Pennsylvania State University at Capitol Campus
C 111 Ire CI elh
i'l
Volume 10, No. 2
All that glitters is not g01d...
by Joan H. Klein
Yes, Virginia, there really
is a Golden Key National
Honor Society (GK).
Students at Capitol Cam
pus, whose cumulative grade
point average is 3.4 or above,
received a letter in recent
weeks from this society,
whose national headquarters
is in Atlanta, Georgia. The
letter advised them they had
"been selected for member
ship" as a result of "out
standing scholastic
achievement."
The letter, addressed to
"Dear Student," asked that a
membership data sheet be
completed and returned along
with an initiation and life
membership fee of 35 dollars.
A gold Society Pin was made
available for an additional
12 dollars and 50 cents.
Students were asked to in
clude a two dollar late fee if it
was anticipated that the data
sheet would be late in arriving
at national headquarters.
Students here have been
less than enthusiastic with the
commercial aspect of the
honor. The C.C. Reader is
involved in an on-going inves
tigation to establish whether
or not GK is a bona fide
organization. There has been
a maze of contradictory
evidence. In the final anal
ysis, each student must decide
for himself/herself, aided by
the results of this inquiry to
date.
Adding an aura of legit
imacy to the offer was a
covering letter from Dr.
David E. Butt, an associate
professor of speech commun
ication at University Park. In
a telephone interview, Butt
said he had been approached
by students about eight
months ago about Golden
Key. He said the first ques
tion was: "Why another
honor society?"
Butt said he felt there was
a need for "some special
recognition" of students who
may not have maintained an
average high enough to make
them eligible for existent
honor societies, but who are
"contributors" to campus ac
tivities. (It should be noted
that involvement in
extracurricular activities is
not a requirement for eligi
bility in GK.) . Butt agreed to
be the faculty advisor for the
society.
The matter was then re
ferred to the Undergraduate
Student Government. That
body was charged with ex
amining the credentials of GK
and deciding whether a local
chapter could be registered.
Butt said thius had been done
and the charter was approved
in the Fall 1979 term (facts
not borne out by later inves
tigation).
Jim Prior, chief justice of
the Supreme Court of the
Undergraduate Student
Government, was reached by
telephone Wednesday after
noon. According to Prior,
Golden Key is currently pro
visionally registered at
University Park. All new
organizations wanting regis
tration are given a ten-week
period in which to develop
interest, membership, and ac
tivities.
The ten-week period is
flexible and, in the interest of
fairness to the organization,
GK will not be scheduled for
review until after the January
31 reception.
Prior said the investiga
tion of GK's credentials was
assigned to one justice; and
consisted primarily of reading
the society's literature and
making sure there was no
conflict between it and the
pertinent bylaws of Penn
State University.
The justice also spoke to
temporary officers of the club
and the regional director of
the society.
The C.C. Reader has
learned that the 35 dollar fee
is to go to the national head
quarters in Atlanta. A return
of five dollars per student will
be made to University Park
for local chapter activities.
One dollar per student will be
given to the chapter to pay for
the reception planned for
January 31 in the H.U.B.
Ballroom. An additonal two
dollars per student is return
ed to the chapter to be
awarded annually as scholar
ships to the outstanding
junior and senior.
Interested students spoke
to the advisor about using the
five dollar fees to recruit
merit scholarship winners
(freshmen), and bringing
speakers to campus (Univer
sity Park).
Asked how students of
Capitol Campus might bene
fit from these projects, Butt
said they wouldn't, unless an
active chapter formed at this
campus and activities eman
ated from •here.
Butt was asked if students
could be assured that GK is a
legitimate organization
because it had been given
mailing labels of students
whose GPAs met the criter
ion. He was not certain, and
suggested our questions be
put to Steve Pracht of GK.
Dr. John Joseph, assistant
to the provost at Capitol
Campus, called the registrar's
office at University Park. He
learned that not everyone can
purchase this information; GK
had been permitted to buy
mailing labels because they
were a registered organiza
tion on campus, sanctioned by
the Undergraduate Student
Government after careful
scrutiny.
Pracht visited
Capitol Campus on Tuesday,
January 22, after he learned
questions were being raised
here concerning the society.
He said he was not surprised
that students a Capitol CUD
pus were unenthusiastic
about the letters they had
received.
Pracht explained GK had
understood that the institu
tion of a chapter at Penn State
meant University Park only.
He had been surprised to
learn commonwealth
***************************
Cloggers
Come To
Capitol
Campus
The Green
Grass Cloggers
from North
Carolina are go
ing to present a
program on Old
Time Country and
American Clogg
ing at 7:30 p..m.,
February 5, 1980
in the auditorium.
****************************
campuses had been included
in the computer readout.
"Our request form speci
fied University Park
students," he said.
As a result of the mix-up,
no contact had been made
with Capitol Campus to ex
plain the society and its goals.
At University Park, there had
been an "extensive campus
awareness program," he said.
Pracht had been on campus to
talk with students, ads and an
article were placed in the
newspaper, and posters were
strategically placed through
out the campus.
Pracht, a founding mem
ber of the organization, is a
1976 graduate of Penn State --
University Park with an
undergraduate degree in
Management. In addition to
his position as northeast re
gional director (he is, in fact,
the only regional director),
Pracht is also national vice
president of GK.
He said GK is three years
old and was begun by James
W. Lewis, a Georgia State
University graduate. Lewis,
national president of GK,
earned his undergraduate
degree in Marketing. The
society has a seven-member
national board of directors. It
24 January, 1980
consists of James Lewis and
three other founding mem
bers as well as Dr. Henry
Stanford, president of the
University of Miami, and Dr.
W. Harry Sharp of the
University of Houston. The
eventual plan is to have an
all-academic board.
Pracht echoed the faculty
advisor's sentiments that
there is a need for an honor
society with less stringent
qualifications than those that
now exist. In addition, he
feels the society gives its
members an opportunity for
leadership and involvement.
He mentioned, for example,
the possibility of a voluntary
tutoring program being es
tablished by members.
The deadline for respon
ding to the invitation is past.
Pracht said, "We could extend
the deadline until Spring."
He said if there is suffi
cient student interest, he
could have an awareness pro
gram on this campus followed
by a local reception.
But he added that: "We
don't have anything for Capi
tol Campus at this point."
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