Colgate undergraduates and their friends from other colleges an opportunity to meet with leading artists to observe their work, listen to their lectures and engage in discussions. Among new student publications appearing on campus was the Colgate News, a competitor of the Maroon.
Though the official University policy on fraternities since 1955 adhered to the principle that there be no discrimination based on race, creed, color or national origin in the selection of members, there were suspicions that some Greek letter groups were ignoring it. Aware of the problem, the Trustees created in October, 1967, a joint Committee on Fraternities which included faculty, administration, students (fraternity and non-fraternity), alumni, and Trustees to study Colgate’s fraternities and make recommendations. In the spring of 1968 occurred a series of events growing out of the fraternity problem which led to a sit-in demonstration in the Administration Building of some 400 students and 40 faculty members who felt no other methods remained to eliminate discrimination practices. The immediate consequences of the events were the suspension of one fraternity’s charter and the revocation of a second. At their May, 1968, meeting the Trustees reaffirmed the University’s basic policy against discrimination and also approved the Joint Committee’s recommendations: that University rules must supersede fraternity chapter rules and procedures; that election to membership be by affirmative vote of a simple majority; that the University have ultimate supervision of housing and food services and conditions relating to health and safety; that the President appoint a continuing committee on fraternity affairs, consisting of an Assistant Dean of Students for Fraternities and student, faculty, administration, and alumni representatives to work with the Board and its committees; and that fraternity hazing be abolished at once.
Related to the question of fraternities were other issues concerning University government to which faculty and students had called attention. In response the Trustees established an ad hoc Committee on University Organization made up of Trustees, faculty, administration, and students to examine the responsibilities of each group and make recommendations for improvements. A second ad hoc committee, this one to review policies on admissions and scholarship aid and to have a membership from the same constituencies as the first, was also appointed. In October 1968, the Trustees provided that one