Page:The Fraternity and the College (1915).pdf/84

 Still another says:

"It is advanced that, when you subject a man to physical ordeals or cause him to make himself appear ridiculous, you probe his character. In my opinion, a man's conduct under initiation is not an index of his character. A man may allow indignities to be heaped upon him merely because he sees it to his advantage to do so and not because of any particular goodness of character. The man of coarse sensibilities will smile; the man of fine sensibilities will feel insulted—neither will be benefited, nor does the fraternity reap any benefit."

These opinions were to me interesting, and I present them for what they are worth. As for myself, as I look back over the experiences which I had, and as I have seen and heard the effects which these exhibitions or the reports of them have had upon the general public, I have come to see how common and vulgar the practice really is and how out of keeping with the real purposes of the fraternity. AnthingAnything [sic] which brings the fraternity or fraternity men thus prominently before the people who are not in sympathy with such organizations is sure to do them damage. The public "horse play" seems to me now a display of crude advertising which will only bring the fraternity into disrepute.