Evening star., 1953-11-04
Join
Move 10 Control
Committee Proposes
Forced Registration
Of Youth Groups
By jones 6. Deone

By jones 6. Deone
A Principals Committee has
joined in a move to establish
control over District high school
fraternities and sororitieS.
School officials today made
public a report in which the
Principals Committee proposes
compulsory registration of all
fraternity and sorority mem
bers.
The plan includes what
amounts to a threat to make any
such groups disband if they mis-
behave. This would be brought
about by barring members of
misbehaving groups from school
Offices and team memberships.
Also proposed is a ban on in
ter-school fraternitieS. No STU
dent would be allowed to join a
fraternity with members from
another school and no group
could belong to any inter-School
fraternity council or federation.
Bish Heads Committee.
The principals proposals were
made by f1ve-member commit
tee headed by DR.. Charles E.
BiSh, principal of Mckinley High
School.
A similar plan for compulsory
registration was proposed re-
Gently by Walter N. Tobriner,
Board of Education member.
Mr.. Tobriner had consulted with
DR.. Bish'S committee. The board
members plan did not include
the ban on inter school afilia-
tionS, however.
Both plans were. presented to
high school principals last Fri
day. The principals now have
them under study.
The public school system now
has a hands-off policy toward
Greek-letter groups, under which
they are officially unrecognized.
The groups can't meet in
schools, but they are under no
school supervision.
School Supt. Hobart NJ. Corn
ing has made it plain, however,
that officials are dissatisfied
with this policy. and that the
Board of Education soon will be
asked to approve a change. Ac.
ton has been spurred by some
recent escapades in which
fraternity members were in
volved with the police. An in
ter-school group was one in
volved.
Practices Deplored.
DR.. Bish's committee deplored
what it called "undemocratic
practices" of the Greek-letter
groups. But it said that such
groups will exist even when
prohibited by statutory regula-
ton" and added that a majority
of the committee felt "the best
interests of teen-age youth, the
schools and the community will
be served by acknowledging the
existence of such groups"
The committee proposed these
steps:
All organizations except Ger
tain ones to be exempted by the
superintendent would be re-
quired to register with the prin-
cipal. Registration would in
clude names of all officers, mem
berS and at least four parent
sponsors.
Either the superintendent or
the principal could have the
registration revoked whenever
the action of the group is de-
termined to be inconsistent with
the best interests of that school" {"
Any student found to belong
to a non-regiStered, non-exempt
group would be ineligible for
school offices or to represent the
school in any public contest or
activity.
Other Affiliations Banned.
No student could join a nom
exempt group having members
from another school, and no
non-exempt organization could
belong to council or federation
with other organizations in any
other school.
No non-exempt organization
could carry on activities or make
contracts in the name of the
school.
Exempted groups presumably
would be school clubs and other
organizations now officially rec
ognized. The committee didn't
name any of them, however. o."
DR.. Bish's committee reported
that a check of 18 other large
cities showed half of them
banned fraternities and that in
Only two were Sllch proI1nS mt