The commonwealth. (Greenwood, Miss.) 1896-1923, 1910-01-21
WAR ON COLLEGE FRATERNlTlES.

ternities should be abolished, and
will introduce a bill in the house
prohibiting them. Mr.. Russell is
opposed to fraternities because he
thinks they are injurious. He re-
CARDS them as the mother of eliqnes
and clans, fights and feuds, causing
breaches of discipline, failure to
study and other direful things.
Mr.. Russo. thinks these fraterni-
ties are the greatest evil of the ed
ucational institutions of the State,
and is supported in his views by a
large number of members. He
does not think they should be al
lowed in those institutions main
tanned by the State, and will press
his bill to the fullest.
Those opposed to the bill de
clare that, to wipe out the fraterni-
ties, would, to a large extent, de
stroy the college spirit, and make
the student life a hum-drum affair.
Without the spirit of rivalry, build
ed by the fraternities, it is claimed
the educational institutions of the
State would not be popular with
the youth, as they are today, and
the frat" men promise to put up a
hard fight.-Jackson News.
For several years this war upon
f%raternities has been silently wag-
ed, and the question has been
brought before the public and the
lie gislature before. Those familiar
with the fraternity system at the
University we'll know that they
have been put to a small disad-
vantage in order to reconcile the
non-fraternity sentiment, and they
also know that at present the fra
ternity system at this institution is
working tremendously in coopera-
ton with the other activities at this
college in it's attempts to make it the
Greater University of Mississippi.
Only that class Of unreasonable
thinkers that oppose the fraternity
system can see the least harm that
they cause There is no institution
that is without defects. Such an
institution as a fraternity, the mem
bers of which change every four
! years, the old boys leave school for
the work of life, the new members
assuming the executive manage
ment of same. The utilization of
college fraternities in student life.
is of great benefit. They constitute
part of College life. OF course
every fraternity has a good or bad
influence, depending on the type of
students who represent its leader
ship. And an organization within
an organization will do good or
harm in proportion to its efforts to
advance or defeat the principals for
which the mother organization
stands. Many instances can be
shown to the contrary, but the gen
eral trend is that a fraternity never
loses sight of the purposes of the
institution Of which it is a part.
1t is generally in line, in sympa-
thetic touch with the aims and am
billions of the greater fraternity
the university itself. Without
solicitation the fraternity generally
cooperates with its restitution in
everything that pertains to it's well
fare and that of the college. They
should not be tempered with by the
college that owns them, but should
be allowed to develop freely, how
ever insubordinating their interests
to those of the college. A frater-
nifty should be treated as any other
organization in college, and SO long
as it c%ooperates with its mother in
stitution in its upbuilding and does
not subordinate the colleges inter
ests. Statistics will show that they
toe the line of d%emarcation that is
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