Untitled Page 503

[written] 11

[typed] Saturday evening
[written] Feb '97

[typed] My dearest Nannie

Last night was such fun, we girls had a perfectly spendid
time and the dance was such a pretty one. The floor was not too
crowded and the figures in the German were wonderfully pretty-
one where the electric lights were turned off and the men carried
chinese langerns forming double lines and crossing the lanterns
for the girls to walk under two by two - the effect was beautiful
like willow the wisps; when it was time for the lights to come on
it was found that the Freshmen had cut the wires so that for almost
half an hour the illumination depended upon chinese lanterns and
lamps. We girls had good partners and programs and it was so
joplly to go together and I assure you the Zetes made lovely hosts
even if they did lose the wager.

When we reached the Hall we talked it over in Helen's room
which was as much fun as the dance. I send a Palo Alto that contains
an article which ............... I am afraid will very much astonish
you but you no less than the campus people. You see we girls have
been feeling the whole year a lack of unity and a whole hearted
feeling and generosity each for the other; beside that we have been
and such a set always has been a very decided clique in the university
holding itself aloof from the other fraternities and attracting
people to it simply its non-fraternity spirit. The result has
been a great deal of hard feeling and the gratituous appelation of
the combination to boot. My reason for settling the Kappa question
a year ago was a belief of the narrrowing tendency of fraternities;
but our attitude toward each other and in the university seemed
no much more generous if in par we put ourselves in the same level
with the other girls that we began to consider the question very
seriously. The immediate impulse that brought the thought into
prominence was a wish to organize so as to work together as a body
to promote a high moral standard, bothe in the building up of char-
acter and in our college work among the so called leader in the
Hall and on the campus. As we were - simply a set - we felt the
necessity of breaking down a spirit of petty criticism and likes
and dislike among ourselves and toward people outside, a strong
tendency to gossip and the added reputation of snobbishness. Indiv-
idual effort, whenever there has been any, has not amounted to much
and we have thought it not worth while to financially work to-gether
to work toward this end. Helen and I talked the fraternity question
over with Dr. Jordan and we have his strong encouragement in the
organization , and his voluntary offering of assistance. We did
this before any definite step was taken. He said that he had found
that in any congregation of people their were bound to be sets, and
that when they set themselves to working for some good end, it was
better than to have no strong bonds and be called by an undignified
name.

Of course, I can't go into detail about our constitution but
no one is eligible whose work is in any way of secondary importance
and who is not of high principle.

There is not half the red tape and formality that there is in
other fraternities and not being national, we do not incur the
everlasting obligations of national societies. There is to be no
such thing as annual dues, "rushing" for freshmen, financial obligat-
ions after you leave the university, and rivalry with other fratern-
ities.

The announcement was made in the paper last night just before
we went to the cotilion and it was such fun to receive congratulations
and see the astonishment of the people on account of our marked rep-
utation as non-fraternity people.