Gone But Not Forgotten: Two legenary organizations left mark on NDSU and UND in more than one way

Tumultuous. Mysterious. Abrupt. Those three words accurately describe the final decade of the Rahjah Club's tenure at NDSU, and even now - 30 years later - some secrecy remains on the details of exactly what happened to the notorious organization in its final years. The same goes for the Golden Feathers, though their history is a decade shorter.

Disciplinary actions
Throughout the 1960s radical changes occurred all over the country and in the latter part of the decade, many young people eschewed traditional values to disassociate themselves from mainstream values. NDAC had recently changed its name to NDSU, and the Rahjah Club grew more and more zealous in their enthusiasm for Bison athletics. "We were a very fun-loving, spirited organization," laughed Al Selleck, a Rahjah member from 1966-1970. "We never got the respect we deserved. Blue Key was considered a very conservative group, but we Rahjahs had a lot of fun."

The group must have had a little too much fun, because according to an Oct. 12, 1967 Spectrum article, the Student Senate imposed a short probation for the Rahjah Club. The article implies complaints prompted this action, stating, "Probation won't restrict their actions, but further complaints by students, faculty or townspeople could lead to the suspension of the club." Donald "Pepper" Walstad was serving as president of the Rahjah Club at the time of the probation. "We were pretty much on probation all the time, but student government formally put us on then," Walstad explained. The Rahjahs tried to "clean up (their) act a little bit" following the probation charge, Walstad remembered, wearing white shirts and ties to games with their infamous jackets. Selleck remembered the ties were green "with yellow Bison heads" on them."We were much more well behaved in public and on campus," Walstad said. "But we didn't change our ways too much."

Following another boisterous display of enthusiasm at a football game, Walstad was called in to meet with the dean of students. He negotiated that the Rahjah Club would donate an amount of money to the new field house (now the Bison Sports Arena) being built on campus. "It was the only way we could stay on campus," he said. The Rahjah Club ended up being one of only two student organizations that donated money to the field house fund, the other being the highly regarded Blue Key Honor Society.

The group's attempt to behave better in public didn't stifle their shenanigans with the Golden Feathers though. Selleck recalled that the Feathers owned an immobile hearse with a painted yellow feather that was used in parades and pep rallies. "Well, we borrowed their hearse," Selleck explained. "We towed it down to Fargo and around campus in an impromptu pep rally. The Golden Feathers called and demanded it back or we'd be charged with grand theft. So we towed it back and gave it to them."

Criticism abounds
Both Walstad and Selleck attested to the friendly competition that continued between the two rival pep clubs, citing other instances of harmless tomfoolery such as competing in a softball game against each other or referring to the Feathers as the "Golden Bananas." That moniker made its way north, as a 1967 Dacotah annual article refers to the UND organization as such. The article also states the group attempted to give itself a facelift to improve its "tarnished" image by working with the athletic department.

Apparently while the Rahjah Club was getting in trouble for showing too much spirit, the Golden Feathers were accused of not showing enough spirit. A Sept. 26, 1967 Dakota Student article explains the criticism the group received from football fans, as well as charges the organization was biased in its selection process. A month later an article in the Dakota Student questioned whether the group promoted school spirits or spirits in general, citing several - and mostly negative - student comments about the organization. A 1968 Dacotah annual alluded to the criticism the organization received, as well as mentioned the Feathers' sponsorship of the King Kold Karnival. According to the article, an act cancelled mid-week but the event still happened. Little did anyone know that this event would play a significant role in the organization's undoing later on.

While most of the pranks the two clubs pulled on each other seemed relatively harmless, one incident in the fall of 1968 threatened criminal charges. During homecoming in the fall of 1968, about 6,000 copies of NDSU's student newspaper, The Spectrum, disappeared from newsstands, stolen by two young men posing as the regular distributors, according to an Oct. 11, 1968 Dakota Student article. Because of the $1,300 printing cost, authorities considered the theft grand larceny.

Fingers immediately pointed to the Golden Feathers, who'd been in Fargo the previous night "engaging in traditional initiation competition with their NDSU counterparts, the Rahjahs," the article stated. "One member of the Golden Feathers was discovered in an NDSU fraternity house and his head was shaved," wrote Lyn Burton, Dakota Student copy editor. "It was thought the Feathers might have chosen to retaliate by stealing the papers." The UND Dean of Men and Golden Feathers president were notified. The organization's president discussed the matter with members and "assured the authorities of the group's innocence," the article stated.

But the bad press didn't end there. A Nov. 1, 1968 Dakota Student article revealed the Golden Feathers had been partially released from a $1,500 debt from the King Kold Karnival the previous February. The Student Activities Committee loaned the organization the money but received nothing in return, according the article. Because the event only cost the club $1,100, SAC forgave that amount, requiring the return of the $400 difference. That payment would continue to prove troublesome for the organization.

In February 1969 an article appeared in The Spectrum questioning whether the Rahjah Club's controversial reputation was deserved. The Club's president acknowledged that members liked to drink but also pointed out the Club's philanthropic activities, such as a Pep Queen contest, donating money to cheerleaders for uniforms, sponsoring a trophy for Little International and contributing money toward the field house fund. One of the group's biggest supporters was Charles "Chuck" Bentson, dean of men, who boasted about the group's improved appearance and desire for a favorable reputation. The Club also continued to tout several campus and Greek life leaders, said Mike Warner, a Rahjah Club member from 1969-1972. Much of the flak the organization fielded stemmed more from a cultural shift than actual actions from the club, he explained. "Just in general, kids were getting more of a reputation of being non-conventional," Warner said. "At the time, that was the brush that all college men got painted with - the cliché of college guys doing a lot of drinking."

One of the most notorious - and nonconventional - events in NDSU's history was "Zip to Zap." Zip to Zap originated as an idea amongst Spectrum editors to vacation to Zap, N.D., for spring break. The article was picked up by the Associated Press and spread across the nation, resulting in thousands of college students descending on the small town of Zap and the North Dakota National Guard being called in to dissipate the crowd when it became too unruly to control and everyone was forced to leave. And sure enough, the Rahjahs and Feathers were involved. Or at least they were supposed to be. According to a May 1, 1969 Spectrum article about the event, an athletic challenge allbetween the Rahjahs and Golden Feathers was supposed to take place. Because of the debacle, the challenge obviously never took place.

By the end of the 1960s, the two pep clubs had already endured a rollercoaster reputation. That wasn't soon to change. Warner also mentioned that the preconceived notion society holds about college students - that everyone drinks - contributed to the Club's blemished reputation, whether it was warranted or not. Suddenly the university began disassociating itself from men's clubs and Greek houses in an effort to avoid liability issues, Warner said. Combine this with the feminist movement occurring throughout the country and the wheels were set in motion for the undoing of the Rahjah Club.

The beginning of the end
In the fall of 1970, the UND Student Policies Committee revoked the Golden Feathers' constitution, refusing to consider a new one before second semester, according to a Nov. 3, 1970 Dakota Student article. Three sororities complained that Golden Feathers members harassed them. The organization's president said the small contingent of Feathers involved weren't active members but had been at a party for newly initiated members where alcohol was available, the article stated. The group's constitution was reinstated the following fall, according to an Oct. 29, 1971 Dakota Student article. Members were making a concerted effort to change the "beer" image most people held about them through more acute selection and documenting procedures and attempting to raise money to repay the debt still haunting the group, the article stated. The group had actually changed its named to UND Feathers and had shed the old black and gold coats for green and white ones, according to a Dec. 10, 1971 Letter to the Editor in the Dakota Student.

It's harder to pinpoint exactly what was happening with the Rahjah Club during the early 1970s because Bison annuals were published sporadically, so tracking down members from those years was significantly more difficult. Despite the Feathers' name change and attempt to shed a stained reputation, the two organizations continued to maintain their friendly rivalry. "A lot of times (we'd) get together at Frenchy's Bar and plan an event," said Bruce Klabunde, a Rahjah member from 1975-1978. "There were some personality conflicts. There was always drinking involved and events can get out of hand."

While the relationship between the two groups maintained a "friendly" feel, tensions between each organization and its campus's athletic department seemed to escalate. In January 1976, Rahjah member Roger Gress was arrested in Grand Forks after an uncharacteristically violent brawl broke out between the Rahjahs and Golden Feathers. According to a Jan.13, 1976 article in The Spectrum, Golden Feathers members paraded a wounded, paper mâché bison during homecoming to taunt NDSU fans. Gress, who was married and a Vietnam vet when he joined the organization, remembers traipsing through the bleachers down to the court to "defend the honor of NDSU." Because most of the brawlers involved had been drinking before the game, the incident escalated quickly and Gress found himself taken away to jail and released after paying a portion of his bond.

Naturally Gress was embarrassed by what happened, and he and his wife, who was a graduate student at NDSU at the time, decided it might be best for his academic future to step away from the Rahjah Club, though he maintains a fierce loyalty to the organization to this day. Gress serves as the executive director of the Fargo Park District and is just one example of the many Rahjah members who've led successful, meaningful lives despite their involvement in what was considered an unsavory organization. Gress exudes a youthful enthusiasm when talking about his short time in the Rahjah Club and acknowledged repeatedly that the activities happening within the group would never be allowed today because of changing cultural values. "It was just good times that got carried away," he explained. "We were all good guys."

The next year an incident involving a wayward alcohol bottle and an injured football fan sent the Rahjah Club into a downward spiral. A Rahjah member was blamed despite proclaimed and witnessed innocence, and suddenly Rahjah members themselves began questioning whether their existence on campus was necessary any longer. Not to mention that Title IX - legislation passed in 1972 requiring gender equity for boys and girls in federally funded educational programs - dictated that the historically all male Rahjah Club suddenly open its doors to female members. "We weren't going to attract women," said Scott Malmberg, a Rahjah member from 1977-1978, the last full year of the Club's existence on campus. "(The club) didn't have a nice reputation among women." Though the Club did admit a couple of women to satisfy the Title IX requirement, Malmberg said the football game incident and the basketball game incident the year before dictated what needed to be done. "The members decided to just quietly go away," he explained. "To make people happy, it was best to disband. It wasn't right, but it was for the best."

Though not active on campus, the Rahjah Club maintained organizational status until the spring of 1980 when it was deleted from the Recognized Student Organizations List completed by the Congress of Student Organizations . Meanwhile in Grand Forks, the Golden Feathers had been banned in 1977, according to a Sept. 30, 1983 Dakota Student article. On the UND Archives website, the organization's entry states it was banned for financial reasons, most likely stemming from the King Kold Karnival debt that was never repaid.

Is the Rahjah Club really gone?
Like so many other mystical institutions, the death of the Rahjah Club was slow and alluring. Malmberg said some people didn't wear their jackets around campus anymore to disassociate themselves from the smeared organization. "But we still cheered, still went to games," he said. "We weren't visible as a bunch but we were still together with the same guys... We just became a student section."

Malmberg said it best when he mused that the Rahjah legend is still alive and true today. The Rahjah Club gave NDSU its first taste of studentled support, which continues today in organizations like Bison Ambassadors and the Student Fan Club. And the "pre-game drinking" that led to some of the infamous - and unfortunate - incidents the Rahjah Club is remembered for is reminiscent of tailgating that now takes place just west of the Fargodome.

And the song sung by a vast majority of NDSU students that begins, "On the plains of North Dakota standing there for all to see"...?

That's the brainchild of Rahjah member Ralph Peterson and a few of his fellow Rahjahs.

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Writer's Note:
Interviewing for and writing this article was one of the most exhausting but rewarding processes I've been through. The men I talked to exude such excitement and pride about their involvement in the Rahjah Club that it was hard not to be affected by their infectious love of NDSU. I want to personally thank everyone I talked to for this article, whether I used information from your interview or not. I hope those reading this article realize that the Rahjah Club was an organization whose legend outlasted its utility, but it contributed to NDSU in ways most of us will never fully realize. While the unsavory incidents seem to be what people remember most about the organization, I hope this series of articles sheds light on the positive contributions the organization made, as well as other factors beyond the group's control that contributed to its end.

Feel free to email me at danielle@bisonillustrated.com with any comments or questions regarding this series.