Monday, March 19. 1962 University Daily Kansan
Page 11
National Fraternity President Speaks Out on 'Social' Rights
By Dennis Branstiter
The national president of Delta Chi fraternity said Saturday that forcing fraternities to remove restrictive membership clauses from their constitutions is the first step toward forcing them to take members from minority groups.
He termed this a denial of "social" rights guaranteed in the Constitution.
Lewis S. Armstrong, Seattle, Wash., attorney and national president of Delta Chi is at the University of Kansas to attend a Delta Chi regional conference to discuss fraternity problems.
MR. ARMSTRONG said, "There is no question that persons who have led the program to withdraw restrictive membership clauses from the constitutions of social groups on various campuses are attempting to force the groups who have removed the clauses to prove their intentions by taking members of minority groups.
"At Williams College (Williamsown, Mass.) Dr. William Cole (now president of Lake Forest, Ill.) required fraternities not only to have their clauses removed but to have complete local autonomy from their nationals. He then took the additional step known as 'total opportunity', which means if 100 men go through rush, no one can be pledged unless all are pledged," regardless of the racial or religious makeup of the group.
"He (Cole) has been in a controversy with the fraternities and sororities at Lake Forest and as a result all the national sororites withdrew their charters (1961).
"The pattern that has developed seems to be one of first removing restrictive clauses, requiring complete local autonomy, and then in some instances requiring 'total opportunity.'"
Mr. Armstrong described this action as a denial of social rights. He said that civil rights and social rights are two separate and distinct hings.
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"I FEEL THESE (social) rights are guaranteed American citizens by the Constitution.
"We are a social club. We don't pretend to be anything else. I do
Ron D Tom
CAVERNS
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VI 3-9640 644 Mass.
not think that social groups should have the will of any minority or majority imposed on them.
Lewis S. Armstrong
Constitution as they accuse the fraternities of being.
"The people who are forcing this issue are as guilty of violating the
"I think that the thing has swung so far to the left that people are ignoring the rights that are guaranteed by the Constitution."
ASKED IF a fraternity is a part of a university and as such should have its social rights defined by the university, Mr. Armstrong replied:
"I do not think that they (fraternities) are an integral part of the institution but I feel that they must cooperate because of their very nature.
"WE WANT TO cooperate, and have and are cooperating, with college administrations on every phase of college life which is intended to develop better citizens and better students."
"They would appear to me to be no more a part of the school than a Masonic order, which certainly has members in college, or the American Legion, the Knights of Columbus or the multitude of other social and fraternal organizations which have membership requirements.
"I haven't yet seen a university financing fraternity houses. As a matter of fact we have been assisting in financing educational facilities by providing well-supervised housing.
Asked if Delta Chi has any racial or religious membership restrictions, Mr. Armstrong said:
"We had a 'white clause' until 1952, when it was removed by the national convention in Biloxi, Miss. We have never had any restriction on religion or creed."
"We have no regulations in our constitution or ritual against any person of any race or religion.
He said Delta Chi has no "socially acceptable" clause either. (The interpretation of a "socially acceptable clause is up to each fraternity member.)
WASHINGTON — (UPI) — Scientists at the University of Iowa College of Medicine recently conducted a series of tests with office and factory workers. They wanted to answer this question: "Is the coffee break an efficient substitute for an adequate breakfast?"
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Citing the study, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said subjects who ate an adequate breakfast were more productive during the late morning hours, were quicker in their reactions and did not tire as easily as those who relied on coffee alone.
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Prices are still below the prices in other surrounding towns, but have gone up nearly five cents per gallon from what they were during the greater part of the fall and winter.
Gas Prices Are Up Again
The "gas war" that has been raging on in Lawrence since July has come to an end-at least temporary.
Competition among the Lawrence service stations was the primary cause of the debased prices. Last week the service stations got together and reached an agreement to raise the prices.
Prices now range from the 24.9 cents per gallon at cut-rate stations to 25.9 at other stations.
"It's hard to say how long it will last," a west side service station attendant said. "Prices might go back down tomorrow."
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