Bison Illustrated Magazine - Rahjah Series

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Tradition & History

The Rahjah Club (part 1) An organization that began as a pep club evolved into something entirely different

By Danielle Teigen

Note: More than 30 people were interviewed for this article, and some were asked about things that happened more than 50 years ago. This article has been written as accurately as possible based on those interviews, archived documents, and Spectrum articles.

T The Rahjah Club sold booster buttons during it’s first years of existence to raise money.

The Rahjah jacket currently owned by the NDSU Archives originally belonged to the 1951 Rahjah Club President Ralph Christensen.

he haunted ballroom on the fourth floor of Minard Hall. The alleged death of a female student in Ceres Hall. The notorious Rahjah Club. Like any institution of a certain age, NDSU’s history teems with tall tales, but one of those stories eclipses the rest…because it’s true.

This story begins on the post-World War II campus at North Dakota Agricultural College.

With the war behind them, veterans flooded the AC in increasing numbers, according to William Hunter’s book Beacon Across the Prairie, swelling sparse classroom space and straining

As patriotism is to a nation, so school spirit

is to a college.

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August 2009 | Bison Illustrated

overworked instructors. Fledgling athletic programs drew little support from the college campus or the larger community. During the summer of 1948, Robert L. Owens decided to do something about it.

“Owens was talking that summer about getting something going, a booster club to help some of the athletes,” said Ed Graber, a 1949 NDAC graduate and former Alpha Tau Omega (ATO) member. “Bison athletics were in such doldrums at the time.”

Owens, a 1949 NDAC graduate who passed away in January, served as the president of Sigma Chi Fraternity, Blue Key Honor Fraternity, the Interfraternity Council and junior class during his college tenure.

He used his ties with the Greek community to elicit membership for the Rahjah Clu b,

Tradition & History which he founded with the “purpose of perpetuating and promoting school spirit, which is an integral part of college life,” according to the 1949 Bison annual.

Al Golberg, a good friend of Owens’ and former ATO alum, served as secretary of the Club during its first year at NDAC before he graduated in 1949. He explained that each fraternity supplied three members to the Club, and according to the 1949 annual, the Co-op House and men’s residences halls often had representatives.

“We had a core then,” Golberg said. “If you had a member from the fraternity who was motivating in his own group, it was kind of a seed.”

Owens also spent time promoting the Club’s presence by visiting local radio stations, Graber said.

While the group started out with only about a dozen members, one of their first tasks rested in creating a unified look through the purchase of jackets. Obviously the jackets would be green and gold to honor the school, but a logo or emblem was needed to give the group purpose and identity. While it’s unclear who came up with the name Rahjah for the Club, it was Graber who designed the emblem featuring a formidable genie rising from a bottle. Rajah is a Hindu word meaning prince or ruler in Indian, and Graber fused the name with another staple in Indian culture that signifies power, the genie.

“The Rahjah was a genie; it lent a helping hand,” he explained. “It helped the team out of the bottle – it was the idea of helping the team.”

The jackets immediately stamped the group, and other students quickly took notice.

“I guess we wanted to go to the games and be seen and get the student body to make some noise,” Golberg said.

that the Club sold for fundraising. The Rahjahs also noticed the college athletic teams lacked cheerleaders, so a few members convinced a handful of gymnasts into becoming cheerleaders.

“They were the best cheerleaders in the league,” Graber remembered. “We had the lousiest athletic teams but the best cheerleaders.”

While raising money and fostering the Rahjah reputation were important, nothing

Permanent bond

Becoming a Rahjah rested in exclusive invitations from current members. There weren’t a lot of rules and paperwork once a person was nominated; most likely the person would have fraternity brothers in the group already or possibly know other fraternity members who were also Rahjahs.

“It seemed like a worthwhile effort,” Fred Brandt, an ATO alum and 1951 treasurer of the Rahjah Club, said of why he wanted to join the Club. “We knew everybody.”

Brandt joined the Club in its inaugural year with Ralph Christensen, who served as president of the group in 1951. While Christensen passed away a few years ago, his passion for the Rahjah Club lives on -1951 NDAC graduate and today, in the form of his cherished Rahjah jacket. former Rahjah Vern Skogen Robert “Yabo” Gjellstad, who was a Rahjah almost 30 years after Christensen, became friends with served the group’s purpose more than at- him before the elderly man died of cancer. tending athletic events. Vern Skogen, a 1951 Their shared bond from being Rahjahs led NDAC graduate and former Rahjah, said Christensen’s family to give Gjellstad Chrismembers always attended home games for tensen’s jacket. Gjellstad knew how much football and basketball, clad in their green his friend treasured his time in the Rahjah and gold duds. And the Rahjahs took their Club, but when he opened up the box with patriotism seriously. Skogen recalled one in- the Rahjah jacket in it, he became acutely stance when NDAC was playing the Univer- aware of how important the Club had been sity in Grand Forks and the Rahjahs couldn’t to Christensen. get into the tiny gymnasium because UND “He took care of (that jacket) like a wife students were being seated. Skogen said takes care of a wedding dress,” Gjellstad exone guy got in, sat near a window and helped plained. “It was in immaculate condition.” the rest of the gang climb in through the winBecause Gjellstad already had his own dow.

Rahjah jacket as a memento, he saved ChrisIt didn’t take long for people to begin no- tensen’s jacket for many years until deciding ticing the ostentatious group and their zeal- to donate it to the NDSU Archives, ous antics. where it continues to “We were pretty well accepted,” Skogen be cared for and said. “We weren’t a big party group, and treasured. they were excited to have people cheering.”

The Rahjahs soon appeared in the homecoming parade and on the sidelines singing songs and generating support.

“It was a fun organization,” Skogen said. “It was fun because we enjoyed going to the games and sitting together as a group and cheering them on.”

The Rahjahs’ role in cheering on the team grew larger when they began helpThe Rahjah Club often ing select the cheerleaders each year. Acbrought large cowbells to cording to the 1950 yearbook, tryouts were athletic events to use as held during basketball games and Rahjahs noisemakers while they helped select who made the squad. cheered for NDAC.

“We were pretty well accepted.

We weren’t a big party group, and they were excited to have people cheering.”

Making a name As with most newly spawned student organizations, the Rahjah Club spent significant time fundraising and developing a rapport with campus. Graber said the group held a Rahjah Carnival with games and dancing to raise money, and the members sponsored skits during halftime of the basketball games as inexpensive entertainment.

Graber put his artistic skills to use again by designing a booster button

Bison Illustrated | August 2009

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Tradition & History Showing Bison pride During the year Christensen was president of the Rahjah Club, the group held an athletic banquet, awarded Outstanding Athlete of the Year honors, sponsored a Magic Carpet carnival and conducted an “elaborate introduction of the basketball team,” according to the 1951 annual.

By the next year, the Rahjahs implemented another tradition by sponsoring a Sportsmanship Award in the UND-NDAC basketball series, explained Kenneth Roche, a 1952 pharmacy graduate. Roche said the group had local television and radio announcers pick a player in the series to receive the award, to ensure a fair process.

In keeping with the laissez-faire style, the Rahjahs met only once or twice a month, depending on necessity and mainly discussed upcoming athletic events. Members convened at the old YMCA, located on the corner of University Drive and 12th Avenue.

The efforts of the group to grow Bison spirit continued to receive a warm reception from campus.

The Rahjah Club often held “Snake Dances” where people were pulled into a large conga line that snaked through campus buildings as a way to build excitement about an upcoming game.

“The only thing I ever heard was good,” Roche said of the Club’s reputation. “(Campus) was very supportive.”

The Rahjahs didn’t just support Bison athletics in Fargo. The group coordinated transportation to away games, especially in Grand Forks, to ensure NDAC had fans outside of their home turf. In addition to regular cheering from the stands, the Rahjahs also made noise using cowbells.

“It got pretty rowdy when the University of North Dakota was down,” said Monte Piper, the 1953 Rahjah president.

Over the next few years, the Rahjahs padded their resume even more by holding pep rallies, sponsoring a carnival and continuing to foster athletic support through exuberant cheering. The Club also added a publicity director position to their roster of officers. In 1956, things got a little rowdier for the Rahjah Club when a group of UND students decided to form their own pep club to rival the NDAC group.

This is the first of a 3-part series on the Rahjah Club. Be sure to pick up the September issue of Bison Illustrated to read more about this legendary organization!

If you have Rahjah memories to share, please contact danielle@bisonillustrated.com

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Rahjahs (part two) • bentson bunker makeover • phil hansen

Also inside: Becky Iwanicki The Kittelsons Meet Bohl’s Parents

The Rahjah Club (part 2) Pranksters and prepsters

The Rahjah Club and its UND counterpart engage in rivalry to promote athletics

By Danielle Teigen

Ed Graber designed the Rahjah patch that adorned everyone’s jacket. Rahjah is a Hindu word meaning prince or ruler, and Graber fused the name with another idea from Indian culture that signifies power: the genie.

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September 2009 | Bison Illustrated

W

hile the rivalry between UND and its southern counterpart is as storied as the institutions themselves, the Rahjah Club and the UND Golden Feathers elevated the competition in the mid-century with a multitude of “friendly” pranks.

While the Rahjah Club was founded in the fall of 1948, the Golden Feathers didn’t establish themselves as a group until 1956. A Nov. 30, 1956 Dakota Student article touted the installation of six new members and discussed the group’s upcoming activities.

The plans included awarding a trophy at the Colorado hockey series to the most valuable goalie and purchasing basketball outfits for the cheerleaders. According to the article, males interested in cheerleading should contact the Golden Feathers. The organization mirrored the Rahjahs in their purpose to “bolster lagging school spirit,” according to the 1957 Dacotah yearbook. And, like the Rahjahs, members sported matching duds — black jackets emblazoned with golden feather patches.

While the Golden Feathers worked to establish themselves in Grand Forks, the Rahjahs continued their mission of promoting NDSU, mixing in a few pranks along the way.

Jack Southam, the 1956 Rahjah president,

doesn’t remember the Golden Feathers, but he remembered a particularly funny story that happened up north at UND during the basketball series.

“A number of students came to the game with sack lunches,” Southam, a 1956 NDAC pharmacy grad, recalled. “Except that at a specified time the sacks were opened and pigeons flew out of the sacks into the rafters.

(UND officials) had to figure out how to catch those suckers.”

Southam said the action was never officially sanctioned by the Rahjah Club for the sake of discretion and avoiding trouble, and he said there were only about a dozen birds released.

“It wasn’t likely that we swamped the place,” he laughed. “We had an awful lot of fun. I just think a group like the Rahjahs is good…I felt, at the time, that we were a good group and served the campus well.”

One of the biggest ways the Rahjahs served campus was through pep rallies before key games. Gene Gross, a 1957 graduate and former Rahjah president, recalled having pep rallies before football games and the SiouxBison basketball series.

“We’d have a huge bonfire the night before the football game,” he remembered excitedly. “The coaches were out there, the team…it

Tradition & History was a real ‘rah rah’ situation. I don’t know how high (the bonfire) would go…There was nothing better than beating the Sioux.”

The enthusiasm Gross exhibited in explaining the Rahjahs’ pep rallies is the same enthusiasm that led him to join the Club in the first place. “I wasn’t good enough to compete in athletics at that level,” he said.

“But I enjoyed athletics, and promoting them (through the Club) meant having a good time. It was a way to give a little back. It came naturally.”

During Gross’s tenure, some fellow members were also active leaders on campus or in their respective fraternity. John “Tip” Miller served as the 1957 student body president while he was a Rahjah member, and Gross mentioned Gene Stockman and George Schwartz as other active campus and Rahjah members.

“It was a pretty good group of people wanting to build school spirit,” said Lowell Van Berkom, a former Rahjah treasurer and 1957 NDAC graduate.

Having such prestigious members meant that while the group always had fun, it still had a good reputation on campus.

“I had my jacket up until two years ago…we wore that jacket proudly,” Gross explained. “I never heard anything bad. Nobody came up to me and said, ‘You guys are acting dumb.’ It was clean fun…it was not a drinking club. We were like everybody on campus.”

Gross reminisced about spending football games huddled together at Dacotah Field, sipping peppermint schnapps to keep warm.

“I never saw any outlandish activities,” Gross said. “We never tried to harass anybody. We cheered more for our own team, not against the other team, although we didn’t like the Sioux.”

Van Berkom recalled trying to perpetuate some engagement from fans by instigating the fabled “stealing” ritual still honored today.

The 1957 Bison annual states that the group tried to steal the SDSU cowbell, although Van Berkom couldn’t recall the incident. He did remember trying to steal the Nickel Trophy.

“We didn’t get it,” he laughed.

Even with the stealing and rowdy pep rallies, the Rahjah Club maintained a positive reputation on campus. “I thought it was an honor to be one of the people who helped promote the university, sportsmanship, cheering activity at the games,” Van Berkom explained. “The recognition labeled you as someone who was a good supporter of the university.”

Meanwhile up in Grand Forks, the Feathers worked tirelessly to assert themselves on campus but still had only a loose organization

set up by 1958. Two of their achievements in the organization’s new life included awarding the Bill Borovsky trophy, awarded to the outstanding goalie in the league, and establishing Sammy Sioux, a cartoonish mascot figure. The next year the mascot’s name changed to Sylvester Sioux, according to the 1959 Dacotah annual; the group also held a Homecoming bonfire, just like the Rahjah Club.

Jack Simoneig belonged to the Club from 1958 until 1960, when he served as president before graduating. He recalls how the rivalry between the two pep clubs led to the Rahjahs challenging the Golden Feathers in a hockey game.

“They were the hockey guys, but we challenged their pep team to a hockey game in Grand Forks,” he remembered. “We made a big deal about it and we beat them…It was pretty interesting.”

Like Van Berkom, other Rahjahs also took great enjoyment in trying to steal the Nickel Trophy, which “brought a lot of spirit to the team,” Simoneig said.

Throughout the early 1960s the Rahjah Club continued to earn positive reviews from campus while still fostering a healthy rivalry with the Golden Feathers. Russ Maring, the 1963 Rahjah president, referred to the Club as “a wonderful organization,” and said its membership was comprised of all the leaders on campus. One of his fellow Rahjahs, Sherwood Bassin, was the 1963 student body president.

Harlynn Bjerke, another fellow 1963 Rahjah, reiterated the point, citing members who held positions in the Student Senate and Blue Key Honor Fraternity. “I think at that time we had a positive reputation,” he said.

The Club also initiated new traditions in 1963, according to an Oct. 2 Spectrum article, that included selecting a small squad of PomPom girls and firing rockets at every Bison touchdown, a ritual still observed today.

“We want to work for and with the University athletic department in any way we can to keep enthusiasm and pride in our athletic program,” Rahjah President Dave Polluck said in the article. The article also mentions how the Club was working on getting a Bison mascot ready in time for Homecoming and that a gymnast was desired for “the right effect.”

While it’s unclear if the mascot debuted at Homecoming in 1963, by 1964 a Bison mascot

The Bison mascot was the brainchild of the Rahjah Club, and member Gerry Clyne purchased the first costume in 1964 from the company who created the U of M gopher costume.

had been created. Gerry Clyne, a Rahjah member from 1962-1965, actually purchased the Bison costume from the same company that made the U of M gopher mascot outfit for $105.

“I called (the company) up and sent them pictures of buffalos and they made me a costume,” Clyne explained. “I wore it at a game but after they realized I wasn’t a gymnast, they decided that they would have a real gymnast.”

The Rahjah Club and the University eventually reimbursed him for the cost of the costume, and Jack Discher, a member of the gymnastics team, replaced Clyne in the costume.

Meanwhile, up in Grand Forks the Golden Feathers had begun ruffling a few feathers at UND. According to the 1963 Dacotah annual, the group sometimes succeeded in bolstering athletic enthusiasm, but it often failed and was reprimanded for its shortcomings by campus critics.

Note from a Reader: I was surprised and pleased to read your interesting article regarding The Rajah Club.

I was a charter member of the Club. I was one of the three representatives from Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity. I am now an octogenarian but I remember quite well the activities that we were involved in that you wrote about. You write about the Bison teams not doing well in those first years of the Club but our support and enthusiasm for the Bison teams never wavered. I remember one time we were in Grand Forks for a game.

We were in a cafe or like establishment. None of the customers asked who we were. Our jackets always caught the attention of people. The customers concluded that we were a traveling wrestling team. We got a chuckle out of that and did not tell them otherwise.

- DeWayne Peterson BS ‘51

Bison Illustrated | September 2009

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Tradition & History

This photo from the 1950s shows how Rahjah members displayed their enthusiam for Bison athletics.

“Golden Feather was questioned by the Student Senate, by informal coffee gatherings in the Student Union and possibly most of all by a sports columnist in the campus newspaper,” according to the annual. While the yearbook implies the organization appreciated the publicity, the article also implies that the Feathers received the most publicity of any organization on campus on a weekly basis, but for what activities it was unknown. The next year criticism of the Feathers heightened after the group missed two major basketball games and local sports writers, fans and the

UND athletic department promptly scolded them for the obvious absence. Like the Rahjahs, the Golden Feathers took the criticism in stride and continued on their mission of promoting athletics, donating a football and basketball scholarship, and presenting the Bill Borovsky Memorial Trophy.

At home in Fargo, the Rahjah Club’s seemingly positive reputation seemed to be taking a few hits. “(The Rahjahs) were supposed to be the wild bunch,” Clyne said. “They were usually the biggest partiers in the (fraternity) houses.

They had a wild reputation but did a lot of good on campus.”

The Rahjahs also continued to engage the Golden Feathers in prankish activities. Clyne recalled one incident where he and other fellow Rahjahs drove up to UND when a bonfire was happening and they danced around it until a group of hockey players decided enough was enough.

“They decided it was their job to see that we left, so they threw us in the coulee,” Clyne

remembered. “It was freezing over a little, so we broke a little ice when we went in, but we deserved it.”

The Golden Feathers continued to absorb criticism, although the group became flustered with a lack of constructive criticism hurled at the organization. In a November 20, 1964 Dakota Student article and the 1965 Dacotah annual, then-Feather President Keith Magnuson said “Golden Feather has been criticized for doing a poor job. However, no one will give us suggestions for improvement. Adverse criticism is always easier than praising.”

By the late 1960s, unrest had settled into many college campuses across the country.

UND and NDSU (NDAC changed its name in 1960) were no different. With unrest came unruly behavior and changing attitudes.

The Rahjah Club and the Golden Feathers evolved along with many other organizations, but both seemed to take a turn for the worse.

It wouldn’t be long before the groups disappeared completely.

The third and final installment of the Rahjah Club series will be published in the October issue of Bison Illustrated. Be sure to check out what became of the notorious pep club and its northern counterpart.

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(Part Three)

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By Danielle Teigen

umultuous. Mysterious. Abrupt. Those three words accurately describe the final decade of the Rahjah Club’s tenure at NDSU, and even now — 30 years later — some secrecy remains on the details of exactly what happened to the notorious organization in its final years. The same goes for the Golden Feathers, though their history is a decade shorter.

Disciplinary actions Throughout the 1960s radical changes occurred all over the country and in the latter part of the decade, many young people eschewed traditional values to disassociate themselves from mainstream values. NDAC had recently changed its name to NDSU, and the Rahjah Club grew more and more zealous in their enthusiasm for Bison athletics. “We were a very fun-loving, spirited organization,” laughed Al Selleck, a Rahjah member from 1966-1970. “We never got the respect we deserved. Blue Key was considered a very conservative group, but we Rahjahs had a lot of fun.”

The last Rahjah Club entry can be found in the 1977 Bison annual.

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October 2009 | Bison Illustrated

The group must have had a little too much fun, because according to an Oct. 12, 1967 Spectrum article, the Student Senate imposed a short probation for the Rahjah Club.

The article implies complaints prompted this action, stating, “Probation won’t restrict their actions, but further complaints by students, faculty or townspeople could lead to the suspension of the club.” Donald “Pepper” Walstad was serving as president of the Rahjah Club at the time of the probation. “We were pretty much on probation all the time, but student government formally put us on then,” Walstad explained. The Rahjahs tried to “clean up (their) act a little bit” following the probation charge, Walstad remembered, wearing white shirts and ties to games with their infamous jackets. Selleck remembered the ties were green “with yellow Bison heads” on them.“We were much more well behaved in public and on campus,” Walstad said. “But we didn’t change our ways too much.”

Following another boisterous display of enthusiasm at a football game, Walstad was called in to meet with the dean of students. He negotiated that the Rahjah Club would donate an amount of money to the new field house (now the Bison Sports Arena) be-

ing built on campus. “It was the only way we could stay on campus,” he said. The Rahjah Club ended up being one of only two student organizations that donated money to the field house fund, the other being the highly regarded Blue Key Honor Society.

The group’s attempt to behave better in public didn’t stifle their shenanigans with the Golden Feathers though. Selleck recalled that the Feathers owned an immobile hearse with a painted yellow feather that was used in parades and pep rallies.

“Well, we borrowed their hearse,” Selleck explained. “We towed it down to Fargo and around campus in an impromptu pep rally. The Golden Feathers called and demanded it back or we’d be charged with grand theft. So we towed it back and gave it to them.”

Criticism abounds Both Walstad and Selleck attested to the friendly competition that continued between the two rival pep clubs, citing other instances of harmless tomfoolery such as competing in a softball game against each other or referring to the Feathers as the “Golden Bananas.” That moniker made its way north, as a 1967 Dacotah annual article refers to the UND organization as such. The article also

As Seen In

The 1977 Bison annual contains the last official Rahjah Club photo.

states the group attempted to give itself a facelift to improve its “tarnished” image by working with the athletic department.

Apparently while the Rahjah Club was getting in trouble for showing too much spirit, the Golden Feathers were accused of not showing enough spirit.

A Sept. 26, 1967 Dakota Student article explains the criticism the group received from football fans, as well as charges the organization was biased in its selection process. A month later an article in the Dakota Student questioned whether the group promoted school spirits or spirits in general, citing several — and mostly negative — student comments about the organization. A 1968 Dacotah annual alluded to the criticism the organization received, as well as mentioned the Feathers’ sponsorship of the King Kold Karnival. According to the article, an act cancelled mid-week but the event still happened. Little did anyone know that this event would play a significant role in the organization’s undoing later on.

While most of the pranks the two clubs pulled on each other seemed relatively harmless, one incident in the fall of 1968 threatened criminal charges. During homecoming in the fall of 1968, about 6,000 copies

of NDSU’s student newspaper, The Spectrum, disappeared from newsstands, stolen by two young men posing as the regular distributors, according to an Oct. 11, 1968 Dakota

“Just in general, kids were getting more of a reputation of being nonconventional. At the time, that was the brush that all college men got painted with - the cliche of college guys doing a lot of drinking.”

-Mike Warner, Rahjah member from 1969-1972 Student article. Because of the $1,300 printing cost, authorities considered the theft grand larceny.

Fingers immediately pointed to the Golden Feathers, who’d been in Fargo the previous night “engaging in traditional initiation competition with their NDSU counterparts, the Rahjahs,” the article stated. “One member of the Golden Feathers was discovered in an NDSU fraternity house and his head was shaved,” wrote Lyn Burton, Dakota Student copy editor. “It was thought the Feathers might have chosen to retaliate by steal-

ing the papers.” The UND Dean of Men and Golden Feathers president were notified.

The organization’s president discussed the matter with members and “assured the authorities of the group’s innocence,” the article stated.

But the bad press didn’t end there. A Nov. 1, 1968 Dakota Student article revealed the Golden Feathers had been partially released from a $1,500 debt from the King Kold Karnival the previous February. The Student Activities Committee loaned the organization the money but received nothing in return, according the article. Because the event only cost the club $1,100, SAC forgave that amount, requiring the return of the $400 difference. That payment would continue to prove troublesome for the organization.

In February 1969 an article appeared in The Spectrum questioning whether the Rahjah Club’s controversial reputation was deserved. The Club’s president acknowledged that members liked to drink but also pointed out the Club’s philanthropic activities, such as a Pep Queen contest, donating money to cheerleaders for uniforms, sponsoring a trophy for Little International and contributing money toward the field house fund. One of Bison Illustrated | October 2009

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tradition & History the group’s biggest supporters was Charles “Chuck” Bentson, dean of men, who boasted about the group’s improved appearance and desire for a favorable reputation. The Club also continued to tout several campus and Greek life leaders, said Mike Warner, a Rahjah Club member from 1969-1972. Much of the flak the organization fielded stemmed more from a cultural shift than actual actions from the club, he explained. “Just in general, kids were getting more of a reputation of being non-conventional,” Warner said. “At the time, that was the brush that all college men got painted with — the cliché of college guys doing a lot of drinking.”

One of the most notorious — and nonconventional — events in NDSU’s history was “Zip to Zap.” Zip to Zap originated as an idea amongst Spectrum editors to vacation to Zap, N.D., for spring break. The article was picked up by the Associated Press and spread across the nation, resulting in thousands of college students descending on the small town of Zap and the North Dakota National Guard being called in to dissipate the crowd when it became too unruly to control and everyone was forced to leave. And sure enough, the Rahjahs and Feathers were involved. Or at least they were supposed to be. According to a May 1, 1969 Spectrum article about the event, an athletic challenge

between the Rahjahs and Golden Feathers was supposed to take place. Because of the debacle, the challenge obviously never took place.

By the end of the 1960s, the two pep clubs had already endured a rollercoaster reputation. That wasn’t soon to change. Warner also mentioned that the preconceived notion society holds about college students — that everyone drinks — contributed to the Club’s blemished reputation, whether it was warranted or not. Suddenly the university began disassociating itself from men’s clubs and Greek houses in an effort to avoid liability issues, Warner said. Combine this with the feminist movement occurring throughout the country and the wheels were set in motion for the undoing of the Rahjah Club.

The beginning of the end In the fall of 1970, the UND Student Policies Committee revoked the Golden Feathers’ constitution, refusing to consider a new one before second semester, according to a Nov. 3, 1970 Dakota Student article. Three sororities complained that Golden Feathers members harassed them. The organization’s president said the small contingent of Feathers involved weren’t active members but had been at a party for newly initiated members where alcohol was available, the article stated. The group’s constitution was reinstated the following fall, according to an Oct. 29, 1971 Dakota Student article. Members were making a concerted effort to change the “beer” image most people held about them through more acute selection and documenting procedures and attempting to raise money to repay the debt still haunting the group, the article stated.

The group had actually changed its named to UND Feathers and had shed the old black and gold coats for green and white ones, according to a Dec. 10, 1971 This picture is probably the last picture of the Rahjahs on campus. It was Letter to the Editor in the taken during the 1979 Homecoming parade. As a way to raise funds for the Dakota Student. new library addition, the Alpha Gamma Rho fraternity picked up a wrecked It’s harder to pinpoint car from a local junk yard and disliked classes, UND Sioux, etc. was exactly what was happenpainted on the car. For $.50 anybody could take three swings with a sledge ing with the Rahjah Club hammer. So began the tradition of the “club” car during Homecoming during the early 1970s befrom AGR. (The name “club’ car came from the term clubbing, which was a cause Bison annuals were 1970s-1980s term for bar hopping.) I was on the committee for the parade published sporadically, so that year and I told them nobody would say no, because “It’s a float.” tracking down members from those years was sig- Scott “Tuna” Malmberg nificantly more difficult.

Note from a Reader:

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October 2009 | Bison Illustrated

Despite the Feathers’ name change and attempt to shed a stained reputation, the two organizations continued to maintain their friendly rivalry. “A lot of times (we’d) get together at Frenchy’s Bar and plan an event,” said Bruce Klabunde, a Rahjah member from 1975-1978. “There were some personality conflicts. There was always drinking involved and events can get out of hand.”

While the relationship between the two groups maintained a “friendly” feel, tensions between each organization and its campus’s athletic department seemed to escalate. In January 1976, Rahjah member Roger Gress was arrested in Grand Forks after an uncharacteristically violent brawl broke out between the Rahjahs and Golden Feathers. According to a Jan.13, 1976 article in The Spectrum, Golden Feathers members paraded a wounded, paper mâché bison during homecoming to taunt NDSU fans.

Gress, who was married and a Vietnam vet when he joined the organization, remembers traipsing through the bleachers down to the court to “defend the honor of NDSU.” Because most of the brawlers involved had been drinking before the game, the incident escalated quickly and Gress found himself taken away to jail and released after paying a portion of his bond.

Naturally Gress was embarrassed by what happened, and he and his wife, who was a graduate student at NDSU at the time, decided it might be best for his academic future to step away from the Rahjah Club, though he maintains a fierce loyalty to the organization to this day. Gress serves as the executive director of the Fargo Park District and is just one example of the many Rahjah members who’ve led successful, meaningful lives despite their involvement in what was considered an unsavory organization. Gress exudes a youthful enthusiasm when talking about his short time in the Rahjah Club and acknowledged repeatedly that the activities happening within the group would never be allowed today because of changing cultural values. “It was just good times that got carried away,” he explained. “We were all good guys.”

The next year an incident involving a wayward alcohol bottle and an injured football fan sent the Rahjah Club into a downward spiral. A Rahjah member was blamed despite proclaimed and witnessed innocence, and suddenly Rahjah members themselves began questioning whether their existence on campus was necessary any longer. Not to mention that Title IX — legislation passed in 1972 requiring gender equity for boys and girls in federally funded educational programs — dictated that the historically all-

As Seen In

tradition & History male Rahjah Club suddenly open its doors to from the Recognized Student Organizations female members. “We weren’t going to at- List completed by the Congress of Student tract women,” said Organizations.

Scott Malmberg, Meanwhile in a Rahjah member Grand Forks, the “The members decided to from 1977-1978, Golden Feathers just quietly go away. To make the last full year had been banned of the Club’s exin 1977, according people happy, it was best to istence on camto a Sept. 30, 1983 disband. It wasn’t right, but it pus. “(The club) Dakota Student ardidn’t have a nice ticle. On the UND was for the best.” reputation among Archives website, - Scott Malmberg, Rahjah member women.” Though the organization’s the Club did admit entry states it was from 1977-1978 a couple of women banned for finanto satisfy the Title cial reasons, most IX requirement, Malmberg said the football likely stemming from the King Kold Karnival game incident and the basketball game inci- debt that was never repaid. dent the year before dictated what needed to be done. “The members decided to just qui- Is the Rahjah Club really gone? etly go away,” he explained. “To make peoLike so many other mystical institutions, ple happy, it was best to disband. It wasn’t the death of the Rahjah Club was slow and right, but it was for the best.” alluring. Malmberg said some people didn’t Though not active on campus, the Rahjah wear their jackets around campus anyClub maintained organizational status un- more to disassociate themselves from the til the spring of 1980 when it was deleted smeared organization. “But we still cheered, still went to games,” he said. “We weren’t visible as a bunch but we were still together with the same guys…

We just became a student section.”

Malmberg said it Former Rahjah member best when he mused Roger Gress proudly shows off his jacket. that the Rahjah legend is still alive and true today. The Rahjah Club gave NDSU its first taste of studentled support, which continues today in organizations like Bison Ambassadors and the Student Fan Club. And the “pre-game drinking” that led to some of the infamous — and unfortunate — incidents the Rahjah Club is remembered for is reminiscent of tailgating that now takes place just west of the Fargodome.

And the song sung by a vast majority of NDSU students that begins, “On the plains of North Dakota standing there for all to see”…?

Note from a Reader: This message is from Robert Owens, Jr., son of Rahjah Club founder Robert Owens.

Thank you so much for sending the recent copy of Bison Illustrated. It was a surprise to see because I had just returned from Fargo and a family reunion to celebrate my father’s life.

My seven siblings along with spouses, children and our stepmother all returned to Fargo and were quick to notice the article in the magazine at our hotel. We were all pleasantly surprised and decided that there must have been divine intervention for the story to appear the same weekend as our family get-together.

I haven’t been back in almost 15 years but the town and everyone one we met — including friends and people we hadn’t seen in years — are as welcoming now as they were when we moved away.

Best regards, Bob Owens

That’s the brainchild of Rahjah member Ralph Peterson and a few of his fellow Rahjahs.

Writer’s Note: Interviewing for and writing this article was one of the most exhausting but rewarding processes I’ve been through. The men I talked to exude such excitement and pride about their involvement in the Rahjah Club that it was hard not to be affected by their infectious love of NDSU. I want to personally thank everyone I talked to for this article, whether I used information from your interview or not. I hope those reading this article realize that the Rahjah Club was an organization whose legend outlasted its utility, but it contributed to NDSU in ways most of us will never fully realize. While the unsavory incidents seem to be what people remember most about the organization, I hope this series of articles sheds light on the positive contributions the organization made, as well as other factors beyond the group’s control that contributed to its end.

Feel free to email me at danielle@bisonillustrated.com with any comments or questions regarding this series.

Please visit www.bisonillustrated.com/rahjahs for additional information about the Rahjah Club, including stories that weren’t included in the series and rosters from Bison annuals.

Bison Illustrated | October 2009

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