Page:The Fraternity and the College (1915).pdf/182

 usually—essay to help in the round-up, the attraction of a football game proves too much for the old timers, and they come back en masse. Such a return is full of possibilities. The freshman has heard of all these old heroes, and he wants to meet them. To many of them have come a measure of success and reputation, and the effect of their presence and the force of their words count for much in the life of the chapter. The effect of mingling with these men if they are healthy and sane and have the real good of the chapter in mind cannot be overestimated. But experience has shown that this is not always the case, and such a return is often a matter of concern to college authorities and to serious minded fraternity officers, for the returning alumnus, even though he has reached middle age, frequently forgets that he should have outgrown the follies of the freshman and too often feels that he must cast himself in the rôle of a sporty undergrad. The things he would not dream of doing in his own town and in his own house he falls into with eagerness in the chapter house. Instead of being looked on as influence for good and welcomed as a help in the building up of proper fraternity ideals, an effort is often made to conceal his escapades and the freshmen must sometimes be sent out of the house in order that they may not be a witness to his indiscretions. He does not see that whether he has