Brothers by Choice, not by Birth
by Gene Swackhamer, Past Grand President.

Almost from the beginning arose the question of eligibility based upon criteria other than the study of agriculture.   It seems only natural that brother would follow brother and cousins might also matriculate to the same institution and be in the same course of study.  But, did their relationship with a brother of Alpha Gamma Rho give them an automatic bid to membership if they were otherwise eligible?  The answer from our beginning was No and has always been No.  Each man must stand on his own feet and his own credentials independent of the family relationship with an undergraduate or alumni member.  Of course, as one might expect, disappointments and even heartbreaks soon emerged as members voted their convictions with brutal honesty.  Petitions of mitigating circumstances or appeals for reconsideration followed next, but nowhere can it be found among the records that the National Fraternity ever acted to override a decision by the undergraduate brothers “selecting a new brother by choice.”

            Eventually the same question applied to sons, nephews and grandsons.   There is still no automatic bid for a “legacy” in our constitution.  In spite of the disappointments felt by some brothers over cases of rejection, there are some wonderful stories of AGR families.  In compiling the Centennial History of Alpha Gamma Rho, it is desired to find some of these families of brothers.   Does your chapter have such a family?  I have been told that there are five generations of Toussaint men that are brothers at Epsilon and seven related Browns that have worn an Eta pin.  Can you help me locate other examples of related men who became brothers, not by virtue of birth, but by choice? 

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