The professional fraternity holds a unique place among the fraternities of the United States. At the same time there is a varied classification among the professional fraternities themselves. In the entire system, however, each group bears a definite relation with each other group; their respective positions is singular from the rest. For this purpose, a comparison between the general academic fraternity and the scholastic fraternity, not on a basis of competition but rather on a basis of essential differences, will lend considerable light in view of the fact that at many universities and colleges, one, two, or even three of these classifications of fraternities does not exist.

The general academic fraternity provides fraternal activities which are in themselves quite binding, housing facilities while at school, and offers a social brothership of all-school scope in that it gives intimate contacts with all the divisions of the university or college--law, medicine, engineering, fine art, the biological sciences, the physical sciences, or any other college major. The academic fraternity above all gives the personal relationships with the type of men to be dealt with in the business world. To the banker, to the merchant, or to the usual industrial executive, the general academic fraternity is a decided asset to him for professional reasons.

On the other hand, the professional fraternity goes one step further at the expense of one of the points in the previous paragraph. The professional fraternity, in restricting its membership to a certain professional group, offers in addition to fraternal, social, and personal contact relations a professional touch, at what might seem to be at the expense of acquaintances with other departments of the school. The professional group, however, has much better binding qualities and provides a more intimate friendship--the real meaning of brotherhood and of training for service of mankind. As a general rule, the professional fraternity does not stress the social side of fraternity to such an extent as the academic fraternity. The dances are fewer, the more formal dinners are less numerous, and the picnics and steakfries are not many in the course of the year. For these reasons, the professional fraternity is to be desired in particular by the student who has lead a more quiet and serious life, since the change in environment for this type of fellow is not as abrupt. For the working student or for the student restricted in financial income, the professional fraternity offers more for the money with no stress laid on any one particular phase of college life.

The scholastic fraternity presents a different aspect of university and college activity. The scholastic fraternity has as its basis its schoolwork, a limited number of social events, and its high scholastic standing of its members, which may or may not be incorporated with the possibility of success in life for its members as evidenced by their present qualities. The scholastic fraternities are sometimes quite restricted in membership, but they always refer to the profession of the members, its honorary powers being based on brilliance in the intended profession of the member.

The professional fraternity is based on qualities other than grades and speculation in the future as to success. In the professional fraternity there is a deeper investigation in regard to the qualities and characteristics that point to the future. There is also an effort to correct certain actions of members in able to better train them for professional service. In other words the professional fraternity does not words the professional fraternity does not have the stiffness or aloofness that are usually present in a scholastic fraternity, and which are necessary to some extent by that type of group.

The professional fraternity is not dependent on faculty support as a scholastic fraternity is. A professional fraternity is dependent primarily on the initiative of the members themselves for survival. All aid should come from the alumni members. The faculty members of a professional fraternity should act in an advisory capacity only. Outside aid in pledging should come from the alumni members of the fraternity, and faculty members should be quite tactful when they are asked to aid in influencing the decision of a prospective member. These border characteristics of a professional fraternity should be closely watched, just as on the other side the professional fraternity must watch not to stress the social side of college life.

The true professional fraternity is the one that is based on the smallest professional group that can be considered a unit and can be maintained as a fraternity. Once a professional fraternity removes restrictions as to membership in order to expand, it in turn loses some of its professional standing and digresses into the territory of the general academic fraternity. Or if a professional fraternity once depends on faculty support and favoritisms from faculty members, it again loses its truly professional standing. The path of the professional fraternity is rigidly narrow, but the attainments of professional standing are well worthwhile the efforts.

Of major importance is the fact that a professional fraternity should represent a corss-section of the profession it represents. In the colleges and universities, the chapters should contain the more brilliant students and the average students, the working students and those situated financially--exactly those classifications the one meets in later life in the conduct of your professional activities. In this way a person is better trained to meet and contact other persons, because one can nearly always refer to particular types that were known well as brothers in your fraternity.