Finland present in ■;. the very front rank of• women's countries, inasmuch as tho women, there not only, have': the ; vote,-but'they also i sit in Parliament.' The Finnish wonien are highly educated. 'A : system-of ,'co-education,'exists therb, : and -at i their /fine University, 'there'are , qver' \ 500. women; .'students. -'.Miss Rousefound -"'tliem ■ . very .keen, intelligent, arid, alert.i V': ; • ~lt.appearsthat ttai:collßge'. JniFiiK land has not .jn easy time. Tho peoplo are ; :.' : not, : . bo'rn>di.nguists --4iko ...the Russians '-'orSwedes, bit four or ; fiye languages'must'be known the:. Btudent ' who ' 'wishes -to Igo - through' the-"University.' '-To begin with, for the purposes' of-ordinary life, she -iriust know •; . Finnish, 'which is : a most ' difficult 'language;' niid Sivcdisli, and:'the . Russian Governrnrnt' ■ has ■■ made tho [.'teaching: of- '.Russian' in the -. schools; -'Then' aa the necessary,books ; ;.afb .not ;to: .hp', obtained-' iiv'Finnish,: r. ■■■ tho. girl requires' for ;her university course .a) ■ know-ledge- of Gorman; or.'English: 'The "peo-. -. pie cling,devoutly to their own language, and <,■;:. .the, v students' "have; been ..at great painstoI, '.have:-university' 'lectures' 'delivered 'irii-'Fin- , nish> even , when" dealing ■ with' subjects', fbr : ■ which:'the'English vocabulary ■is insufficient; ; ■ and for ■ which ".words. liavo;' to>be invcrited.; '•

":-'Miss Eouse speaks jn '.terms of' groat - admiration .ofthe! women students of, Russia. . Four, years ago ..the Students'. Christian Federation started • in. St. Petersburg, ,arid it has . recently,, made:, its way 'to Moscow 'and other' cities. .There aro large, numbers, of women -studerits at the 'universities. / Odessa and Toriislc .have " about , 1000 ' each, : ' Moscow has. 4000, and at St.' Petersburg there aro 8000. :• Including. the of,. :arb, 'and music:there aro about-16,000 women- students in; that city. - And thby : are..'very fine women, of earnest " character, : great intellectual capacity, and ( with' arfine spirit of- comrnde;,{Mahy ■of -, them ' aro. desperately poor,' "and often four or five have- to share ono room,- but thoy stick, to, caoh other through all vicissitudes. : ."

• What' becomes of,,them- after they;ledve the University? ■ [.- v ' "Many of them marry," siid Miss Rouso, ''many.:become teachers,' some ; g'o in-for/poli-" tics,v : arid,.an'venormous'; .number ~enter,-:', tho medical There are more than" 2000 women:. m'edicdL - students -at' the St. -Petersburg , University, . and^'after,:finishing ■ their, course, they will ..reeeive'froni the Government minor-medical appointments in, the (utJ. lying districts. These women, havo a .great • capacity, for '-solf-sacViiiceJari'd : livo j'-'noble. : iiisoful Jives..,lhoir:great desire-is to !bon-jfir,. their follows,' and that "is why medicine i-nd cociology 'so-, interest,,them.:. These Uro the •two subjects most popular among :ho women students in nearly ail <f. whom are Russians, :and I imagine- it is so in Russia itself.". ! .- . Coming'back to,,the .women: of; our own race,,-Miss • Rouse" said that: tho'.Women Students' Christian . - Fcdoration • -is ' - very strong- : in .the English and Scotch Tiniversi.ties,: metropoliton arid.'provincial, and,' it': is exceedingly strong at tho Welsh college of Abcrystwyth.-;:Nearly -all; the :big : women's colof America and .Canada have branches Askpd; as ,to whether, the Christian - Fcdoratj'pn had' bech -.affectcdat. all ,by ; the .'spread'..; of- Christian 'ccicuce. Miss Rouso said," i "So." far as''l have■ Fcen and I-' - tovq.i,Ti^it^ - ■tian. scienco'. does rioV affect : tho Universities. I:.lfavo; of' associate members- : : tho! names -pf.' girls w ho described' ; themselves-; Scieritis'ts. but- that , is; aboufr;tfeoiilj:." ®ay,' iri/whicl^iVlias-beeiv ,R T H?oht'uader:. my notice. It'is .riioro .among ofleisure-;that : the doctririo ■ has sprgad 'jbo':rapidly.- : w ?. s . thero : ..was rio' end to Questions': that cpuldbe; asked v nbout' a' * eaeratfon which: is,working - , in 'thirty' different/'coimtries, 1 which. .lias-morc - than 1200 branches',and. numhers'oyer-: ! 110',000 meinbers> . Its- basis is broad enough to admit • of members ot-; all Christian: .sccts, and ,it touches thb movoment. for the', advanrenient of woriibn in every part .'of' Christendbm. vlt is .to ', bohoped ■ that during rthe' two' months Miss Rouse .intends, te spend, in Nov/ Zealand-she Will;,meet with the. success that has attended' 'the