Evening star., 1925-10-01
FRATERNITY OPENS
NEW FIGHT ON BAN
Sigma Delta to File Another
Suit to Test Boards
Right to Interfere.

Another suit to test the legality of
the rule Of the Board of Education
prohibiting membership of high school
students in organizations it refuses to
recognize will be filed in the District
Supreme Court by Sigma Delta Fra
ternity, 1t was announced today by the
executive council of the society. John
L. Laskey, former United States at
torney for the District Of Columbia,
has been retained by the fraternity.
The impending legal battle over the
boards rule. the second this year. rep
resentatives Of Sigma Delta declare,
will be carried. If necessary. to the
United States Supreme Court. The
first case taken into the courts in the
Spring and Sigma Delta resulted in a
decision that the boards rule had new
er been legally passed
Fight to Go On.
Mr.. Laskey represented several of
the members of Sigma Dalta who
sought last Spring to obtain writs of
mandamus against the school board to
reinstate them in the positions of hon
or in school activities, of which they
had earned by virtue OF their scholas-
tic attainments and good records in
department. The writs were refused
on technical grounds
A special committee of Sigma Delta,
appointed at meeting OF the execu-
tive council Monday and empowered
with full authority to take all neces.
sary steps for the purpose of thor
oughly testing the legality of the
tn, hn for, "A
yesterday with Mr.. Laskey, and de-
cided TO file another suit. Every pos
sible point which might be involved
by the enactment of the boards rule
September 16 will be covered in the
suit, it was said
Compromise Sought.
Announcement of the contemplated
legal action came as a prelude to the
conference between Supt. of Schools
Frank w, Ballou and representatives
of secret societies seeking recognition
Of the board, tonight. at the Franklin
School. lambda Sigma, a Central
High School fraternity, which did not
join with Sigma Delta in the first
court battle, is one of the organiza-
tions which will send representatives
to the conference. Hope had been
voiced by school authorities that the
fraternity row would be settled
amicably at this meeting.
a statement outlining Sigma Delta S
position regarding the boards rule was
issued today by a member of the or
ganiZation's special committee, in con-
nection with the announcement of the
proposed legal action. 1t follows:
Boards Authority Denied.
''The Sigma Delta Fraternity is not,
and never has been, a high school
fraternity, as. While it's membership
comprises some high school students,
yet many of its members are also stu
dents at private schools, and in some
instances such members have never
attended the public schools of this
city. In view of this the Sigma Delta
Fraternity has never sought, and will
never agree, to confer with the Board
0f Education or any school officials in
liny manner which could possibly be
construed as an admission on its part
Of the right of the Board of Education
directly or indirectly to interfere with
Qhe ,corduct of its affairs.
IT he fraternity Is convinced by the
opinion of its own counsel and that
of the corporation counsel given to
the Board of Education several years
ago, that there is no color of right in
the SC DOL authorities to assume any
jurisdI ion over it.
The meetings. of this fraternity are
held Oh Friday or Saturday nights at
the homes of its members, and the
parents Of any members are welcome
guests at any of its meetings. 1t has
not the slightest objection to inviting
to Its meetings any of the administra-
tive or teaching forces of the public
~ hool system, but il denies the right
OF any one to attend its meetings
except as its invited guest.
Continuing Plan.
TN deciding to secure a final Judi
cfal determination of the legality of
the rule of the Board of Education
passed on September 16, 1925, the Sig.
ma Delta Fraternity is simply carry
ing out its original plans, and had
It not been for the fact that those
members who sought writs of manda.
mus last Spring were advised by
their counsel that it would be unwise
to take an appeal from the decision
denying them relief on technical
grounds because by the time the an.
peal was heard the question would be
a moot one, inasmuch as the school
term, during which the petitioners
had sought relief. had been termin-
ated, such appeals would have been
taken and the present contemplated
litigation would have been unneces-
sary.
In the attempt Of the Board of
Education and of certain public school
officials to abolish high school fratern-
tiles, for reason never yet made pub
lie, a dragnet had been thrown out
whereby the public school authorities
are endeavoring to ascertain the
names of all social organizations In
which any high school student might
be member, or in which in the future
he might become a member.
That in its attempt to ascertain all
social affiliation of high school stu
dents, the Board of Education has
by its rules endeavored to place in
the hands of the superintendent of
schools authority to approve or dis
approve such organizations as the
Boy Scouts of America, Camp Fire
Girls, the Children of the American
Revolution, the Junior Red Cross, the
Hi-Y Club, the Order of the DeMolay
the Order of the Eastern Star, Jobs
Daughters and many other organiza-
tions of a similar character, which
include in their ranks hundreds, pos
sibly even thousands, of high school
students.
Pledge Cards Hit.
I'm furtherance of this plan it has
now included in the rules claimed
to have been passed in June, 1921. a
pledge card to be signed by the stu
dent, whereby any student who does
not first notify the principal of the
school which he or she attends of his
or her intention to Join any associa-
ton, not already listed by such SUI
dents with the principal of the school;
that even though a student should