Rav Aharon Kotler ztz"l was told that it is impossible to build a yeshiva in America without secular studies. He responded by saying that he would rather be a shammes in a shul than head a yeshiva with secular studies. He didn't consider a yeshiva to be a yeshiva if it had secular studies. Thus, he held that YU is just "U" without the "Y". It would seem that the seven thousand or so Talmidim in BMG have proven Rav Aharon right and a yeshiva CAN be built in America w/o college.
His good friend Rav Soloveitchik held that secular studies were a lichatchila she-bi-lichatchila. Ideal. [However, there is an image of a check that Rav Soloveitchik wrote as a donation to Lakewood].
I was curious as to the opinion of Rav Ruderman. Did he allow Ner Yisroel boys to go to college as a concession to American sensibilities but he himself would have preferred that they didn't attend? Or did he hold that it was the ideal? טובה תורה עם דרך ארץ שיגיעת שניהם משכחת עוון. I contacted an old time Ner Yisroel talmid to ask this question and his laconic response was that it is complicated. But I recently heard Rav Yitzchak Breitowitz who was close to Rav Ruderman and he said that Rav Ruderman was against college but allowed it.
About Rav Aharon:
