William Raimond Baird

“ All these college fraternities are secret in their character With the exception of Delta Upsilon, which is anti-secret, and Phi Kappa Alpha, which is non-secret. To one, however, who has given any consideration to the subject, the secrecy is such only in' name, and carefully worded inquiries will elicit all that is wished to be known. The societies have stolen each other's constitutions with more or less frequency, and these documents are not so difficult to obtain as might be supposed. ”

“ In the East the chapters have, on an average, been established from ten to fifteen years longer than in the West, and from twenty to thirty years longer than in the South, and Southern and Western students fail to recognize the fact that it takes time to properly establish a chapter. Being older, the Eastern chapters have built houses and lodges before the Western ones have thought of it, and being as a rule wealthier, their badges and other appointments have been costlier. ”

“ The Eastern fraternities had hesitated about placing chapters in the South again, and the local fraternities and those from the West have undisputed possession of the collegiate field in that section. So we see that there are three different classes of the fraternities, the Eastern, the Western, and the Southern. Some fraternities belong more or less to all sections, but we have yet to see a national fraternity in the best colleges and universities from the Atlantic to the Pacific, and the lakes to the Gulf. ”

“ The course of educational as well as political empire is toward the Mississippi Valley, and in a few years the fraternities of both sections will be alike in standing, membership, wealth, and scholarship. In the East the iron hand of custom has now regulated all that pertains to the life of chapters and their peculiar practices. ”

“ In some of the larger Western and Southern colleges, such as Indiana Asbury, Emory College, Ohio Wesleyan, etc., the preparatory schools being intimately connected with the colleges, "preps" are not only pledged, but initiated, before they enter the college proper. As the colleges usually open about the middle of September, the campaign for freshman members is then commenced, and lasts until Christmas, when each chapter has secured its most desirable candidates ”

“ The members' names are usually arranged alphabetically by classes, or by the years in which they were initiated, and foot-notes indicate the military, political, civil, or collegiate titles of individuals when distinguished. Some of the fraternities also print a series of private symbols, composed of Greek letters, numbers, astronomical and mathematical signs, etc., which denote rank held in the fraternity, the college honors or prizes gained, age, etc., of the person to whose name they are attached. Death is universally denoted by an asterisk (*) . ”

“ In the South the chapters are often termed "clubs," a name derived from the University of Virginia, where the fraternities usually board in clubs; one or two fraternities call their chapters "colleges" and "charges." The badges worn are usually more expensive in the East than in the West. The D. K. E.'s and Psi U's pins admit of more or less ornamentation according to taste. Some are heavily jewelled, and some are as plain as possible. We should say that the average price of a badge in the East was twelve dollars, and in the West, seven dollars. ”

“ Theta Delta Chi, Kappa Alpha, Theta Xi, Sigma Phi, Phi Kappa Alpha, and Psi Upsilon may with justness be styled Eastern fraternities, though one or two of them have chapters in the West and South. Beta Theta Pi, Delta Tau Delta, Zeta Phi, Phi Gamma Delta, and Phi Kappa Psi are types of the fraternities of the West. Alpha Gamma, Alpha Kappa Phi, Alpha Tau Omega, Kappa Sigma, Kappa Alpha, Kappa Sigma Kappa, Pi Kappa Alpha, Sigma Nu, and Sigma Alpha Epsilon are strictly Southern societies. Phi Delta Theta and Sigma Chi are Southern and Western. ”

“ They awaken new interest in the minds of graduates, by giving them news of their former chapters, and serve an important purpose by providing means for free expressions of opinion in regard to matters of interest. ”

“ These things, however, are rapidly becoming equalized; the State universities of Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, and Georgia are fast becoming of equal grade with the best New England colleges, and the students are of a higher social grade than were formerly accustomed to frequent these institutions. The South is recovering from the effects of the war, and the West from a period of depression consequent upon that struggle. ”

“ The initiation services are also very much alike, although there has been much scope for originality in their composition. A perfect initiatory service should consist of two parts, so that, after having undergone one trial, the initiate could retreat if necessary. ”