Editing Alpha Theta (section)

===Breaking from Theta Chi===
[[Image:AO old house.PNG|right|thumb|Alpha Theta's original building]]
Alpha Theta was one of the first collegiate fraternities in the United States to break from its national organization over [[Civil rights movement|civil rights]] issues, and the first at the Greek-dominated Dartmouth College. In 1951, while Dickey served as president of the college, the student body passed a resolution calling on all fraternities to eliminate racial discrimination from their constitutions. The Theta Chi national organization's constitution contained a clause limiting membership in fraternity to "[[Caucasian race|Caucasian]]s" only. 

On April 24, 1952, the members of the Dartmouth chapter voted unanimously to stop recognizing the racial clause in Theta Chi's constitution.<ref name="NYTimes-19520426">{{cite news | url=https://www.nytimes.com/1952/04/26/archives/dartmouth-society-drops-bias-clause.html | journal=The New York Times | title=Dartmouth Society Drops Bias Clause | date=April 26, 1952}}</ref> Upon learning that the Dartmouth delegation to Theta Chi's national convention later that year planned to raise questions about the clause, the Alpha Theta chapter was derecognized by the national organization on July 25, 1952.<ref name="NYTimes-19580728">{{cite news | url=https://www.nytimes.com/1952/07/28/archives/charter-is-revoked-dartmouth-theta-chi-chapter-rejected-racial.html  | journal=The New York Times | title=Charter is Revoked: Dartmouth Theta Chi Chapter Rejected Racial Clause | date=July 28, 1952}}</ref> The house reincorporated as a local fraternity and adopted the name Alpha Theta.