#Total frat move lehigh movie#
#Total frat move lehigh trial#

#Total frat move lehigh movie#

July 1978: Animal House movie is released, loosely depicting a Dartmouth fraternity. November 1975: First campus sorority is founded: Alpha Phi. Tau Delta Phi voluntarily closes, remaining members merge with Zeta Psi.

#Total frat move lehigh trial#

The trial did not start until April 1977 and the final ruling was apparently that the death was accidental.ġ974: “Three homosexual members of Theta Chi fraternity voluntarily moved out of the fraternity in line with alumni recommendation.” The fraternity remained on campus with no reported sanctions. Officially, the school called the incident the unfortunate result of a “prank” and “horseplay.” However, the lawsuit alleged that Fishkin was in fact thrown out of the automobile while bound with rope. September 1973: Mitchell Fishkin, a Delta Phi pledge, dies after jumping out of a moving car during a hazing ritual. (Author’s note: These quotes are from The Company He Keeps, one of the few books providing a somewhat-unbiased modern study of Greek Life)įall 1971: Lehigh enrolls women (though one was accidentally admitted in 1937 due to confusion over her name being Jean). These were certainly related to family background, economic position, and prep-school training, but they could also be cultivated.

The criteria of acceptability for most fraternities were attributes of manner, dress, and style. Nay if his ‘slickness’ and ‘smoothness’ are exactly right, he will get in despite serious deficiencies in one or more of the other items. Max McConn, Dean of Lehigh University, noted, “If a lad has an agreeable exterior, a winning smile, and a pleasing manner, if he is a ‘slick dresser’ and a ‘smooth talker’ and he is duly accredited as to purse, progenitors, and preparatory school, he is sure to be taken. If you want to locate a copy of the book for research purposes, use this link. Sadly, the book is out of print, though it is quoted extensively in studies of the time period, especially of “elite” private schools. If you are in possession of one, please share it.)ġ928: Max McConn, the first Dean of Students at Lehigh University, publishes his book College or Kindergarten? I view his as the first meaningful critique of Greek Life at Lehigh. (Author’s note: The only source for early-20th-century South Bethlehem fraternity house information tends to be historical pamphlets published by each individual fraternity (or national organization) at milestone anniversaries. The houses still standing can be found on the 200 block of West Packard Ave. Some of these were purchased by Lehigh and converted into administrative buildings. More founding dates.ġ908: Lehigh’s Board of Trustees allows fraternities to build their chapter houses at Sayre Park, also known as “the Hill.” Before this, most fraternities occupied/owned houses in South Bethlehem. This “history” is not something that should be consumed by an outsider–especially a prospective student–to reach conclusions regarding Lehigh University. Broadly, the purpose is to contextualize the current state of affairs at Lehigh and at other schools also suffering through a period of turbulence.ġ872: First social fraternity, Chi Phi, is founded at Lehigh. While my aim has been to capture the relevant, interesting, and historically-significant events from the last 150 years, the narrative I’ve been able to piece together from newspapers, school bulletins, my own undergraduate experience, and private alumni submissions is overwhelmingly negative. The newsworthy items that have actually been preserved, in aggregate, reflect poorly on Lehigh’s Greek scene, Lehigh’s Office of Fraternity and Sorority Affairs, and Lehigh’s administration. I think that it would be a shame for the rich history of Greek life at Lehigh to fade into obscurity, so I’ve compiled this blog post. For as long as I can remember, I’ve been obsessed with fraternities and secret societies. I was a member of a fraternity there and currently serve on that organization’s advisory board. I graduated from Lehigh University in 2016.

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