[22570] in APO-L
Re: [APO-L] Research Results
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (drhawkeye)
Wed Apr 24 18:48:30 2002
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Date: Wed, 24 Apr 2002 15:45:11 -0700
Reply-To: drhawkeye <drhawkeye@NETZERO.NET>
From: drhawkeye <drhawkeye@NETZERO.NET>
To: APO-L@LISTSERV.IUPUI.EDU
I just wanted to point out some flaws in the discussion.
1) "We've done nothing but "deal with" one imperialist, oppressive,
tyrannical, arbitrary,
decision after another from our board for 25 years." (quoted from Joel
Bryant 4/23)
The National Officers cannot impose their will on any chapter. I can't say
that at some time in the past that they couldn't, but it seems very
unlikely, given the structure of the Fraternity. So it was not some
vendetta or hatred for all-male chapters that caused them to become
deactivated. Can you show us any decisions that the Board made without the
approval of the active chapters? If not, then that is a baseless,
derogatory comment that doesn't belong in a discussion. And I'll even ask
those current and past Board Members on the list for a response to that
question, since they would have first-hand knowledge if that was ever done.
2) The decision to become a co-ed fraternity, and allow women to become full
Brothers, was decided by the delegates of the 1976 convention. Oh, and BTW,
each and every one of the voting delegates were male, and were from all-male
chapters. I can't speak about how much of an influence the possible lawsuit
from Zeta had on the votes. Each chapter was given the right to determine
whether or not to allow women as Brothers, and that choice continues today
(and was soundly re-emphasized at the 1998 convention when the most recent
legislation to have a completely co-ed Fraternity was defeated). And during
the discussion I witnessed, it was the female Brother-Delegates, who were
the most passionate about maintaining the current structure.
3)"Alpha Phi Omega is the only national entity which should represent all
cultures in the
United States. So why have a rule that turns people away. Why turn people
away. You
shouldn't love Alpha Phi Omega so much that if you see more black men than
anything else in the group you feel the need to discourage the group from
become a chapter of Alpha Phi Omega." (quoted from JayBEE 4/23)
Actually, we had a rule that turned people away, but we changed it in 1976
to allow everybody to become a Brother. Allowing an all-male chapter to be
formed on a co-ed campus would be turning away females and not allowing them
to become Brothers, so what we have now (at most chapters) is what you're
argueing for. And that's a pretty cheap shot to claim racism as a reason
that prospective chapters don't get chapter approval.
4)"Think about this. Let me go to the analogy of what if a coed chapter
wrote a resolution to do away with the 1986 statement. No cross section of
the campus statement. No have to be coed statement. No reactivation
clauses. What if someone wrote a resolution just revert to the 1976 ruling
given females full membership. Then you would have no conflicts. Then there
would be any debate of a senseless rule, because there would be no senseless
rule." (again, JayBEE 4/23)
So find an active Brother and submit it for the convention this year and see
what happens. Personally, I would be against it because I still feel that
any chapter that prohibits membership based on gender is practicing
discrimination. It's no different than if a chapter of all-Asians
prohibited Latinos, it's still discrimination, and the Fraternity won't
allow it based on race, why do we allow it based on gender? But as I said,
the delegates in 1998 chose to allow the all-male chapters to continue and
to choose for themselves when and if to allow females, and I abide by that
ruling.
5) Please stop trying to interpret Frank Reed Horton's vision for this
Fraternity. None of us know or can guess what he may be thinking right now,
and it doesn't matter anyway, because he allowed others to continue on, and
if he didn't trust them to do the right thing, then he could've remained
President (or whatever the title was then) until his death and then had the
Fraternity dissolved so that it couldn't become something he wouldn't want.
He is the only one who knows why he started APhiO, so let's deal with
something we actually know.
Hawkeye
Alpha Phi Omega, Eta Psi Fall '92
Touro University College of Osteopathic Medicine Class of 2003
DO's: Physicians Treating People, Not Just Symptoms
