The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1910-04-13

ca WlLn a T6pTGS0nLaL1F0 or Gn0 2 G@I-
 mer, today. throwing some further light upon the influence of fraternal
 societies on school life. The state ments of one man shows how the social life of the school is affected.
 and what another has to say indi- cates the influence of frats upon sports. Said the first speaker:
 ''It has been said that secret fratef- nitieS further the social side or l1fe
 in the High school. This is not de- 'nied, but in the furtherance of this SO ciaI side, rings or cliQueS are formed,
 which tend to deny to the majority
 the privileges which are enjoyed by a
 balances the good aicco1nPl1shed- IL
 is for this reason that the abolition Of
 fraternities has always been looked forward to by those who have the real school spirit at heart. By the form ing of these societies 1t has been shown that the members usurp the powers which should be vested in cth- CTS, they hold all the important class
 offices. their members are in the ma jority on class committees. it Is their members who are always elected fo De class prophet or class historian. often the person who is the most competent being cast aside.
 school has it been shown that the fra ternity man has the best chance 10 make team. This sentiment. how ever, received a Quietus within the past few seasons on the High school football team, when real merit won positions @ g. on M the eleven ,+. number of the boys say Smith here is a frat man, and will be given the place in preference to me. me How Hoy It is a known fact that in the past coaches who get their positions be- sause they are frat men very often a their organization, throwing down the youth whom they know is better quail fled than the man they have chosen.
 Again in the election of 8 captain of any of the teams Is quality con- sidered2 Occasionally the best man happens to be a frat man; and there comes to the election. 1t will be noted that the boys all vote along fraternal lines. oftentimes a, very inferior tndi- vfdua1 being chosen-''
 One of the managers of a B. H. S. football team, who by the way hap pened to be a non-fr4ternity man, tells his experiences at the meetings Of the league managers.
 According to the athletic constitu-s ton which existed at the High school about seven or eight years ago. there were no men nominated for offices Ballots were taken and the man with the largest number of votes of course for each office with the result that when the election is over. all the The non-fraternity men without any organization whatever never got a look in As would be the result the fraternities with the lesser number of raised howl and soliciting the aid of the non-frats succeeded in having a new constitution adopted. In this way each organization was allowed to place one man in nomination, the man receiving the highest vote being foot manager; mar t' fhe third. % basketban 1l- man ager; the fourth, manager of track athletics. while others were rejected. before the meeting brought about the organization of the non-fraternal forces. In this way they were united, best @ % ofnees oVi proViding i % the men mi' Voted ted for the man they had selected Once in while there was a slip, but not frat man was elected. and selected to represent B. H. S. at the league meet ingS. of what was then the Trinity College Interscho1asttc League. B. H. s. was scheduled to play in New Brit ain a league game on a Saturday. This
 manager went to New Britain the for the contest. such as hotel accom- modations, officials and other incident als. After Interviewing the New Brit ain manager, who was fraternity man, which he could tell by the pin he wore on his coat, the two took a. walk about the city before they dined. visitor if he was a fraternity man. The local manager, being on the alert, stated that he was, though he was really a non-frat man. and named one Of the local High school organizations He took occasion not to name the one of which his New Britain friend was g. member The New Britainer if he had been on his job would have made a. search for his friends frat pin, but he did not. Instead. he started on a denunciation of non-fraternity men as individuals and in general. To this the Bridgeporter listened intent1y for fear he would miss a. single syllable.
 ssIt was well that he listened, for he soon learned of the experiences of for mer B. H. S. managers who happened to be non-fraternity men. The New Britain man coughed up everything, He told how all mail matter to be di- rected to the Bridgeport managers was never mailed. how they were never informed of meetings. only learning of the doings of the league through the newspapers, and being informed Bridgeport manager as usual was ab- sent. When they did get to the meet ings they had 8 swell chance of a,c- complaining anything with such oppo- sition. These and other interesting facts, which the non-frat manager youth, a fraternity man, who had par ticipated in the undoing of a former B. H. $. manager. In this way B. H. S. was unrepresented, which in way explains why the local High school has been so far behind the other schools of the State within the last ten years.
 ''The Bridgeport manager almost got himself in wrong that evening when he visited the rooms of the organiza- ton he represented himself to be a member. Luckily he did not have