1912–13 Volume 37 No 1–5 - Phi Delta Theta Scroll Archive

364 THE SCROLLpurpose were introduced in the legislatures of three other states,Texas, Wisconsin and Ohio. A little later a similar bill was introducedin the legislature of Minnesota, and it is probable that such abill will be introduced soon in the legisature of Kansas. The thingis epidemic, and there is no telling where it will break out next, forthe same influences are at, work in many states.THESE bills may not be enacted immediately, but it is certain thatthe agitation for them will continue. There is no doubt that weare in for a long fight and a hard fight, and if the fraternities do notget together, act together and work together, and if they do not dosomething to remove the grounds of criticism against them, they willsurely suffer and probably be wiped out of existence at many places.This is no time for halting'but the time for united and positive action.A conmion danger confronts all fraternities, and they should abandonsome of their aloofness and conservatism and join their forces. Forone thing, fraternity men should encourage their friends who are notfraternity men to organize for the purpose of securing charters forchapters from fraternities not represented in their institutions, or, failingin that, to establish new fraternities. If the number of fraternitymen were now doubled much of the clamor against fraternities wouldat once subside. The reason that there is much less agitation againstfraternities in the East than in the West is that the proportion of fraternity-mento the number of students is much greater in the easterncolleges than in the western state universities.And another thing the fraternities must do is to cause such reformsas will make them less subject to the criticisms that are being leveledat them from so many directions. Some of these reforms each fraternitycan best manage by itself but others require a concert of action.One of the most effective criticisms is that the scholarship of fraternitymen is low compared with the average of the student body. This ofcourse does not take into account that fraternity men usually enter intomore college activities than non-fraternity men, by reason of whichthe class room work of the former suffers to a greater degree. But thestatistics that show a lower scholarship for fraternity men in many ofthe larger universities, and that have been published broadcast andused to strengthen the anti-fraternity crusade, are humiliating not tosay disgraceful. Each fraternity must work out its own salvation in