A 1956 document shows what the fraternities were up against. The national chapters of many of the organizations restricted membership to "white Christians" and even some without formal policies had unwritten understandings that had to be adhered to by the local chapters. The result of the referendum was that many fraternities broke their national affiliations and "went local." It is interesting to think that one of the driving forces that created Dartmouth's distinctive Greek system was a majority vote by students in the 1950s who were committed to equal rights for a minority population on campus.
|A different kind of "pledge"|
To learn more, ask for the vertical file "Fraternities, 1950-1979."