Page 22 - 1908 November - To Dragma

TO DRAGMA OF ALPHA OMICRON PI 17

show a willingness to adapt herself to new conditions, to take the
first step toward an open mind, a readiness to be taught. She ought
to familiarize herself with the general principles of the society, with
its particular customs, for these matters, which may seem of minor
importance, all go to grounding her in adapting herself to sur-
roundings, hold her interest and develop the loyalty that is the strong
bond among fraternity sisters. I t is safe to say that many a victory
has been won by devotion to a principle, and it is equally safe to
say that every fraternity is founded on some principle, devotion
to which will win many a hard battle for a girl whether in college
or in after years, when the larger and more vital issues are at stake.

Naturally, as everywhere, there must be a division of labor. To
the new girl I say most emphatically, do your part; you will be
very glad afterward that you did it, and you will get a vast deal of
pleasure in the doing of it, i f you go at it with the right spirit. The
officers of the local chapter to which you belong have been elected to
their positions, because they were, in the minds of the girls who had
known and lived with them, the persons specially fitted to carry on
successfully the work of each particular office. Give to these girls
your help, by being loyal and never petty. They have your welfare
at heart. Do not make it hard for them by adopting a critical atti-
tude. I do not mean by this that everybody ought always to think
in the same way on all questions, nor that because an officer thinks
differently from an individual, that the individual ought to subside
and not give utterance to her belief or opinion. We all agree in the
right of the minority to be heard and the right of the majority to
rule, but state your case fairly with no personalities, no pettiness.
Be too jealous of your principles to lower them.

And now there is one problem, the solution of which is almost
always said to rest with the new girl—that is the matter of dropping
out of college before graduation. I have seen a great deal of it,
because I come from a college where this is an ever present evil. The
statement is often made that no girl drops out of college except
for lack of funds. But, within my experience, this has not been the
case. The more usual causes have been a lack of interest in gen-
eral, dread of some dull or difficult course, or the strong appeal made
by a social career.

Perhaps I may be pardoned i f I cite my own case. A t the end
of my sophomore year, I wanted to leave the university, from a com-
bination of all these reasons. The newness of college life had, in a
way, worn off; there were facing me two required courses that I
detested, junior history and argumentation; and there was the pros-
pect of a very delightful winter ahead i f I was free to enjoy it. I
pleaded with my father to allow me to give up my work. He was