Special Edition RECEIVED

DEC IB1BBZHARTFORD, CQNtf.

The

Vol. LXXXI, Issue 13 TRINITY COLLEGE, HARTFORD, CONNECTICUT December 16, 1982

Faculty Votes To Support Recommendationby Floyd Higgins

At their Tuesday afternoonmeeting the Faculty of TrinityCollge voted by a 2-1 margin tosupport the recommendation oftheir own Faculty Committee tophase out the College fraternitysystem over the next three years.

The Committee, which has beenreviewing the fraternity systemduring the course of this year,published, four weeks ago, a 24page report calling for the phasingout of the fraternities over thenext three years.

Speaking for the Committee,Chairman George Higgins in-troduced the motion to adopt therecommendation to a turnout offaculty which one memberremembers as being the largestsince the late sixties. "We're hereto discuss issues and I hope thePresident is going to listen."

Presiding officer and CollegePresident James F. English begandiscussion by .asking members notto consider, amending the motionor moving to table discussion untilsome twenty minutes into thedebate.

Clyde McKee arose early in thediscussion to speak against themotion. He cited the "substantialevidence that the notion is neitherfeasible nor acceptable bystudents, faculty, administrators,or alumni." Also mentioned wasthe possibility of cur-tailed finan-cial contribution from disgruntledalumni. Another financial realitywould be the cost of the im-plementation of the abolition.Getting rid of the system, he add-

' ed, would deny a student'sfreedom of choice over his ownlife. "Students ought to havefreedom of choice, freedom tochoose their own friends and theinstitutions for that friendship."

Furthermore, the recommenda-tion allowed no room for con-structive change, at which pointMcKee prepared to move that asubstitute motion, approved bythe Inter-Fraternity Council, beamended to the discussion.English reminded him of the stan-ding, agreement and the motionwas dropped.

Noreen Channels rose to speakto the motion, questioningnot on-ly the fair representation affordedby the results of the survey (whichMcKee had used as substantia-tion), but the appropriateness ofthe questionnaire itself. For thesereasons, she felt that the studentopinion figures given by McKeebe discounted. Channels said thatit was, in fact, the fraternity struc-ture itself which should becarefully examined. "Students aretied to the system that theyknow." The current strangleholdwhich the system has on the stu-dent body is contrary to the Col-lege's committment to intellectuallife. "We are imposing ties of in-teraction that students are ex-pected to have." Furthermore,reaction from alumni wouldunderstandably be against thismove because the majority of theCollege's alumni are male andfraternity members.

Gerald Moshell spoke againstthe motion and against Chan-nels's implication that intellectualactivity seemed to be the solemeans and ends to life on campus.

-Moshell objected to idea "thatthere is something inherentlywrong with the idea that studentsgather for social purposes.". Heemphasized that students neededoutlets, but that the fraternitieswere not responsible for the lackof social alternatives provided bythe College.. Furthermore, he

Fraternity row at Trinity may soon be thing of the past. pholo by Whitney Rogers

questioned the future, given theabolition of fraternities, of suchorganizations as all male or allfemale sports teams or othersingle sex or special interestgroups and institutions. He citedthe small number of blacks in theConcert Choir as being notunusual, but not discriminatoryeither. Furthermore, Moshell feltthat a similar case could be madefor the fraternities.

George Cooper, announced hisneutrality on this issue, mention-ing also the role of the College instudent matters; during the late'60's curriculum review, the Col-lege had decided to drop its in

continued on page 2

IFC Favors LimitedChange In System

President English Sees SingleSex Fraternities As Anomaly

by Peter A. Stinson"Here we are an old-fashioned

men's institution which went co-ed, which I believe is fantastic,"said Trinity President James F.English. "It is an anomaly thatthere are still single-sex institu-.tions on this campus." Regardingthe faculty decision to phase outfraternities, English believes "thatit is excellent that the faculty areconcerned with student life out- 'side the classroom. They haveevery, right to voice theiropinions."

English stated that the fraterni-ty question will now go to theBoard of Trustees, which will passthe issue on to committee. .Hebelieves that the Trustees will talkwith the various constituents in-volved including students, faculty

members, administrators, andalumni. .

English also stated, "Therehave not been as many optionstowards the social life on campus— the intellectual life did not spillover into social, as many of uswould have hoped. How .youcome up with an integrated in-tellectual and social life is not yetentirely clear to me.'.' Englishstated that he is still learning andsorting out his views.

English added that the issue isnot a "yes-no" question. Hestated that the administration willhave to take into considerationthe types of facilities that will beoffered to students. He asked, "Isthere any place for fraternities,possibly in a modified form, inthis new system? The issue is-how

we are going to create a kind oflife we want students to lead andwhat role, if any, will fraternitiesand the new Mather play in this."

Thomas A. Smith, Vice Presi-dent of the College, stated thatbecause of the faculty vote,"undergraduates will have a bet-ter idea of the faculty valuesystems." Smith feels that it is im-perative for students to unders-tand the inclinations of the facul-ty. He went on to say,."The facul-ty and administration will pro-bably have a better opportunity toinfluence student attitudes in theabsence of the fraternity system,"

Dean of Students David Winerwas basically in agreement with

continued on page 4

by Robin L. FinsPeter Miller, President of the

IFC, has stressed a strong will-ingness to change the structure ofthe fraternity system. Speakingafter the faculty decision wasreached, Miller admitted thefraternities have problems thatneed to be addressed. Millerbelieves "the current issue now iswhether the administration andfaculty believe we can change. Ifthe fraternities are given a oneyear period where either we canclean up our act or be gone, thiswould r e p r e s e n t a morereasonable attitude. A proba-t ionary period under theguidelines of the administrationand IFC could demonstratechanges. People won't have tospeculate, the changes will beevident." .

Miller stated the IFC plans onrewriting its constitution to makeit a.more viable governing body.This has been approved by allfraternity houses. Disciplinary ac-tion taken by the IFC may include"handing out social probations tofraternities and sororities vjola-tiong the new constitution;provisions.

Miller believes the faculty deci-sion will ultimately help thesystem if the fraternities are givena reasonable time period in whichto enact change. As a result of heFaculty . Committee's Report,Miller indicated some of the tradi-tional fraternity practices such as"pick-up right" and hazing havebeen abolished.

Miller emphasized his respect ofthe faculty right to provide inputon the fraternity situation. Hedid, however, question the stu-dent body's position to providere levant input indicat ing"throughout the whole processone large body ignored has beenthe students."

Commenting on the co-education issue, Miller believedthe fraternities could feasibly beco-ed within two to three years.He said before this will happen,"attitudes must be changed. I cur-rently think the frats are happywith their single-sex nature. Eachhouse must look inward anddecide. .We must look beyondtradition and status quo anddetermine what is optional for ourmembers and the student com-munity as a whole."

Miller also indicated that nextsemester the criteria for memberselection would be made public.The problem remains that afraternity can only accomodate afinite number members. Miller.said "the maximum efficiencynumber for many frats is notbeyond forty-five people. Wecan't let a hundred people in;therefore, we must be some whatexclusive. However we willdemonstrate that the criteria forselection are valid."

Miller strongly asserted thedesire on the part IFC and all thehouses to change. He urgedagainst a "quick fix" and the

continued on page 3

The

TRINITY TRIPODEDITORIAL

Frats Criticized OnEvasion Of Issues

To the fraternities, the Tripod asks the question,"What else would you have expected?"

In this past Tuesday's edition, the Tripod maintainedthat the fraternity issue needs more time, that thewhole community needs more time to discuss theissues. And yet, with a decidely anti-fraternity mandatefrom the faculty, fraternities can really only blamethemselves for their inept handling of the issues at thebottom of the question.

Let us, for a moment, analyze the fraternities' poor.performance in their consideration and actions on thismatter. The faculty committee, whose report wasreleased some four weeks ago, based their primaryrecommendation on two major findings — evidence ofsexism and elitism. Hopefully, the implications of ,these findings did not go unnoticed. It would seem thatthe fraternjties might have immediately addressedthemselves to two concerns. One would be a qualifica-tion of their existence, qualifications for which havebeen argued for in. numerous letters to the Editor, indiscussions, in seminars, etc. Second would be thematter of denying, or acknowledging, with reformingmeasures, the allegations of sexism and elitism.

But is seems as though no one is willing to addressthese issues just yet. Precious little correspondenceand conversation has surfaced, either confirming or de-nying these allegations. This fact may be argued, but itis the feeling of the Tripod that the IFCproposal, ap-proved on December 2, fails as an alternative motionbecause, unlike either the faculty committee's first orsecond recommendations, it does not specifically ad-dress the issues of the question, which, again, are sex-ism and elitism.

Quite frankly, looking at the IFC motion, one noticesthe fraternities' inability to deal point-blank with theissues, in addition to the making of rather unrealisticand downright silly recommendations. To begin with,Item 3 urges: "The immediate revision of the pledge-training programs of all fraternities and sororities sothat at least one-half of these programs is College-supportive, e.g., the learning of College history, Col-lege songs, academic and aministrative organizations,names and responsibilities of faculty and administra-tion." Not only is this item laughable, it isembarrassing,

Furthermore, two of the six recommendations ad-vocate the creation of alternative social organizations.Not that this is a bad idea, or an unnecessary one,however, the IFC gives as reason,"that each student atTrinity will have the freedom of choice and the oppor-tunity to belong to a social organization if he or she sodesires." This reasoning is tenuous at best; maintain-ing current standards and procedures for fraternitymembership denies, in most'cases, freedom of choice.

The argument might be augmented by then question-ing the legitimacy of certain student organizationssuch as all male or all female sports teams and the like.Unlike fraternities, however, the criterion for thesegroups is a matter of public record and subject to ques-tion by the applicant. Admission to a fraternity seemsto be highly dependent on secretive, subjective opi-nion, not open to question.

In the past month, allusions have also been made tothe elitist undertone of the Trinity College admissionsprocess, weeding out the best of the lot. In this case,the selective process remains non-discriminatorybecause rejected candidates are welcome to reapplyafter ameliorating their qualifications. Yet, it seemsthat the rejected rush can do nothing specific to im-prove his chances of getting "in". At least.no evidenceto the contrary has yet been presented. In any even-tuality, one cannot legitimize one form of discrimina-tion by another; one cannot legitimize discrimination— period.

At this point, the Tripod urges the fraternities tothrow out their present substitute motion in favor ofone that examines closely the existence of sexist andelitist practices, and that proposes reforms. Obviously,the faculty vote represents a sizable leap toward theabolition of the fraternity system. And yet, if the frater-nities take it upon themselves to seriously examinetheir own existence in relation to the issues at hand,and to extend a ready willingness to compromise ifnecessary, the Board of Trustees may be won over yet.Nonetheless, the fraternities best be advised to be at-tentive to every step they take from now until spring.

Chaplain Questions Validity OfTrinity's Fraternity Situation

by Ian McFarland"A residential college is not an

adolescent ghetto, which is whatthis place is on weekends," saidCollege Chaplain Alan C. Tull ina recent interview. Tull was anoutspoken proponent of the ,Faculty Committee's final reportat Tuesday's faculty meeting andbelieves that the issue at stake is offar greater scope than simply thefate of the Greek system itself.

"The real issue is not the frater-nities at all," Tull maintains."The real issue is that the Collegeis reexamining the educationalpossibilities of residential life."Tull, who is a faculty advisor toIIKA, made it clear that he cer-tainly does not dislike fraternitymembers, and even said that headmired some of the values peoplefind in fraternities, "but I thinkthat these can be realized in otherways without the negative aspectsof the fraternity system," headded.

Tull feels that the fraternitieshave demonstrated a persistentresistance to change that hasrendered the faculty decision in-evitable. He pointed out that the

same day that the faculty reportcame out, the members of AXPpainted their logo over the cam-pus; he found this particularly of-fensive in that it is a Christiansymbol. Also, Tull pointed to theIFC proposal. "It didn't face thereal issue; it left entirely vague theCollege's policy toward affir-mative action and nondiscrimina-tion," he said.

Tull was also critical of thef r a t e rn i ty a r g u m e n t t ha t"freedom of choice" is at stake."Freedom of choice is not theissue," he said, "but whether ornot Trinity is going to allow out-side organizations to controlsignificant aspects and areas ofstudent life." As an example ofthis danger, Tull related how a na-tional representative of IIKAcame to him and said that theTrinity house would be closeddown because it had too fewmembers, too many of whomwere "academic types;" therepresentative then went on to saythat the fraternity needed more"beer-drinking preppy jocks."

As a final point, Tull question-ed how much of a real fraternity

system Trinity has, and whetherthis fact does not simply exacer-bate the present problem. Tullperceives a major problem withthe fraternity system as it nowstands is that many fraternitymembers do not actually live infrat houses. Tull found this statecontrary to his experiences withother schools and said that it leadsto a situation in which fraternitym e m b e r s l ive in Collegeresidences, but take only a secon-dary interest in them.

On the other hand, Tullspeculated that the phasing out offraternities could lead to arevitalized residential life. He sug-gested that a conscious programcould be implemented not simplyto turn the fraternities into cam-pus residences, but to, make themand all College residences moreclosely integrated with the facultyand more open to specificallyresidential activities. Tull main-tained that residential life was'animportant part of a college educa-tion and that the phasing out offraternities offered a unique op-portunity to expand Trinity's of-ferings in this area.

Resolution Passed By 2:1 Votecontinued from page 1

loco parentis status. "I wonderhow we will fill the vacuumcreated by the obliteration of thefraternities." He then proposedthat the issue be tabled beacausethe collection of ideas and opi-nions from the'ehttre Trinity com-Vmunity was critical for aknowledged decision on thematter.

The motion to table brought ona lengthy disagreement concern-ing parliamentary procedure.Since'McKee had refrained fromintroducing his alternative motionat an earlier time, he asked thathis motion be considered beforethe topic be tabled. Considerabledebate ensued, before a decisionwas reached in favor of Cooper.His motion to table was deafeatedand debate resumed. Cooperspoke again later to motion totable, but was out of order.

Alan Tull rose to make threepoints against the fraternities. Henoted that, of late, certain frater-nities had been making theirpresence very much known andTull wondered about "the capaci-ty of the College to effectchange." He also asked the ques-tion, do we really have a fraternitysystem here at Trinity? Compar-ing fraternity systems from othercolleges and universities withTrinity's, Tull,, pointed out thedisadvantages of having fraternitymembers living in the dormsrather than at their own houses.His third point addressed the issueof "freedom of choice as a redherring and a false issue." Byreferring t the grasp which outsideorganizations, namely the na-tional fraternity chapters, haveimposed on Trinity chapters, hemade out the real issue to be"Trinity College's relationshipswith outside institutions and theorganizations on its campus."

Gerald Gunderson made a briefstatement, placing some of theblame for the situation on the lackof student self-determination interms of their housing ar-

rangements. He felt that con-sideration of the issue should in-clude a new master housing planfor the campus.

Drew Hyland made two points..One that "to lament the loss offreedom for 15 percent of the stu-dent body who were given achoice of joining fraternities issmall compared to the preventionof freedom felt by the rest of thecampus which might want to joinf ra tern i t ies ." Fur thermore ,Hyland didn't feel that the reportcondemned all forms of selectivityon the Trinity campus. He observ-

ed that the admissions policy ofitself was elitist in that we choosethe best students from among theapplicants.

After some final words fromHiggins about the reasons for in-cluding a secondary motion, DirkKuyk expressed a desire to get afeel for the sentiments of thefaculty by calling the question.The motion to go to question wasapproved and the main motionwent to vote. By secret ballot, thefaculty voted 69-33 to approve themotion; whereupon, the meetingwas adjourned.

The

TRINITY TRIPODEditor

Floyd Higgins

Managing EditorStephenfp. Klots

A / * . ' 'News Editor >••

Elaine Stamp-til'

Featun s HHmiDouglas P. diiss

Contributing l-ditni sRobin I . Firi".Amy .John M>II

Joy E. kosciclnmkPeter A.

Businei\Carol i no (. oco

Copy I dit<n\

Kathryn J.diillantIan A, Mil iiiiand

Jonathnn II. \TilWr

' SpSt&EditorStephln^fjgellinan.(ss/sfi;/;f Sport#J£ditor

I li/ubi'(h Sfofijiby

liii' IJIICI tninment EditorJenniier lr. E. Wolfe

Announcements EditorDimd Sagers -

I'liotngrn/'/iy Co-EditorsKer> n ^. Grohs

X. Whitney RogersCiu-ttlarion Managet

\nn Kezer

[dvei thing Manager.Inhn E. Hardy

The TRINITY f RIPOD is published by the students of Trinity Col-lege, and is written and edited entirely by the student staff. Allmaterial is edited and printed at the discretion of the editorial board.The deadline for articles, announcements, and classified ads is 6:00p.m. the Saturday preceding Tuesday's TRIPOD. The advertisingdeadline is 6:00 p.m. Thurs day .

The TRIPOD office is located in the basement of Jackson Hall. Officehours are held on Sunday, 12:00-6:00 p.m. and on Tuesday, 7:15-8:00p.m. Telephone: 246-1829 or 527-3151, ext. 252. Mailing address: Box1310, Trinity College, Hartford, CT 06106.

WomenSpeak

On Fratsby Joy Koscielniak

In reaction to the faculty com-mittee's report and the facultydecision made Tuesday night toabolish the fraternity/sororitysystem at Trinity, Kirsten Hertz,Co/coordinator of the TrinityWomen's Organization, gave herorganization's support of thisdecision.

Hertz points out that "the ex-istance of the fraternity/sororitysystem creates an unrealistic at-mosphere for the members,because the vital interaction need-ed to understand each other is ab-sent. Men and women in oursociety are in constant interactionwith each other, in the work placeas well in relationships. A dialec-tic between the sexes is necessaryso that stereotypical attitudesa b o u t w o m e n w o n ' t bepropagated.

"The unfortunate element ofthis situation is that some women1

may not be aware of the inequali-ty of the fraternity structure,because women conveniently ex-perience this passive, secondarystatus in many other ways, inother institutions and structures.

"The decision of the facultysupporting the committee reportis important to the college com-munity because, as a community,our experiences here are shapedby our participation both in andoutside of the classroom setting. Ibelieve that the faculty's vote in-dicates their awareness of thismulti-dimensional aspect of thecollege experience.

"If the fraternity/sororitysystem feels that the integralreason for the existance of theiro r g a i i i z a t i o n s i s t h ebrotherhood/sisterhood'.' that •develops, the institution is notneeded and shouldn't be allow-ed." From her perspective Hertzsees the fraternity house as pro-viding "an escape for its membersto avoid the exchange of ideas bet-ween the sexes. Support groupst h a t p r o m o t ebrotherhood/sisterhood shouldnot be exclusive, selective, anddiscriminatory."

Speaking about alternative sup-port organizations, Hertz alsocommented on the remarks madeby Gordon St. John which ap-peared in the November 20th edi-

December 16, 1982 THE TRINITY TRIPOD Page 3

McKee Denies RoleAs Frat Supporter

Professor Clyde McKee'redefines his role.

by Kathryn Gallant

Associate Professor ClydeMcKee, the author of a six-itemsubstitute resoloution that was ap-proved by the IFC on December 2and the SGA on December 7, feelsthat he has been misrepresentedby the media's portrayal of him asa champion of the fraterni-ty/sorority system at Trinity.

In a Wednesday morning inter-view, McKee made it quite clear tothe Tripod that he did not defendthe system at the current time."I'm a true liberal in the sensethat I believe in the diversity ofideas. I don't see the faculty deci-sion to abolish the fraterni-ty/sorority system as an end, butas a beginning of a positivedialogue on this issue."

Item 3 of the resoloutionrecommends that the pledge train-ing programs be revised to becollege-supportive. This would in-clude the learning of college

by KerynGrohs songs, the names of faculty and

administration members and col-lege history. McKee supported theresoloution by stating his commit-tment to the need for discussionof diverse ideas.

Because of a snafu inparliamentary procedure, whichcan be attributed to a lack ofknowledge on the part of thep a r l i a m e n t a r i a n and themoderator of the faculty commit-tee, McKee was never able to in-troduce the substitute motion tothe faculty. The committee wenton to vote on the main motion,which was the proposal to abolishthe fraternities and sororities atTrinity.

It became apparent during thecourse of the interview that ifMcKee "champions" anything, itis not the fraternity/sororitysystem as it currently exists, but afraternity/sorority system as itcould be. He urges the collegecommunity to use the currentsituation as an opportunity to fur-ther discuss this issue.

tion of the Hartford Courant.Although these remarks may havebeen distorted or restructured, thecorrelation that was made bet-ween a fraternity/sorority and theUmoja House was a grave error.The function of the Umoja Houseand its affiliated organizations,the Trinity Coalition of Blacksand Trinity Coalition of BlackWomen's Organization "serve thegroup's needs as well as to reachout to the campus with lectures,social functions, and culturalevents.

"The statement was also madethat women have sororities. As aco-coordinator for the TrinityWomen's Organization, I wouldpoint out that the TWO is open toall women on campus, as we are astudent run, SGA fundedorganization. The purpose ofTWO is to provide a suppotriveatmosphere for women to discussissues relevant to their lives, bothat Trinity and beyond.

"By abolishing the fraterni-ty/sorority system, women andmen at Trinity may be able tocommunicate and interact witheach other in neutral surroundingsrather than the elitist atmospherethat now exists."

Admissions Sees No Changesby Peter A. Stinson

Surrounding the entire fraterni-ty issue are many peripheral ques-tions concerning everything fromalumni support to possible appli-cant pools. Donald N. Dietrich,Director of Admissions, statedthat he could see the phasing outof fraternities as having "no im-pact at all" on admissions.Dietrich was at Amherst as an ad-ministrator when "fraternities wererevised on that campus. He statedthat the revision had a "positiveimpact on admissions." Heforesees the same response here.

Dietrich believes that a sellingpoint for a college with revised orabolished fraternity system will bethat the campus appears less sexistand discriminatory. He reiteratedthat "all students should have allopportunities — especially in acollege this size. The issue here issexism." Dietrich said that theAdmissions Office is not selectivein the same manner that frater-nities are. "We are drawing on thetotal applicant pool, not just men.

We are different in that we enter-tain applicants from anyone whoapplies. That doesn't happen inall-male institutions such asfraternities."

Director of Annual GivingFrank W. Sherman said that theDevelopment Office is not surewhat effect abolishing fraternitieswill have on alumni giving."We've had several alumni thathave said they're witholding theircontributions until the issue is'straightened out to their satisfac-tion.' " He added that to thispoint in time there has been nosignificant drop in alumni con-tributions, although forty percentof all giving aiumni are brothersof fraternities.

Kathleen L. Frederick, Directorof Media Relations, said thatmost of the publicity which thecollege has been receiving has hadan overall positive effect for thecollege. "It shows that people arethinking and making the institu-tion better. The entire matter ofthe fraternity system is being

handled in an intelligible man-ner." She went on to state that thepress has a habit of making directconections when they are notnecessarily direct, "the mediasometimes oversimplif ies ,however there has been an effortto handle this."

Frederick stated that sinceTuesday the issue has been broad-cast all over the "Northeast. TheHartford Courant put the storyon UPI's wire Tuesday evening.She spoke with a reporter fromWCBS, New York City, and theinterview was heard over MutualRadio through yesterday.

William L. Churchill, Directorof Public Relations, stated that itis still tpo early to tell how thefraternity issue will effect alumnirelations, He said that his officewill be putting together a specialTrinity Reporter which will dealalmost in it's entirety with thefraternity issue. He reiterated, "Itis the task of Public Relations tolay out the entire question so it isunderstood by the various consti-tuents involved."

Miller Expects ChangesIn IFC Role & Pledging

Alpha Chi Rho is seen by many as the root of the fraternity question. photo by Whitney Rogers

continued from page 1

abolition of an institution that canretain a positive working functionin the future of the college.

Chandlee Johnson '84 com-mented on the faculty decisionand raised the example of paralleloccurrences at Dartmouth Col-lege. She mentioned the move-ment at Dartmouth to abolish thefraternities in which a faculty votemoved to phase out the fraternitysystem. However, when the votewent to the Trustees, they chose toretain the system. Johnson in-dicated that as a result, a GreekCouncil was established consistingof fraternity members and non-members, faculty,and administra-tion. The purpose of the Councilwas to evaluate each fraternity ona yearly basis and determine itsmerit to continue for anotheryear. Johnson advocated a policysuch as this be implemented atTrinity.

Peter Ryan, vice-president ofIIKA, stressed the "heart of theissue that we seem to be missing isthat the Trustees have to basetheir decision on precisely how itwill affect the institution in ten orfifteen years. The job of theTrustees is like that of the Boardof Directors of a corporation andthey must deal with long runpolicy implications. The pros andcons beyond current majority opi-nions of student, faculty and ad-

: ministration must be considered.If I could be convinced thatabolishing the fraternities wouldbe best for the College, I'd be thefirst to resign my position atIIKA."

Students commenting recognizethe serious need for change iffraternities are to continue to ex-ist. They realize the large amountof work and effort that will be in-volved to effect this end inresponse to the current Facultyrecommendations, v

Cooper Calls ForDebate On Issues . . . . . i i . • • • • " v '• * '

by Douglas P. GassProfessor George B. Cooper, at

Tuesday's faculty meeting at-tempted motions in favor of reser-ving judgement on the fraternity/sorority issue until a later date.His position represents a "middleway", moderation amidst frenzy.

Cooper sought postponementof the issue because he "thoughtthat the issue under discussionwas too important to be actedupon after what was limiteddebate on one afternoon." Whenasked whether he felt all sectionsof the college community had suf-ficient opportunity to discuss thequestion, Cooper replied, " No,I do not. A fraternity system thathas been here for more than a cen-tury deserved more discussion...Iam opposed to 'social engineer-ing'; the world is strewn with theremains of social theories thatwere intended to. transform sociallife. Actually, a great anddangerous vacuum will be createdbecause there is no feasible plan totake up the...activities of thefraternities."

With the continued absence ofdiscussion on the matter, thequestion remains: was the votebased on passion and/or apathy?Cooper said that he did not knowwhat motivated votes, but feltthat the report was "well-reasoned and based on seriousprinciples." "But , " Coopersaid,"there was.,.a lot of militantfeminism involved in the voting.One of the charges against the

fraternities was that theydiscriminated on the basis of sex.1 do not like to see this vagueyardstick used to test ourinstitutions."

Cooper spoke of the declineand sudden reemergence of theidea that the College is in locoparentis. Asked to relate what hesaid to the faculty, Cooperresponded:"I think that we areout of joint in this respect (in locoparentis). But then this is typicalof social engineers. On the onehand they want freedom...butwhen it suits their ideological bias,they decided to step in and dictatewhat the style of life is to be ."

Cooper said further that "theCollege should try to competewith fraternities" by providingsocial outlets now controlled byfraternities. Citing the example ofSwarthmore College during the1930's, Cooper noted that"frater-nities remain; but they are part ofthe plural society on campus."Cooper stressed that studentsshould prepare themselves for lifein a pluralistic, society. In suppor-ting fraternities, Cooper believes,the College projects "a kind of'den mother' complex which doesa great deal to derail liberty."

Nonetheless, Cooper agreedthat there should be an all-campusforum on the fraternity question,and stated,"! am disappointedthat so many of my colleagues,several of whom would ridiculeany infallible source , seem tothink that they have the last wordon a...complicated problem,"

Winer Calls for BalanceIn Students' Social Life

continued from page 1

Mr. Smith. He added, "Thestudents will feel a greaterfreedom of social choice and op-portunity in terms of their socialexistence. That can lead to achange in attitudes." Winer wasemphatic that Trinity not over-regulate student social life andasserted, "I don't want the collegeto pigeonhole activities."

Dean of Faculty Andrew G.DeRocco said, "You've heard thewill of the faculty expressed inpretty strong t e rms . . . It seems to

me that the issues that were raisedor not raised were significantenough to merit disagreement byreasonable men and women. Iwould have been more surprised ifthe vote had been unaniminous."

DeRocco feels that one of themajor issues behind the decisionto examine fraternities is that thefaculty wants to "make this themost interesting institution possi-ble as well as being academicallysound." He added that theywould like to encourage behaviorwhich is consistent with thoseobjectives.

Professor George Cooper calls for moderation. filepholo

Beyond the Long Walk

South End Speaks On Fratsby Peter A. Stinson

"Fraternities? You mean thosewhorehouses at Trinity College?"

Is this the reputation whichfraternities have earned off-campus? This was only oneremark heard Wednesday morn-ing during an impromptu walkdown Washington Street andMap le A v e n u e . A n o t h e rgentleman said, "Good, they'rethrowing them out. If I had a sonor daughter at Trinity I'd takethem out. Trinity is for education,not sex education."

I was bowled over.Mr. Dick MacCormack said,

"What's the big problem , withthat?" He was referring to thealledged Crow Incident. • Hegrinned.

He went on to say, "They're ontheir own! It is not a flagrantsituation which should effect theschool — there is a matter ofprivacy. An incident such as thatshould not have any reflection onthe school. The situation probablyarises at every school."

South End Resident MaryGorwer said, "I don't think theyshould abolish them — it givesthe kids a lot of exposure."

Anita Manzone said of thefraternities, "Some of them arenot very nice — they makemembers do t h i n g s theyshouldn't."

Loyce Gineo from East Hart-ford said, "I don't think they

should stop them, but controlthem in some manner."

Joclyn Harrigan feels that themedia response has been negative."The way that they're saying it isbad. If whatever they had was formen and women it would bebetter."

"It is totally up to the kids as towhat they want to do," saidLouise Colangelo. "They havesororities for women, fraternitiesfor men. If the women want tolive in a house with men that'sokay." Louise lived for manyyears next to campus and said thatshe enjoyed her association withTrinity. We have a reputation forthrowing a wild party.

Walter Clark, also a South Endresident, feels that Trinity shouldnot get rid of fraternities. "It'slike a tradition. It seems that thecollege wouldn't be right withoutthem — it would just be silly."

William Seymour, a driver forConnecticut Transit, said thatwhen he was in college he was in afraternity. " T h e y ' r e good.

However, there are co-ed colleges;there should be co-ed fraternities.Discrimination on any countshould not be stood for."

"I believe that there should befraternities. It's a way of life,"stated an unnamed South EndResident. "Any differencesshould be resolved, but notthrough abolition. I don't think itshould be that severe."

Renaud Parent said "It seemsthat fraternities have been a tradi-tion for so long — I see no reasonwhy it should be stopped."

Frances Hurwit has threechildren who were in fraternities.She stated that their experienceswere positive and that Trinity"should definitely not abolish"the fraternal system.

So goes response to our frater-nity issue from beyond the LongWalk.

Thank you Ian. Good night andhave a pleasant tomorrow.

P.S. has anyone seen my friendHenry? Last I saw him, he waspacking his bags for a quick tripto Norwich, England.

Moshell ProclaimsNeed For Outlets

Professor Gerald Moshell discusses the fraternity issue. photo by Whitney Rogers

by Floyd HigginsGerald Moshell's participation

in the faculty meeting this Tues-day was fairly unique in that hewas the only faculty member topresent a view clearly and whole-heartedly against the support ofthe faculty committee's primaryrecommendation.

Moshell's remarks addressedtwo main points. One is thatstudents need social outlets. Hedisagrees with the insinuationmade in the report and at themeeting that there is "somethinginherently wrong in student'sgathering for social purposes."

On the issue of single-sex,single-interest groups, Moshellstates that he unequivocally sup-ports the existence of such groups,whether there be precedent or not,people simply have the right togroup themselves as they please.

If then, the fraternities were tobe abolished, the existence ofother organizations would beh igh ly q u e s t i o n a b l e . Hespecifically mentioned the policy,of the Women's Center whichstates "a place where women canmeet as women," a statementwhich effectively contradicts therationale behind the abolition of

the fraternities.As for the decision itself,

Moshell wonders why the facultyshould even have that much to sayabout the issue. In addition, hehopes that the faculty decisiondoes not carry that much weight.

In his mind, the meeting wasrather sedate. Discussion wasminimal and Moshell fears thatfaculty are becoming more reluc-tant to talk for the reason thatthey ar a f r a i d of be ing' ' t r o u b l e m a k e r s , 1 ' o r"rabblerousers."

Although Moshell supports theexistence of fraternities, he alsofeels that Trinity is too small for afull-blown fraternity system.

As a final note, Moshell il-lustrated the slightly hypocriticalattitude of the faculty. Moshellhas attended the St. Anthony'sHall Faculty Christmas partyevery year since his arrival. Facul-ty attendance at this function hasalways been good. However, thisyear's party was very sparsely at-,tended by members of the faculty.Moshell attributes this decline tothe publication of the report.Butas he phrased it at the meeting,"Have faculty attitudes changedall that much?"