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First
Revision: September 13, 2001 Introduction: With
the help of Paul Hooker '60 and Geoff Williams, the University at Albany
archivist, I have compiled a very rough chronology of the formation of
APA. It is now time for all
of you to comment upon, add to, correct, or revise what I have compiled.
I am particularly interested in hearing from those APA charter
members who were the brothers "present at creation" about
their recollections of these events.
I am also in search of the names of the 18 pledges who also
resigned, and any documents, letters, etc you might still have. While I have addresses for three of the first Jewish members of APA
(Alvin Brown, Arthur Stone, and Stuart MacNofsky), I can't find Robert
Becker. Sadly, Kurt
Rosembaum is deceased, but I would like any information anyone has about
him. It is my understanding
that he was a holocaust survivor. I
have been in touch with John Zongrone, Bob Sinkeldam and Leo Bennett, the rest of the
1952 KDR/APA executive committee, all of whom were very helpful in the
compiling of this chronology. I
am well aware that I might have some things wrong.
I am also well aware that asking for recollections of events that
occurred almost fifty years ago is very difficult.
In the end, this history will be what is remembered, not
necessarily what happened! So
please send me your comments at Leeupcraft@psu.edu or call me at (814)
238-5428 or mail me at 188 Lenore Drive, State College, PA, 16801.
Thanks. Chronology of
Events Leading to the Formation of Alpha Pi Alpha May 17, 1905:
The KDR fraternity is established at Middlebury College, restricting
membership to white Christians. June 10, 1915:
Gamma chapter of KDR is installed at the New York State College for
Teachers at Albany, presided over by brothers from Middlebury College
and Cornell. June, 1948:
At
the biennial national convention of KDR, an amendment to the
constitution that allowed local chapters the right to select its own
members without discrimination for race, color, or creed was passed by a
majority, but failed to achieve the three-fourths vote needed to revise
the constitution. 1949: The
National Interfraternity Conference (NIC), at its annual meeting, by a vote of 36 to 3, with 17 abstaining, passed the
following resolution: RESOLVED:
That it is the sense of this Conference that (1) it recognizes
that many member fraternities have had and now have no restrictive
provisions; (2) it
recognizes that the question is of concern to many interested parties;
(3) it calls these facts to the attention of all member fraternities,
appreciating that membership is an individual fraternity responsibility;
(4) it recommends that member fraternities that do have selective
membership provisions consider this questions in the light of prevailing
conditions and take such steps as they may elect to eliminate such
selectivity provisions. March, 1950:
Delta
chapter (Colgate) pledged a “member of the Jewish faith.” June, 1950:
At
the KDR biennial national convention: ·
An amendment similar to the one rejected in 1948 was
proposed and defeated, but returned to the floor by four chapters
(including Gamma and Delta) and defeated again.
·
Later in the convention, the amendment was passed
unanimously, with four chapters abstaining, including Gamma and Delta. ·
A “gentlemen’s agreement” was made that chapters would not initiate any men
that were not white gentiles until the ritual was changed and they were
eliminated from eligibility to join. November 4, 1950:
Delta chapter Board of Control unanimously passed a resolution condemning
the action of the KDR convention and expressing their intention to
initiate a Jewish pledge in December.
December, 1950:
Delta chapter initiated its Jewish pledge, sent his certificate
an initiation fee to the KDR national office, and “in due time his
membership plaque was received without comment.” March 2, 1951:
State College News
announces Gamma chapter inducted three Jewish men:
Alvin Brown, Kurt Rosenbaum, and Arthur Stone. It is believed that Robert Becker, another Jewish man, was
also inducted, but his name was omitted from the newspaper account.
Spring, 1951:
Delta chapter pledged “one Negro” and “five Jews.” Spring, 1951:
Delta chapter is visited by the KDR Executive secretary and admitted that
the Board of Directors has discussed the Delta situation and decided to
say nothing about the one man pledged in anticipation of the 1952
convention. June, 1951: After
a closed meeting between Delta representatives and the KDR Board of
Directors
, the
Board refused to initiate the five men (but allowing them house
privileges) until authorized by the 1952 national convention, providing
that no further violation in pledging occurred. Fall, 1951:
The
State College News reported that Alvin Brown had
been inducted into Gamma chapter. Brown
was also listed as being inducted in the Spring, 1951.
December, 1951:
Delta initiated all her pledges and their certificates sent to
the KDR national office. Six
men were denied their certificates pending action by the 1952 national
convention. October 20, 1951:
The KDR Board receives a letter from the Delta chapter that it had pledged
a black man and four Jewish men.
·
The Board instructed Delta that if it wanted to have these
men associate with them, they could room and board at the house and wear
the pledge pin, but they could not initiate them into KDR. December 9, 1951:
Delta chapter initiated all their pledges including the five men in
question, but the national returned the certificates of these five.
Delta responded by stating that all of their certificates were to
be accepted or none of them. February 20, 1952:
A KDR committee recommended a revision of the KDR
constitution that had the effect of allowing the selection of new
chapter members by local standards without a national veto:
WHEREAS it is the sense of this Convention of the Kappa
Delta Rho Fraternity that each of its chapters should have the right to
select its own members under the constitution without discrimination as
to race, creed, or color, and
WHEREAS it is the further sense of this Convention
that this fraternity from its earliest inception has been a Christian
organization, and
WHEREAS nothing contained in this resolution is intended
to cause any change in the essential nature of the organization, its
ritual or procedure, now therefore be it:
RESOLVED that the following Section 10 be added to
Article III of the national constitution:
ARTICLE III, Section 10: “Each chapter shall have the right to
select its own members under the constitution without discrimination for
race, creed or color. This
fraternity from its inception has been essentially Christian
organization and nothing in this section shall be construed to change
its essential nature nor to prevent the use of the Bible and the
teachings of Jesus Christ in its ritual and other procedure.” Spring, 1952:
June 20, 1952:
41st annual Kappa Delta Rho convention was called
to order at the Theta chapter house, Purdue University, West Lafayette,
Indiana.
June 21, 1952:
June 20-22(?):
Sometime during the debate over this issue, Zongrone and
Sinkeldam informed the KDR national convention of a unanimous resolution
adopted by Gamma chapter: that
if the discriminatory policies of KDR did not cease to exist, the
members of Gamma would individual resign from the chapter and the
national organization. September 22, 1952:
Bob Sinkeldam and Leo Bennett called Donald Wolfe,
Executive-secretary of KDR and informed him that the entire membership
of Gamma chapter intended to resign from the national because of its
discriminatory practices. September 23, 1952:
Donald Wolfe makes an emergency visit to the KDR, as a direct
result of the telephone call. Wolfe
spent three or four hours talking to many members of the chapter, and
later to the executive committee. September 29, 1952:
63 active members and recently initiated pledges of Gamma
chapter resigned from KDR and formed Alpha Pi Alpha as a local
fraternity. The Jewish
members of Gamma chapter (Art Stone, Alvin Brown, Stuart MacNofsky, and
Kurt Rosenbaum and Robert Becker, who was called into active duty by the
US Navy) were not included because their membership had never been
accepted the national. Actives who resigned included: Class of 1952: Robert Hausner Thomas Holman John Knitt Kenneth Rutley William Wiley Class of 1953: Charles Button David Gardinier Walter Goodell J. Robert Massey Robert Sinkeldam Class of 1954: John Allasio James Bennett Leo Bennett Stanley Biasini Leonard Bintz Raymond Call Alfred Clemente Robert Crombach Charles Cullen Walter Decker Kenneth Everard Henry Feuerbach William Floyd James Fox
Ron Ganslow
Richard Hannis
Donald Krug Joseph Luce Joseph Patrick Richard Stanford
William Walker
John Zongrone
Peter Bon Robert Burns Jack Cardello Charles Derwin Robert Dreher Thomas Hogue Walt Lawder Tom Mullen John Murray Custer R. Quick Edgar Steele Stuart Theohary
Curtis M. Valentine
* Two names are
missing. October 4, 1952:
Gamma chapter executive committee (John Zongrone, Robert
Sinkeldam, and Leo Bennett) sent a letter to KDR president Mayer Maloney
informing the national that on September 29, 1952, 36 active members,
recognized by the national, signed a statement of resignation.
The national never acknowledged the receipt of this letter. October 4, 1952:
Gamma chapter Executive Committee sent a letter to Gamma alumni
explaining the actions of the members. October 15, 1952:
Delta chapter considered resigning from KDR, “in the light
of similar action just taken by the entire membership of the Gamma
chapter,” but that option was rejected.
Rather, they decided to raise the issue again at the 1954
convention, and continue to pledge men without discrimination. December 6, 1952:
President Zongrone sent a letter to all members of KDR,
informing them that all sixty-two member of the Gamma chapter had
resigned in protest of the “gentlemen’s agreement” and that the
chapter had reorganized as Alpha Pi Alpha, a local fraternity. December 10, 1952:
Donald Wolfe, Executive-secretary of KDR, sent a letter to
John Zongrone requesting further information about Gamma chapter’s
resignation. December 12, 1952:
President Zongrone sent a letter to Donald Wolfe reiterating
Gamma’s decision and reconciling the names of the men who resigned. August 22, 1953:
The KDR Board of Directors “dishonorably” expelled the
members of Gamma who had resigned, asked for the return of official
robes and other paraphernalia. October 9, 1953:
Upon the recommendation of James Carlson, president of the
State University, the Board of Trustees of the State University of New
York, in an effort to end discrimination in fraternities and sororities
at state operated colleges:
Fall, 1953(?):
Leo Bennett, Vice-President of APA sent a letter to KDR
disputing its version of events leading to Gamma chapter’s
resignation, and requesting that his letter be read at the next meeting
of the KDR Board. Only the
second page of that letter is currently available. October 15, 1953: KDR national Executive-secretary Donald C. Wolfe sent a letter to Leo Bennett, Vice-president of Alpha Pi Alpha confirming that Leo’s request that Leo’s letter be read at the next meeting of the KDR Board would be approved. |
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(official
delegate) and 
(unofficial delegate).