Cornell Alumni News - eCommons@Cornell - Cornell University

the protection of balanced houses and tends
to cause each fraternity to become stereotyped
in one direction or another so that
often the lack of balanced judgment in the
house contributes to its weakening and
ultimate breakdown.
Applying this thinking to Seth Goldschlager's
article, I doubt very much if the
mental anguish would be anyway near
great enough to produce any number of
suicides in people who might not otherwise
follow such a course if the whole rushing
matter were over and done in the first
couple of weeks instead of dragging out to
the point where it could unbalance a major
part of the first year with the apprehensions
involved.
I suspect also that if the harum-scarum
fast two-week rushing system were reinstated,
there would be many less men not
taken into some fraternity, since in the
mad scramble to get enough initiates on
such short notice, it is difficult to form
negative judgments on a large enough scale
to exclude any individuals from the overall
fraternity system. It is also true that the
balance thus created, resulting in a stronger
more successful financial position of the
fraternity, will tend to create more living
accommodations for the absorption of increasing
numbers of men.
I hope that you will call this to the attention
of some members of the administration
and the Interfraternity Council in
the hope that they will take the time to
think it through completely and see if such
revision of the rushing might not only help
prevent additional nervous breakdowns, as
discussed in the article, but might also contribute
to the overall strength of Cornell
through the closer alumni relationship and
more willing support of the university that
tends to go hand in hand with a strong,
well balanced fraternity system in a university
setup as is Cornell, with this such
a vital part of its housing program.
CLEVELAND HAROLD D. NORTH JR. '36
EDITOR: Seth Goldschlager's article "Breakdowns
and Fraternities" had a significant
effect upon me and it is a statement which
I should have made in 1960, but unfortunately
did not.
I am a fraternity member, having been
active in my house's affairs during my
undergraduate years and, like Mr. Goldschlager,
was a dorm counselor in my
senior year. I remember being rushed as a
freshman and rushing others as an upperclassman,
but my most vivid memory is
that of observing rushing as a senior in a
freshman dormitory. The situation then—
and Mr. Goldschlager's current report is
the same—was that many freshmen were
in a poor bargaining position and therefore
were extremely vulnerable to the emotional
pressures of rushing.
I recall the heartbreak of some men on
my floor who had been strung along until
late in the second week; who had been led
to believe that they were to be chosen as
pledges; and who then fell victims to the
"ax" with no other house to join. I had
tried to warn these freshmen, but it is
difficult to persuade a young man to consider
No. 2 when he thinks he has No. 1
in his grasp. I telephoned those fraternities
to complain and their rushing chairmen
casually remarked that it was an unavoidable
result of intense competition.
I predict that Cornell fraternities will
soon balance the rights and sensitivities of
the individual rushee and the needs of their
organizations. My optimism is based upon
the fact that such a balance is essential for
the good of Cornell and the very existence
of the fraternity system. I hope that fraternity
alumni will aid their active brothers in
the construction of a rushing system which
will be fair for the individual and the
group.
I also wish to congratulate Mr. Goldschlager
on an excellent and courageous
piece of writing.
NEW YORK CITY KEVIN SEITS '60
Praise for the Leons
EDITOR: Thank you very much for including
the article about the Honduras Project
in the February issue. Much of the credit
for the success of this project must go to
our loyal and most capable alumni in Honduras,
Javier Leon '54, his brother Jorge
'55, and their family, especially their brother
Alfredo and sister Ana. Indeed, without
the knowledge and guidance of our friends
and fellow Cornellians at Quinchon Leon
Building in Tegucigalpa, the Honduras
Project in Barrio de los Fuertes would not
have been possible. Their example is a fine
one for all Cornell alumni.
NEW YORK CITY DAVID FLEISS '66
FRIDAY, JUNE 16
THE FIFTH ANNUAL
NOINUER TA SEGAVAS n
(SAVAGES AT REUNION)
BAILEY HALL
9:15 PM $2.50 (TAX INCLUDED)
Your Reunion weekend will be enhanced greatly with entertainment by the famed SAVAGE
CLUB OF ITHACA. Returning Savages, stars of former shows, will be featured in addition to an
instrumental jam session, magic, mirth, and songs by local talent.
The Reunion Show prompted many favorable comments in "The Ithaca Journal,' 1 among which
were: ". . . The appetites of returning alumni are set to savor recollection" ... "a Bailey Hall-ful
of enjoyment is perfect reunion fare" . . . "the mood of 'toujours gai' was varied only by one or
two graceful notes of music, and the frank sentiment of Cornell songs and color films'" . . . "The
show had grace, taste, and was knowledgeably geared to the reunion occasion. Encore, please."
Tickets may be ordered for class block seating by writing to Robert L. Boothroyd, Boothroyd Insurance
Agency, 312 Seneca, Ithaca, New York 14850. All orders to Mr. Boothroyd must include
check or money order to SAVAGE CLUB OF ITHACA. All mail orders will be acknowledged up to
June 3. Tickets ordered by mail may be picked up on June 16 at the ticket booth in Barton Hall,
any time Friday, or at the Bailey Hall Box Office between 7 and 9 p.m. night of show. Tickets for
Dress Circle will go quickly. Order early!
ONE SHOW ONLY
May 1967 17