Corpus Christi Caller-Times from Corpus Christi, Texas • 139

"Miijr inn Iwva km abed aver the plight af elwkele who areal ked to Jofai a fraternity but (bey are larky beraaae ibey da mat hare the ataltifyiag nperinn af Haling aaly wilb people af their awa kiad far their eatire enllege i "initiated" and they enthusiastic about being paddled or taken on "scary" expeditions by beardless youths Most of these ex-servicemen ignored fraternities They have set a sensible example for theiK younger brothers and their sons Another so-called advantage of fraternities is the development of social ease or "savoir fair" Apparently a lot of clods who blushed at the thought of asking a woman to dance and who know a salad fork from a pitch fork have over the years Joined fraternities and found enlightenment in the field of modes and manners Special classes for such poor souls could be if fraternities should die of their own clownishness rat other advantages do fraternities pretend to offer? A "sense of is one Undoubtedly there are a few students on every campus who are afraid to stand up as individuals For such people it is not enough to be a member of a family a church a college a nation and the human race They like to believe they're something special because they have achieved membership in an organization which keeps others out Fortunately most colleges now have psychiatric clinics for such students There is one other which fraternities dangle before the eyes of prospective members but even the fraternity members themselves are sometimes ashamed to bout of it That is the of made at college who will later be useful in helping a fraternity member to get a Job It would seem that many of the "brothers" lack confidence in themselves and are afraid they will be unable to get a Job as good they deserve without outside aid Whatever the reason fraternity members often In the past many tears have been abed over the plight of students who aren't asked to Join a fraternity In my opinion these students are lucky They may have momentarily hurt feelings and they may even spend most of their college days feeling themselves to be outcasts but they do not suffer the Invisible injuries inflicted upon those who do become fraternity members They do not have the stultifying experience of associating only with people of their own kind for their entire college career They are not blinded by false pride in having "made" an institution which was not worth making in the first place They can once their wounded pride is healed become one with those very best college students of all: those who wouldn't think of Joining a fraternity Today more and more students feel that their intelligence is insulted when they are invited to participate In the trick handclasps juvenile in signia the paddling of posteriors the abandonment of young boys in the woods at night and all the rest of it For decades many American college students were notorious for their immaturity but since the war they have shown signs of growing up The really brilliant students nowsdays are taking a hard look at the "advantages" fraternities pretend to offer and are recognizing them as childish frauds One of these is which is achieved by denying the fundamental brotherhood of all men by excluding people of different mien or manner Mature students are realizing that they do not need Creek letters to have friendship The veterans of World War II who returned to college found that they could drink beer without being show pathetic hope in and dependence bn one another for help in earning a living (hi what frail straws these poor souls lean! I have been in the hiring business on several occasions and I have been amazed at the eagerness of many fraternity "brothers" to blackball one another On many occasions people have said to me something like this: "Jim Jones? He was a member of my fraternity in college and I knew him well a a real In the business world the accuracy of the recommendations a man gives others greatly affects his own reputation and no old-achool-tie sentiment affects the judgment given by capable and ambitious men I suppose some Jobs are reserved for down-and-outers by their fraternity brothers but fortunately government relief programa are relieving fraternities of these responsibilities In any case really capable students don't spend their days on the campus worrying about for Jobs after graduation No really brilliant student who is mature and psychologically whole could possibly become a member of a fraternity nowadays any more than he could Join the Ku Klux Klan or one of those clubs whose only requirement for membership is the mailing of a cereal box topi It probably would be wise for teachers and parents to point this out to boys and girts of college age who are not bright enough to perceive it for themselves But let's not exaggerate the evils of fraternities There is nothing vicious about the boys and girls who Join such organizations Even those initiation stunts which result in fatal accidents like the one last winter at I are not the product of evil thinking They are the result of not thinking at aU 4 4 i i i i i tni saieNsa wikkiv Ik IM II i.