FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 14, 1945
x-Gls Vote 100 Per Cent For Fraternities
But Object
To Horseplay
By MERVIN WILF
"Do you believe in the ideas and
purposes (if fraternities?"
One hundred per cent of the ex
servicemen interviewed at the Col
lege answered "yes" to this ques
tion in a recent poll.
The result of this poll clearly
refutes the claim made by the au
thors of recent articles that a, dis
chargee will be antagonistic to the ,
established Greek letter societies.
'Ex-Gl's have no grievante against,
'fraternities as such, but they do
feel that changes must be made in
these organizations to meet the de
mands of changing conditions in
College life.
With the same breath that ex
servicemen nodded their heads in
firm approval of fraternities, all of
them agreed that there is too much
horseplay and childish attitudes
prevailing in the societies. They
maintain that such foolishness as
"hellweeks," scavenger hunts, and
certain pledge duties may be suit
able for students just out of high
school who would care for them,
but it has little justification in the
pledgeship of ex-Gl's.
Katz Gives Typical View
Typical reaction that veterans
have in this matter is expressed
by Wilton' Katz. Katz says, "After
being in service and living in an
atmosphere of uncertainty, I
wouldn't like to take any part in
such frivolous activities. In the
Army they call it 'chicken' and I
think that I speak for most of the
fellows in saying that they had
enough of it in their service • days
and don't want to take any more."
- A•s opposed as veterans are to
unnecessary horseplay, they also
realize that if they would go fra
ternity, a definite form of pledge
ship has to be maintained. Accord
ing to their sentiments, fraternities
should adopt a pledgeship that
will 'be constructive to both parties
involved.
Constructive Pledgeship Suggested
Ainong the suggestions offered
for conducting a pledgeship for
ex-servicemen are the elimination
of hazing and pledge duties that
are entirely personal in nature,
and substituting in their place du
ties that entail work constructive
for the house, and a required
knowledge of the history and tra
ditions of the fraternity. .A novel
proposal was that vets should be
made to write to a brother in
service whom they don't know.
This would serve the dual purpose
of providing a duty to an other
wise almost duty-free pledge and
to cement the feeling of friendship
and fraternalism between total
strangers.
Another big reason why many
ex-servicemen, do not join 'frater
nities cannot be helped by either
group—finances.
The majority of the veterans
interviewed, both independents
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.SONORABLE SERVICE PATCH—This design of the Honorable
:service Button is 'Worn on service uniforms above the pocket on the
:tight 'hand 'side of the blouse. The dexter .eagle in the circle is in
' gold on a *diamond of khaki or olive drab cloth. The picture above is
`slightly, larger than the official patch.
and affiliated men, stated that the
money that they do receive from
the government is not sufficient to
meet- expenses, and that they do
depend on another source of in
come, slight as it may be. Thirty
one per cent declared that unless
their allotment is' increased, fra
ternity life is impossible.
Burnham Dissents
(Dissenting from this opinion,
Barry Burnham says that one of
the things that influenced him to
go fraternity was to save money.
According to Burnham, he discov
ered from his own experience that
he saved a few dollars monthly
living in a fraternity house.
Age differences alone are the
cause of 22 per cent of veterans
remaining independent. This seems
to be one factor that will not vary
as ex-servicemen feel that their
late years preclude their frater
nity life. Presently, the average
age of members of the Greek let
ter organizations hovers about 18:
With more members being dis
charged from the armed forces
this average will be boosted. But
if conditions remain static, the
change will not be appreciable.
This problem, by its nature, is
difficult to alleviate. The interests
of older ex-Gl's and recent high
school 'graduates do not lie in the
same paths. This ties in with the
•horseplay that is so opposed by the
veteran group. Younger men like
it; older men have no time for it.
Yurkanin Urges Understanding
Another aspect of the
s age differ
ence is expressed by Robert Yur
kanin. "Realizing- that such a sit
uation exists and will Continue to
exist, both groups should strive to
obtain a better -understanding. The
older Gl's should make allowances
for actions taken by 18-year-olds
knowing that they most likely did
the same things and acted the same
way themselves at that -age.' The
younger boys should realize that
if veterans make suggestions con
cerning fraternity or other mat
ters, they are not. trying to run
the show but just do it to improve
conditions that experience has
taught them." '-
There are
,among ex-servicemen
THE COLLEGIAN
attending the College some who
would never join fraternities, be
ing "born independents" like El
mer McSurcly, and others, like
Dick Berge and .William Deutsch,
who feel that the only way to go
to 'college is to go fraternity re
gardless of being an ex-GL
. Some veterans feel that frater
nity life necessitates certain bonds
and ties that may restrict their
personal liberty, but only five per
cent feel that this is sufficient rea
son to be un-affiliated.
Lander Relates Problems
Married 'couples are in a group
of • their 'own. If perhaps they
would receive more money from
the government, they would ally
themselves with fraternities. !Har
ry Lander would join a fraternity
if only the social fee would be re
quired. With him too, the balance
in the Lander family's bank ac
count is all-important.
Wesley Turek, newly elected
commander of X-G-I Club, advises
fraternities to handle each veteran
it considers pledging individually.
Being a member of a local frater
nity at Monmouth College, dll., be
fore entering the service, Com
mander Turek feels that a bit of
foolishness now and then enriches
fraternity life, but it should be
kept to a minimum and be optional
with each man.
Brennan Discusses Pledgeship
Talking from his experience
gained by joining a fraternity after
being discharged and as past-com
mander of Club, Patrick
Brennan sees in fraternities a way
to adapt veterans more qUickly
and more easily to college life.
"I know that when I first came
to Penn State that I didn't know
enough about the school to fill the
proverbial peanut shell. But by
pledging a fraternity I was able to
get the counsel of fellows who had
spent a few years here and they
set me straight on quite a few
things.
"College life wasn't such a mys
tery to me after I completed my
pledgeship. Through the fraternity
I became more interested in cam
pus affairs than I think I would
have been otherwise. Another
thing I • liked about being with a
fraternity was I got rid of the idea
that I was separate and distinct
from other students because I was
once in the service. I became just
another one of the fellows."
Explain Fraternities To Gl's
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Brennan commented favorably
on a proposed idea to fully inform
incoming ex-servicemen on the
advantages and drawbacks of fra
ternity life as a group during their
first few days as undergraduates.
Because he feels that a large
number of veterans come to the
College without a clear idea about
fraternities this would be a good
chance to set them straight.
"If the whys and wherefores of
fraternities are presented to them
without drawing your punches, it
would benefit both groups. The
new men would derive a better
understanding of an institution
that is accepted as an integral part
of the College life and it would
help them to decide if they wanted
to be a part of it. Fraternities
would make a better impression
on the veterans by putting down
the straight facts instead of using
the usual superficial rushing line.
It's a good idea and should be put
into practice as soon as possible,"
concluded Brennan.
Ex-GI Is New IFC President
Having assumed the job of. IFC
PATRICK BRENNAN, former
commander of the X-G-I Club,
who airs his views on fraterni
ties in this article.
president just four days ago,
Frank Schneider is already busy
ing himself with plans to bring the
ex-GI and fraternity groups closer
together. The former Air Corps of
ficer makes the observation that
ex-servicemen have the best quail:-
fications far becoming fraternity
men than any other group. This is
because the veteran knows how to
get along with other people be
cause he has lived in close contact
with large .groups of all kinds of
persons. And, according to Schnei
der, that's one of the main pun:
poses of 'fraternities, the ability to
make friends and to live with
people with a minimum amount of
friction.
"A fraternity is like a company
in the Army," said the IFC presi
dent. "Every member of that com
pany will try to make it the best
in the regiment. It's the same way
with frhternities. The members
and pledges will strive to make
theirs better than the rest. Not
better in a snobbish sense, but
PAGE THREE
better in the sense that one team
is better than another.
"By joining a fraternity I feel
that ex-Gl's will help themselves
to get properly oriented to college
life. With fellows in a house that
know the score and who will in..
form them, the vets will get a
truer .and more correct picture e.O
the College.
"Fraternities will have to change
their set policies and treat the ex
servicemen with a little more de•.
corum than a high school graft.-
ate. I think that most fraternities
realize this and will act according-.
ly if they already haven't dorm
so."
Steel Cites Fraternity Advantages
Sharing the burden of running
lIFC for the coming two semesters,
Joseph Steel, vice-president elect,
is another veteran of Army serv
ice. He too talks from the expert
ence of being a fraternity man and
an ex-GI who knows both sides of.
the picture.
One point that Steel emphasize:;
is that fraternities are not only ri
social institution. Besides provid
ing an excellent social outlet, fra
ternities help men with their
studies as there are usually broth
ers in the house who have had the
courses newcomers are now takim_.:
and they can a!d them in prepar
ing their work. Most fraternities
have a file system that proves in
valuable in studying.
He goes' on to point out that the
contacts and friends made in fra
ternity and inter-fraternity rela
tions are rfe-long. But a fraternity
gives more than just material
gains; it gives a person something
to take pride in and builds an
esprit de corps among its mem
bers.
Fraternities Are Homes
"Perhaps the greatest advantage
that a fraternity has to offer is
that it is a home to its members,"
declares Steel. "This is especially
important to veterans because
after being away from their homes
for quite some time and then at
tending an out-of-town school, it
gives them a sense of security.
"It's nice to walk into a house
and know that you. have good*liv
ing accommodations plus beinv:
with fellows who are' like you and
who do the things you like -to do.
And remember too, that this lie
doesn't terminate with graduation.
Alumni are welcome in fraterni
ties at all times; they can walk
into their house, or go to another
chapter, and there is always a
place for them to stay. They will
always get a cordial greeting."
Engaged Coeds Write
Morale-Building Letters
Engaged coeds at the Cdlleg,o
did their share of morale-building;
during the war by writing their
servicemen from three times R
week to twice a day, a survey
made by Dr. Clifford R. Adams
shows.
Letter-writing, the women toad
the education and psychology pro-.
Lessor, was their chief means oe
"keeping themselves in 10ve.."
Other ways included sending,
gifts and pictures, making plans.
for the future, re-reading "his"
letters, and listening to "their"
music.
The number of letters the co-.
eds wrote usually varied' with
the number they received from
their fiances, the survey reveal.
ed. "No matter how 'busy he may
be," Dr. Adams said, "if he doesn't
write often, the girls grow dis
couraged."
To most of the girls, letter
writing was their favorite way cl
relieving the tension of waiting.
Next popular choice was going to
a movie with girl friends.
Hassler Talks On Carbon
Before Chemical Society,
John W. Hasler will speak on
"The Nature of Active Carbon" in
119 New Physics at 7:30 p. m.
Tuesday. This lecture is sponsor-.
ed by the Central Pennsylvania
Section of the American Chemical
Society.
(Mr. Hassler is a graduate cif
Pratt Institute and the University
of Maine. Since 1915 he has bcE
employed by the West Virginia
Pulp and Paper Company and now
holds the position of director cat
research of the industrial chemi ,
cal division. He will discuss the
nature of active carbon, Litt(
theories of activation.