Lafayette College and the Greek Experience

Notes

1. See David B. Skillman, Biography of a College,(Easton 1932) two volumes, Vol I pp. 69-72.

2. Faculty Meeting Minutes June 1, 1858 p. 189-190: "That the petition of Mr. Galt to join the DKE Soc. and that of Mr. Williamson to start a Division of the Sons of Temperance in the College be not granted."

3. Catalogue of the Officers and Students of Lafayette College, for the Year 1858-9, Easton Pa. p. 13
The Board action, July 27, 1857, read:

That the Faculty require each student to sign a Pledge that during his connection with the college he will not join any secret society, now existing or that may hereafter be organized. And that upon graduation it be necessary in order thereto to sign a Paper that he has not broken his pledge, this Resolution to be put into force upon the commencement of the next term.

4. Skillman, op. cit. II, p. 149.

5. They were C. B. Adamson, class of 1877 Theta Delta Chi; W. Shaefer, 1878 DKE; E. M. Green, E. M. 1883, Phi Kappa Psi; Mc. C. Radcliffe, 1883 Phi Delta Theta; and a later addition W. Kirpatrick, 1863 Zeta Psi.

6. Minutes of the Board, October 25, 1900, p. 355:

"The building shall be for the exclusive use of bona fide students of the College.
"Servants employed in and about the building shall be approved by the Inspector of Buildings.
"No liquors, women of immoral character or gambling shall be permitted in the building at any time, and the Fraternity shall engage to make and enforce this as a 'house rule.'
"The number of persons occupying any building as a dormitory shall be agreed upon before its erection, and no greater number shall occupy it without special permission and any person or persons in excess of the agreed number shall pay the regular assessed rent."

7. In the 1960's four of these--Theta Chi, Theta Xi, Sigma Chi and Kappa Sigma--built a fraternity complex along Sullivan Lane, not on but close to the campus and in no way matching the elegance of the original nine on campus. The others were considering following suit when everything, as we shall, see changed.

8. In 1961 the Dean Charles C. Cole distributed a questionnaire to the various fraternities with chapters at Lafayette asking about discriminatory rules and practices. Here are some samples of the kind of "clauses" that existed (the fraternities cited have been kept anonymous):

Fraternity A "One of the attributes of moral character required is that a member must be firm in moral principles as taught by the Christian religion. The Ritual ... is based on such principles and contains a Christian prayer."
Fraternity B "No person shall be eligible to membership ... who is not a bona fide white, male student."
Fraternity C "Members must be MEN, free born and of free ancestry, and without Negro blood, and have the character and bearing of gentlemen" and "No chapter shall henceforth pledge or initiate any man of Chinese, Japanese or any other Oriental blood or descent."

9. Bulletin of Lafayette College, Annual Reports, 1928-29, Report of the Dean, p. 8.

10. Minutes of the Board, May 1, 1930, p. 292.

11. Minutes of the Board, January 8, 1931 p. 306.

12. Minutes of the Board, Jan 4, 1940 p. 530.
In the local Chapter of Pi Lambda Phi, succeeding generations of brothers heard the report that only pressure on the part of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) brought the College around to accepting a Jewish National Fraternity. The story of the actions and reactions of trustees and administrative officers to the proposition that there be a chapter of a national Jewish fraternity on campus is a sorry one.

13. loc cit

14. At the time all freshmen lived in either South College or in Easton Hall built in 1924.

15. The functions of the newly formed Athletics and Student Affairs Committee as approved by the Board of Trustees, September 17, 1966 were as follows:

The Athletics and Student Affairs Committee shall have the responsibility to consider and recommend policies governing athletics, student housing including fraternities, extra-curricular organizations and activities, and student discipline. ...
Two subcommittees were created, a Subcommittee on Athletics and a Sub-committee on Student Residence and Life. The latter shall be responsible for considering policies related to student housing (including fraternities), extra-curricular organizations and activities, and student discipline. ...

In a revision approved by the Board November 19, 1971, the responsibilities of the Committee on Athletics and Student Affairs were spelled out in more detail:

...to consider and recommend policies governing conditions affecting health and social life of the students, religious program, athletics, student housing including fraternities, extracurricular organizations and activities, student discipline and student life in general.

16. The Association of Social Living Groups (ASLG) changed its name to the Presidents' Council in 1984.

17. The Constitution of the Lafayette College Alumni Interfraternity Board adopted April 2, 1966, reads in part:

ARTICLE II Purpose
The Purpose of the board shall be to encourage Lafayette College fraternities to demonstrate sound self-government so that fraternity members may attain the highest values from their college experience; to encourage compliance with college fraternity regulations; and to consult with Lafayette College Board of Trustees and the administrative offices of Lafayette College in formulating and administering the college fraternity program.

ARTICLE III Relationship
A. The board shall be a direct function of the Lafayette College Alumni Association and have the status of a standing and permanent committee of the association.
B. The president of the board shall be a member of the executive committee of the Alumni Association.
C. The board shall be an autonomous body which shall work in cooperation with the Board of Trustee Committee on Fraternity Houses, the Alumni Association, and the Office of the Dean of the College.

18. Though Sigma Chi had no discriminatory clause in its Constitution, the national headquarters passed on all proposed initiates. In this instance it blackballed an Asian student the local had pledged.

19. The chapter rejoined Sigma Chi April 24, 1982 only after the national chapter made the appropriate changes in its constitution.

20. In 1980 Kappa Kappa Gamma and Pi Beta Phi were allowed to form local chapters; in 1981 Alpha Gamma Delta and 1982 Delta Gamma were chosen. Later in 1989 Alpha Phi and in 1992 Delta Delta Delta rounded out the list.

Kappa Kappa Gamma --1980
Gamma Tau Delta --1978
Pi Beta Phi --1980
Delta Psi -- 1978
Sigma Kappa -- 1980; closed 1990?
Beta -- 1978
Alpha Gamma Delta -- 1981
Phi Beta Epsilon -- 1980
Delta Gamma -- 1983
Alpha Phi -- 1989
Delta Delta Delta -- 1992
Gamma Delta Theta -- 1990

21. The men are housed in Kirby House. The women are housed elsewhere but participate in the Kirby House Dining Plan and in the other activities of the coeducational group.

22. In 1995 the Faculty Committee on Campus Life had its name changed to Faculty Committee on Student Life.

23. Two "social dorms," Watson and Soles Halls, have been discontinued. Kirby House, now a men's dormitory, also houses the Coeducational Living Group. The men in the group live there and the women are housed in other dormitories. The Group uses the dining facilities in Kirby House. It seems to be having membership difficulties and may be soon discontinued.

Lafayette College Libraries, Easton, PA
Last updated 11 March 1998