Wood's Words: The Brotherhood, RIP
Jim F. Wood ‘64
All of them are voting age. All of them can serve in our country’s military. Many of them can order a drink legally at Maxfield’s. All of them are adults. All are men responsible for the consequences of their decisions.
In each of 2007, 2006 and 2005, after completing the pledge program and meeting university academic requirements, a number of them were inducted into The Brotherhood. They would have learned the meaning of the Greek words:
“Δικαια Υποθηκη. “
They would have memorized the four founding principles: friendship, character, culture and justice. They would have taken the oath, which states in part, “I, of my own free will and accord… solemnly promise upon my honor without any equivocation…or secret evasion of mind…” They would have joined a brotherhood of 65,000 men, and its traditions and history as the first non-secret fraternity in the United States, a fraternity founded on the Williams College campus in 1834: And their legacy brothers would have included James Garfield, the 20th President of the United States, Lester Pearson, former Prime Minister of Canada, Lou Holtz, Kurt Vonnegut, Alfred P. Sloan, Linus Pauling, the 1962 Nobel Peace Laureate, and USAF Captain Thomas A. Mravak ’64 (KIA).
Some lived in the white Victorian house: A home that over decades was cared for, kept clean, painted, repaired, and lived in by hundreds of undergraduate brothers, and owned by the alumni corporation. A house with memories of more than 85 pledge classes- of Ice Carnival statutes designed by brothers, and built in the front yard by teams of men who found little time to sleep between classes and shifts at the slush bucket- of midnight serenades in front of sorority houses with girls laughing or crying behind the curtains- of backyard barbeques with neighbors, Clarkson faculty and other Greeks- of pinning ceremonies on the front porch with sixty brothers in blazers and ties singing the fraternity sweetheart song to their brother and his special coed holding a dozen red roses pressed close to her body- of the home-made ice rink in the backyard where local kids and brothers could skate safely and learn “the moves”- of Ma Hughes who cooked thousands of meals for hundreds of men and treated their sun burns and souls with equal skill- of undefeated intramural hockey, football and basketball teams- and of the many life-long and intergenerational friendships that began in the house, at chapter meetings every Tuesday evening, in the basement at “after-parties” and on the porch when spring would come and chairs, couches, and kegs moved outside into a warm sun.
In the early fall of 2007, the undergraduates and alumni officers of the corporation met, as they did regularly during each school year, to discuss operations of the house, introduce each other, and review activities during the coming semesters. Of particular interest during these meetings is the undergraduate pledge program, house expenses academic standing and house maintenance. With the return of women to campus, the move to the Hill, the age of the house, and changes in State law and Potsdam building codes, maintaining and living in a fraternity house had become very difficult.
Clarkson University has recognized these problems and their effects on a vibrant and engaged Greek campus community. The historical contribution to Clarkson and to undergraduates who chose to participate in Greek societies is well understood and respected. Studies have been undertaken over the last several years to examine how Greek life can be enhanced on the Hill campus. The University Master Plan now includes space for a Greek row and it is expected several vibrant fraternities and sororities will take advantage of this space once implementation of the plans has been approved.
The alumni officers have accepted a special responsibility to assure the fraternity’s assets are protected and used properly. The house and its memorabilia represent the historical legacy of The Brotherhood from its local roots in Potsdam, and possibly earlier to the oldest fraternity in Vermont (and the sixth oldest in the USA), to its conversion to a non-secret National fraternity in 1961. As alumni, they knew that undergraduates often require mentoring and leadership development and the alumni gave freely of their time and experience in ways that guided- but did not interfere with the students need to grow and govern themselves.
At these meetings, the subjects of hazing and pledge eligibility are normally discussed at some length. State Law, University rules, and the National Fraternity all prohibit hazing. The alumni need to make sure undergraduates understand this subject. The issue of eligibility is discussed too. Clarkson requires a minimum GPA to pledge a Greek organization. It is a rule disliked by the students because it limits the number of undergraduates who can pledge. But it is this rule that has led to an all-Greek GPA exceeding the non-Greek GPA for several years, diminishing the argument used by many who are not proponents of Greek organizations that joining a Greek organization will lead to poor grades. The students confirmed they understood the rules and agreed to follow them.
The phone call went from the pledge to his parents, from his parents to the National headquarters, and to Clarkson University. The pledge had been hazed; University officials would investigate.
It is a pattern too often repeated: Students with an agenda of their own, uncaring of the traditions and history that preceded them, students making poor choices and careless of laws and regulations, immature leadership, party before study, unclear goals. It happens at many universities. When it happens at Clarkson it hurts a lot because there are so many things Clarkson is doing to enhance itself, that the misbehavior of a few detract from the benefit of many.
The investigation confirmed the allegation. The students had conducted a premeditated violation of the law and the rules. They had secretly assembled a pledge class with many ineligible students. They had hazed. They had put their alumni brothers at grave personal and legal risk.
Retribution was swift. The alumni prepared and negotiated a reasonable plan to evict the students, established a closing date for the house and decided to accelerate a sale process initially begun to provide funds for a transition to the Hill Campus. The University de-certified the fraternity for a period of three years. By then- if not sooner- the offending students will be gone and perhaps a new generation of leadership will rise from a future class. At that time, the alumni may decide to help these new students re-colonize, may help these students establish a new house on Greek row, may decide to take the risk that new leadership will follow the rules, may re-engage students in their search for a meaningful fraternal experience. But don’t count on it; the odds are long, the risks are high, the rewards are few.
“The stairs leading to the third floor are narrow and rise steeply in a way that prevents people from passing each other; the only other egress from this floor is the external iron staircase that descends to the driveway on the south side of the house. In this unheated attic thirty young men sleep in two rows of bunk beds. The floor is thick with extension cords as each man’s bunk needed to power an electric blanket and many had an alarm clock taped to the headboard. In the darkness you could hear strange music; the wind bending old oaks in the yard, time ticking, deep and harmonic breathing rhythms of sleep, an occasional murmur about love lost or won and the ping of springs supporting a thin mattress whenever someone changed position…The morning routine was the same for each man: a mad rush to the narrow stairs that led to the second floor bathroom and… to heat! Even men who trod silently announced their presence at the top stair tread, which creaked loudly when subjected to weight.”
That tread no longer will creak with the weight of young and responsible men building a lifetime of close friendships based on shared ideals and camaraderie and mutual support as they live independently and govern and grow together while they pursue an education that will form the basis of their life’s work. May those memories forever rest in peace.