se and that fraternities were flourishing in
most of the institutions where they had been established. Finally in
December, 1849, a list of members of the Chi Psi fraternity, which
included the names of many new students, was found in a University
catalogue. The defense set up by the chapter was that they were not
members of a society "_in_ the University of Michigan" but "_in_ Ann
Arbor," that they did not meet on University grounds, and that they had
admitted three members who were not students. One of these members was,
in fact, a member of the Board of Regents. The society, therefore, was
not connected with the University and did not consist of students. This
defense was considered only an evasion and on the last day of the term
in 1849 the Faculty announced that the members of Chi Psi and Alpha
Delta Phi, whose names had in the meantime been made public, must cease
their connection with the University, unless they renounced their
connection with their fraternities. Of the members of these two
societies seven withdrew their membership; the others were expelled. The
members of Beta Theta Pi were not expelled until September, 1850,
apparently because the constitution had not yet been signed, to the
disgust of one member of the Faculty, who considered this excuse only a
legalistic quibble. Some of the students expelled went to other
institutions, some eventually returned to the University, while others
ended their college days.

This action naturally caused an uproar; neither the Faculty nor the
Regents were unanimous in approval of these measures; while the citizens
of Ann Arbor held an indignation meeting and appointed a committee to
ask the Legislature for a change in the administration of the
University. The Faculty prepared a report to the Regents stating their
case strongly and even bitterly, characterizing the whole history of
these three societies as "a detail of obliquities," and their "extended
affiliations as a great irresponsible authority, a monster power, which
lays its hand upon every College Faculty in our country"; they were also
fearful of the "debauchery, drunkenness, pugilism, and duelling, ... and
the despotic power of disorder and ravagism, rife among their German
prototypes." This report was signed by all the Faculty, though the
opinion was not unanimous, nor had all the actions of individual members
been consistent.

The Regents also made a report sustaining the Faculty, and both were
submitte