Allha Tau Omega Fraternity, one of the largest college social organizations in the country, adopted an amendment to its constitution at its convention here yesterday, permitting modification of its membership requirements to meet various state and university rulings forbidding discrimination on account of race or religion.
There has been an increasing number of state and university rulings in recent years, denying fraternity charters to local groups practicing racial or religious bias. Alpha Tau Omega has 119 chapters in colleges and universities throughout the country, with a total membership of more than 66,000.
The constitutional change, according to Gerald B. Johnson, of Cleveland, who was re-elected president of the fraternity, indicates a desire “to cooperate with university authorities in their anti-discrimination rulings.” However, he added, “the traditional membership character” of the organization is not expected to change.
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