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chapter 12 eclectic in the 1940s the crisis of world war ii A nnual fraternity dues for 1939–40 were raised from $96 to $100.1 Although the effects of the Great Depression had faded, they had not disappeared completely. A brother was voted into inactive status, evidently at his own request, because of financial pressures. At a subsequent meeting, the Society voted to assume the cost of the dues of the financially embarrassed senior. More and more the Alpha Club (eating club) came to be viewed as a source of potential members.The minutes of December 6, 1939, reflect a change in rules so that a two-thirds vote was required for election to the Alpha Club. Pledging was an explicit goal for persons so elected. In the spring of 1940, by vote of the House, the Alpha Club was closed to members of other fraternities whose own eating clubs were closed, further reinforcing the cultivation nature of the eating club, at least for a while.2 The rules governing initiation were also modified. An average of at least seventy-three was required for any marking period for a pledge to be initiated.3 Scholarship continued very definitely a consideration in selection of potential members. A further constraint on pledges’ initiation is reflected in the minutes of May 1, 1940. A procedure was established whereby a secret ballot would be taken on all freshmen pledges as a group prior to fall initiation. If there was any dissenting vote, individual secret ballots would be taken on the prospective initiates. As the year 1939–40 drew to a close, the Annual Meeting of the Eclectic Society of Phi NuTheta held on June 14 was particularly well attended; 110 were present, of whom 30 were undergraduates.William G.Chanter (1914)— in the absence in hospital of Morris B. Crawford (1874)—presented the Founders Prize to Brothers Hussong and Moore (both 1941). The same number of graduates and undergraduates stayed to attend the Annual Meeting of the Socratic Literary Society. With the advent of war, attendance at both Annual Meetings would drop sharply. War clouds were still a distance away as 1940–41 got under way. Nor90 mal business proceeded: brass room plaques, recording the residents of each room in the House, were updated; freshman rules for ‘‘Hell Week’’ were spelled out; the sophomores were charged with recovering the stolen Jackson Cup and other miscellaneous items from the Psi Upsilon ‘‘Goat Room.’’ Professor Crawford, the unofficial ‘‘grand old man’’ of Eclectic since the death of Billy Rice twelve years before, died at eighty-eight on October 9, 1940. His passing was noted in a resolution of the Regular Meeting of November 6, 1940, directing the placement of a memorial plate on the gavel used by the Proedros (presiding senior) at meetings. The war in Europe and the general political climate are reflected in literary exercises of the period. Many essays for the Hall have to do with Nazism, the penetration of the ideology into the Americas, Hitler, and even ‘‘The Case for National Socialism.’’ There are a few references to Japan, especially in connection with its war against China. On a more personal level, Alpha Club rules were relaxed in April 1941 to admit ‘‘refugee students’’4 to the dining hall. The war was drawing closer. The Annual Meetings of the Fraternity and the Socratic Literary Society for 1941 were held sequentially (as had become the custom) on June 13. Besides the awarding of the Founders Prize byWilliam G.Chanter (1914), who appears to have replaced the late Professor Crawford as the Grand Old Man of Eclectic, the fraternity minutes reveal that Psi Upsilon was still in possession of Eclectic memorabilia, including the retired Jackson Cup. The sophomores having failed to regain possession , Brother Chanter, as a revered alumnus, was asked to negotiate their return with his counterparts in Psi U. Attendance was down considerably from the previous year at the sls Annual Meeting.Only thirtyeight Socrats and twenty undergraduates attended. The sum of $1,000 was earmarked to finance the completion of the history of Eclectic that had been intended for publication at the time of the Centennial in 1937. A committee was appointed to look into the revived proposal to place a plaque on the front lawn to commemorate the fact that Woodrow Wilson lived in a house on the site during his tenure at Wesleyan. A memorabilia committee, successor to a key committee...

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