IIPSILOM RUSH PROGRAM PAYS DIVIDENDS Lawrence, Kansas—College was, at one time, a real test of a man's ambition and desire. But no longer is it such to many, for the American ideal of an education within reach of all is slowly being realized. The bettered economic status of almost all American families has tended to establish the college education as a means to an end, but more as a social symbol. This, as may be expected, dilutes the quality of men available for the maintenance of Alpha Phi Alpha and its noble aims. (a) Upsilon, of Kansas University, the first undergraduate chapter West of the Mississippi, has become conscious of the need of insuring its and Alpha's future by screening a continuous stream of able students from its drawing area, Kansas City, Missouri and Kansas, and Witchita and Topeka, Kansas, (b) On a campus once considered strongly Greek (there are 28 fraternities and 12 sororities), there has ben an increased wave of men tending towards being independent of Greekdom. Much of the blame can be pinned on a multiple of new, ultra-modern dormitories springing up at a rate of one per year. But as stated before, many men no longer have to band together in a common educationalsocial cause as did earlier Alpha scholars. (c) Upsilon has initiated a vigorous rush program designed to interest the average student with social maturity as well as the zealous scholar. All fraternities at Kansas University have houses and so the house usually makes the first impression on the new student, especially with there being so many to compare and categorize. With Beta Lambda of Kansas City, we have secured a loan for reaffirming the strong attraction this makes, and more important, to keep alive that Alpha Spirit at Upsilon that stimulated so many of its brothers to marching onward and upward toward the light. If our rush program continues to pay off as it has under the direction of our "Brother Prexy", Delano Lewis, Senior in Pol. Sci., highlights may be of use to undergraduate chapters on other large, interracial campuses with similar problems. Summer finds the brothers preparing their rush pamphlet listing Aims of AA PAGE 28
NEOPHYTES INITIATED BY UPSILON CHAPTER Brothers, left to right: Francis Harrison; Thomas Jones, Chairman Ritual and Rushing Committee; Benoyd Miyers; Nolen Ellison; Elmer C. Jackson, III; George Buford; Dan Matthews, Vice-President; Clarence Vaughn. and Upsilon, activities, social, sacred, and secular, and the varied fields of Brothers like Beckwith Horton and James Perry, Electrical Engineering, Doss Cunningham and C h a u n c e y Jones, Pharmacy, and Thomas McClain, Engineering Mathematics. This is presented at the end of the University-wide Rush Week at our smoker. The interested man then writes a letter stating his pledge of service to the Fraternity. The new pledge, knowing what is expected of him, learns his history in a uniform, standard pledge manual written by Bro. Otis Simmons, now of the faculty at Texas Southern University. This standard manual has been adopted by other undergrad chapters in our area, notably Gamma Chi of Pittsburgh State, Kansas, and Delta Tho of Kansas City, both of which we like to consider offspring of Upsilon. Their capable TrainerAdvisor is Brother Dan Matthews, Vice Pres. of the chapter and senior in Industrial Management. With this knowledge of history, our pledges are able to contribute much to the program, by inviting their collegeeligible friends to Upsilon for a weekend view of campus and frat life on the occasion of the annual Kansas Re-
lays. However, not all activity is work; there's much fun too, but with a serious purpose in mind. Our able musician, Bro. Reginald Buckner, Soc. Chairman, senior in Music Education, provided entertainment at our annual Thanksgiving Benefit in Kansas City. All the area college-bounds get a chance to contribute to charity and hear our singing, about which we tend to get swell-headed. We never give up on those on campus who escape us during Fall Rush. We try to attract them further by entering the Homecoming Decorations Contest, followed by the Little-Man-OnCampus Contest, which this year featured a parade in which we extolled the praises of our prexy, Delano Lewis. We are well-rounded and enter teams in the major intramural sports. We won trophies for sweeping our division in Basketball, two years, 1958-59 and 195960. We are represented on the varsity scale by Brother Benoyd Myers and Nolen Ellison. Brother Kenton Keith, Recording Sect'y, Junior in Diplomatic Relations, first Negro to crack K. U.'s Naval ROTC qualifications barrier and Brother Jasper continued on page 29 THE SPHINX