Page 39 - 1912 May - To Dragma

158 TO DRAG MA OF ALPHA 0 MICRON PI

a pleasant acquaintance formed accidently and nominally. The

conditions in various schools may be different and i n some places the

conditions may be favorable to sophomore pledging, but to the

writer it seems that human nature, the w o r l d over, is so much alike,

especially in women, that ways and means w i l l be f o u n d to gain the

desirable girls regardless of rules. Men w i l l make rules and pro-

ceed to keep t h e m ; women w i l l make rules and proceed to f i n d a

clever way not to need them.

T h e purpose thus f a r has been to show that sophomore pledge-
day is not likely to be successful among women, and especially
among those in the large co-educational institutions where the social
l i f e of the men and women is closely related.

T h e sophomore pledge-day does not eliminate rushing or reduce
it to a minimum, or even to a sane, normal basis; but instead i t
seems to prolong i t . T h e uneasiness among sororities is certainly i n -
creased, and uneasiness and lack of confidence certainly breed
rashness and fushing. A t the University of Nebraska, an attempt
was made to introduce sophomore pledging for the year 1912-13,
but a compromise was agreed upon to try a second semester pledge
day, three sororities finally voting i n the negative. Discussion
seemed to indicate that some sort of rushing i n the middle of the
year would be inevitable, and each sorority was asked to formulate
a set o f rules, that i t w o u l d be w i l l i n g to see go into effect, govern-
ing the situation. A l l sororities did not bring in definite plans, but
of those who did, only three agreed to abolish rushing entirely, u n t i l
immediately before the second semester opened. T w o o f these three
had voted i n the negative f o r the delayed rushing season.

A l l the other plans would make rushing more complex than it
ever had been at the f a l l rushing period, and i n addition to making
it more complex, the number of events was increased, elaborateness
was more in evidence, and the rushing period was to extend over the
whole semester, although the sororities had voted voluntarily f o r a
late pledge-day, their object in doing so had been to rush more.
From this experience i t has been f o r c i b l y brought to the writer, that
the sororities that advocate the late pledge-day are not doing so
w i t h the intention o f rushing less or more sanely, but f o r the pur-
pose of doing more rushing and making the conditions more feverish.
The conditions just mentioned have caused the prophesy earlier in
this paper, that the proposed delayed rushing season at Nebraska
w i l l not, i n a l l probability, be a success.

Improved scholarship of the sorority girls and the unpledged
Freshmen is supposed to be another of the advantages of the second