THE END OF MASSACHUSETTS ALPHA

Photo taken from a short video shot by Suzann Owen in May 2010 during a visit with Kent Owen for an Amherst 50th anniversary reunion. The house now is used by the College as a dormitory. .****** The following is excerpted from this report:

The Mystagogues Biennial Report, August 2008-June 2010

To: The Grand Arch Council From: Kent Owen Date: June 9, 2010 The Fraternity should be aware of the recent publication of Nicholas L. Syretts The Company He Keeps: A History of White College Fraternities (University of North Carolina Press, 2009). I know of nothing comparable to its comprehensive coverage, thorough research and documentation, cogent analysis and interpretation, and readability despite the fact that it is an academic project, perhaps a doctoral dissertation. Among Prof. Syretts disciplinary perspectives is that of gender studies, exploring through the history of the American College fraternity movement from the founding chapters at Union College during the second quarter of the 19th century to the construction of manliness and later masculinity. Among the numerous episodes that make the books chronology engrossing is an even-handed account of Phi Kappa Psis Massachusetts Alpha affair in 1948. Although our own centennial history glosses over the matter, Syrett provides a credible summary of what happened when Mass Alpha pledged Thomas Woodrow Gibbs of Evanston, Illinois, during formal rush at

Amherst College in the winter semester of 1948. The chapter notified its alumni that it had offered a bid to an African-American asking for their support, which they generally granted. But when Mass Alpha informed the Fraternitys other 54 chapters, the response was decidedly different: Nearly one-half opposed the pledging, one-third accepted it, and the remainder seemed indifferent or non-committal. Objections were filed with the EC, which concluded that the GAC should consider the controversy at its meeting in Estes Park, Colorado, .the coming summer. That debate proved unproductive: The GAC delegates could not arrive at an acceptable outcome, but voted to return the question to the newly installed EC whose four alumni general officers had all been recently elected. Although Mass Alpha sent letters to all the GAC delegates explaining its position, the GAC asserted that the chapters had not had enough time to deliberate. In the meantime, the Mass Alpha delegates agreed to depledge Tom Gibbs while the question was being thoroughly examined. Throughout the fall at Amherst, Mass Alpha paid conscientious attention to the situation and its possible consequences, eventually repledging Gibbs so that he could be initiated on November 23, the date when all Amherst chapters were to initiate their pledges. Although Mass Alpha sent a letter to the EC in early November informing the Fraternity of its intention, a Boston newspaper broke the story before the letter arrived. Once that happened, the intra-fraternal struggle turned into a cause clbre: Newspapers throughout the Northeast and later across the nation, nationally circulated magazines, letters to the editor, and all manner of public opinion sources excoriated Phi Kappa Psi as a proponent of racial prejudice. Believing that Mass Alpha had acted in bad faith and broken its word, the EC moved quickly to withdraw its charter a preemptive strike. Thereafter, Mass Alpha of Phi Kappa Psi became a local, self-standing fraternity, Phi Alpha Psi. After several years of examining the Mass Alpha file in Fraternitys archives, of discussing the matter with Amherst officials, and of studying contemporaneous reports and articles in the media, I have concluded that Mass Alpha pledged Tom Gibbs in good faith and good conscience without ulterior motives of self-righteousness or progressive self-aggrandizement. Unfortunately, the GAC at Estes Park failed to resolve the problem whether yea or nay, before the matter was sent back to the EC and soon became a crisis. The EC feared that several chapters might withdraw from the Fraternity and that numerous alumni and student members would resign: The strong possibility of serious injury to the Fraternity was real and urgent. The EC decided to take the risk and reclaim the charter, underestimating the furor that would stigmatize Phi Kappa Psi for many years. If you will, the Mass Alpha affair remains a moral dilemma: The EC, after all, was trying to prevent the Fraternity from being badly damaged by its own members and chapters who could not overcome their own prejudices. Thereafter, Phi Alpha Psi made its own way at Amherst College, flourishing at times and respected for its history of conviction and action. Given my own curiosity, when Mrs. Mystagogue and I flew to St. Thomas, V.I. in December 2008 to attend the wedding of one of our oldest friends, I had an additional errand in mind. I learned that the central figure in the Mass Alpha affair, Tom Gibbs, was living in Charlotte Amalie as dean of St. Thomas Cathedral of the Episcopal Church. On Sunday evening after a busy, extended weekend, I reached the Rev. T.W.

Gibbs at his home. After I had identified myself as an officer of Phi Kappa Psi, Father Gibbs and he asked to be called Tom said that he hadnt talked with anyone official from Phi Kappa Psi, or for that matter, Amherst College since he graduated in 1951. When I asked him whether he felt at all wounded or badly treated by what at the time seemed an ordeal, he was quick to say Not at all. The chapter adviser Ralph Beebe and the alumni corporation president Alfred Romer staunchly protected him from the intrusive media, and others who had their own purposes. What this indicates is that the Fraternitys emissaries John Henry Frizzell and Harry Gorgas never had an interview with Gibbs, although they met with several Mass Alphans and other Amherst people. By the way, Tom Gibbs made it clear he had no hard feelings against Phi Kappa Psi. On the contrary, the circumstances brought about exceptional fraternal bonding among Gibbs and his fellow pledges in the Amherst Class of 1951, remaining largely intact over the years. Gibbs mentioned that he had performed several wedding ceremonies and baptisms, and stood as godfather for his fellow Phi Alpha Psis and their families. He cherishes what he experienced at Amherst and afterwards as authentic and sustaining: It may not be too much to suppose that his fraternity background has contributed to his vocation as a Christian priest for 50 years in the Caribbean. In view of the hostility that Amherst College increasingly directed toward its fraternities after World War II, Fr. Gibbs expressed sincere regret that later generations of Amherst students women now as well as men no longer had the opportunity to enjoy the many dimensions of fraternity life in the broader context of liberal education. Amherst had succeeded in banishing its chapters by the mid-1980s, but could not entirely eradicate them. Delta Kappa Epsilon, Psi Upsilon, Chi Psi, and Theta Delta Chi survive to this day as sub rosa. Hence, there was a certain symmetry for me in returning to Amherst College a few weeks ago to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Class of 1960 of which I was a part as a freshman. That our gathering was housed and headquartered in what was once the chapter house of Mass Alpha of Phi Kappa Psi, later Phi Alpha Psi, and nowadays Charles Drew House, a student residence, brings many things full circle. And with that, I finish my final tour of duty as Mystagogue. Thank you for your kind attentions, and I bid you, one and all, a fraternal farewell. ******
From: OrderOfTheSC@yahoogroups.com [mailto:OrderOfTheSC@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of Marc Dumas Sent: Friday, June 11, 2010 1:12 PM Cc: phipsi150@yahoogroups.com; orderofthesc; Advisenet o A Subject: [OrderOfTheSC] re: re-visiting Mass Alpha

What is amazing about this, and Br. Owen's report, is how the world truly comes full circle, and how that experience, 25 years before I was born, and 45 years before I was initiated into the Phi Kappa Psi Fraternity, affected my life directly. Some of you have heard this story, some haven't, but it's worth re-telling.

When this whole thing went down, and the Chapters were asked to vote on their opinion, a young man at IL Delta (Illinois) by the name of Prentice Marshall was one of the few of his chapter Brothers who voted to allow Pledge Gibbs to be initiated. He stood almost alone in that idea, the mores and customs of the world not ready for such forward thinking. He voted to allow him in primarily (as I have had the conversation with Marshall before his passing) because he actually knew Gibbs, having competed aginst him while in High School - he in Oak Park and Gibbs in Evanston. He was angered by his Chapter's decision, and left the Chapter. After undergrad life at Illinois, he stopped by while in Law School for lunch, and was met with Jeers and the call of N----r Lover. Incensed, he vowed never to return to the Chapter. However he didn't know how to quit and stayed on the roll until he joined Chapter Eternal. He went on to being a Federal Judge, serving on the bench for over 30 years and over some of the greatest cases in US History. In fact, Steve Nieslawski worked for him as an extern. My mother worked for him as well, for over 20 years as his Courtroom Deputy, and I grew up in his courtroom, never knowing that he was a Phi Psi (a pretty amazing feat considering all of the memorablila for Illinois in his chambers and his homes). When I helped start the IL Zeta Colony at DePaul, my picture was with my Colony Brothers, and Judge Marshall still received the Shield. He informed me of his membership in Phi Kappa Psi and told me the story of Tom Gibbs. What made it even better for me was, when my Chapter was Chartered, Judge Marshall made it possible to have his Badge presented to me by Greg Knapp, then SWP, at that time in the ritual when you receive your badge. We spoke often about Phi Psi, me telling him that we have gotten better and hoping he would come back, if not to IL Delta, then to Phi Psi in general. Unfortuntely, he passed away. At his funeral, when his wife of over 50 years Loreli asked me what my Badge was, I was able to show her the name on the back, and we had a good cry. I then gave her my badge, to give to one of her grandsons, if we could get one of them to join the Noble Fraternity. Everything comes full circle. ITB, Marc A. S. Dumas... IL Zeta '93