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Friday. October 14, 1977
University Daily Kansan
Honor societies reconcile past and future
By JANE PIPER Staff Writer
Staff Writer
Steeped in tradition, all-school honor societies at the University of Kansas today attempt to reconcile a rich history and future realities.
Several societies that were previously single-sex have compiled with federal law and become coed. Others have chosen to remain single-sex and as a result have withdrawn from University affiliation. All, however, feel confident about their new roles.
The traditional importance placed on leadership qualities, extracurricular activities and academic achievements today. Indeed, it is a prerequisite for membership to Mortar Board, a coed senior society; Sachen, a men's senior society; Sigma, a women's senior and Lambda Sigma, a coed sophomore society.
The modern-day force behind the reorganization of the societies is Title IX of the Federal Education Amendments passed in 1972 and which went into effect in 1975.
Since 1975, Title IX has prohibited sex discrimination in federally financed educational institutions. The law kurs BU from giving significant assistance to organizations that discriminate on the basis of sex. Federal funds are at stake.
SINGLE-SE HONOR societies faced three choices when Title IX took effect. They could have disbanded, admitted mem-
bers to have opposite sex or lost University sponsorship.
In 1975, the all-male societies, Sachem Circle and Owl Society, broke with the University, ending relationships that together totaled 126 years. Mortar Board and the CWENS (now Lambda Sigma) went coed.
The results have been controversial because the changes left more room for men than women in the societies. Even so, the new rules last month to continue their all-male status.
into establishment of a coed junior society, most likely a KU chapter of Spurs, a national honor society for juniors. It has been assumed that will take place by sering semester.
MANY OTHER HONOR societies exist at KU, but most are specialized departmental ones. An exception is Phi Beta Kappa, a schoolwide coord organization recognizing academic excellence but not necessarily leadership qualities and activities.
A student is eligible for Phi Beta Kappa after his junior year. To be selected, a student must be in the top 10 per cent of his class, have attended classes at KU for three years and pursued a Liberal Arts and Sciences education.
The decision to go coed for Mortar Board was a break in its 64-year history and one of the biggest changes since World War II.
The KU chapter was founded in 1911 as Torch Society, and two women from each sorority were the initial members. In 1924 the group became affiliated with Mortar Board, a national honor society. In its early years, the organization was a well-kept secret and members were announced only after they had completed their secrecy soon gave way to recognition, and by 1836 Mortar Board women were donning black skirts and blazers every Tuesday.
EARLY ACTIVITIES included frequent trips into Kansas City for lunchons and theater and hosting University teas. Always regarded as a service organization, during World War I the women sold war medallions to raise money for French orchids.
Serious activities were sprinkled with lighter ones. Over the years Mortar Board held Smarty Parties, spelling bees and cram sessions, some in the chancellor's residence. They also sponsored Leadership Days for high school seniors in the state.
Mortar Board is a viable group of 19 men and women, one of 167 chapters in the nation. A recent contribution from the group to the University is the presentation of 10 Outstanding Educator Awards each year. Opening. The awards were started last year.
Sachem, a circle of the national honor
Single-sex honor societies faced three choices when Title IX took effect. They could have disbanded, admitted members of the opposite sex or lost University sponsorship.
society Omicron Delta Kappa, today consists of nine senior men. President Jeff Rhonds, Leawood senior, stressed recently that the break from University affiliation over the sex issue has not hurt the effect of society. He views it instead as a challenge.
"There's a lot more responsibility on the officers," he said. "But the year-to-year success depends on the members—and they are excellent this year."
SACHEM WAS founded at KU in 1910 by members of the senior class and advisers. The name "Sachem" was taken from Iroquois Indian tribes around New York and mean "to please." The students customats played a important anment in Sachém ceremonies and initial ins.
Many of the Indian customs in initiation, however, have given way to a dressy family ceremony at the Rock Chuk Cairn, commemorating 150 years of titles of officers have remained the same for the last 67 years. The president is known as the chief Sachem, the vice president is the keeper of the fires, the secretary is the medicine man and the treasurer is the warden.
Each year at the KU-MU football game, members from each school's honor society have the traditional four-tone uniform. All students participate in the school that wins the game. Some parts of the custom have been discontinued, such as the doming of Indian blankets and passing of the peace
In 1947, Sachem was granted a charter in
America Delta Kappa, a national honor
organization.
An important function of Sachem since its inception has be to take over some form of campus activity each year and further its success. Last year, Sachem lobbed heavily for the new satellite union, and the previous president, physicist William Shockley to speak at KU.
In the past, the society sometimes was deemed by the Men's Student Council as the official enforcers of the now obsolete freshmen regulations. For example, in the 1940s, freshmen were expected to wear blue and red beanies to campus every Friday. If not, upperclassmen could send them through a paddle line "to induce spirit."
Sachem Circle is now more lobsty in nature than program-oriented, according to its literature. Rhoads said the primary goal of the group now was to find a new adviser, the former president, dean of food science, spring because of interest over the single-sixie issue.
WHEN THE ADVISER problem is resolved, Rhoads said, he hopes the group can start organizing lasting project projects. He also plans to offer education reception in planning stages.
Unlike the service-oriented Sachem Circle and Mortar Board, Owl Society's main purpose is simple recognition of the scholarship and activities of junior men, according to last year's president, Doug Hundley, Wellington senior.
Owl Society's two-year break with the University was re-emphasized last month with a 124 vote to remain all male. At that time, only one female attended the land Park junior, and Reggie Robinson, Salina junior, quit in protest over the vote. They have helped the attempts to form a new university.
Owl Society now has 24 members and they, like members of Sachem Circle, insist
Williams Fund broadens scope
The Williams Educational Fund, riding on a 25-year tradition of funding KU's male athletic program, is changing with the times and beginning to shoulder more of the responsibility for the KU women's athletic program.
The Williams Fund, originally the John H. Outland Scholarship Fund until renamed in 1974, was organized in 1949 to fund the men's athletic program.
Next year the women's program expects $87,000 from the fund and $100,000 by 1980.
But last year the Williams Fund provided $30,000 for women's athletics and this year $25,000.
Marian Washington, women's athletic director, said recently that even with the Williams Fund assistance, the women's athletic program was under-financed.
Money from the Williams fund was donated after women's athletic officials asked for more funding to improve their program. Besides the Williams Fund, women's athletics is funded by a basketball camp conducted last summer. The Student Affairs Department needed to send the program in fiscal 178, and the University is requesting about $44,000 from the Kansas Legislature for salaries, equipment and operating expenses.
Don Fambrough, assistant director of the Williams Fund, said he thought the Williams Fund and the Women's Athletic Department understood each other's problems.
"Last year our total output in basketball was $28,000, while Kansas State's scholarship fund for basketball was $28,000." she said.
"We realize they need more money," he said, "but I think they realize that we can't afford it."
"We want to see the women's program grow, but we face inflation as bad as anyone else. We are trying to cope with our price rise and not having to deal with it, aren't helping as much as we would like."
The question of more funding for women's athletics掀when the Department of Health introduced the new policy.
Coming back ...KU 1977
provisions went into effect in 1975. KU administrators have been charged with the responsibility of giving women equal opportunity to participate in sports. The Title IX provision prohibits sex discrimination in a federally funded institution.
Don Fambrough
mostly in basketball. Women in track and swimming also hold a number of the schol-
"We have a good program for expansion," Washington said, "but the main problem is that there are some schools already that we don't need and they are hard to compete with," she said.
Famibrough said that the Williams Fund was solely for scholarships for athletes and that this was the first year enough money had been raised to fund sports at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the Big Eight Conference.
The maximum allowance for in-state athletes is around $2,000, and out-of-state athletes are allowed to pay.
Football is limited to 95 scholarships by the NCAA, and basketball is restricted to 15.
ambridge said that when financial assistance was given to a football or basketball player, it was considered a full scholarship.
"If you give a football or basketball player a pencil and some paper, it is con-
fidential."
Now 37 women hold athletic scholarships,
Because of this, all football and basketball players are given the maximum allowed, ne
very waugh, assistant athletic director,
said that in other sports a full scholarship
could be broken down into partial
scholarships.
Non-revenue sports are limited in the number of total scholarships and the amount of money expended by what is called equivalency requirement," he said.
"Each sport is granted so much in terms of number of full scholarships," he said. "I need to receive a full scholarship, he (the coach) could give two athletes half-scholarships, as long as the sum of the numbers of full scholarships" the allowed number of full scholarships."
The maximum number allowed in non-revenue sports is: cross country and track 14, baseball 13, swimming 11, gymnastics seven, golf five and tennis five.
The Williams Fund, which came under control of the University of Kansas Athletic Department in 1967, is
Three years later, the group received a charter from the National Society of CWENs. The focus in CWENs was on how to be a lady, and the initiatives set up under an old English system often featured morality plays.
ask about the amazing
The CWENS initiation banquet was based on an English feast. The food served required no silverware, and entertainment was provided by iesters and harp players.
THE IDEA FOR a sophomore society took shape in 1985 when 85 women were named Sophomores. They were guided by a sophomore counseling group that already had been in existence for a number of years. Their main focus was helping freshmen women in transition from high school to the college.
Today, as Lambda Sigma, the main thrust of service still is on helping freshmen adjust to college life. The group, however, also active in helping the University with projects such as blood drives or hosting University functions.
LAURA PINKSTON, Overland Park senior, was president of WCWS when the organization became coed two years ago. She said recently that the changes had brought about definite improvements in the organization, most importantly opening the way more for female leadership.
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men. The KU chapter of CWENS was the first nationally to go coed, and during the year's transition time it was known as the scholarship, involvement and leadership.
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the break with the University has not hurt them. Alumni support and tradition are behind them, Paul Carroll, Wichita junior and president, said.
Mortar Board also became more viable, politically aware and efficient, Pinkston,
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HOWEVER, MUCH of the tradition in Owl Society has disappeared over the years, especially the initiation custom of sitting in a circle in between classes and booting at passersby.
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"We receive donations from all sorts of people, alumni, friends of the University. We receive quite a few from people who are involved and must have adopted the Jayhawks as their own."
The fund now raises about $700,000 a year.
Farmwell said donations to the fund will
continue.
after the late Dick Williams and his two sons, Skipper Williams, who died in 1974, and Odd Williams, president of Douglas County State Bank. The Williamses worked to bring the athletic scholarship fund from about $10,000 a year to about $20,000 a year.
Owl Society is unique to KU; it is not part of a national honor society. It was established in 1914 and published the Sour Owl until 1924, when a journalism fraternity took over. For many years after that the society edited the humor sections of the Jayhawker.
the 1940s, members were known as "brain trusters" and enjoyed annual affairs with the Killen sisters (a nightshirt parade) and the selection of the Quit Queen. Much earlier, around 1920, competitive dancing highlighted an annual banquet in which men received a five-pound box of candy.
The coed group now is known as Lambda Sigma and is part of the national society of the same name. This year there are 32 members, and slightly more than half are
The 1930s often were turbulent times for the Owls. In an election of Owl officers, two political parties, the Progressive Student Government League and a Greek-dominated party, Pachacamac, were in opposition. The hostilities were cooled when it was decided that Owl Society officers would be required to pay a $75 fee, custom remains today on the basis that each member is equally qualified to serve, Carroll said.
One of the most sweeping changes for honor sisters brought about by TITLE IX was when CWENS, a women's sophomore society, decided to go coed in early 1978.
"We were cutting ourselves off from a See HONOR page three
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