Women in the Fraternity by David Justin
Author’s Note: This is the first in a four-part series chronicling the history of women in Kappa Kappa Psi. Special thanks to Steve Nelson, Ken Corbett, Deb Eakins, Marie Burleigh, Rick Albani, Beth Smith, Ralph Cicchelli, Jaki Fesq, Mu Upsilon Alpha, and the National Headquarters staff for their help on this project.
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rior to World War II, most band programs in the country were exclusively male and military in style. With the outbreak of the war, many members of these bands found themselves in the armed forces. This put a great deal of strain on the membership of Kappa Kappa Psi, eventually forcing 90 percent of all chapters to shut down. With so many of the Fraternity’s members, including members of the Grand Council, fighting the Axis Powers of Germany, Italy and Japan, the Twelfth and Thirteenth Biennial Conventions, scheduled for 1943 and 1945, were never held. Kappa Kappa Psi was kept alive by the efforts of A. Frank Martin, William Scroggs, and the five remaining active chapters (Alpha, Oklahoma State University; Alpha Beta, Butler University; Alpha Iota, University of Colorado; Alpha Omicron, Texas Tech University; and Alpha Pi, University of Tulsa). World War II also allowed many women to participate in band programs for the first time. At Texas Tech University, a local women’s organization called Tau Beta Sigma was formed in 1939, and in 1944 they petitioned the National Chapter of Kappa Kappa Psi to be allowed as an auxiliary chapter of the Fraternity. Under this proposal, Kappa Kappa Psi and Tau Beta Sigma would have been one corporation, rather than two. Although there probably would have been two National Councils, there would have been only one Board of Trustees having ultimate authority over both groups. Knowing that the very nature of college and university bands was changing, many of the Fraternity’s prominent members such as Martin and Max Mitchell hoped that the petition for membership would be granted. Due to the condition of the Fraternity during the war, however, this was not to be. “It is my firm conviction that eventually Kappa Kappa Psi, National Honorary Band Fraternity, should be open to both college band men and women,” wrote Grand Second Vice President Max Mitchell in a letter dated Jan. 12, 1944,
6—The PODIUM, Spring 2001
to A. Frank Martin. “At the same time, I realize that we cannot strike out a direct course to this goal; because such a move could only be made after due publicity in all our active chapters after the war and executed at a National Convention.” Mitchell recommended that Martin, as National Executive Secretary, try to help guide Tau Beta Sigma during the war in order to gain a greater chance of adding these women to the roster of Kappa Kappa Psi. Martin was very positive about the idea of adding the Tech organization to the Fraternity. Having a daughter of his own, he felt that women should have every opportunity as men to develop leadership and advance in music and that Kappa Kappa Psi should allow them that opportunity. In a letter dated Jan. 25, 1944, to William Scroggs, Martin wrote, “If we do not meet this new situation and give recognition to the girls who are coming into the bands or make it possible to give aid or assistance to the many universities and colleges that have bands composed of both boys and girls, we will be playing second fiddle within the next five years to some band fraternity that will grant membership to boys and girls and their chapters will open up in the smaller schools where ours have died. It is a new era and some of the best band directors in the United States are coming to the theory that girls must be recognized and give the same opportunity as boys.” The members of Tau Beta Sigma ultimately decided not to be an auxiliary unit of Kappa Kappa Psi, but rather a sister organization to the Fraternity. On March 26, 1946, Tau Beta Sigma was officially chartered as a national organization. The issue of women joining the Fraternity would not become a major national issue again until 1972.
Title IX No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any educational program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance… –Title IX of the Education Act of 1972
