And now, the most fascinating chapter of all (to me, at least) on Secret Societies. I went into this thinking of such groups as the ulti- mate in anti-transvestism, and came out realizing that FPE meets most of the qualifications! And that I, as one of the officers, have automatically steered us closer to the pattern that has made the Masons, the Jesuits, the Mafia and the Rotarians so successful in their respective lines. Typically, a secret society is all-male, requires an initiation ceremony, is at odds with society, is both voluntary and selective, has a hierarchal structure and "provides an opportunity for male affiliation under conditions both predictable and satisfying. Well, how about that? When I set up the interview system, it seemed just a common-sense precaution, but I see now that I built in a touch of the ancient Rite of Initiation. And who has been the most insistent on creating a hierarchy, even to the point where I was fighting both Virginia and Fran at once? Well, we do not spill blood (except when the member decides to have her ears pierced), adopt animal names for our chapters, nor engage in ritual consumption of alcohol, so I guess we are relatively civilized — but a sorority we are not, in any meaningful sense of the word; girls really handle things quite differently.

Dr. Tiger winds up with a long chapter on aggression as distinct from violence; he believes that these can be separated, and that war is not a necessary consequence of male bonding. I do hope he is right; I've lived through two world wars, and doubt whether I could make it again.

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Sheila Niles 30-B-2 VPE

A PLEA

PLEASE

This magazine will be awfully one-sided if all I have for it is fiction. I'm glad many of you can write fiction but how about more material for the History, True Story, Articles, Poetry and Odds and Ends de- partments. You all have these in your heads, consider that the other girls might be interested in your opinions, or what happened to you on the way to maturity, etc. Send them in, my supply in these areas is very low. It's your mag remember... Virginia

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