Cross & Crescent

Pity young James Burnham (Massachusetts) and Roy Norcross (Massachusetts 1926), who were about to graduate having never seen a copy of Paedagogus, as the first edition did not appear until the fall of 1926.

Even more, pity those aspirants who were issued the first edition, and faced with 31 pages of questions they had to complete. For later printings the questions increased to 40 pages or more, including the owners’ freshman through senior records and the dates they received their initiation degrees, which at that time were commonly done on three different days.

As daunting as all those pages of questions must have seemed at first glance, however, in reality it was more of an open book exercise. Pledges were to hand in their responses on separate sheets of paper, and were later provided stock answers from the instructor’s manual, which they copied into their books.

The Concept

The concept of a pledge manual for new Lambda Chi Alpha members arose at the 1925 General Assembly in Cleveland, Ohio, and was based on educational programs already in place at our University of Chicago and University of Pennsylvania chapters –- the latter developed by Arthur F. Gerecke (Pennsylvania 1921). The earliest editions were primarily developed by Ernst J.C. Fischer (Cornell 1910), John Mason (Pennsylvania 1913), and Bruce McIntosh (DePauw 1916).

The 1929 Expositor described the first Paedagogus as having “sixty-six pages including a blank record for the individual pledge owner, an article on manners, 240 pledge questions, a chronological table of events in the history of the Fraternity, condensed data regarding the subordinate zetas, illustrations of the emblems of Lambda Chi Alpha and the badges and pledge buttons of other fraternities.”

While billed as “a unique booklet in fraternity literature,” the above-mentioned article on manners, entitled Good Taste, was credited to the pledge manual of Delta Sigma Phi. For the most part, the advice is as valuable today as it was in the 1920s and 1930s.

Additional articles, both original and reprinted from other sources were added at this time. Certain features, such as the timeline and photos of our chapter houses, begun in 1927, continue to the present, while others were either updated or deleted.

1940s

Tozier Brown (Denver 1936), later to be elected Grand High Pi and Grand High Alpha, joined the Fraternity staff in 1936, and wrote extensively for the Paedagogus.

The 1940 edition, while modern in format and materials, was also decidedly Greek –- an eclectic mix of the new and the ancient. Portraits and signatures of the Grand High Zeta, including the newly incorporated representatives of Theta Kappa Nu, graced two pages while the following two pages illustrated a “kylix” (cup), originally signed by Douris circa 490-480 B.C., and entitled Boy with Seated Paigagogos.

In the section “Ideals Picturized,” Fraternity emblems such as the coat of arms, seal, flag, badge, pledge button, recognition button, High Alpha’s Service Pendant, Order of Merit Pendant, Quarter-Century Pendant, and other emblems were illustrated and explained in detail. Pledge questions in the 1940 edition were limited to 26 perforated pages and included five crossword puzzles.

By 1945, questions had disappeared from the series and, aside from the usual updates, few other changes were made before the series ended in 1960.

1960s

A nearly complete rewrite in 1961 also featured the first casual photographs, both posed and candid, in black and white. Photos of fraternity and sorority badges appeared instead of illustrations. Although the first two printings were not called Paedagogus, the books ushered in a new era. Gone were the reprinted articles of earlier issues.

Laws of the Fraternity appeared as a new section and included an anti-hazing statement in 1961. “Lambda Chi Alpha was one of the first to take a strong stand against sophomoric antics which were once thought to be a part of fraternity life. Hazing of pledges or members shall not be permitted at any time whether on or off fraternity premises. Hazing is degrading, dangerous and contrary to what your Fraternity stands for.”

Another law, which had been adopted by the undergraduates for all chapters, provided that, “No alcoholic liquors shall be permitted on the premises of any Subordinate Zeta, nor shall any alcoholic beverages be served at any entertainment given in the name of the Fraternity.”

But the heading “Drinking” in 1961 was changed in 1970 to “Alcoholic Beverages and Illegal Drugs.” The outright ban on alcohol was relaxed to conform to “institutional, state, and local policies,” and measures added to “prevent and, where necessary, to eliminate the use of illegal drugs.”

Such changes reflected the drug culture sweeping the country during the 1960s.

1970s

A further rewrite that today might be termed an extreme makeover began in 1973, and was aimed at a new generation of students. Gone were the many pages on rules, manners, and study habits.

One page, Our Emblems then…and Now, looks to be the only one reprinted exactly from 1970. Also lost were the depictions of badges and pledge pins of other fraternities and sororities and the statement regarding membership selection. Of the 50 volumes covered within the scope of this article, our non-discrimination policy appears to have been spotlighted in only the 1970 edition.

The focus in 1973 was turned more toward the concept of brotherhood itself, with the opening pages starting off with ideals and the most extensive history of the Fraternity to date. The sections that followed outlined chapter organization, the General Fraternity, Fraternity for life, and democracy in the chapter room.

In 1975, the first color photographs –- those of the new headquarters at 8741 Founders Road, Indianapolis, Indiana, and of McIntosh and the coat of arms panels he painted –- appeared in The Paedagogus, and remained through 1992.

The practice of crediting the editor, contributors, and photographer began in 1973, and continued through 2003, with the exception of the 1990 edition. Capsule histories of our zeta, which from the start had been spread across two pages, were reorganized into paragraph form. The chronological roll of chapters was preserved.

1990s

In 1992, the 44th General Assembly approved a resolution that adopted 13 basic membership expectations in Lambda Chi Alpha. In the 1995 The Paedagogus these expectations, comprising chapter one, were enumerated, then discussed at length in the ensuing 30 pages. Included were revived and updated sections dealing with etiquette and personal budgeting.

The 1995 edition was the first to actually be divided into numbered chapters, and the first to feature the creed of Lambda Chi Alpha. Chapter three was devoted to the standards for chapter excellence, chapter four to the international Fraternity, and Chapter five to interfraternal brotherhood, which added a listing of NIC, NPC, and NPHC member organizations. Portions of this edition were credited to Sigma Chi, Sigma Phi Epsilon, Zeta Beta Tau, Kappa Delta, and Zeta Tau Alpha.

But adding this new material, while limited to 30 fewer pages than in 1992, meant something had to go. Lost was the page of emblems showing the Theta Kappa Nu badge, pre-merger pledge button, and development of the coat of arms, as well as McIntosh’s panels and the chronological roll of chapters.

While six early leaders were highlighted, the account of our founding was severely abbreviated. The 1995, 1997, and 2000 editions were printed in black and white.

2000s

The 2003 The Paedagogus saw a return to color, and was the only volume to include the constitution and statutory code in its entirety. It also brought back the 12 Lambda Chi Alpha ideals, not mentioned since 1970. The intervening books listed four ideals –- loyalty, truth, industry, and courage –- although “courage” was not one of the original 12.

The most recent volumes, published in 2003 and 2005, are virtually identical to one another and follow closely those from 1995 through 2000.

A ‘History’ of our History

As The Paedagogus traces our history, it also reveals the “history” of our history, particularly as it pertains to the founding of Lambda Chi Alpha. Keep in mind Warren A. Cole’s (Boston 1912) departure from the Fraternity in 1920, and the attitudes of our leaders subsequent to that event, even after his reinstatement in 1957. Cole died on December 29, 1968.

Early versions of Paedagogus -– the Chronology serving as the history section –- state that on November 2, 1909, “Three law students founded Alpha Zeta of Lambda Chi Alpha at Boston University, Boston, Mass.”

Cole is mentioned in the section Men of Service as having “served as national president, first known as Supreme Eminent Archon and later as Grand High Alpha, from Nov. 15, 1911, to Jan. 2, 1920, and prior to Nov., 1911, had been president of Alpha.” In 1929, a line in yet a third part of the book read, “First members belonged to Alpha Mu Chi and Cosmopolitan Law Club (1909).”

A more detailed history appeared in 1940, again crediting our founding to “a little group of law students” at Boston University. “One of the first three to participate in the movement after entering college had his taste of Greek-letter organization whetted by admission into a national law fraternity.”

Cole was not named as the individual referred to. In 1961, 1962, and 1964, the little group of students had been elevated to “persevering” and “ambitious,” but the basic story remained the same through 1970.

Finally in 1973, five years after his death, Cole received recognition for his accomplishments. “To see and to understand the times he lived in, to have the vision for the founding of an uncommon fraternity when it seemed that the field was already filled, was the genius of Warren A. Cole, principal founder of Lambda Chi Alpha Fraternity.”

The 1977 The Paedagogus went one step further with the statement that “Lambda Chi Alpha became the only fraternity to exist and develop in its early days almost entirely in the mind of a single individual. This man was Warren Albert Cole.”

This account was also the first to include the names Clyde Nichols and Percival Morse who, along with Cole, are supposed to have belonged to the high school fraternity Alpha Mu Chi, and to reveal that Cole “gave November 2, 1909, as the date of his first effort, but in later years said that this date had no significance.” By 1992, the story of our founding filled two pages in The Paedagogus.

From 1995 through 2000, however, it had dwindled to five paragraphs, and in 2003 and 2005, just two. These two paragraphs are essentially the same as those in the 1940 The Paedagogus and were lifted virtually word for word from the 1961 edition. There is no mention of Lambda Chi Alpha’s founding by Cole, except in his personal biography five pages later.

Collective Contributions

It is impossible in this short article to adequately sum up the contributions of the many, many devoted brothers who in the course of 80 years have published 50 editions comprising nearly 7,400 pages.

We can be proud that The Paedagogus was among the first, and remains one of the best, fraternity manuals produced anywhere.