542 



SCIENCE 



[N. S. Vol. XL. No. 1033 



FRATERNITIES AND SCEOLABSHIPS AT 

 TSE UNIVEBSITY OF ILLINOIS 



For the past five years the office of the Dean 

 of Men of the University of Illinois has been 

 keeping records of the scholarship averages of 

 the chapters of national social fraternities 

 represented in the university. For the first 

 two years these averages were not published. 

 In 1912 the figures were given to the Alumni 

 Quarterly with the idea that their publication 

 might be of interest to fraternity alumni. 

 Immediately the active members of the frater- 

 nities became interested in the scholarship 

 ranking, and the next report was published in 

 the Daily Illini. Now the semi-annual pub- 

 lication of the averages is awaited with no 

 little impatience by the fraternities; in fact, 

 from the time of the semester examinations to 

 the publication of the report, the office of the 

 dean of men is crowded with inquiries con- 

 cerning the progress of the report. 



The accompanying graph has been pre- 

 pared from the scholarship averages in the 

 university for the ten semesters beginning 

 with the first semester of 1909-1910. It shows 

 specifically a comparison of the general fra- 

 ternity average with the general university 

 average for men; the effect upon the frater- 

 nity average of the publication of scholarship 

 ra:nkings and of the university regulation 

 which provides that freshmen must obtain 

 eleven hours of university credit before they 

 may be initiated into a fraternity; and a 

 study of the ups and downs of the averages of 

 certain chapters. The graph is based upon 

 the averages of YOO fraternity men and 2,600 

 fraternity and non-fraternity men. 



A glance at the graph will show that in the 

 ten semesters the fraternity average has gained 

 upon the general university average for men, 

 although it is still a little below it. Also, in 

 1909 the chapters were widely scattered up and 

 down the scale, and in 1914 they are closely 

 grouped around the fraternity average. This 

 fact means undoubtedly that during the inter- 

 val between these years the fraternities have 

 intensified their attention to scholarship; the 

 various chapters are so much alike generally 

 that when they all enter upon the same pur- 

 pose they are likely to end up closely grouped. 



At two points the fraternity average jumps 

 up quite suddenly. One point is the second 

 semester after the introduction of the practise 

 of publishing the averages, and the other is 

 the semester in which was introduced the regu- 

 lation controlling the initiation of freshmen. 

 The experience of the office of dean of men, 

 as well as the graph, records that with the 

 publication of the averages for the first time 

 there came a quite sudden awakening of the 

 fraternities to scholarship matters. The office 

 at that time was forced to provide a special 

 system for satisfying the demands of frater- 

 nity officers for periodical reports on the prog- 

 ress of the members. 



The reasons why the fraternities reacted so 

 strongly to this stimulus for higher averages 

 are various. The chapters at the bottom have 

 undoubtedly been literally shamed into trying 

 to raise their rating. A member of one of the 

 chapters near the bottom when the first report 

 was published said to me, " For years we have 

 listened to lectures on scholarship from na- 

 tional officers and alumni, but nothing ever 

 waked us up like that report. Why, every- 

 where we went we were ' kidded ' and laughed 

 at until, at last, in sheer desperation we took 

 to studying." The fraternities near the top 

 have been spurred on, undoubtedly, by the 

 very natural desire to be first. But the great 

 majority of the chapters are in little danger 

 of being last and in only a small probability 

 of being first. These middle-rank chapters, 

 however, show fully as much concern over 

 holding their position or improving it as do 

 the chapters at the top and the bottom. 



The reasonable explanation is, I think, that 

 the acknowledged rivalry which has long 

 existed in certain groups of fraternities has 

 come to include scholarship. The fraternities 

 may not have welcomed scholarship as a stand- 

 ard of comparison, but since the condition has 

 been forced on them they are making the 

 most of it. A member of one chapter said to 

 me recently, " As soon as these averages are 

 published the so-and-so chapter send in to 

 their national officers both their average and 

 ours." These two fraternities are strong 

 rivals nationally. Another man said, in speak- 

 ing of a freshman rushee from a small town. 



