The Control of Lutheran Theological Education in America (Part III)

Control of Seminary Students

The rules and regulations governing theological students while in school are not dissimilar to those of any other school. Students are expected to be diligent in study, attend classes and, in general, carry themselves with respectable deportment. The one important exception is to be found in the Students' Special Manual of Concordia Seminary. The rules cover nearly eight pages of fine print and go into every imaginable detail. For example: A student must not have his door locked when he is occupying the room, except when he has retired. The furniture of the room should be dusted every day. The bed should be covered with a white bed-spread. If a student enters the building after twelve o'clock at night without registering his name with the proctor he is at once suspended from the institution. Students are expected to rise at six o'clock in the morning on days when classes are in session. Students are not allowed to enter upon marriage engagements, and "any familiar relation with members of the other sex is prohibited." (p. 128-129)