DEPARTMENT REPORTS. 37 



of each side and in about the same proportion to tlie number received. 

 As I did not ask permission to use the names in print I do not feel at 

 liberty to do so. 



No. 1. In Favor. 



''My Dear Sir: — During the twenty-five years since entering 'M. A. 

 r.,' I have given the social side of student life much careful study. 

 While in college, I lived successively in the democratic atmosphere of 

 Williams Hall, and the more conservative atmosphere of Middle Ward, 

 Wells Hall ; was a member both of a secret fraternity and of an open 

 literary society; and served for a time as steward of Club B. Since 

 graduation, I have observed the fraternity house system of Cornell; 

 the dormitory system of Harvard; the combined dormitory and frater- 

 nity house system at the University of Maine; and the fraternity house 

 and miscellaneous rooming-about-town system at the University of West 

 Virginia. Personal experience and general observation of and conversa- 

 tion with students, both in college and after leaving college, lead me to 

 favor the fraternity house system, or a combination of that system with 

 the dormitory system, such as is possible at M. A. C. under existing 

 conditions. 



"With a suitable matron, the fraternity house affords the best possible 

 substitute for home surroundings Avhile the student is in college; and, 

 if j)roperly conducted, the cost of living need be little if any higher than 

 would lie the case in the usual method of boarding. 



''The cost would doubtless be somewhat higher than that entailed by 

 the dormitory system; but, with present dormitory accommodations at 

 the college, no student would be forced to enter a fraternity or society; 

 while the advantages of fraternal ties and social training to many young 

 men who come from the farms are beyond computation. The graduate 

 of M. A. C. should be not only a good student, but he should be a well 

 trained man among men. The dormitory may have its influence in this 

 training, so also may the football field, but neither of these factors of 

 college life can fill the place of the college home. 



"If practicable, I believe that the fraternity houses should be located 

 upon the campus, thus keeping the students and faculty in close touch, 

 and fostering that 'college spirit' which is essential to the best develop- 

 ment and broadest influence of any institution." 



No. 2. In Favou. 



"My Dear Mr. Graham: — Being a member and a stockholder in the 

 Eolectic Society House, I may possibly be somewhat biased in my opinion 

 'as to the propriety of this movcjnent. 



"The fraternity idea is by no means new, and it is evidently bound to 

 prevail even at an institution as democratic as the Michigan Agricultural 

 ('ollege. I can see no reason why the Board of Control should object 

 to the fraternity idea of housing students. I believe emphatically in 

 the idea of encouraging the social and educational purposes of the 

 college societies, and do not see why this feature cannot be carried out 

 and still allow the fraternities or societies to provide living rooms and 

 boarding facilities. It is the spirit of all fraternities to encourage 'mix- 

 ing,' and I believe you will find that their teachings and their principles 



