Officers of the Stanford University chapter of Alpha Tau Omega held firmly today to their refusal to drop four Jewish student pledges under threat from the national officers of revoking the chapter’s charter.
National leaders met with the chapter officials at a closed door meeting in Palto Alto but the meeting ended with no change in the position of either group.
Gerald E. Johnson, who represented the five-man high council of the national office, explained that the national policy was not to exclude Jews “if they embrace the Christian faith.” He said the national council would study the situation and decide what action should be taken on the ultimatum.
Michael Kavanaugh, president of the chapter, reiterated an earlier policy statement of the chapter that it had the right to choose its own members without regard to race, color or religion.
He was vigorously supported by William Craig, Stanford Dean of Men and California State Attorney General Stanley Mosk, who suggested that the chapter go into the courts to sustain its position. He also asked other California college officials to determine what their chapters of the fraternity were doing in regard to admissions. The fraternity has chapters at San Jose and San Diego and at Berkeley, UCLA, Occidental and the University of Southern California.
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The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
