[9536] in APO-L
All Male
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Chris P Layne)
Fri Sep 30 17:01:07 1994
Date: Fri, 30 Sep 1994 15:58:34 -0500
Reply-To: Chris P Layne <laynecp@MAIL.AUBURN.EDU>
From: Chris P Layne <laynecp@MAIL.AUBURN.EDU>
To: Multiple recipients of list APO-L <APO-L%PURCCVM.BITNET@mitvma.mit.edu>
Brothers,
In response to Brother Gagliardi's inquiry as to why All Male
chapters wish to remain that way, I for one am not going to answer with
"tradition." As Brother Wallace stated, Delta has been All Male for 67
years now, but it's not as much tradition as it is an ingrained part of
the identity of our chapter. Our brotherhood has been composed of males
only from the very founding of Delta. It is a very strong brotherhood
that we are very proud of. We do have our share of problems, don't get me
wrong, but we really feel that we would have a lot more to lose than we would
ever have to gain.
I've been around this chapter for a long time and I've been exposed
to many coed chapters through conventions, informal visits, you name it.
There are a lot of really great coed chapters out there who do A PHI O
just as well as we do (and some do it better). The thing is that the
brotherhood they share is different from what we have here at Delta, and
personally, I think Delta's approach works better for me and all of the
guys down here.
Lastly, I've also seen first hand the problems that are caused
when an All Male chapter goes coed. I went with a large delta contingent
to visit Tau chapter when they pledged their first females and it was a
really nasty place to be. There was no brotherhood, everyone was
expecting the death of the chapter, and everyone hated what was going on
because they felt like it was being forced on them by a select group of
individuals. The chapter ended up splitting up into two camps and one
group left the fraternity all together.
If brothers from All Male chapters seem afraid of going coed,
from what I saw at Tau it is with good reason. It scares me to think
about the Delta that I know and love being ripped to pieces like that. As
large a part of our identity as our All Male status is, I don't think we
would ever survive it. Personally, I would rather see the chapter turn in
its charter than tear itself apart.
I hope this helps everyone out there understand us a little
better. We really aren't that different from the rest of you guys. I do
sincerely hope that we can continue to have the opportunity to determine
our own destiny and to continue following the noble ideals of A PHI O in
our own special way.
In Brotherhood,
/\ Chris Layne
/ \ laynecp@mail.auburn.edu
/1105\ President, Delta Chapter, Auburn University
/______\ "All we want is to be left alone." - Jefferson Davis
