Northwestern University - Syllabus Yearbook (Evanston, IL)

Page 19 text:

,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

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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

Page 20 text:

FRATERNITIES Fourth Row-Dunkle, Osborn, Kittredge, Conroy, Grefe, Scrivner, Gross, Vance Third Row-Heinemann, Wieder, Bates, Paterson, Irvin, Vanneman, Solum, Johnson, Wiss Second Row-Boulton, Trenbeth, Ryan, Ekberg, Meyer, Herrmann, Barrett, Clifford First Row-Langhinricks, Irvin, Pfister, Weiss, Silver, Piker, Setterdahl, Mclntyre Jin fer rafernrfy President . . Secretary . . . Treasurer . . President . . Secretary . . . Treasurer . . . . Headed throughout the first semester by Jack Ryan, Phi Delta Theta, and during the second semester by Lee Meyer, Acacia, the Interfraternity Council will be re- membered this year as the body which sponsored a thoroughly successful Interfraternity Ball, and as the group which set about remodeling the structure of the fraternity system. Long recognized and praised for its adequate and democratic housing scheme, Northwestern University this year came under the critical Searchlight because of what was termed the fraternity problem in one of the na- tional magazines. With most of the fraternities on the campus older than, or as old as, the university itself, it was felt by some critics that the system was crying out for some changes after all these years. With the backing of a sympathetic Daily North- western editorial board, an examination of the system was made from within the Interfraternity council. A committee was set up to study changes suggested by Dwight Croessmann and Stan Frankel, Phi Epsilon Pi. 'I6 ODUQCL OFFICERS First Semester ....JackRyan ...Don Ramaker ...Dirk Barrett Second Semester ....LeeMeyer ...Dave Ekberg .. .. ...Tim Herrmann Intelligent discussion of the problems of non-inteIIec- tuality and snobbish selectivity resulted in the adoption of steps toward democratizing the fraternities. It was generally conceded that fraternities are a part of Northwestern and that both the university and fra- ternities benefit from the other. It was also conceded that the only serious evil was fraternity smugness within each house, and so a series of exchange dinners among the fraternities was planned. These were followed by eFforts to improve the intellectual outlook of fraternity men. However, the year was not entirely filled with dis- cussions of serious problems. For at least one happy night, planned and executed by Jack Coney and AI Braun, the council gave itself up to a dance-the Inter- fraternity Ball. The profit of more than S300 resulting from excellent management of the ball was devoted to philanthropic uses by the council, S50 of it going to the support of the Mock political convention. Thus went the year in the council.