THURSDAY, JANUARY 6, 1966
THE MICHIGAN DAILY
PAGE THREE
THURSDAY, JANUARY 6,1966 THE MICHIGAN DAILY PAGE THREE
4
Sigma Chi Chapter
Probation Spurs Suit
NIC Passes Viet Nam Policy Resolution
The regents of the University
of Colorado have been charged
with violating the United States
Constitution by placing the Colo-
rado chapter of Sigma Chi fra-
ternity on probation. The charge
was made in a suit filed in the
U.S. District Court of Denver by
a Denver attorney representing
the National Sigma Chi Frater-
nity and its chapter at Colorado.
According to Fred Winner, the
attorney who filed the suit, it
requests an injunction against
any punitive action the regents
might take against the Colorado
chapter. The suit also requests
that the probation status of the
chapter be ruled "to be in excess
of the defendant's jurisdiction,
arbitrary and capricious, uncon-
stitutional and void, And of no
force and effect." No money is
involved.
Last April, the regents at Colo-
rado charged that the Sigma Chi
national had a rule which violated
the university's non-discrimination
ruling of 1956. On May 29, the
regents ruled that the suspension
of a particular chapter was in
accordance with an unwritten tra-
dition and practice of the National
Sigma Chi Fraternity of discrim-
inating against minority groups.
By a four to two vote, the regents
put the Sigma Chi chapter on
probation.
At the beginning of last fall's
semester, the chapter notified both
the regents and its national that
it was to be considered "autono-
mous" in the selection of its mem-
bers. With the assurance that the
local chapter would not submit its
choice of members to the national
for approval in the future, it was
then requested that the prob;1ion
be lifted.
The regents voted again and
this time, the vote was three to
three. Under Colorado law, Uni-
versity of Colorado President Jo-
seph Smiley is the only person
who can break a tie vote of the
regents. Smiley was out of town
so the motion failed.
Trouble for local chapters of
Sigma Chi seems to stem from an
incident at Stanford University
last spring. The Stanford chapter
pledged a Negro and was sus-
pended from the national.
The national office claimed the
suspension was not for taking a
Negro, but for" "continual disre-
gard of, and actual opposition to,
the ritual requirements of the
fraternity." The suspension, the
national said, was based on "de-
liberate violation of pledge edu-
cation procedures and financial
responsibility,"
The Stanford chapter said it
paid its dues regularly and had
not changed its pledge education
practices for years. The Stanford'
chapter had also announced its'
independence of the national on
membership matters before it
pledged the Negro.
The national fraternity requires
that no chapter pledge or initiate
any member "who for any rea-
son is likely to be considered as
personally unacceptable as a
brother by any chapter or any
brother anywhere." The Univer-
sity of Wisconsin had prodded its
Sigma Chi chapter into pushing
for the elimination of a "white
Christians only" clause which was
replaced by the "unacceptable to
any brother anywhere" clause.
The probation imposed by the
regents of the University of Colo-
rado was based on the assumption
that if the chapter was not in
trouble with the national it was
only because the national had
reason to believe that the chap-
ter would continue to abide by
the "acceptable to any brother"
clause.
Since the lawsuit was brought
by both the local chapter and the
national together, some university
officials feel that this assumption
was well founded. These officials
say that if the Colorado chapter's
declaration of its independence on
membership matters had been dis-
tressing to the national organiza-
tion, they would never have enter-
ed into a lawsuit on the chapter's
behalf.
L o c a 11 y, the Interfraternity
Council membership committee
investigated the activities and
policies of Sigma Chi last semes-
ter and submitted a report to the
IFC executive committee at the
end of the semester. The executive
committee will review the report
early this semester.
By LAURENCE MEDOW
A resolution approving of inter-
fraternity councils taking stands
in support of efforts of the United
States government to uphold free-
dom and oppose aggression in Viet
Nam and other areas threatened
by Communist takeover was pass-
ed at the 56th Annual National
Interfraternity Council Conference
held recently in Washington, D.C.
A motion to allow national fra-
ternities to establish chapters at
junior colleges was defeated at the
conference after a lively debate.
William LeClerce, executive secre-
tary of Chi Psi national frater-
nity, said the proposal had a lot
of strong support and the issue
will probably come up again since
more and more people are decid-
ing to take their first two years
at a junior college.
The conference is divided into
two segments: a house of dele-
gates composed of representatives
from each of the 61 national fra-
ternities and an undergraduate
program for delegations from in-
terfraternity councils on campuses
across the country. Each national
fraternity has one vote in the
House of Delegates and the under-
graduates do not vote.
LeClere said the undergraduates
did not like the Viet Nam presen-
tation. Though he felt that such
issues should be discussed at meet-
ings like the conference, it was
more like the undergraduates were
lectured to than participating in
a discussion.
Discussion Out of Place
The five-member delegation
representing the fraternity system
at the University felt the discus-
sion of the Viet Nam policies was
out of place at the meeting, ac-
cording to Fred Feldkamp, '68,
chairman of IFC's campus proj-
ects committee. "IFC is organized
to work for the benefit of its
member fraternities, not to take
stands on political questions,"
Feldkamp said.
Though opinions were mixed, if
the undergraduates had been al-
lowed to vote the junior college
proposal would have probably
passed, LeClere said.
The conference consisted of a
business meeting of the House of
Delegates and a program of panels
and discussions on the grass roots
mechanics of running a good IFC
for the 'undergraduates. The total
registration was just under one
thousand, LeClere said, the biggest
in the history of the conference.
Iron Man Trophy
The University of Tennessee was
announced as the winner of the
NIC Iron Man Trophy for 1965,
an annual award presented to the
IFC carrying out the most con-
structive leadership, scholarship
and community relations program
among the hundreds of schools
with interfraternity councils.
Competition for the award is
based on written reports which
are evaluated by a committee of
executive secretaries of national
fraternities, college deans and con-
ference officers.
Commenting on the conference,
Feldkamp said the University del-
egates felt the discussion groups
were generally not too good. Feld-
kamp pointed to the opportunity
to contact national fraternities
and discuss expansion of the fra-
ternity system at the University as
the greatest value of the confer-
ence.
Feldkamp said they were able to
talk to representatives of Sigma
Pi, Pi Kappa Alpha, Delta Phi
and Phi Mu Delta. Sigma Pi will
be colonizing this semester and
the other three will probably be
on campus within the next two
years, Feldkamp added.
WORK-STUDY GRANTS:
Funds Aid Needy Students
More than 110,000 students may be in libraries, social work
from low-income families will be agencies, boys clubs, community
able to continue going to college action programs and anti-poverty
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leges and universities under the The basic wake is $1.25 an hour.
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purpose of the program is to help More than $99 million are avail-
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their college education through which ends June 30, to finance
part-time earnings. the grants in the states and out-
Students may work on campus lying areas. Some $65 million will
as library, laboratory or research be distributed in the spring to
assistants, maintenance aids ,or finance programs during the fall
in clerical jobs. Off-campus jobs and winter semesters.
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