This letter is being written in response to the Optimist article ‘Your Voice’ (Oct. 11, 2002) concerning the recent speculation on the quality and purpose of social clubs and pledging.

The author’s obvious discontent with social clubs is vague and seemingly groundless, but what arouses my curiosity is the precedent for complaint. What troubles me is the inspiration for such an article that lashes out at a tradition almost as old as our school. For someone with no affiliation with a social club, her statements are not so much bold as they are ignorant.

When was the last time you heard a member of a social club say, “Why did I do this? All I did was degrade myself, lower my grades, and gain some hostility?”

The answer is that you don’t ever hear this, and if you did, wouldn’t it be their place to complain to the Optimist? Is it so difficult to understand that you can’t understand the purpose of pledging a social club unless you do it?

I cannot speak for all social club members but I think it is fair to say that the price you pay when you pledge a social club is outweighed by the rewards. Romans 5:3-4 states, “Not only so, but we rejoice in our sufferings, for suffering produces perseverance, perseverance character and character hope. And hope does not disappoint.”

Those that pledge would agree that these virtues are worth the small sacrifices that pledging demands.

The rewards of pledging a social club are inconceivable to those who watch from the sidelines. The relationships made and the character built will define an individual’s ACU Experience and has done so for over eighty years.

If pledging a social club is not a priority for you while in college, then I encourage you make the best of your college years, any and every way you can.

But if you decide to criticize something you couldn’t possibly understand, then I suggest you give it a shot or shut up.

-Zach Swindle
Senior Sociology Major from Dallas
member of Sub T-16