To B.A.——or not to B.A.——

To keep a hold on education
And otherwise assist the nation
By duly weighing pros and cons,
Thus sifting duds and simpletons
From those who rightly gain degrees,
Are th' Senate's duties—an it please.
One day a letter came to state
That all unlucky candidate
(A country teacher, too, what's more)
Had failed in English th' year before.
The calendar she then had read,
And gradually the thought gained head
That unto those who once had failed,
Another chance ere they had staled,
Was 'llowed them—they could then "repeat"
The subject lost and sit again
With syllabus unaltered. Fain
Would she attempt a second time
To soar, ere she had passed her prime.
Straightway she entered for "Repeat,"
Revised, re-read, and was replete
With information for the fray,
And then arrived the dreaded day.
The papers, said to be "Repeat,"
They well nigh swept her off her feet.
She felt there must be something wrong,
And finally, to end my song,
She put in straight an application
Asking for due consideration.
This letter raised a how-de-do
And put the Senate in a stew.
At length the int'rest goes aflagging
By much emphatic bald chin-wagging.
The office boy is then attested
To see if aught can be suggested.
He wisely goes off and consults
The sheets that bear this year's results.
The rev'rent Senate sits aghast
For this same candidate has "passed"!!