Fraternities' Future at Amherst

Fraternity housing and dining rooms were closed in 1942, and the leasing of housing to the college was authorized for wartime. A Fraternity Pool was established to collect funds and emphasize the importance of fraternities. However, this would only jeopardize the fraternities as administration took steps to eliminate them completely.

Towards the end of the war, administration began to place pressure on fraternities, hoping to snuff them out by war's end. A series of 4 meetings was held to discuss the future of fraternities, where students and professors clashed.

 Professor N. L. McKeon was an outspoken critique of fraternities, citing that their motives (social, intellectual and religious) have all been forgotten and supplied by the college itself. He also argues that "The College pays no attention to race, creed or color; freshmen, at admission, are equal in the eyes of the Dean and the Administration, but they are not here long before they find they are not equal."

The second meeting of fraternities was similar to the first. Professors present discussed the intersection of fraternities and sports, although were not necessarily as critical as those at the first meeting.  Concern was expressed that fraternities overemphasized the importance of athletics and encouraged the neglect of academic pursuits.