1964–65 Volume 89 No 1–5 - Phi Delta Theta Scroll Archive

THE SCROLL of Phi Delta Theta for NOVEMBER, 19648STHE NEW GENERAL COUNCIL (left to right): Hayward S. Biggers, Lawrence '31, Member-at-Large; Stanley D.Brown, Nebraska-UCLA '36, Treasurer; Jack £. Shepman, Cincinnati '47, President; Dr. Elden T. Smith, OhioWesleyan '32, Reporter; and Howard E. Young, Southwestern '46, Member-at-Large. The latter, former presidentof the Rho South Province, is the only new member to be added at the Convention."Historically, annual reports have tended togloss over failures rather than give a realisticappraisal of our weaknesses as well as ourstrengths," President McKenzie declared in theopening phases of his address, and added, "Yourpresident came to the reluctant conclusion, however,that he would not wear the mantle ofleadership with comfort without assuming theobligation to realistically appraise our situationand then appraise you of conditions as theyactually exist.""One would have to admit that * A 9 isstronger numerically, financially and in almostany other category you can name, than it hasever been before in its 116 years of existence,"Judge McKenzie asserted but quickly added,"This statement can be misleading. When Irefer to our strength, I refer to a norm, oraverage, not to each individual chapter. A carefulanalysis of our present status would indicatethat about five percent of our chapters are in avery precarious position and another five per--cent do not, in any sense of the word, measureup to the standard traditionally expected of allchapters of * A 9,"Your next General Council will be facedwith a very difficult decision in this regard,"Brother McKenzie warned. "They will have todecide how many of the first five percent grouphave some reasonable hope for redemption andwhether or not, for the good of the whole, wemust eliminate all or a sizable portion of thatgroup of chapters. The problems they presentare almost invariably problems of long standing."It is my personal opinion at this time thatit is to the best interest of all that we make atleast one more effort to rehabilitate our oldestablished but sub-standard chapters," theJudge stated but warned that "logic may demandthat we eliminate the offending appendageand make a start in more fertile territory."Members of the General Council are facedwith the hard fact that their primary obligationis to promote the well-being of the whole—evenif it means revocation for those chapters which,after repeated warnings, are unwilling to makethe sacrifices which are inevitable if one is toattain true excellence," the President said."Fortunately, our successes far outnumber our