Women in the Fraternity (part D) by David Justin Editor’s Note: This is the third in a four-part series chronicling the history of women in Kappa Kappa Psi; part 1 appeared in the spring 2001 issue and part 2 in the fall 2001 issue.
The Merger at Arizona State
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n the years prior to 1976, the Beta Omicron chapter of Kappa Kappa Psi and the Sigma chapter of Tau Beta Sigma at Arizona State University saw its membership decline. Friction began to grow between the two groups and members began to lash out at one another. “The chapters’ membership had dwindled down to 8 for Kappa Kappa Psi and 10 for Tau Beta Sigma,” Leslie Anderson, past Beta Omicron chapter president recalled. “There was a lot of animosity between the two groups.” In an effort to release some of that tension and under the supervision of Dr. Robert “Coach” Fleming, then-assistant director of bands, the chapters decided to merge into one organization, combining all aspects of their chapters with the exception of their rituals. In January 1977, the chapters presented a letter to the national officers requesting permission to completely merge: “We have found that through joint projects we are able to accomplish more with less internal conflict. By working together, our fraternal functions have become more productive, beneficial and rewarding to the individual members. Therefore, the chapters have decided unanimously to request your permission to merge.” -Letter from Beta Omicron and Sigma, January 26, 1977
After returning from the 1977 National Convention at the University of California at Los Angeles where the National Constitution was amended to remove all mention of gender, the women of the Sigma chapter voted unanimously to become members of Kappa Kappa Psi. On August 26, 1977, Patricia A. Childress, Lydia L. Lennon, Leslie A. Anderson, Mary L. Duffala, Mary M. Ketterer, Kristina M. Zipsnis, Clara M. Bertilson, and Toni Ryon were initiated into Beta Omicron. On August 27, 1977, Lea F. Fuller was initiated. Today, if two chapters merge, the members from the other organization are known as Associate Members, but since that membership status did not exist in 1977, these women are known as the first active women in Kappa Kappa Psi.
The merger became a huge success for Beta Omicron. The first election resulted in a female president, secretary, and historian. That year, they initiated 23 new members bringing their chapter total to 41 brothers.
Darragh (Hill) Young At Wichita State University, the brothers of Beta Tau were well aware of Title IX but did not take it seriously. As a joke, they sent bids to three women in the band. An 18-yearold freshman percussionist named Darragh (Hill) Young accepted. In the fall of 1976, Young was the Wichita State marching band’s only freshman squad leader in a male-dominated drum line. Standing only five feet tall and weighing 90 pounds, she learned long ago that drummers respected attitude. When necessary, she would get in an older percussionist’s face and just scream at them. “They must have thought I was crazy or had some really advanced self-defense techniques, because it worked – not sure why,” she said. “I was just bluffing.” Choosing Kappa Kappa Psi over Tau Beta Sigma was an easy decision for Young. “It appeared to me the only thing that Tau Beta was doing was using the Kappa rank and file as fodder for husbands and that was the farthest thing from my mind,” Young recalled recently. “Kappa, on the other hand, did all the work for the bands.” In the spring of 1976, Young experienced a membership education program full of hazing, but it differed from the treatment that her pledge brothers were subject to. “There were two guys that did not want me in the chapter, period,” Young said of her freshman year. “But they never ‘de-pantsed’ me or froze my underwear like they did to the guys. I did, however, have to display gentlemanly behavior at all times. So I had to open doors for people, play bartender, light cigarettes, serenade visiting artists on bended knee, etc.…” The members of Tau Beta Sigma were not very supportive of her decision to join Kappa Kappa Psi. “Most of them either blew me off or got real nasty with me,” Young said. “Some of them started rumors about me,
Continued The PODIUM, Spring 2002 – 17
