Except at Princeton, which has eating clubs, and Harvard, which hasn't, fraternities are important to the social life of the Ivy League. At Dartmouth or Amherst or Williams membership in a fraternity can make, for many people, the difference between drudgery and delight.

This fall, Ivy League newspapers have begun to grumble about the fraternity system. Autumn is the rushing season for most fraternities; sophomores wander from house to house, shake hands with prospective brothers, examine the paddles on the wall, and then sit back and wait. At a school like Dartmouth, less than half can reasonably expect to pick lip a pin; at other schools, the proportion may be lower, Ivy newspapers have suddenly started trying to keep the proportion down.

The Yale News, for example, ran a series of editorials two weeks ago questioning the national affiliations of Eli fraternities. It pointed out that fraternity members often have to pay out as much as $55 to their national organizations; that in turn they may have to accept rules--such as Phi Gamma Delta's prohibition against pledging Jews--which they find oppressive. The Yalie Daily did not condemn the system, but asked members to consider whether their fraternal ties "might be the result of some refined evangelism."

The Dartmouth has been more outspoken. In early October, it ran the Dartmouth Christian Union's long and often unfavorable report on the fraternity system, and then reprinted what it called a "social formula" for those uncertain about joining fraternities. The formula: "Mr. Joseph H. College regrets that owing to a previous conception of purpose lie will be unable to accept the kind invitation of Alpha Beta Gamma." The next day, as a "public service," The Dartmouth listed the eleven local fraternities which discriminate on racial or religious grounds.

Ivy League fraternities are well entrenched; even opponents admit that the fraternity system has enough attractions to preclude its early demise. But this autumn has produced an unusual flurry of comment and criticism on rushing and pledging and all the other brotherly practices. The Greek temple of the fraternity system still stands, but people are eagerly chipping away at its base.