The high council of Alpha Tau Omega announced today the ouster of its Stanford University chapter for pledging four Jewish students as members and for refusing to expel them as demanded by the national office.
H. J. Garrecht, high council chairman, said that the chapter’s action had violated the fraternity’s constitution which “requires allegiance to Christianity.” He added that religious bias was not involved in the ouster decision, asserting that the fraternity had members “of Hebrew origin” as well as clergymen of various denominations.
“The constitution of our fraternity was adopted by democratic action of all our chapters in 119 colleges and universities in the United States and in Canada,” the chairman declared. “They determine our membership policies.”
The Stanford University chapter took its stand of refusing to expel the four Jewish pledges with the support of the university Student Council, Dr. William Craig, Dean of Men, and State Attorney General Stanley E. Mosk. Michael Kavanaugh, the chapter’s president, said that every one of the 54 members of the chapter voted for admission of the Jewish students.
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