Experience of Jewish Teenagers in Maine


Alpha Rho Upsilon, Bowdoin College, 1948

Alpha Rho Upsilon, Bowdoin College, 1948
Item 53713   info
Bowdoin College Library

In 1946, Bowdoin students founded the fraternity Alpha Rho Upsilon. The group of students, which consisted primarily of Jews, chose the letters ARU to stand for "All Races United."

The fraternity was established with the belief that it would give Jews and Blacks their own group with which they could associate.

However, the student newspaper, The Orient, opposed the formation of the fraternity on the grounds that the existing fraternities should stop being anti-Semitic and accept Jewish students as members, which ultimately did happen.

Once the Jewish students had their own group with which to associate on campus, they felt more included in communal life on campus.

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