The Shield Phi Kappa

Volume 36 OCTOBER 1915 Number 1 THE SHIELD OF PHI KAPPA PSI The official magazine of the Phi Kappa Psi Fraternity. Published under the authority and direction of the Executive Council ESTABLISHED 1879 Entered as second-class matter October 15,1912, at the post office at Albany, New York, under the act of March 3,1879 LLOYD L. CHENEY, EDITOR Ai^BANY, NEW YORK THE SHIELD CONTENTS FOR OCTOBER 1915 THE FRATERNITY AND THE FRESHMAN William I. Woodcock, Jr. 1 EARLY DAYS OF OHIO ALPHA AND NEW YORK ALPHA John A. Rea 5 PITTSBURG PREPARING FOR NO. 4 7 OFF FOR THE GEE-A-SEE 9 THE PRESIDENT'S CORNER Sion B. Smith 10 CHAPTER BUSINESS EFFICIENCY Kenneth Barnard 12 LETTERS FROM DAD 14 PROFESSOR TAFT DEFENDS FRATERNITIES 15 CALIFORNIA GAMMA'S NEW HOUSE Harold B. Reed 16 LITTLE SKETCHES OF BIG PHI PSIS 18 DEMOCRACY AT MICHIGAN 22 NEW DIRECTORY PROVES VALUABLE 23 RILEY DAY IN INDIANA 23 NOTABLE MEN AT PENNSYLVANIA BETA'S CELEBRATION B. F. Miller, Jr. 24 EDITORIAL 26 PHI KAPPA PSI NOTES 29 ALUMNI ASSOCIATION CORRESPONDENCE 35 CHAPTER CORRESPONDENCE 39 OBITUARY 56 Illustrations: THIRD DISTRICT COUNCIL, frontispiece; JOHN L. PORTER; N. R. DAUGHERTY; B. M. JOHNSON; F. D. GLOVER; CALIFORNIA GAMMA'S NEW CHAPTER HOUSE; THE NEW WILLIAM PENN HOTEL; NEW HOME OF MICHIGAN UNION; HON. JAMES E. WATSON; DR. EDMUND J. JAMES. HON. JAY H. NEFF. THE SHIELD is the official organ of the Phi Kappa Psi Fraternity, and is published under the authority and direction of the Executive Council as follows : October, December, February, April, June and August. Chapter letters and other matter, to insure publication, must be m the hands of the editor by the fifteenth of the month before date of publication. The subscription price of THE SHIELD is $1.50 a year, payable in advance; single copies, 25 cents. Advertising rates may be had on application. Undergraduatesss,, alumni, and friends of tthh e Fraternity are re quested to forwar,rdd items of interest to the editeditorc . LLOYD L. CHENEY, Editor.Albany, N. Y. ,fBE SHIELD c::^>^PMi KAPPA psiQ Vol. 36 OCTOBER 1915 No. 1 The Fraternity and the Freshman WILLIAM I. WOODCOCK, JR., PA. THETA '12, Contributor UR initiates are the principal factors in determin ing the future of our Fraternity. Our true great O ness does not depend upon our wealth or the number of our chapters so much as upon the character of our members. Our Fraternity is a great building upon which we are workmen. Two things are obviously necessary to the progress of our work — good material, and its proper application. It is to the freshman class that we must turn each year for our material. The rela tionship between the Fraternity and the freshmen is, therefore, most important. Regarding this subject, there are two vital considerations. We must first get new men who measure up to the eligibility standard of our Fraternity, and then we must develop them into well- balanced Phi Psis. We can not here enter into any lengthy discussion of the first phase of our subject — the getting of new men. Conditions vary greatly in the various institutions. There is, however, one universal fact about rushing, namely, that in order to bfe successful, it must be sys tematic. We live in an age of specialization. At Lafay ette we carry out this specialization idea in a way which has proved quite satisfactory. Every summer we prepare a printed letter which has on the back of it a list of the new men entering college. About one hundred of these Paper read at First District Council held at Williamsport, Pa., April 24, 1915. 2 The Shield of Phi Kappa Psi letters are sent out. Picked men are assigned a certain number of names to work upon as their special field. Hy free use of their Phi Psi catalogs, they not only get information about all these men, but they also get lines on the best of them. Thus we can concentrate our efforts upon the most desirable men of the entering class. This plan, of course, means work, but in these days of keen competition it is almost essential to successful rushing; Let us now turn to the second phase of our question — the development of the freshman. If a man is not bene fited by being a member of a fraternity, that fraternity loses its reason for being. The best way to prevent anti- fraternity legislation is to develop our new men so as to prove that the influence of fraternity life is highly beneficial. We must ever keep in mind the ideals of our founders and strive to impress them on our new men. We must strive to develop our freshmen — morally, intellectually, physically. As a good start is often half the fight, it is of the utmost importance that the freshman be started in the proper course of training. Soon after the initiation, the members of the house committee should have a heart-to-heart talk with the new men in which the house rules and college customs should be explained and the moral attitude of the chapter definitely set forth. To abstain from enter ing drinking establishments, to refrain from all forms of gambling, to choose the proper kind of associates, and other things of moral importance should be impressed upon the initiates. The human tendency to err seems especially prevalent in the average college man who finds it easier to succumb to evil than to follow what is right. A man who is active in a healthy way is not tempted to follow an evil course. It is, then, essential, that new men be urged first to establish a firm basis in their scholastic work, then to engage in various branches of college and fraternity activity, to associate with men of high caliber, and not to forget their social standing in life. The red-blooded young man of today needs various amusements, such as athletics, music, parties and so forth, and when not interfering with his scholastic The Fraternity and the Freshman 3 work, these diversions should be encouraged. The bene fit one receives from his college course is not alone the knowledge he obtains from his books, but it is also the learning tempered with the friendship he forms and the general broadening he acquires through his intimacy with other people and other activities. There is no valid reason, however, why fraternity life should impair a freshman's scholarship. Most men who fail in their work the first year do so not so much because they are naturally dull, but because they either do not know how to work or have had poor preparation in cer tain subjects. It is here that the fraternity has an excel lent opportunity for genuine usefulness. The upperclass- men, especially the seniors, should see to it that the fresh men learn how to apply themselves and, where it is necessary, that they be given a little help over the rough places. There should certainly be a rule enforced gov erning the hours for work in the evenings. A very sim ple but effective rule is one compelling the freshmen to be at work after eight o'clock on at least four evenings in the week. This early training so regulates a man that by the time he attains his sophomore year a desire to remain in his room and study is fairly well established. In this matter of scholarship the fraternity ought surely to cooperate with the faculty and keep definitely informed as to the scholastic standing of its freshmen. Another quality which should be carefully developed in the freshman is ardent loyalty to his college. The great est asset to any institution is that of loyal alumni, for without their help a college can not prosper. This spirit of loyalty should be instilled immediately upon his enter ing college. He should be urged to engage in some form of athletics, if not a major sport, then a minor one, and regardless of the fact of his taking part in athletics he should be compelled to learn his college songs and cheers and to revere her customs and traditions. Attend ance at smokers, cheering practices, games and other events should be insisted upon rigidly, for it is thus that he acquaints himself with the various coaches, captains, athletes and other men important in college life; and 4 The Shield of Phi Kappa Psi thus, too, that he engenders that invaluable quality — college spirit. The freshmen should be made to realize that what they get out of their college life is directly proportional to what they put into it. It is then of the utmost importance that every freshman take part in some form of college activity, no matter how great or how small, how important or unimportant, for to become enthused in one form of work, and to be successful in it, is sure to inspire him to other and greater things. The quality of loyalty is most vital in respect to the freshman's relation to the Fraternity. Primarily we should get the freshmen interested in the chapter and the general Fratenity. The quizzes should be thoroughly learned and the reading of THE SHIELD and The Mystic Friend encouraged. It is a good plan to encourage the freshmen to speak in meetings and enter into discussions. They should be given some minor offices in the chapter. Other things which we sometimes neglect, and which are very serviceable in developing a freshman's fraternity spirit are the conventions and alumni banquets.

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