Los Angeles herald., 1906-11-23
FRAT QUESTION
STIRS UP BOARD
GREEK LETTER SOCIETIES MAY
BE OUSTED
Principal Of High School Is Opposed
to Them Further Action Awaited
with Interest by the
Students

Feeling in the high school FOR ana
against "frats" is running very hlgn gSil
The action of the high school taculty
i'm condemning the Greek letter SO
cieties will. it is thought strongly m
Nuence the recommendation OF the hlBn
school committee of the board OF euu-
cation when 1t submits lts report 10
that body Monday night. ihe stanu
taken bv Prof. Housch, prlhclpal Oh
the high school, IN uesert,mS ,S Inc, tneIr
cause will also operate against them
hitherto Mr. Housch has always re-
norted favorably to the board when
asked his opinion of the "fratS,' but
this wear he declares that they are
doing no good and are positively q
source of snobbishness."
The Greek letter societies. however,
do not intend to submit to the loss of
their organizations without strug-
gle. The members, for the most part
come from influential families and they
declare that they will enlist the aid
of their parents in retaining the insti
tutions. Other more radical ones de-
clare they have done no wrong and
will fight their case in the courts if
such becomes necessary. Then, too,
they can count on the support of all
their fellow frat men of former
years. These declare that they will
help their younger brothers in their
fight.
Society Influence Waning
Viewed in the light of past glory, the
condition of the "frats" and sororities
is a sad one. Several years ago three
'frats," the &c e KS" the "P D Q's"
and the Phi Sigmas, were formally
recognized by the faculty of the high
school. In fact, Prof. Housch was
made an honorary member of the first
named fraternity. Other faculty MEM
bers were admitted to others, and these
organizations controlled the school ac-
tivities. In course of time other fra
ternity members came from outside
schools and the number of 'frats' was
increased greatly, but the principle of
choosing and blackballing did not find
favor in the eyes of the pupils and
the influence of the Greek letter So
cieties has gradually waned.
Many of the most prominent pupils
i'm the school are opposed to them, and
others are only half-hearted in their
support. John Dodge, manager of the
school magazine declared yesterday:
I'm not a frat man myself and don't
want to say anything for fear they'll
think I'm a sore one. The 'frats' are
all right if they stay in their place,
and | think they have done so fairly
we'll"
Says Societies Are Bad
Miss Grace Stoermer, vice president
of the senior A class, said: II think
they have a right to join together, but
not to develop snobbishness. L know a
fine girl who tried to make the DIXs
and was blackballed three times by a
girl in the society who didn't like her
\ because they both admired the same
boy | believe that the societies up
here have developed snobbishness to a
high degree" Miss Stoermer is her
self member OF a sorority outside the
school, and while she opposes the
abolishment of the societies she was
prompt to declare herself opposed to
the present way OF running them.
Miss Ruth Aubury another prom
inent member of the senior class, said
yesterday: "I think the sororities are
all right, but the fraternities are NOR
ally bad. have known some fine boys
ruined by the 'frats and I have had
many things told me in confidence that
reflect badly on these societies"
Walter Duzan, a member of an out
side fraternity and president of the
Star and Crescent society, is in favor
of retaining them. IF a boy comes
from another school," he said, "and is
a member of one of our 'frats,' we
know that he's a fine fellow and we're
ready to show him around and intro
duce him to the girls. IF he is not
brother we don't know what kind of
a fellow he is. AS to the Alphi Pts,
who have their room in the Wilcox
building. we tried to have them give it
up. but they won't do it and we can't
force them to. We are in favor of
having all disagreeable characters ex-
PEELED from the different frats,' and
where the society refuses to do this
to have the society debarred from the
school. But I don't think that all the
societies should be put out for the sins
of a few
Miss Belle Baer, also of the senior
class, declared that she thought the
societies bad" "They ought to be
put out at once" she declared.
At the high school debate on the
subject of fraternities, held Wednes-
day, every frat" and sorority girl in
the school is said to have turned out.
"It is a surprise to me- declared one
of their opponents, chow well behaved
their boys were. They were on speci-
ally good behavior for the sake of their
cause, but 1 didn't believe before that
boys could be so still" Needless to say,
a young miss made this statement
The action now being taken against
the Greek letter societies is a national
move. The sentiment against these or
ganizations has spread all over the
. country and now Los Angeles high is
the only large school where they are
still allowed. Several members of the
board have declared against Them and
the chances are that the meeting Mon
day night will be a spirited one. Pro.
fessor Housch will recommend that the
societies be gradually starved to death
by being forbidden to take in any
more members but this move is not
favored by the members of the differ
ent societies, and may not be severe
enough to satisfy the board of edu-
cation.