Brown Orders Fraternity to Break With Discriminatory National Unit

Brown University's Phi Delta Theta fraternity chapter has been ordered by the Brown Corporation to sever its affiliation with its national parent organization because of a discriminatory clause in the national constitution.

Before the Corporation ruling last week, Phi Delta Theta had hoped to compromise with the Corporation by obtaining a local waiver of the objectionable clause.

The University Committee on Discrimination in Fraternities ordered in 1962 that local fraternities either eliminate the discriminatory clause from their national charters within a "reasonable time" or withdraw from the national organizations. The Brown chapter of Sigma Nu, whose national charter contains discriminatory provisions, became independent voluntarily last week. Phi Delta Theta will follow suit in December.

Both chapters have fought to remove the national discriminatory clauses for many years. A third Brown fraternity, Lambda Chi Alpha, succeeded in amending the constitution of its national organization.

Brown has not been alone in protesting fraternity discrimination. The Stanford chapter of Sigma Nu dropped its national affiliation in 1962, after joining the Brown unit in opposing the discrimination clause. Recently, Columbia, Cornell, Pennsylvania, Trinity, Tufts, and the University of Rhode Island have decided to allow chapters to obtain local waivers of a discrimination clause in a national constitution.

The M.I.T. chapter of Sigma Nu will remain openly discriminatory. "There are a lot of Southerners in the house who don't particularly want Negroes," Frank DeRemer, lieutenant-commander of the chapter, explained this week.

At Brown University, the Phi Delta Theta flag flew at half mast.