Page 41 - 1912 May - To Dragma

160 TO PRAGMA OF ALPHA OMICRON PI

i t as an inducement to b r i n g them. Surely one is broader and better
fitted to look at the problems of l i f e after only one year of college
training, even i f one fails "to make" a sorority, than one is without
that year of training. Is there any reason f o r the sorority to make
a caste o f itself and to say: " W e w i l l take into our midst only those
who can afford to stay at our university for at least two years?"

There seems to be no one plan to suggest to take the place o f
sophomore pledge-day, a plan which would satisfy all concerned;
but i n the different universities there must be groups o f sorority
women, such as Pan-Helenics or inter-sorority councils, capable o f
f o r m u l a t i n g rules that w i l l be sane and agreeable to those who must
live under them, not rules which seem ideal but impossible to keep.
T h e fewer and the simpler these rules, the greater w i l l be their use-
fulness and success. W i t h something that is logical and practical to
govern a l l sororities, each sorority should look within itself and root
out those evils that seem to have brought abuse upon the whole sys-
tem. The kindly purpose of the sorority has not changed, and the
need f o r such organizations has not become a t h i n g of the past. W i t h
a l i t t l e conscientious "house cleaning," its usefulness w i l l easily be
made apparent to its critics, and its worth and effectiveness w i l l
cause its r i g h t to exist to pass unquestioned.

VIOLA GRAY.

FROM THE REPORT OF THE CONFERENCE OF THE DEAN

OF WOMEN

In the general discussion certain points were emphasized, the de-
sire on the part of the Deans to meet visiting officers of the fraterni-
ties, payment of salaries to suitable chaperones, u n i f o r m house
rules f o r all chapters, sophomore pledge. The Deans were prac-
tically unanimosuly opposed to the varying long term rushing con-
tract bound by petty rules and marked by extravagant rushing at
the expense of health, scholarship and university spirit. Chapter
houses were universally commended as materially assisting i n the
housing problem that faces the Dean of almost every State Univer-
sity. T h e practice o f i n v i t i n g girls to chapter houses f o r the first
week of college was severely condemned by at least three Deans who
had had unpleasant experiences in permanently locating girls who
had been dropped by the chapters. I n some cases, the registration
address o f some f r a t e r n i t y house remained unchanged on the u n i -
versity records f o r a semester f o r girls who were never asked to j o i n
a f r a t e r n i t y or who later joined some other chapter.