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 1912 
 
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GIFT OF 
 
 
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 THE HIGH SCHOOL FRATERNITY 
 
 REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE, HIGH SCHOOL TEACHERS 
 
 ASSOCIATION, C. T. A. 
 
 W. J. COOPER, Chairman 
 
 High School, Berkeley, Cal. 
 
 THIS committee was appointed by President Templeton at the 
 meeting December, 1911, at Stockton, for the purpose of 
 investigating and making a report of the high school fraternity 
 situation with recommendations. The committee consists of W. J. 
 Cooper, Berkeley High School, F. H. Clark, Lowell High School, 
 and James Ferguson, Polytechnic High School of San Francisco. 
 
 After considerable study of the literature on the subject, the 
 history of the agitation and nature of the anti-fraternity laws existing 
 in the various states, the committee respectfully reports as follows: 
 
 HISTORY OF SECONDARY SCHOOL FRATERNITIES 
 The High School Fraternity seems to have begun in 1869 in 
 Schenectady, New York, with the organization of a boys', literary and 
 debating club. Since this club was composed of students in the old 
 classical school, later the Schenectady High School, it sought a 
 classical name, and adopted the name of Alpha Zeta. The minutes 
 of the board of education for January, 1 870, show that the Alpha 
 Zeta Debating Club was given permission to hold its meetings in the 
 school building. It was 1 7 years before Alpha Zeta had a second 
 chapter. In the meantime several other similar organizations had 
 come into existence, one of them in San Francisco. Alpha Zeta now 
 has only 8 chapters with a total membership of 1451 in 1910, and 
 they are all located in cities of the state of New York. 
 
 When the anti-fraternity agitation became quite general, there was 
 organized in the United States, in February, 1909, a grand inter- 
 fraternity council whose object (stated in its constitution) is "To 
 promote the usefulness of preparatory and high school fraternities; to 
 place before the public the objects of these organizations and create 
 a body by which all grievances between fraternities, school and civil 
 
 362017 
 
officials can be fairly terminated." This council only admitted into 
 its membership at first fraternities having more than 5 chapters and 
 at least 10 years old. In 1910 its roster numbered 25 fraternities 
 with a membership of 31,455. Others have joined, however, and 
 recent reports state that there are now 46 members of the council. 
 There are 1 1 fraternities (boys') of national importance in California 
 at the present time in addition to many locals. Gamma Eta Kappa 
 and Phi Chi fraternities originated in San Francisco: The former is 
 one of the oldest and strongest fraternities in the United States. It 
 likewise began as a literary organization in the old Boys' High School, 
 San Francisco, now the Lowell High School. The Theta Chi frater- 
 nity, which has chapters in all of the larger cities, exists only within 
 the State of California. There are now one or more fraternities, 
 excluding locals, in each of the following cities: San Francisco, Oak- 
 land, Berkeley, Alameda, San Jose, Santa Cruz, Sacramento, Stock- 
 ton, Fresno, Los Angeles, San Diego, Santa Barbara, San Rafael, 
 Hollywood, Chico, Marysville, Santa Rosa, Visalia, Bakersfield, 
 Eureka, Riverside, San Bernardino, and the Belmont Private School. 
 In the above we have dealt only with fraternities, making no count 
 on the sororities, of which there are 4 of great importance in Cali- 
 fornia, namely: Alpha Sigma, Lambda Theta Phi, Omega Nu, 
 Delta Iota Chi, and three others of less importance. 
 ANTI-FRATERNITY AGITATION 
 
 The growth of fraternities had been very slow during the years 
 immediately following the founding of the first 4 or 5. During the 
 second decade of their existence, from 1880-90, their growth was 
 fairly steady. The third decade, from 1890-1900, witnessed quite 
 a rapid spread of the fraternity idea, not only in the extension of the 
 older societies, but in the formation of new organizations. The early 
 part of the fourth decade beginning 1900 saw the creation of a great 
 many new societies. 
 
 The two great centers of fraternity life were the schools of New 
 York City and those in and about Chicago. A third important center 
 was the schools of the San Francisco Bay Region, and in the early 
 part of the decade beginning 1 900 there was a marked tendency on 
 the part of the eastern fraternities to establish a chain of chapters on 
 the Pacific Coast. 
 
By some of the practices of some chapters the fraternities began to 
 make themselves obnoxious, especially in the schools of Chicago, and 
 a committee was appointed by the late President Harper of the 
 University of Chicago. This committee, headed by Spencer R. Smith 
 of the Wendell Phillips High School, Chicago, sent 18 questions to 
 464 of the largest secondary schools in the United States. Three 
 hundred and six schools replied, of which 120 had fraternities, from 
 1 to 6 in number, and many had a sorority. In this latter respect the 
 Girls' High School of San Francisco was in the lead with 7 sororities. 
 
 The publication of this report led to a period of writing on the 
 subject. Articles ranged all the way from thoughtful expressions to 
 highly sensational articles with cartoons. The great mass of articles 
 emphasized the bad points of secret societies and urged their abolition, 
 which brought on legislation in many states. The following argu- 
 ments were advanced during this period of agitation: 
 
 In favor of the societies: 1. They are useful in the development 
 of school spirit and aid in the discipline of the school. 2. They are 
 beneficial to individual membership. Cases are cited to establish this. 
 3. They foster friendship at the period in life when permanent friend- 
 ships are made. 4. The tendency to organize is a modern and nat- 
 ural one, and organizations will exist secretly if not openly. 5. The 
 conduct of the pupils is a matter for regulation by parents rather than 
 by school boards. 
 
 The jist of the arguments against the fraternities is: 
 
 1 . They are detrimental to the regular work of the school, 
 causing, through petty jealousy, a break up of regular societies of the 
 schools, and as literary and debating societies, and form narrow 
 cliques. 
 
 2. They are imitations of college fraternities, whose main reason 
 for existence is to furnish home life for the student. The high school 
 fraternity not only does not furnish home life, but rather tends to 
 break it up. 
 
 3. They are detrimental to the pupil himself in that they waste 
 his time, cause his interest in the school to take second place or entirely 
 wane, and force him to form a narrow group of friendships at the 
 time when he should be reaching out and selecting his friends from as 
 wide a circle as possible. 
 
4. They are selfish and undemocratic. "The secret society in 
 the school life of the individual is an expression of aristocratic idea," 
 and since democracy finds its fullest expression in the public school 
 these societies can not be justified, "upon the broad grounds of the 
 largest democracy." 
 
 ANTI-FRATERNITY LAWS 
 
 In 1907 laws were passed by Indiana, Kansas and Minnesota, 
 and regulations were adopted by the city of Madison, Wisconsin. 
 In 1908 came the anti-fraternity law in Ohio, and prohibitory regula- 
 tions by school boards of Worcester, Mass., and St. Joseph, Mo. 
 
 In 1909 California, Iowa, Nebraska, Oregon, Vermont and 
 Washington passed laws against secret societies, while school boards 
 of Lowell, Mass., Kansas City, Mo., and Oklahoma City passed 
 prohibitory regulations. 1910 seems to have witnessed the enactment of 
 no state laws, but the following cities adopted their own regulations: 
 Denver, Meriden, Conn., Chicago, New Orleans, Butte, Mont., and 
 Racine, Wisconsin. In 1911 came the anti-fraternity law of Mich- 
 igan, and school board regulations in the cities of Covington, Ken- 
 tucky, Waltham, Mass., Reading, Penn., Milwaukee, and Superior, 
 Wisconsin. In 1912 came the anti-fraternity law of Mississippi. 
 
 All of these laws aim to make it possible for boards of educa- 
 tion to control the situation. They may be divided, however, into 
 general classes as follows: 1. Laws similar to those of California 
 and Indiana which definitely state that school boards are required to 
 enforce the provisions of the act. 2. These laws of which the 
 Minnesota act is a good example, which excepts "such societies or 
 organizations as are. sanctioned by directors of said school." These 
 acts give the school board full authority in cases where they wish to 
 use it to make possible the regulating rather than extermination of 
 certain societies. The penalty attached for the pupil who disregards 
 the law ranges all the way from the denying of privileges to suspension 
 or expulsion. The Minnesota law, which was enacted two years later 
 in Iowa, also provides a penalty for "rushing" students in the high 
 schools. 
 
THE ENFORCEMENT OF THE LAW 
 
 In view of the fact that one of the first state laws was that of 
 Indiana, it is quoted in full: 
 
 "The common schools of the State of Indiana, both elementary 
 and high schools, shall be open to all children until they complete the 
 courses of study in said common schools, subject to the authority of 
 the teachers therein and to all the rules and regulations provided by the 
 proper authorities for the government of such schools. It shall be 
 unlawful for the pupils in any of the elementary or high schools of this 
 state to form secret societies, fraternities or other similar organizations, 
 in such schools; and the board of school commissioners or board of 
 trustees of any school, town, or city, and the trustee of any school 
 township, and the superintendent of any school, are hereby required 
 to enforce the provisions of this act by suspending, or, if necessary, 
 expelling a pupil in any elementary or high school who refuses or 
 neglects to obey such rules or regulations or any of them." 
 
 It will be of interest to note how this law effects the strongest 
 Indiana fraternity which established its second chapter as late at 1901, 
 and now numbers 20 chapters, 1 6 of which are within the State of 
 Indiana, and at least 5 of which have been established in that state 
 since the passage of the act referred to. The chapter at Sheridan 
 reports as follows: 
 
 "We have had no school opposition for we have been very care- 
 ful and have not violated any of the laws of our school, and in this 
 way we have grown more popular with the authorities and the people 
 in general in the community." The chapter at Brazil reports that 
 every Wednesday night they have some prominent citizen to give them 
 a talk, and that they receive favorable comment from two leading 
 newspapers. The chapter at Richmond, however, reports as a con- 
 sequence of opposition, the active alumni members of the chapter were 
 compelled to carry on the work and affairs of the chapter without any 
 assistance from the high school members. The chapter at Bloom- 
 ington reports that it has no opposition from the school authorities. 
 "The members try to conduct themselves so as to avoid the criticism 
 of the faculty." As these reports are all from chapters of the same 
 fraternity, and of chapters that have been established since the passage 
 of the Indiana law it shows how unevenly the law is enforced in that 
 state. 
 
The California law reads as follows: 
 
 1 . From and after the passage of this act, it shall be unlawful 
 for any pupil, enrolled as such in any elementary or secondary school 
 of this state, to join or become a member of any secret fraternity, 
 sorority or club, wholly or partly formed from the membership of 
 pupils attending such public schools, or to take part in the organization 
 or formation of any such fraternity, sorority or secret club; provided, 
 that nothing in this section shall be construed to prevent any one sub- 
 ject to the provisions of the section from joining the order of the 
 Native Sons of the Golden West, Native Daughters of the Golden 
 West, Foresters of America or other kindred organizations not directly 
 associated with the public schools of the state. 
 
 2. Boards of school trustees, and boards of education shall have 
 full power and authority to enforce the provisions of this act and to 
 make and enforce all rules and regulations needful for the government 
 and discipline of the schools under their charge. They are hereby 
 required to enforce the provisions of this act by suspending, or, if 
 necessary, expelling a pupil in any elementary or secondary school who 
 refuses or neglects to obey any or all such rules and regulations. 
 
 SUMMARY OF THE FRATERNITIES' SIDE OF THE QUESTION 
 The fraternity journals are full of such headings as the following: 
 "Convicted Without a Trial," in the Gamma Eta Kappa; "Why 
 Should the Fraternity Be the Scapegoat," in the Kappa Phi. An 
 article in one of these magazines was in two shades of type. Upon 
 rearching for the reason for this the following expression was found: 
 'The article as it appears herewith was prepared by the editor for 
 une of the San Francisco Yellow Journals on the Fraternities' side of 
 I he Question, . . . Though the city editor and reporter promised 
 on their honor to run the article as written that part in the bold type 
 was omitted. This was reprinted to show how the press treats the 
 fraternity." 
 
 As the chairman of the committee has been particularly impressed 
 with the sincerity of the tone of these complaints it has been deemed 
 wise to incorporate a brief summary of the fraternity's side of the 
 case into this report. 
 
 THE FRATERNITIES CLAIM 
 
 I. The argument against them have not been proven. ( 1 ) The 
 scholarship argument is based on few facts and general impressions. 
 
They quote in their magazines statistics of good chapters as Alpha, 
 )i Gamma, Eta Kappa, which boast that 91.3% of members grad- 
 jated from high school, 67.5% of members entered college, and 
 48.2% of members graduated from college. (2) Snobbishness exists 
 3nly in a few cases, and should be punished where it exists by frater- 
 nity and school together. (3) They help school spirit by urging their 
 men to enter school activities and succeed. (4) It is not undemo- 
 cratic to choose the friends with whom you care to be thrown 
 especially out of school hours. 
 
 II. There is a tendency to band together. To quote the heading 
 of another article it is "The Fraternity Gang vs. the Street Gang," 
 with all the argument in favor of "The Fraternity and a little bad with 
 a deal of good, or the Street Gang, all bad and no good." 
 
 III. The boys go bad not because of their fraternity obligations, 
 but in spite of them. We find this plea in the Kappa Chi Quarterly: 
 "Wouldn't it be better then, instead of abolishing us and our ideals, 
 that you join with us and help us impress upon our members the neces- 
 sity of heeding their obligations? This can easily be accomplished by 
 recognizing us, and thereby affording us a means of inflicting a penalty 
 upon members who break their obligations." 
 
 IV. Most of the evils are present in "Locals" and "Near Fra- 
 ternity" clubs. Prohibitory legislation works greatest hardship on the 
 national fraternity which has ideals and strives to realize them. 
 
 POLICIES OF DEALING WITH THE FRATERNITY QUESTION 
 We may now briefly review the various policies that have been 
 pursued in dealing with this matter. 
 
 I. The let alone policy. The growth of the anti-fraternity 
 agitation is sufficient to prove that this policy will not do, as too many 
 evils are found to exist with high school fraternities. 
 
 II. Policy of Substitution. ( 1 ) Literary, debating, musical, 
 athletic, and other clubs in the school. The principals who tried this 
 found that it only made more places of honor for fraternity members 
 to hold, and the fraternity continued. This was because these clubs 
 did not have the "gang" spirit of the social side. (2) Social clubs. 
 These were tried in Berkeley with faculty members, but were used as 
 "first degree" work for the fraternity for the most part. The main 
 trouble was that the fraternity still existed as an outlaw. 
 
III. The policy of prohibition. This has been tried now for 5 
 years in some States. The Indiana situation has been already dis- 
 cussed. It has been tried in California for 3 years long enough for 
 every member of a Greek letter society to have graduated from the 
 high school. We may therefore discuss 
 
 PRESENT CONDITIONS IN CALIFORNIA 
 
 The committee believes that it has sufficient evidence to justify it 
 in the following conclusions: 
 
 '. ^raternities exist now in at least 8 more cities of California 
 thsji in .909. 
 
 2. The sub rosa condition is worse for the boys, the school and 
 the home than an open and above board policy. 
 
 3. The fraternities that have ceased initiating high school pupils 
 are the ones that have the highest ideals and the fraternities that have 
 no respect for law now flourish. In this connection we quote from 
 the monthly of a middle western fraternity which, by the way, has 
 not been admitted as a member of the Grand Inter-Fraternity Council: 
 "But five years ago, with one chapter and a membership of 25, has 
 grown to the extent of 39 chapters on the roll and a membership of 
 800." (January, 1912.) 
 
 4. The national organizations that have strong alumni councils 
 to enforce their principles and tend to work in the open are discrim- 
 inated against in favor of the many sub rosa locals. In this connection 
 in the report of the installation of a new chapter in Los Angeles of 
 one of the national fraternities. April 26, 1912, we find that these 
 boys had been operating in Los Angeles High for many years as a 
 local, and "more than held their own with the foremost nationals," 
 and proceeds to name a list of the highest school offices held by these 
 boys. In an article advocating the expansion of a certain fraternity 
 we find the following from the pen of an ex-national president: "I have 
 traveled considerably over the Southern States in the past two years 
 and in nearly every town of 3,000 inhabitants and up I find a bunch 
 of the best fellows associated together as a club or local frat." 
 
 5. In many places the school authorities do not believe in the 
 present law or are openly in sympathy with the fraternities. A man 
 
who ranks high in school administration in California is quoted in one 
 of the fraternities' journals as follows: 
 
 "The law which denies a high school education to the youth who 
 desires to join, with the consent of his parents, a high school frater- 
 ity, is a travesty on justice, because it is prohibitive legislation, not 
 directed to the equal protection of the individual's right to life, prop- 
 erty, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, but to the gratification of 
 somebody's ignorant or bigoted prejudice." 
 
 A chapter of one of the nationals in one of our largest cities 
 reports to headquarters as follows: "Some of the authorities deep 
 down favor our existence." 
 
 6. The Grand Inter-Fraternity Council of the United States 
 offers a chance for co-operation between fraternities and school people 
 to remove the more serious evils of the fraternities. The recommenda- 
 tions of this council are as follows: 
 
 1 . Public and abusive initiations be abolished. 2. The consent of 
 parents or guardian be obtained before initiation. 3. Pupils be initiated 
 only after the satisfactory completion of the first or freshman year at a 
 high or preparatory school, and that the pledging of pupils in the grade 
 or grammar schools be prohibited. 4. No fraternity shall initiate as 
 a member anyone who has been a member of another school fraternity, 
 without the consent of the fraternity of which he was a member. 
 5. No intoxicating liquors be served at any function of a fraternity; that 
 none be allowed in the rooms at any time, and that the use of intoxi- 
 cating liquors by active members (those still attending school) shall be 
 forbidden. 6. The formal social functions of a fraternity chapter shall 
 be limited to one formal dance and one formal banquet each year and 
 that the amount to be spent on these functions shall be limited by 
 agreement among the chapters of the council fraternities in each city. 
 7. Every effort shall be made to reduce the running expenses of the 
 chapter. 8. Rooms shall not be mantained by any chapter except 
 under supervision of the fraternity alumni or the school faculty. 9. Lit- 
 erary exercises, reviews of books, essays, debates, and talks by promi- 
 nent men be held in conjunction with regular chapter meetings. 10. 
 When rooms are maintained, school officers and parents shall be 
 allowed access to them at all times except during meetings. 1 1 . When 
 occasion warrants, arrangements shall be made to admit proper school 
 
officials to meetings and initiations. 1 2. That fraternity meetings be 
 adjourned not later than 1 1 p. m. 13. Members shall be prohibited 
 from holding offices in the fraternities or chapter whose school standing 
 is below the requirements of the school. 1 4. That all affiliated frater- 
 nities adopt and enforce strict scholarship requirements and reports in 
 their chapters and work toward maintaining high scholastic standing. 
 15. That the use of the abbreviation or the term "Frat" be abolished. 
 1 6. Members shall be expelled for improper conduct rather than their 
 acts be endorsed at a sacrifice to the chapter, the fraternity and the 
 school fraternity system. 1 7. That secrecy be abolished except as to 
 pass words, grip, and ritual, as these are all that are essential, and to 
 enforce secrecy in other directions often prevents a proper defence from 
 unjust criticism. 1 8 and 1 9. Regarding arrangements and carrying out 
 these plans. 
 
 7. The present law is poorly drawn, in fact there is reason to 
 suppose it was given its present form in the belief that it would be held 
 unconstitutional. Judge Hunt in the Manly case said: "I am of the 
 opinion that the anti-fraternity law was poorly drawn, as it does not 
 state exactly what the law was enacted to effect." Judge Seawall 
 in the Bradford case remarked that the law was constitutional, but that 
 there were flaws which the legislature should amend. 
 
 8. Many eastern fraternities are discussing a policy of expansion 
 and the Fair of 1915 will bring many members west and lead to the 
 establishment of many locals into national chapters. 
 
 "Naturally any member of the v - fraternity having lived in 
 the" far West would like to see a chapter of the dear old frat organized 
 in the city in which he resides. The chances of organizing - 
 in the West are excellent, mainly because of the fact that there is no 
 high school fraternity in this part of the United States as strong as 
 
 "Many will come west to the World's Fair at San Francisco 
 
 in 1915, and while in this section will stop off at principal cities. 
 Why not make plans now and organize chapters at that itme?" 
 
 RECOMMENDATIONS 
 
 Your committee respectfully recommends: 
 
 1. That this association go on record as favoring the repeal of 
 the present anti-fraternity statute. 
 
2. That this association go on record as favoring a law that will 
 be most carefully drawn up to give school boards full power to legis- 
 late against fraternities where they feel these societies are a detriment, 
 but will also allow school boards (if they see fit) to try a policy of 
 regulation. 
 
 3. That this association have a standing committee of three on 
 fraternities, ( 1 ) to report at each meeting until otherwise instructed, 
 (2) to co-operate with the California Council of Education and others 
 interested in progressive legislation on the secret societies in schools. 
 
 4. That the California Council of Education be requested to 
 appoint a committee to help direct the legislature on this matter. 
 
 5. That this committee study the merits and demerits of the 
 statute now in force in Minnesota and Iowa. 
 
 Reprinted from the 
 
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