Great stuff. One story I can confirm involves Newman’s brief time as a member of Phi Kappa Tau at OU.
Newman, as Adam Sandler famously sang, was half-Jewish. The fraternity members wanted to invite Newman to pledge, but had never had a Jewish member before, and weren’t sure if the national organization was “restricted” to Christian men. So they wrote the home office, which advised the chapter that any man of good character was welcome.
Years later, that correspondence was found at the fraternity headquarters, leading to speculation that Newman May have been the national fraternity’s first Jewish member.
Great stuff. One story I can confirm involves Newman’s brief time as a member of Phi Kappa Tau at OU.
Newman, as Adam Sandler famously sang, was half-Jewish. The fraternity members wanted to invite Newman to pledge, but had never had a Jewish member before, and weren’t sure if the national organization was “restricted” to Christian men. So they wrote the home office, which advised the chapter that any man of good character was welcome.
Years later, that correspondence was found at the fraternity headquarters, leading to speculation that Newman May have been the national fraternity’s first Jewish member.
That's super interesting. Would love to see the documentation on that to include in this article. If anyone has access to it...
I lived at the bottom of Jeff Hill and don't remember ever hearing that story.
I'm enjoying the OU nostalgia and investigation!
Thanks, Anne. I lived at the bottom of Mill Street and am surprised it didn't happen more often : )