Page 32 - 1917 February - To Dragma

132 TO PRAGMA OF ALPHA OMICRON PI
could be at Convention. The opportunity of talking over what one
has been doing with others who have perhaps had the same prob-
lems to meet, is invaluable. Let us all aim to make this Convention
the best there has ever been!
H E L E N N . HENRY, Grand Secretary.
THE CONVENTION AND THE ALUMNAE
Nineteen seventeen is here at last, and now the months will slip
by quickly bringing June and the Convention. I know that every
Alpha O will be in Lynchburg in spirit, at least, but I am taking
this opportunity to urge more of you to be there in person, as well.
Did you ever stop to think that one of the chief values of a
fraternity, both to the members and to the institution, is its perma-
nence? And this permanence rests entirely on the alumnae of the
organization. I t is their interest and enthusiasm which influences
the active girls to improve their scholarship and to increase their
activity in college affairs, as well as to preserve the individual tradi-
tions and customs of the several chapters themselves.
We can all remember how pleased we were when the alumnae
were interested enough to attend the chapter meetings, to advise us,
and to commend us for such improvements as were noticeable. And
just as the interest of the alumnae in the individual chapters is a
notable benefit to the chapter, so their interest in the Convention is
necessary to its success. They have the advantage of a point of view
obtained from observation of fraternity affairs, both as active and
alumnae members, and the Council appreciates the value of this point
of view in deciding important matters at Convention. Whether you
have the privilege of voting or not, the discussion of questions is
open to all, and we are more than glad to hear your opinions and
profit by your experience.
But the benefits are not all on one side, by any means. I have
yet to meet an alumna who has attended Convention, who does not
say she will always be glad that she went and hopes to go again.
The close association for several days in both business and pleasure
draws the active and alumnae members nearer together and forms a
bond of union which is not quite like any other. Also, this personal
contact with sisters from different chapters, all working for a com-
mon end—the good of Alpha O—does much toward breaking down
the artificial barriers which have grown up between the East and
the West, the North and the South. So i f you want to help your
fraternity, and at the same time spend a week so f u l l of real pleasure
that you will always remember it, just plan to attend Convention
in June.
A N A B E L GOOD, Z, '12.
TO PRAGMA OF ALPHA OMICRON PI 133
T H E CONVENTION AND THE UNDERGRADUATE
"Man was not made to live alone," and this just as surely applies
to woman. So the college woman who becomes associated with her
sisters in a Greek-letter fraternity finds life more pleasant, work
easier, and her outlook on life broader, through this companionship.
And i f the small, intimately formed local chapter brings this desir-
able result, how much more the country-wide convention of the
entire fraternity!
A O I I means a great deal to me, not only because of the charming
girls I know personally who are members of this great organization,
but because of the warm feeling around my heart when I read about
or meet girls at other colleges who are working with the same high
ideals in view. How much more should we feel "related" to all
these girls i f , for a week—a whole seven days—we could all get
together f o r the discussion of the methods of conducting our meetings,
the cementing of warm personal friendships, the interchange of views,
and countless other things of vital interest to the A O TT g i r l !
To the undergraduate, who still looks forward to one or more years
of further college life, and its consequent activity in the fraternity,
the convention should especially appeal. I am a sophomore, and I
have never yet had an opportunity to attend an annual convention,
yet I know that those wRo have had this privilege have been well
repaid. Several members of Gamma Chapter have been sent to the
conventions, and they have come back with a new zest and enthusiasm
for the work, with plans, successful elsewhere, to be tried in our
own chapter. I t seems to me that a local chapter, far removed from
sister organizations, may easily become settled into a sort of mental
rut. This tendency the convention helps to avoid. No under-
graduate, with the good of her fraternity at heart, could possibly
attend the convention and not return broader minded, and with a
greater sense of the true meaning of Alpha Omicron Pi.
So—let's "boost" this convention, save our money—and go! We
may all feel assured that none of us will regret it.
E L L A ADAMS W H E E L E R , T, ' 1 9 .