MORTAR BOARD CHAPTER THE OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY - One Hundred Years History 1914-2014 - MORTAR BOARD NATIONAL COLLEGE SENIOR HONOR SOCIETY
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MORTAR BOARD NATIONAL COLLEGE
SENIOR HONOR SOCIETY
One Hundred Years History
MORTAR BOARD CHAPTER
THE OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY
1914-2014
Compiled by
Virginia N. Gordon, Ph.D.
Ohio State Mortar Board, 1948
Note to Reader
This centennial history of the Ohio State Mortar Board Chapter is based on many sources
including chapter minutes and reports, correspondence between the chapter and National
Mortar Board Council members, correspondence and reports between National Mortar
Board Council members, the Lantern (campus newspaper), the Ohio State Alumni
Monthly, the Makio (yearbook), other Ohio State University documents, and various
websites. Actual memories shared by alumni members are included when available.
Specific references are listed in the “Notes” section at the end of the history.
Special thanks are given to the staff at The Ohio State University Archives who provided
unbelievable help and support throughout this process. The photographs included in this
history are provided from Archives photo files. The National Mortar Board Office staff
provided invaluable assistance and support for this project. Thanks are given also to the
many alumni who shared their memories. Special recognition must be given to 2011
active chapter members for their help in placing this history on the Ohio State chapter
website.
Certain liberties were taken with the writing style used in this manuscript. Although
large quotes from original documents are set aside, actual words or phrases from original
documents are included in quotation marks. This was done to preserve the integrity of
how the persons writing the minutes or correspondence, for example, expressed
themselves or described a particular event.
It is hoped that this current historical record will stir memories of Mortar Board members
about their student experiences as well as those who are still actively engaged in alumni
events and activities. This history is ongoing, so anyone wishing to contribute a memory
or add to this account should contact the National Office staff.
Virginia Niswonger Gordon, Ph.D.
OSU Mortar Board, 1948
2
MORTAR BOARD
THE OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY
“Historians are generally in a very [poignant] position, for while their fellow
workers are engaged in making history, the chronicler can only sit by and
record it. It is my hope and aim that your History will … be a link with
others like yourselves, whose labors and pranks, accidents and foresight
have woven the magic fabric that is the tale of Mortar Board.”
Evelyn Calhoun Miller
Mortar Board National Historian
Report, 1938
MORTAR BOARD CONSTITUTION
1920
Bylaw V: Special Suggestions
That which is expected of Mortar Board members during their year of service:
Democracy
Friendship
Honor in studies
Dignity
Service
Right attitude in all things
Give support to every good cause
Do the best of their ability in work given to them1
3
MORTAR BOARD NATIONAL COLLEGE SENIOR HONOR SOCIETY
HISTORY OF THE OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY CHAPTER
1914-2014
The following history celebrates the one-hundred-year anniversary of the Mortar
Board College Senior Honor Society at The Ohio State University. This history begins in
1914, four years before the founding of national Mortar Board. The Ohio State chapter
was one of the original four local women’s honor societies to form the national
organization in 1918. Many of the significant attributes of the national society were
taken from the Ohio State chapter, including the name, pin and initiation ceremony. The
Ohio State chapter has been a strong member of the national organization and in return
has benefitted from this association for nearly a century.
No history of Mortar Board at Ohio State can be complete without placing it
within the context of the historical and cultural changes and events that had an impact on
The Ohio State University. It is also important to consider the general context of higher
education during this period as well as the impact of historical world events as they
helped form the students of each generation.
To understand the impetus for Mortar Board’s creation, the history of honor
societies in higher education must also be acknowledged. Although the first record of an
honor society is attributed to the “Flat Hat Club, F.H.C.” at the College of William and
Mary in 1750 (Thomas Jefferson was a member), Phi Beta Kappa (1776) is considered
the model for later societies.2 The real honor society movement, however, established
itself in the last part of the nineteenth century and the first decades of the twentieth
century.3 Each year the young men or women who “best epitomized the spirit of
selflessness, service, and honor which denoted a gentleman or lady,” were chosen as
members of these honor societies.4 Since women were not considered for membership in
most of the men’s honor societies, women began forming their own local societies. Thus
the founding of the Ohio State senior women’s honor society in 1914 reflects a growing
movement of honoring outstanding women college students in the early 20th century.
The Beginning
The Mortar Board chapter at The Ohio State University was conceived in the
spring of 1914 by senior Alice Ward DeLong who returned from a student government
meeting at Indiana University with the idea of creating a senior women’s honor society.
She contacted seven other senior women about forming this new honor society on Ohio
State’s campus and they enthusiastically began to make plans. In addition to Alice Ward,
the other founding members included Lois Barrington, Rive-King Bowman, Elizabeth
Lawrence, Frances McKinney, Helen Hayward, Nan Sharples and Hazel Pratt.5
Since there was little time for organizing before graduation, the group contacted
University President William Oxley Thompson for approval to start the process. He gave
them permission to select a group of junior women until the appropriate faculty
4
committee approval could be secured. Senior Lois Barrington Sharp wrote in her diary
on June 14, 1914:
A meeting of senior honorary organization - Prexy (President Thompson)
approved it and the faculty referred it to Miss Breyfogle’s committee and
they approved it. So we think we’ll get it. We’re going to call it Mortar
Board. I feel quite honored to be a charter member.6
[The reference to ‘Miss Breyfogle’ was to the first Dean of Women at Ohio State, who
was a Ph.D. from the University of Chicago. Dr. Caroline Breyfogle was appointed after
a petition from the Women’s Council requested the position in 1911. The petition asked
for “the appointment in the immediate future of the Dean of Women, who shall have the
much needed supervision, now entirely lacking over our cultural as well as our general
welfare, and over the various activities of our student body.”7]
The eight senior women planned the selection and initiation of the next group and
eight juniors were chosen to represent the next class. The “badge” was selected (the
original pin was a small, gold mortarboard but the design was changed to the black
mortarboard by the class of 1917) and it was resolved that no initiation fee be charged but
members be allowed to order pins as they desired. Frances McKinney Justus, one of the
charter members, recalled that,
Basis for membership in this new organization was dependent upon
personality, good scholarship, participation in school activities and all
around development. The only way that those of us who elected ourselves
can account for it, is by the fact that our life in the organization was of
only one day’s duration and hence relatively unimportant and we made a
conscientious effort to pick worthy material to “carry on.” Nine girls were
selected – one for each hundred in the University.8
The date for the initiation ceremony was fixed for the morning of June 16. Recalling that
first initiation, Alice Ward DeLong wrote in her diary,
We senior Mortar Board girls met at Oxley Hall at eight o’clock with our
caps and gowns on and marched to the spring two by two. We walked up
to the junior girls, never saying a word, and each took one girl and
marched down in the amphitheatre, formed a circle, and told them of the
Mortar Board.9
Rachel Nauman Foss, one of the junior girls selected, wrote in her diary,
In the spring of 1914, each one of nine junior girls was asked to meet a
senior girl near Mirror Lake in the early morning of Commencement Day,
June 16. It was a surprise to each junior to meet her classmates there and
no one could tell why they were meeting. Soon the seniors came
marching two by two and without speaking linked a junior. And while we
5
walked around arm in arm and finally formed a circle down near the lake,
they explained why we were asked to come and their ideas and aims of
Mortar Board.10
The number of women students at Ohio State in 1914 numbered not quite 1,000.
Dean of Women Caroline Breyfogle; bemoaned the fact that the total number of women
students was decreasing (only 25% of the student body), partly because of the lack of
financial support and inadequate living accommodations for women. In a 1915 article in
The Ohio State University Monthly, Dean Breyfogle said,
To encourage the “social and religious” life of women students, … the
Library Room in Orton Hall was turned over to the women students for a
Union, which has helped to create a new spirit of helpfulness and co-
operation among the women. Thirty different organizations hold meetings
in the Women’s Union as it serves as a rest and study room during the day
and as a place for social activities in the evening.11
In a talk to the Ohio State Alumnae Club in 1914 entitled “The Higher Education
of Women in the Middle West,” Dean Breyfogle spoke of the early prejudice against
women entering college and declared that,
Women of today are taller, stronger and healthier than the women of thirty
years ago. Women are gradually segregating themselves. A smaller
percentage of women enter distinctly masculine professions today than
when the colleges were first open to them. In this age of socialization
women specialize in the feminine pursuits. Since experts perform many of
the old home duties better than the mistress of the house … women’s
activities are no longer limited to the home because the home does not
demand so much of her. She is becoming more efficient through broader
mental training and greater freedom.12
The minutes of the new chapter’s meeting in the fall recorded that, “The petition
presented to the faculty for the recognition of the society has been approved and the
Mortarboard Society [secretary’s misspelling] is now a regular college organization.”13
The year was spent in organizing and a constitution for the new Mortar Board Society
was written and signed by the chapter members. The preamble to the first constitution
read:
Recognizing that college activities as well as high scholarship are a
valuable aid to a well-rounded education, and believing that a society for
the encouragement of sane and efficient participation in these by women
can render service to the University by developing a more efficient type of
student, we the undersigned have adapted the following instrument of our
government.14
6
The first Ohio State Constitution - 1915
A discussion was held about the need for a “more impressive initiation ceremony” and a
committee was appointed to write one. It was decided to raise the initiation fee to $3.00
to include cost of the pin and initiation breakfast. The group met at the Women’s Union
(located in Orton Hall) in May to elect new members and ten new “girls” were selected.
The chapter treasurer’s report reveals that “cash paid out” included, “$12 for breakfast,
$12 for the Makio [yearbook], 40 cents for stationary, 25 cents for stamps, 25 cents for a
book [the chapter minutes were recorded in this book in the early years and the book still
exists], and $25 for pins.” The chapter was able to pass on $4.60 to the next group.15
This was the campus climate for women in the fall when the new Mortar Board
chapter met at the Ohio Union every two weeks for lunch. Members of the 1916 chapter
decided their major project would be “to work out a 100 point system regarding the
holding of office in college organizations.” Points were assigned to the leadership
positions in which women students participated (for example, president of the Women’s
7
Council was assigned 75 points, the president of Browning Dramatic Society was
assigned 50 points, and the director of the Girl’s Glee Club received 65 points). Their
“system” was presented to the Women’s Council (renamed the Women’s Student
Government Association [WSGA] in 1927) to develop further.
During the selection of new members in the spring, the group decided to use the
same method as the chapter before them: “Each member handed in a list of her choosing
to an appointed committee and all girls whose names appeared on all lists be declared
unanimously accepted and that the remainder be voted upon in a second meeting.” Ten
members were selected for the class of 1917 and the list was “ … sent to Dr. Thompson
and Miss Breyfogle for their approval, according to the constitution. A new pin design
was accepted as submitted by the D.L. Auld Company.”16 (This new pin was a small,
black mortarboard replacing the gold one.) After tapping, the new initiates “wore white
dresses and their black Mortar Board hats to class.” The initiation ceremony was on
Commencement Day.17
After the United States entered the war in April, 1917, more than 400 students
withdrew from their studies to volunteer for military service and others participated in the
Student Army Training Corps (the forerunner of the ROTC). Infantry regiments of 3,000
men were housed on campus along with large amounts of field artillery.18 The Mortar
Board women engaged in a variety of war-related activities and the treasurer’s report
included a donation of $10 to the YMCA war relief campaign.
It was about this time that Ohio State became eminently involved in the formation
of the National Mortar Board Society. According to records at the Mortar Board
National Office, the early contact that started the original impetus to form the national
society was on the campus of the University of Chicago in the fall of 1915 when a
member of Mortar Board from The Ohio State University met a member of Pi Sigma Chi
from Swarthmore College. Both women wore similar pins in the shape of a mortarboard.
Through discussion they realized each represented an honor society for women with
similar election methods, operating procedures, ideals and traditions. The main
difference in the honor societies was their name.19
The October 19, 1917 minutes of the Ohio State chapter records the first contact
about forming the national organization.
A letter was read from a member of Pi Sigma Chi, Women’s Honorary
Society of Swarthmore College, Pa - asking for the cooperation of Mortar
Board Society in the formation of a National honorary organization. It
was voted to send an immediate reply requesting the names of the other
colleges and universities, also the names and ages of the various
organizations, and a statement that we were in favor of cooperation for
nationalization provided that the new organization bear and accept the
badge of Mortar Board.20
8
At a January meeting in 1918, “ … A second and very unsatisfactory letter from
Swarthmore was read. It was voted that the secretary send a reply asking for a specific
answer to our questions.” Arrangements were made in February to send a delegate to the
National Convention at Syracuse, New York. Letters were sent to all alumnae members
asking for a small contribution to cover expenses. Each chapter member contributed $4,
“ … to be used until the alumnae fund should arrive.” Eleven days later the chapter
minutes summarized their delegate’s report of the “Convention for Nationalization.”
A National Women’s Honorary Fraternity has been formed under the
name of Mortar Board with Mrs. J.W. Raynsford – delegate from Ann
Arbor, President of the first Convention. Ohio State Mortar Board’s
initiation service and ritual were adopted – also our pin – with the addition
of three Greek letters [Pi Sigma Alpha]. A hearty vote of thanks was
extended to Helen Hobart [the OSU delegate] for her services.21
(Note: There are errors in these minutes since the first national president was Esther
Holmes Jones of Syracuse. The second national president at the Ann Arbor convention
was Mildred Logan Lucas.)
The first Ohio State chapter to take part as a member of the new national
organization in the fall of 1918 consisted of ten women along with Dean of Women
Elisabeth Conrad as an honorary member. (Dean Conrad was an OSU assistant professor
in romance languages before becoming dean of women). The chapter helped the YWCA
raise money to send Dean Conrad to China for a conference. Chimes, the Ohio State
junior women’s honorary, was established on campus in 1918. Commencement was
held in a tent on the Oval. The Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution
granting women the right to vote was ratified in 1920. Although it would have important
ramifications for the women of this period, there was no mention of this landmark
decision in the annual reports or minutes of the chapters. (Members of later chapters did
work with the League of Women Voters.)
The minutes of the 1919 chapter recorded that the group met frequently and
attendance at meetings was taken seriously. Attendance was recorded in the minutes
after each member’s name with a check mark for attendance, an “Ex” for excused by the
president, or an “A” for absent. One member apologized for her unavoidable absence
and was forgiven. (Although chapters in that era continued this rigid pattern of
attendance, chapters in later decades recorded concern with attendance problems.)
9
The walk to initiation at the Mirror Lake “spring” - 1919
Two student members of the 1964 chapter, Judy Crist and Bobbie Booth, wrote a
history of the Ohio State chapter from 1914 to 1934. In their summary, they wrote:
Once the roots of the local chapter were firmly established, it began to
undertake projects and participate in campus affairs. In these early years
Mortar Board held many teas, parties and entertainment … but once the
chapter was firmly established, service to the campus increased.22
During its formative years from 1914 to 1919, Mortar Board at Ohio State was
conceived, flourished as a women’s campus organization, and became an important
charter member of a prestigious national women’s honor society. At that time in a male-
dominated culture, the Mortar Board founders determined that outstanding women
students were also deserving of recognition. The women who were chosen as members
in those early years established the society’s purpose and wrote a Constitution that
formed the Mortar Board ideals that have endured for nearly 100 years.
Coming of Age in the 1920s
When Ohio State University celebrated its fiftieth anniversary in 1920, student
enrollment had grown to over 8,000. “Stadium Week” was held in October to kickoff the
effort to raise money to build the new football stadium and the student body elected a
“Stadium Girl.”23 The previous year Mortar Board member, Helen Tracy (Huber) served
as a student representative on the Ohio Stadium Committee and the minutes of the 1920
10chapter indicated that the members took part in the citywide activities that included a
parade, speeches and pageants.
The 1920 group was the first to sign The Ritual of the Mortar Board Fraternity
book at initiation. Signatures included the twelve members and Dean of Women
Elisabeth Conrad who was the honorary member. The signatures of all initiates until
1925 also are in the book. This spiral book with a leather cover still exists and contains
the handwritten initiation ritual in detail including the verse of the “Ode.” The Mortar
Board Constitution and Bylaws are recorded in the back of the book.24
Model initiation given for the 1921 national convention
(Campbell Hall and Mirror Lake are in the background)
The 1921 chapter hosted the third National Mortar Board Convention at Ohio
State in April. As recorded in the minutes of the group:
The Convention agenda began with a spread at a member’s home on
Friday, a Saturday morning business meeting in a room of the library,
lunch at Lazarus [department store], and dinner at the Maramor [a
downtown restaurant] followed a business meeting in which there was a
long discussion on the proper place to wear the pin. A model initiation
ceremony was carried out by the OSU chapter on Sunday morning with
breakfast at Hennick’s [a famous campus hang-out at the time]
afterwards.25
11Delegates to the third National Convention at
Columbus, Ohio - 1921
Anne Cornell Christensen, a 1918 member of the Ohio State chapter, was elected
the third National President at the meeting. She recalled that, “The most important order
of business was to decide the proper place to wear the pin with the left shoulder the
winner.” One of her duties as national president was to “inspect” new chapters and since
the national organization had very little money, she was forced to pay for her own
travel.26 At that time there were 13 chapters nationally. (Anne Cornell Christensen’s
brother was the author of “Carmen Ohio.”) As a result of helping plan this conference,
the Columbus Mortar Board Alumnae Club was formed. The quarter system replaced the
semester system at Ohio State in 1922 and student enrollment was fast approaching
10,000. The first football game in the new Ohio Stadium was held in September against
Ohio Wesleyan (OSU won, 5-0).
In a 1923 chapter visit report, Section Director Luella Galliver, wrote that, “The
girls at OSU are a very fine type of Mortar Board. They are very self-sufficient, perhaps
that is their one fault. But they treated their Director royally. The more they can see the
bigness of National Mortar Board the better they will be. I think as national grows
stronger and richer it will be able to inspire awe into some of our sufficient chapters.”27
(This report describing Ohio State’s reputation for being “self-sufficient” seems to
forebode a problem that persisted for years. Perhaps Ohio State because of its heritage
did not always conform in the early days to the expectations of what a “national chapter”
should be. This “problem” would come to a head 10 years later.)
12Members of the 1923 chapter decided to focus their service on freshmen. They
discussed “freshman problems that could be brought up … in freshman discussion
groups.” They held a Senior Tea and, like the chapters before them, enjoyed many social
meetings (the “spread” or pot-luck meal is constantly mentioned in the minutes of the
early chapters and seemed to be a popular way to meet). Many of the old original
national honor groups were secret societies with rituals known only to their members
(e.g., ritual pledging and initiation ceremonies, a motto, a “badge,” even a secret
handshake). This was true at Ohio State until the 1923 Mortar Board chapter decided to
break its traditional silence by holding a “short pledging service on Mortar Board Day.”
When the 1924 chapter needed money to send a delegate to the National
Convention in Lexington, Kentucky, they asked WSGA for a loan of $50. They decided
to “make a survey of the activities of the campus … so that we might see what
organizations overlapped and what percentage of girls carried the activities on campus.”
Each member compiled a list of the membership and activities for certain campus
organizations. This was the first year that a national Mortar Board magazine was
published and chapter members were asked for suggestions for a name (it was later called
the Mortar Board Quarterly). The chapter selected President William Oxley
Thompson’s wife, Estelle, as an honorary member.
A “Freshman Orientation” program was held at Ohio State for the first time in
1925. Later Mortar Board chapters were asked to help with this program. The minutes
of the 1925 chapter indicated they discussed campus problems at their meetings and
decided their “chapter work” was “to consider race problems.” They sent a letter to their
“beloved President Thompson on the celebration of his birthday.” Each girl paid $1 for a
copy of the new Quarterly. The 1926 chapter asserted its influence on campus by
handing in a petition to the administration on behalf of senior women asking that they
“reconsider a new plan to discontinue conferring diplomas at commencement.” George
W. Rightmire became the sixth University president and the chapter attended his
inauguration as a group. One of the most memorable events on campus that fall was the
election of Maudine Ormsby for Homecoming Queen. Maudine turned out to be a
Holstein cow owned by the College of Agriculture. When so many irregularities in the
election were discovered (more votes counted than there were OSU students), the judges
named the cow queen.28
The 1927 group “investigated Mortar Board alumnae to determine the effect that
campus activities had on the future work of women.” They contacted alumnae to
determine how involvement in campus activities might have affected their future work
choices and experiences. (Unfortunately no record of the results is available.) Scholastic
eligibility was set at the campus grade point average (a 2.3), and dues were reduced to $1
per quarter. The start of freshman orientation earlier in 1925 led to an expanded
“Freshman Week” in 1927 when physical and other examinations were given. Nationally
the big news was of Charles Lindbergh’s first nonstop transatlantic flight from New York
to Paris.
13The 1928 chapter “sponsored a plan for proportional representation of women in
the student government body.” They also “sanctioned the change in the point system for
[participation in] the League of Women Voters.” Correspondence between the 1928
chapter president, Ellen North, and the National President, Mrs. Fred Hammond, dealt
with the continuing problem of setting Ohio State’s scholastic average for the junior
class. The chapter reported that the registrar indicated, “she has no figures for the class
average but the theoretical average would be 2.0. We have set our average at 2.5 and that
standard brought the number of candidates down to 15 so it seems high enough.”29 This
problem with determining the scholastic criteria for selections continued into the 1940s.
The Stock Market crash in 1929 led to the Great Depression. Minutes of the 1929
chapter reported a discussion about choosing a service project for the year. One idea that
reflected students’ concern was to “boost the new campus Employment Bureau for both
men and women, grads and undergrads.” Another idea was to seek a reduction in the
price of football tickets (it did not happen). The chapter joined with Sphinx, the senior
men’s honor society, to plan Senior Week to “help keep the tradition for this campus.”
Senior Week was a big event at that time when activities included wearing caps and
gowns all week, a Traditional Night Sing around the lake, and a last walk to graduation.
The 1929 chapter joined other students on campus to urge the administration to hold
graduation in the football stadium rather than the Ohio State Fair Coliseum.
The 1929 chapter held many social events, including an alumnae tea for senior
girls to explain the meaning of Senior Week, and a party for their chapter advisors for
which each member was assessed 33 cents. The required National Mortar Board Exam
was given and later each member’s score was read during the meeting (3 members
received a grade of 98, the lowest score was 84). The chapter voted to accept Ohio
Wesleyan as a member of the national organization. Contrary to the recommendation of
the previous chapter, the group decided “the active chapter should not be responsible in
any way for the publication of the history of Mortar Board. There was complete
agreement by all.” (No explanation was given.)
The projects and mission of Ohio State Mortar Board chapters in the 1920s
reflected the changes in the University, not only in a student enrollment that doubled, but
in the national and world events and issues that were confronted (e.g., the end of World
War I, the Great Depression and the role of women in the work place). The most
consuming issue, however, was how women “fit” into the workplace. The delegates to
Mortar Board’s sixth National Convention in 1926 encouraged chapters to consider
vocational guidance as a project so that “seniors could be helped to secure positions.”
Toward the end of the decade Ohio State Mortar Board chapters supported the new
“Employment Bureau” on campus. This concern for women and work carried over into
the 1930s chapters as the Great Depression deepened.
Mortar Board in the 1930s
During the Great Depression the state of Ohio reduced its contribution to higher
education and the administration and staff endured cuts in salary. Commencement at
14Ohio State became a one-day event. When the “Men’s Employment Bureau” of the Ohio
Union was not able to handle the financial crisis confronting students, the “Student
Employment Office” took over financial aid by providing funding sources and
employment opportunities.30
The 1930 chapter’s president attended the eighth National Convention at
Madison, Wisconsin. By that time there were 46 chapters in the national organization
and there were seven geographical sections “presided over by Section Directors.”
Members of the 1930 chapter drove to Ohio Wesleyan for dinner with its chapter
members at Buns Restaurant, a popular campus hangout. They sold “blazers” for $3.50
and made a profit of 50 cents on each. Like many chapters across the country, Ohio State
chapter members wore Mortar Board blazer jackets with the Mortar Board felt emblem
sewn on one of the pockets. (The delegates to the sixteenth National Convention in 1955,
however, passed a Resolution that, “…the high expenditures for uniforms be discouraged
and that each chapter should indicate its feeling regarding the use of uniforms.”)
The 1930 and 1931 chapters in front of Pomerene Hall
The 1931 chapter was the recipient of a problem that had been building with the
national officers. As noted before, the Ohio State chapter had developed a reputation for
maintaining an independent stance (described as “self-sufficient” by national visitors)
when it came to meeting national rules and procedures. A report of Section Director
Marie Weller described her impressions: “The core of the problem at Ohio State is a
matter of attitude shown in part by their failure to fulfill the new national requirements.
It is our feeling that the chapter and alumnae lack a feeling of national responsibility or
15pride.” She suggested that there was a “growing feeling of opposition to our national
standards and a misunderstanding of national, alas, which has been passed on from year
to year.”31
This problem came to a head after a sectional meeting that was planned by the
Ohio State chapter and held on the campus. Two national representatives who attended
the meeting wrote a searing report about their experience. A letter to the chapter
president, Mildred Rankin, from National President Katherine Coleman sums up the
national perspective:
We were much surprised and disappointed with many views and
statements of the members of your chapter and alumnae representatives. It
has almost been taken for granted that those chapters with years of
experience and a background like yours should be progressive,
cooperative and will not only follow the will of the majority but to lead
that majority in formulating policies and methods for the best of the
whole. We have regretfully realized for some time that Ohio State was not
such a chapter. They seem unable to see that perhaps other chapters
through national may help them to greater local value. Other large schools
with similar problems have met them. Ohio State seems willing only to
say ‘we cannot do that.’32
Mrs. Coleman listed the “shortcomings” of the chapter (e.g., not sending reports, need to
prod them into planning the sectional meeting, not having a campus service project that
was a national requirement) and warned them that “your charter is worth meeting
national half way.” She gave them six months “to show some real contribution from the
group or we shall consider presenting the case to convention this summer.” Dean of
Women Esther Gaw wrote a letter on the chapter’s behalf indicating that the national
visitors had heard “the frank expression of opinions of one member of the chapter” to
which the visitors had taken personal affront. She suggested that the “whole chapter
ought not to be judged by the opinion of one member.” In their defense, the chapter
president wrote, “Our aim at the roundtable was for a more complete understanding of
the inter-dependability of national and local ideals and problems. We seem to have
failed.” She then asked for clarification of what constituted a service program since she
felt they were “unjustly criticized.” (The group had actually spent a great amount of time
raising the money to send a delegate to the ninth National Convention that was held that
summer at West Baden, Indiana and they viewed that as a service project.) The letter was
signed by all fourteen chapter members. The chapter was put on probation in March but
was reinstated that summer.
The next chapter also caused the national organization a dilemma. A decision by
the 1932 chapter reflected an issue prevalent on campus (and society) at the time. They
were the first chapter to select an African American student for membership. In a letter
to National President Katherine Coleman, the chapter president, Mary Crater wrote,
16We, as a group, feel that she meets admirably the standards of Leadership,
Service and Scholarship; moreover, the group feels that it should not take
exception to [her] because of her race. … There is not a great deal of
opportunity for a negro student to be of service to the campus and
therefore we feel that her record is unusual and should be recognized.33
This selection caused quite a negative stir by members of the National Council as well as
one Ohio State alumna in particular, who felt Mortar Board should include “only white”
students. Correspondence in the first months of 1933 includes letters between the chapter
president and the National President as well as letters between members of the National
Council.34 The petition to select the African American student was denied and the
chapter did not pursue it further. Although the fight for racial equality in Mortar Board
was documented in 1932,35 the minutes of the 1925 and 1939 chapters expressed concern
for the “racial prejudice and conditions around our campus.” In 1943 the national Mortar
Board issue was finally resolved with the initiation of an African American student by the
Ohio State chapter.
A similar but unrelated event was happening at Ohio State at the same time. The
university was involved in a discrimination suit in 1933 when an African American
student was rejected from living in the Home Economics’ Home Management House
where supposedly “all majors were required to live at the end of their four-year college
training.” When the student pressed the issue, President Rightmire was confronted with a
decision that was complicated in view of societal norms at the time. Eventually the case
went to the Ohio Supreme Court, where the student lost. According to one account, the
decision was monumental because if the student had won, there would have been many
changes on campuses across the country36 (The Civil Rights Act was not passed until 31
years later!)
Other issues that concerned the 1932 chapter included ways to find clothes for
needy women students; ways and means to improve the library; encouraging students to
secure books at the coop store instead of Longs (a famous privately-owned bookstore);
and Mortar Board took an active role in the reorganization of Women’s Ohio. (Women’s
Ohio up to that time coordinated all the women’s organizations on campus. The
“reorganization” mentioned in the minutes placed it into the Student Senate where it
became a committee.) The chapter collected clothes and held a rummage sale. They
solicited contributions from student organizations for the library fund by interviewing the
treasurers of the student groups. (Student Senate, WSGA and Panhellenic donated $10,
for example, while literary sorority Chi Delta Phi gave $25.) The project was considered
“quite successful.” (The Mortar Board chapter and alumni were involved again 75 years
later in raising money for the library restoration.)
Franklin Delano Roosevelt was inaugurated as the 32nd president of the United
States in 1933. The chapter minutes that year described a visit from their “national
examiner,” Margaret Charters, who “talked about national Mortar Board and its relation
to our local chapter ... and described the national officers.” Ms. Charters also reported to
the national officers on the state of the Columbus Alumnae Club:
17The alumnae problem is, of course famous. But during the last two years
a younger group of girls has come into control and is willing to cooperate
with National. The Club is one of the strongest in the country, with
regular meetings that are always well attended. The alumnae are part of
the tradition, in that they are always on the steps ready to greet the new
pledges and assist in initiation services. Last spring they presented each
person present with a lovely book containing the history of the local
group…and the names of all members by classes.”37
This consternation with the Columbus Alumnae Club goes back to the late 1920’s when
National Council correspondence indicates concern that there was too much alumnae
club interference in the activities of the active chapter. This was not just a local problem,
however. In an article in the June, 1927 Mortar Board Quarterly, Pauline Wherry, a
frequent national chapter “visitor” discussed how “alumnae presented a problem.” She
noted how in some chapters alumnae “completely dominated … while in still another no
vote was taken without first seeing how the ‘old girls’ felt about it.” In one case the
active meetings were “secret for fear the alumnae would come.” Other chapters
considered their alumnae were “invaluable assets.”38
The 1933 chapter continued the service projects of the previous chapter by
collecting for the library fund and obtaining clothes for needy women students. To make
money they sold football programs. They also sponsored the senior prom with Sphinx.
As was often the case, purchasing blazer jackets was mentioned in chapter minutes.
Wearing blazers (or jerkins in the case of the 1942 chapter) with the Mortar Board
emblem on the pocket continued into the 1950s.
The secretary for the 1934 chapter showed her sense of humor throughout her
year as recorder of the chapter minutes. One entry relayed that, “Doris Campbell kicked
about having meetings on Sunday for very obvious reasons having to do with a certain
Jack person. She was boo’ed down.” The 1935 chapter sent flowers to President
Rightmire on his “10th year of induction into office.” The chapter decided to give a
scholarship to a woman student and the following suggestions were made to raise money
for the project: “dress raffles, making of white collars for graduation, selling Christmas
cards, and an OSU Doughnut Day.” They sold doughnuts from a pushcart at 15th and
High for 25 cents a dozen (making a profit of nine cents a dozen). They voted to join
Links (a campus service organization) and WSGA “in cleaning up campus politics.” The
national written examination on the “Black Book” required since the early 1920s was
replaced by a “study period outline” in 1935.
The 1936 chapter’s minutes recorded that, “A recreation room may be established
in Pomerene Hall. Dean Gaw is interested in the idea and will meet with the committee
for further discussion.” The next meeting was held in the prospective “recreation room”
and it was decided that, “curtains should be made, a ping pong table secured and
[playing] cards provided.” A dinner meeting was held at the Maramor (a well-known
restaurant) with National President Katherine Coleman, who “talked to us explaining our
relationship to the national officers and describing some of the activities carried on by the
18Mortar Board chapters at other colleges. Everyone enjoyed the dinner despite some
warm political arguments.” In January the chapter explored the possibility of bringing
Mrs. Franklin D. Roosevelt to campus for a lecture but abandoned the idea when “it was
found that it would be necessary to put up a large sum of money in order to bring her to
Columbus.” The office of National Historian was created in 1936 and by 1938, Evelyn
Calhoun Miller had received about 60 chapter histories. She also contacted, “each of the
four delegates from Michigan, Cornell, Swarthmore, and Ohio State to the first meeting
at Syracuse for her version of the event.”39
During the 1930s the Mortar Board chapters’ minutes recorded sending
representatives to the Peace Mobilization Committee. The 1937-1938 Freshman “Y”
Handbook described the campus committee’s purpose as “action and education on the
campus toward a war-less world.” Representatives from thirty-three organizations
(including Mortar Board) met regularly “to plan events such as the Memorial Day Peace
Service.”40 As the war raged in Europe, there were strong feelings in the nation and on
college campuses against entering the conflict. During the 1930s there was growing
student unrest on campus about compulsory ROTC.
The Ohio State Alumni Monthly reported that a peace demonstration planned for
April 22, 1936 was cancelled (this demonstration was part of a national plan for protests
to be held on campuses on that date). It reported that, “Disagreement among members of
the Peace Mobilization Committee on the Ohio State campus, was said to be directly
responsible for the failure to stage an exhibition against war. Ten of the 19 members
voted against it.”41 Although these demonstrations were riotous on some campuses that
day, the Monthly printed an editorial from the Columbus Dispatch commending Ohio
State students “who sensibly refrained from participating in the peace demonstrations.”
At the same time as the peace demonstrations were staged, a few students were
presenting a petition to their representative in Washington encouraging the defeat of a bill
that would abolish ROTC training in land grant colleges.42
The 1937 chapter followed the lead of other chapters and held a “Donut Day” and
a bridge party to raise money. They continued to send a member to represent them on the
Student Peace Mobilization Committee. National President Katherine Coleman visited
the chapter and a tea and dinner were held in her honor. That year national Mortar Board
was invited to join the Association of College Honor Societies, the first all-women
organization to become a member. The 1938 chapter sent a delegate to the eleventh
National Convention at Evergreen, Colorado. Their chapter projects included serenading
the sorority houses with the highest scholastic averages after the Panhellenic Banquet and
a “smarty party” tea for senior girls with a 3.0 and above average. They also sponsored a
Sunday night supper at a sorority house for the campus hoping that over 100 students
would attend. The town girls were asked to “bring preserves, dish towels and card table
covers.” They attended an alumnae tea that was held for Mrs. John Bricker (the Ohio
Senator’s wife who was an Ohio State Mortar Board). The chapter continued the
tradition of sponsoring the senior prom with Sphinx.
19The 1939 chapter was extremely active. They were concerned about the “racial
prejudice and conditions around our campus” as well as “civil liberties.” An alumna
member of that chapter, Mary Helen Clinger Hopkins, recalled that she was active in the
Columbus Council for Democracy, which was a campus-community organization for
bettering race relations. “I had black friends in college and the only place they could eat
was Pomerene since none of the restaurants along High Street would serve them,” she
said.43 The chapter wrote letters to the Ohio State Committee on Race Relations and to
the Board of Trustees about civil liberties. They also expressed the need for a “personal
councilor for women students” to be available on campus. During selections they added
“dependability, personality, initiative and enthusiasm” to new member criteria.
A faculty member who had completed a study of campus problems was invited to
their meeting to discuss how they might become involved as a group. The chapter
decided to “draw up a definite list of things which Mortar Board feels are real student
needs … and then refer them to the proper organizations and people to promote these into
specific action.” Each member agreed to bring her list of student needs “as she sees
them” to the next meeting. In addition to faculty-student relations, they discussed,
“lighting facilities in the main library; crowded classrooms and the need for left-handed
person chairs; a need for a student parking lot; and the problems of race discrimination in
the dorms.” Although it is recorded in the minutes that the chapter gave $5 to the Student
Peace Mobilization Committee, Mary Helen Clinger Hopkins shared that she was so
distraught over the bombing of London, as described by Edward R. Morrow live on
radio, that she “was in favor of our helping England.”
20President G.W. Rightmire speaking to the new initiates and their families - 1939
Mortar Board in the 1940s
The 1940 Mortar Board chapter reported attending the inauguration of the
University’s seventh president, Dr. Howard Bevis. The poor condition of the women’s
restrooms prompted “members to volunteer to examine and report on their condition in
campus buildings.” They circulated a petition to the administration to change the date for
opening of winter quarter from Friday, January 3, 1941 to Monday, January 6 (they
didn’t win). They devoted a great deal of time planning the senior prom with Sphinx. It
was the “first senior prom in history to make a profit.” Both Mortar Board and Sphinx
forfeited their profits to the senior class, however, “to avoid paying the prom tax.”
While war was being waged in Europe, students continued to “rally for peace.”
The Ohio State University Monthly in 1940 reported that the Peace Mobilization
Committee sponsored a rally that had the approval and support of the Student Senate.
President Howard Bevis had announced through The Lantern that students desiring to
attend the rally, held at 11 a.m., should first report to their 11 o’clock classes and tell
their instructors they wished to be excused to attend the meeting.44
21The advent of United State’s entry into World War II changed the student body
and campus life in dramatic ways. The number of men was reduced significantly due to
military and government service. This included not only students but also faculty and
staff. Course work was accelerated and classes were taught from early morning to late in
the evening.45 The 1941 chapter circulated a petition for the main library to be open on
Sundays. They held a rummage sale to provide clothing for the needy and donated their
$33.25 profit to a charity. In the spring the chapter minutes noted that the affirmative
method of voting was explained before the selection of new members. Nationally, the
Katherine Wills Coleman Fellowship for graduate work was established and applications
for the fellowship were passed out at their meeting.
Tapping the new initiate at midnight - 1941
A Committee on War Activities was established in 1942 to coordinate programs
on campus. The 1942 Mortar Board chapter voted “to give the Office for War Work its
confidence and sanction” and investigated how they could participate in “some sort of
war work.” The students decided “the policy of the chapter for the year would be to
stand ready at all times to attempt to answer any crisis that may arise,” so they readily
accepted the responsibility to be in charge of the students who would be helping with the
program for gas rationing. They also volunteered to work with Draft Board 18 “to help
with various duties.”
22Although no national convention was held during the war years, the members of
National Council were still making “inspection” visits to chapters during that time. The
National Secretary, Mrs. Reisner, visited the 1942 Ohio State chapter and the chapter
minutes recorded plans for the visit that included meeting her at the train, providing a rest
period upon her arrival, and a dinner meeting at a sorority house. The next day they
arranged for her visit with Dean of Women Christine Conaway and alumnae, and held a
final lunch with her at the Faculty Club. She encouraged the chapter to sponsor programs
that were involved in the war effort and indicated that national’s big task was to help “in
the present changed situation.” The chapter secretary recorded her visit as “a most
pleasant and valuable acquaintance and inspection.” The chapter decided to purchase
“jerkins” with the Mortar Board emblem rather than wear the traditional blazer jacket.
After a lengthy discussion, the 1942 chapter would not approve the petition for
Mississippi State or Mississippi State College for Women to become members of national
Mortar Board until, “we know what provisions are made for the possible membership of
Jewish students on campus.” In addition, they wanted the vote reconsidered if any
discrimination was found. They appointed a committee to “privately investigate
National’s policy in this matter.”
The 1942 chapter also selected an African American student for initiation that
spring. Anticipating problems with this selection, chapter vice-president Harriet Grant
wrote a letter on April 24, 1943 about their selection to National Council:
We are anticipating a reaction on the part of some alumnae members and
perhaps even an advisor since our list included the name of a colored girl.
This girl has proven herself an outstanding leader in both the Negro and
white campus communities and fully merits the distinction of membership
in Mortar Board. We remember being told that we should stand by our
convictions and support at home what we are fighting for abroad. We
sincerely hope you will give us all possible aid in our effort to take this
one step towards true democracy.46
A letter from National President Katherine Coleman, dated May 27, 1943, stated her
displeasure that it was not noted on the selection list that the “student was colored.”
(Even the advisors were not informed about this.) Mrs. Coleman indicated that the
National Council could not give approval for the selection until summer when the
Council would meet to discuss a national policy on racial membership.
In spite of urging by the National President to “handle the entire matter with
discretion,” members of the chapter wrote letters to Mortar Board chapters across the
country asking for their support. Many chapters and alumnae wrote to the National
Council in support of Ohio State’s decision. The chapter informed the Council of their
plans to hold “a modified initiation” in private and chapter president Marjorie Gates
wrote a letter dated May 24, 1943 to President Coleman, stating that,
23You undoubtedly realized from our previous correspondence that we are
desirous of holding closely to the ideals of Mortar Board. We feel that if
these ideals are violated, the place of Mortar Board as a national senior
women’s leadership society on a democratic campus will be difficult to
justify.47
Even the Lantern took a stand in an editorial stating that, “It seems that the Mortar Board
elections caused quite a bit of comment and conflict. It’s an unfortunate situation – and
that is an understatement. It is unfair that a coed cannot be honored by a recognition
society, regardless of color or creed.”48
A member of the 1942 chapter, Marjorie Garvin Sayers, recalled how firm the
chapter members were in their belief that Mortar Board should not discriminate. “We
fought for our principles and were willing to drop out of the national organization and
start our own society if National Council did not let us initiate her.”49 Ohio State Dean of
Women Christine Conway was in full support of the chapter’s stand. At the first fall
meeting of the new 1943 chapter, the president read a letter from the National Council
stating that a membership policy had been established at the Council’s summer meeting
and that “All candidates fulfilling the requirements of membership in Mortar Board as
stated in the Constitution, Bylaws, and Standing Rules are eligible regardless of race,
color, or creed.” A member of that chapter, Catherine Schroeder Graf, remembered how
proud the chapter members felt to have “such an accomplished scholar and leader” as part
of the group.50
Student enrollment in 1944 increased to 11,500 from 8,000 the year before
because of World War II veterans’ return to campus. There were 3231 women students
enrolled in 1944 and 625 women in the junior class. The 1944 chapter sponsored the
traditional recognition dinner for women students who were outstanding in scholarship,
leadership and service and “cooperated with the Student War Board.” Their fundraising
project was a “Silver Ware Display” (they made $75). They acted as hostesses at the
informal “prexy hour” where students had the opportunity to meet University President
Howard Bevis. The president’s wife, Alma Bevis, was taken as an honorary member by
the chapter in the spring.
Enrollment in the fall of 1945 almost doubled to 22,000. The University gave
priority admission to veterans (who were going to college on the “GI Bill”) and housing
became a problem. A trailer camp was set up on the Ohio State Fairgrounds to expand
housing facilities for veterans. This led also to the expansion of dormitories during this
period. Seven dorms and related facilities were named for Ohio State students or alumni
who died in the war (including Don Scott Field, the University Airport).51 The influx of
World War II veterans led to overcrowded facilities causing many inconveniences that
most students faced with good nature. Many students were forced to take classes in
Quonset huts that were constructed to expand classrooms. These temporary structures
were heated with pot-bellied stoves in the winter and students complained that they were
either too hot or too cold, depending on where they were sitting. Many students
remember how stifling the huts were in hot weather as well.
24When Ohio State chapters in the 1930s and 1940s were asked what topics they
wanted to discuss at national conventions, many expressed a concern about the point
system and its implications for selecting new members. Another recurring theme was
vocational opportunities for women. The 1946 chapter also added “reconversion
responsibilities” for after the war. The Ohio State Board of Trustees passed the first
Speaker’s Rule in 1946 that banned the use of university facilities by candidates for
public office. As James Pollard wrote in his history of the university, “This happened in
a time when there was a general stir over alleged Communism on college campuses and
inevitably students were drawn into the campus speech issue, especially after the 1946
ban on political meetings.”52 (The adoption in 1951 of the second Speaker’s Rule added
to the controversy that prompted continued student and faculty protests until the Rule was
liberalized in 1965.)
The 1947 chapter gave a scholarship to an outstanding woman high school senior
and held the traditional recognition dinner. They reported that they used the point system
in selecting new members. Former Dean of Women Esther Gaw was made an honorary
member. The university celebrated its seventy-fifth anniversary in 1948 (using the date
that classes opened because the official beginning of the university was too close to the
war) and Mortar Board participated in the “Women’s Week” program as part of the
event. The chapter held the annual recognition dinner for 150 outstanding students and
presented an original skit for the program. They gave a scholarship with money from
their mum sales to an outstanding scholar from a Columbus high school. Lola Dickerson
was made an honorary member that year. Ohio State had the fourth largest enrollment in
the United States in 1948 and ground was broken for a new medical center.53
As many chapters before them, the 1949 group gave a $500 scholarship with the
money they raised from their mum sale and other projects. In correspondence to National
President Rosemary Ginn, the chapter detailed its difficulty in determining the 35% of the
junior class for the scholarship requirement in selections (this problem with determining
scholastic criteria went back to the 1920s). The chapter president and the dean of women
met with the registrar to decide what the closest 35% would be and National Council
accepted this point hour. In a visit to the Ohio State chapter, Mrs. Ginn noted that only
two non-sorority girls were chapter members. She wrote in her report that “whatever
point system they use does not seem to spread the leadership base outside of the sorority
group.” In their annual report the chapter urged the national organization to consider the
elections problem “with accelerated students who have only two years of work upon
which to be judged in comparison to the three years of girls on the normal programs.”
The United State’s entrance into World War II affected the Ohio State campus in
profound ways in the 1940’s. Women students were in the majority in the first part of the
decade and Mortar Board members threw themselves into the war effort. Perhaps the
most important Mortar Board event during this time, however, was the selection of an
African American student for membership by the 1942 chapter. The minutes of chapters
as far back as the 1930s recorded their involvement in fighting discrimination on campus
but the 1942 chapter was adamant in its decision to initiate “this outstanding student
leader.” Although ending discrimination would have happened sooner or later, it was the
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