March 31, 1955

Post #63

Dearest Linda,

Hey, before I
forget it do you think Ed Lowry would let me pitch a sleeping bag on his floor
Saturday night before Easter?  If
so, could I borrow your sleeping bag? 
Or somebody’s?  Hm?  I’ll let Dottie shift for herself; if
necessary we can roll her up and stick her in the back of the car.

I’m not a bit hot
on the Colorado Women’s college deal. 
I believe in junior colleges all right, but mainly for those who are
interested in business careers or just aren’t able to get in any place
else.  I suppose you are a little
afraid that you might fall into the latter category but I’m pretty sure you won’t.  I also have checked and found that the
usual application time for California state colleges is anytime before
August.  By residents of the state
of course, which includes you.  I
am referring to California at Berkeley. 
I have talked to a number of people lately, grads, students and parents
of students and they all appear to be of one mind:  Cal is a fine school with superb facilities and a great
faculty, but they also seem to agree in the main that a student is far better
off in avoiding the sorority pitch, for scholastic reasons and, surprisingly
enough, for social reasons, too. 
It seems that if you join a sorority your social life is immediately
narrowed to the channels prescribed by that sorority; you are expected only to
date boys approved by the sorority; you become very, very select.  My informants tell me that this
automatically shuts you off from some of the best fun and nicest people on the
campus.  Sour grapes from people
who failed to make the grade into the Greek houses?  That occurred to me, too, but I found that this was not
so.  Some of these people were the
children of parents who had been prominent in the sororities and fraternities
at Cal before them, which almost insured their acceptance.  No, they just looked the situation over
and decided where their best interests lay.

I’m not touting
you off on Cal and I’m not as stubborn on the sorority thing as Dottie is
likely to be.  I still think you
will make Scripps [Women’s College, Claremont] and I hope you do and that you
want to go there.  Nothing,
however, is set or nailed down. 
Even if you are accepted at Scripps and do not truly believe that you
will be happy there, there is no big club hanging over your head to force you.

I’ve got to get
busy on a birthday card for Dottie, so I must end this now.

All my love—well,
nearly all—to you, and all…