Well, I see The Daily Collegian is at it again: The five- or 10-year cyclic report on "secret" societies ("Keeping the secret," April 2). It's time you did your homework and read through the stolen files that are buried in your offices. Also, you might review older editions of La Vie for more data. To your credit, this article was more even-handed than usual. In the McCarthy era, these groups were even called Communist cells.

The secret for most of these groups is "that there is no secret!" The rituals were confidential but easily discovered, and resembled sorority and fraternity "hell weeks" compressed into one night. I told the "pledge master" of one of my societies that if anyone dared to try to take me off-campus or lay a paddle on me, I was gone; I didn't need that nonsense. Many veterans felt that way. When I was "brotherized," the out-going president and I reformed the initiation into something sober, formal and more meaningful.

The Collegian has had staffers pledge, go through initiation, then break their oaths and report -- wonderful ethics in the name of journalism.

Instead of wasting energy on this stuff, work on reforming the student behavior that is ruining Penn State's reputation and lifestyle. None of my grandchildren will even consider coming to the alma mater of both their grandparents, and, in one case, their father and mother as well.