Northwestern University - Syllabus Yearbook (Evanston, IL)

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i ,gf eginfi ,Mdffr KMA me Pledging ceremony Extended hands, grimacing faces, and record heat greeted the class of '43 as they poured into the campus for rush week. Some looked gay and nonchalant, others were obviously frightened and homesick, all were hopelessly confused. For three months they had been receiving literature-from the University, from the fraternities, from the Wildcat Council, from clothing stores, book shops, ice cream parlors, and laundries. From the fra- ternities came letters, cards, and invitations. Some were determined to choose wisely and well, to be calm and clear-headed, and they were-for the first five minutes. Others came prepared to have a lot of fun, and they all got it, in generous portions, carefully inoculated with the spirit, ad- vantages, and purpose of fraternities, and garnished with food, cokes, and ready service. The Rushing Party was the contact between rushee and active: for the rushee four hours of pleasure, for the active four hours of business- hard, carefully planned business. First, the rushee's mind was quickened by a good, solid meal, topped with several cokes and a couple of fast games of ping pong in a suffocating room, or perhaps a half hour of football under the blazing sun. Then came a tour of the house in- cluding such imposing sights as the trophy shelves, shining and resplendent, Brown's collection of

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period of informal dances gave way to winter for- mals such as the Navy Ball with its military color, the .lunioriProm with its Syllabus-Hollywood note, and the lnterfraternity Ball with its initial presen- tation as an all-university function. This winter the old Patten Gym was filled for the last time with basketball crowds and swimming meet audiences. As the snows melted, spring activity began: the Navy again drilled, lights in publications offices burned through the night, and cars opportunely stalled in secluded places. Sport enthusiasts again batted softballs through windows, cut up golf courses, and frenziedly chased tennis balls. Stu- dents went in very active pursuit of knowledge as they crammed for final examinations. Seniors worried-more. The activities of senior week cul- minated with graduation on June l5th, and thus ended a year at Northwestern. 5' Ill

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,A ,,.,.f' I ls 4 J 2 i 14 Petty prints, Jones' room, grandly furnished by 16 pipes and one dusty textbook, the recreation room with its new combination radio-phonograph, and the athletic equip- ment, all of which properly impressed the rushee with the dignity and worth of fraternity life. ln a bull session held in the keen, invigorating atmosphere of a murky, smoke-filled cubbyhole, the rushee was further enlightened on such pertinent questions as who won the Rose Bowl game in '34, or why Chicago should be dropped from the Big Ten. This culminated in the pressure session during which were presented some of the minor ad- vantages of fraternity life not already brought out, such :HI 1. .. l 5 warns ION O FRATERNITIES ill 8074 The Greek invasion as the opportunities for friendship a fraternity affords, the character-building it promotes, the qualities such as loyalty, determination and courage, which it fosters, the experience in cooperative living it provides. A weary, bewildered nod from the rushee indicated that a sale had been made, and for him Rush Week was over. And so good-bye to Rush Week: An interlude connect- ing high school and college, unlike anything the fellow has ever experienced in high school, unlike anything he will ever again experience in college, a playground preparation for college, an accurate miniature of the college playground preparation for life. The Greek Week Committee Meyers, Grest, Caldwell, Moechlle