in 1873, an ΔΔΔ was organized at Boston in 1888. The I. C. Sorosis, quite similar to the Greek-letter societies in purpose, but not confined at first in its membership to college students, was founded at Monmouth College in 1867. It changed its name in 1888 to ΠΒΦ, and now admits only college students to its ranks. ΑΧΩ, at first a professional organization among students of music, ΧΩ originating at Arkansas University, and a number of other societies of more recent origin constitute a complete system among the undergraduate women students.
Some of the societies for women call themselves fraternities and some sororities. Both terms are used in this work.
The foregoing outline will show how widespread the system is. It has become the prominent factor in the social life of American students, and as such is attracting the attention of publicists and educators. Its influence will probably increase.
The better fraternities move very slowly in granting of charters, and petitioners find that they have to wait sometimes for years, and patiently and persistently push their claims until success crowns their efforts, or they are convinced that they will be forever denied admission to the fraternity of their choice. Much of this inertia on the part of the fraternities is due to a false conservatism. It has contributed largely to the rapid and it must be said successful growth of some of the younger fraternities whose members have wisely seized golden opportunities spurned by their slower rivals. This conservatism on the
