Waugh v. Board of Trustees of Univ. of Miss.
Headline: Court upheld Mississippi law banning Greek-letter fraternities in state-supported colleges, allowing universities to refuse admission or honors to members and enforce pledges, affecting students who belong to outside chapters.
Holding: The Court ruled that Mississippi may ban secret Greek-letter societies in state-supported schools and deny admission or honors to members, holding the law does not violate the Fourteenth Amendment’s equal-protection guarantee.
- Allows universities to refuse admission to students who belong to banned fraternities.
- Permits denying class honors, scholarships, or prizes to fraternity members.
- Gives state trustees power to require pledges and enforce discipline.
Summary
Background
The case involves a Mississippi resident and taxpayer who belonged to the Kappa Sigma fraternity’s chapter at another college and sought admission to the University of Mississippi’s law department. After a 1912 state law banned Greek-letter and similar secret student societies in all state-supported schools and barred members from receiving honors or prizes, the University’s trustees required applicants to sign pledges promising not to join or support such societies while enrolled. The applicant refused to sign and was denied admission. He sued, claiming the law and the trustees’ rules deprived him of property, liberty, and equal protection under the Fourteenth Amendment.
Reasoning
The Court focused on whether attending the public university is an absolute right or may be made conditional by the State. It accepted the Mississippi Supreme Court’s view that the legislature controls state-funded colleges and can enact disciplinary regulations for their welfare. The Court said it would not overturn state judgments about the wisdom or necessity of those rules. It also found that exempting current students was a rational, non-retroactive choice. On these grounds, the Court held the statute and the trustees’ enforcement did not violate the Fourteenth Amendment.
Real world impact
The decision upholds the State’s power to set conditions for admission and to bar or limit members of banned fraternities from honors and participation. Students who belong to out-of-school fraternity chapters can be required to renounce affiliation or be refused admission or certain distinctions. The ruling affirms that public universities and their trustees may enforce pledges and disciplinary measures the legislature authorizes.
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