1JEir tgan &ut&
SUNDAY MAGAZINE
ANN ARBOR, MICHIGAN, SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 6, 1921
"University Opens September 16"
(By Hughston . .XcBain) W hat The Daily W ould Say Should The i birthdays. For example, if a person
And from now on, each and every Calwas born March 9, he would have to
year the University shall commence Liberty Calendar Be Universally figure from the first of the year count-
on Tuesday, Sept. 16. Christmas va- Aing 1 days for January, 28 for Feb-
cation will begin Friday, Dec. 20 while A truary, and 9 for March. He then
the recess will close Jan. 2." Such a would come on Friday while Washing- year, say 270 days, which is the posi- would find he was born on the 68th
statement seems ridiculous, but if the ton's would fall on Monday. I am tion of Sept. 27 this year. Consider- day of the year which would fall on
Liberty Calendar should ever be uni- strongly in favor of the mid-week bolt- ing the other calendar, with its 28 Liberty 12 according to the proposed
versally adopted, such will be the days, for it splits the week up for the days to the month, this would bring calendar.
situation of things here at Michigan. laborer," he said. the opening date of school Sept. 18, "The world hesitates long before
What is This Liberty Calendar? Of course if this calendar is ever Thursday. As school always opens undertaking such a revolutionary
This is not the only calendar that adopted, it will have its drawbacks as on a Tuesday, a permanent date- I thing as changing its calendar. If
has been proposed to alleviate the ever the nations do, they certainly
haphazard one of world usage today, *will adopt a calendar similar to the
but it is considered the best of them The Liberty Calendar Liberty calendar, for it is extremely
all by the foremost calendar special- logical, simple, and sensible."
ists and astronomers in the country. IMO TUE EDTI U FRI SAT SU N The first universalscalendar year to
The calendar comes from the Am- - be apted was istituted by Julius
erican Equal Month Calendar ass1a-Caesar. It was based with consider-
tion of Minneapolis and is beyond the e !I -_A__. ___.!=-7 _Jable accuracy upon the real sola
theoretical stage. More than two yar, fit in those days astronomy was\
not mdd uon dta hatcould
years ago a bill was introduced in 24 notfondte upon datadsoethata
Congress to establish and adapt the dome only with the diocovery that the
Liberty calendar. At the present time, 8
_______ Ca___ ____ ____ ____ esa gave July, the month named
nothing definitely has been decided Csfor him 1 days. Caesar Augustus
though it is ag reed that evenanition 1 6 1 7 1 8 1 9 2 i2
as quick-actin g as the United States 1 0 1 GI 1 .I J1 8 jJ 19IJ2 0 j2 J was dissatisfied because August, nam-
would consider long before adopting -- ed after him, had only 30 days, so he
such a radical change. succeeded in getting a day taken from
he uchbaradiCalcli nge.rwoulddivideFebruary and added to his month. The
The Lihtoy Clendar sould divid inaccuracies in the Julian year kept
the ye.r into 2 nionths of 28 days getting the calendar year away from
each. The association has figured that
the months would follow as they do history 'dates will either have to be Sept. 16-could be easily set. The the true solar year during the centur-
now, with the exceptisn that en ad- revised or set according to the new same could be done with other import- ies. In order to correct the errors,
ditionl month, "Liberty," would schedule. ant University dates and we would Pope Gregory XIII issued a bull in
come between February and March. Professor Curtiss seemed extremely have then, not as now, but a uniform,,I Febuary, 1582, establishing a new cal-
Thirteen months of 28 days each would interested in the proposition that if smooth schedule that everyone would endar, according to which 11 days
make a year of 364 days. The extra the calendar is ever adopted it will know and adhere to. uvere skipped. That calendar is the
day would be known as "New Year's materially assist in making the Uni- "Another interesting point in con- one used by the civilized world today.
Day" and would not appear on the versity year uniform. "The way we nection with the Liberty Calendar is Russia alone, at the time, declined to
calendar. It would always come be- could figure University dates would, that persons having birthdays the 29, follow the edict of the Roman Catho-
tweei Dec. 21 and Jan. 1. Every be to count from the beginning of the 30, or 31 would have to have new li head and continued using the Ju-
an calendar which accounts for the
fourth year there would be a "Correc- difference, until a few years ago, of
tion Day," also not on the calendar, 12 daysa betneen our dates and those
which would be recognized as a legal'y 1! Rdss na.
holiday, falling between Sept. 31 and 7'The Story of 2OX 1 47 ~ of Rimsi.
Another interesting calendar experi-
Oct. 1. (By Stella Brunt) also, that there were other groups and ient was that used by France during
"This Liberty Calendar is the best This is a tale of adventure--genu- individuals who felt the same dissatis- the revolutionary days. The y- was
one I have ever seen," said Prof. divided into 12 months of 30 days
Ralph t. iCurtiss, of the astronomy de- ae adventure, with an atmosphere of faction. - dch, and each month was divided
partment. "Yet I do not think it mystery about it, and a dash of fool- Because the group was particularly into three periods of 10 days, dubbed
should ever be adopted unless the hardiness. It did not happen in the interested in writing, their construct- decades. The French year began Sept.
whole world agrees to do so. Inas- Klondike nor in Russia-since-the-war, ive thinking ran in the direction of a 22, 1793. Every tenth day was a holi-
much as this calendar has been but-at Michigan! This is a story of publication. There was already a stu- day and the five days left over at
brought ip before Congress, it cer- a literary magazine and how it "hap- dent magazine for the professions, for the end of the year, between Sept. 17
taincy shows its merit. Several years pened." current opinion, for athletics; one for and 21, were named the "Sansculot-
ago a calendar proposing a week of A few know that "Whimsies" began news; and one partly literary, but not tides" and were kept as festivals In
five days, having a Sunday every other last year in a decidedly novel way, as entirely so, one for humor. Surely honor of virtue, genius, labor, opinion,
week, was brought to my attention a mimeographed pamphlet, with its there would be, in a student body of and reward. The extra day was honor-
but its objectinable features were editorship a mystery. But how many ten thousand, sufficient interest to ed as the feast of revolution.
numerous. have heard the inner side of "Whim- support one publication devoted ex- The Frenchmen decided to name
"There is absolutely no doubt in sies" interesting story-the why, and clusively to the fine arts, if it could be their months with the season of the
my mind but that this calendar would who, and how of it? put out inexpensively. Was that too year. So they evolved the following
prove practical and economical if There will always be a number in large a program? Well, at least they months: Vendemiaire, Brumaire, Pri-
adopted. Lots of time would be saved any group of students who will hold could begin by establishing a purely miaire, Nivose, Pluviose, Ventose,
that is now used by astronomers in obstinately to the notion that, just as literary magazine. Germinal, Floreal, Prairial, Messidor,
calculating far ahead. With this cal- much as a university believes in and So it was, that one night last year, Thermidor, and Fructidor. They were
endar, every important holiday would endeavors to develop the professions, five students pledged themselves to named by Fabre d' Eglantine, a poet,
have a definite fixed date with the athletics, and the social side of life, the cause: to share expenses, to do and lasted till Jan. 1, 1806 when
exception of Good Friday and Easter just so much should it believe in and manual labor, even to furnish their France adopted the Gregorian calen-
which would, of course, come as usual encourage the arts. About two years own manuscripts until outside help dr.
the first Friday and Sunday when the ago, a certain small group of students should come, and-until it grew be- The Mohammedans have a calendar
moon was full after the vernal equin- I became frankly dissatisfied with Michi- yond the possibility of ridicule-to of their own. They began their year
ox. It is interesting to note that gan because of the absence of recogni- keep identities secret. with the time of Mohammed's flight
Fourth of July, Christmas, Thanksgiv- tion for this phase of life, through the Some weeks later the five entered from Mecca. on Thursday, July 16, 622
ing, and Armistice Day would all fall lack of any centralizing influence in the Observatory by one of the back A. D. Hence their year is 622 years
on Thursdays. Lincoln's birthday the direction. They were convinced, (Continued on Page Seven) behind ours.