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The year was 1904. Winston Churchill was 30 years old. Anton Chekov passed away. The United States gained control of the Panama Canal Zone for $10 million. George M. Cohan's song, "The Yankee Doodle Boy," was published. The first Olympic Games ever held in America took place in St. Louis. And on May 12, fourteen Master Masons attending the University of Michigan founded Acacia Fraternity.
Acacia's founders established the fraternity on a unique basis. Membership was restricted to those who had already taken the Masonic obligations, and the organization was to be built on the ideals and principles inculcated by the vows taken by Master Masons. Within one year, four other Masonic clubs received Acacia charters, paving the way for rapid expansion in the following years. Members were to be motivated by a desire for high scholarship and of such character that the fraternity would be free of the social vices and unbecoming activities that for years had been a blot on the fraternity life.
Today, members are no longer required to belong to the Masonic Fraternity. However, since Acacia was founded by Master Masons, it still enjoys an informal spiritual tie to Masonry. Some Acacians pursue membership in the Masonic Orders, and Masonic lodges and individual masons have been of invaluable service to Acacia chapters over the years. This relationship, however, is voluntary. The evolution and development of Acacia over the years has resulted in a fraternity considerably different from what the founders originally envisioned. But, each major change has been an adaptation to the needs of new conditions, and each has permitted the fraternity to grow in reputation, influence, and strength.
Our second century will undoubtedly require further change, but so long as Acacia continues to stand for high scholarship, fraternal brotherhood and human service, the intentions of our founders will be well realized.
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The Acacia interest group at Louisiana Tech began in May as a group of four Masons enrolled at the university, who were looking to form an organization for the college Masonic population, which is currently growing. (The legal age for lodges was lowered to 18 in 2003.) We considered forming a new lodge or a college group within the lodge, but rejected both ideas because we were afraid it would create a haves/have-nots division in the lodge. We also wanted to create something that our non-Mason friends could join as well. The idea for Acacia arose while we were cleaning the lodge library, and found a letter from the Grand Lodge about the LSU Acacia chapter. This idea solved our dilemma- Acacia has a Masonic connection without requiring lodge membership, and its existence won't cause any resentment from the rest of the lodge.
We remained necessarily dormant throughout the summer, since the then four members were spending the summer out of town. On August 17, the four original guys met with three additional friends. We elected temporary officers, set a regular meeting, and made plans.
During Fall 2007, we recruited three additional members, bringing our total to ten, found a house, and had a lot of fun. On December 10, 2007, we were officially recognized by the Interfraternity Council as a colony. We currently have 25 active members, 4 alumni, and are looking forward to recruiting a new class in the fall and receiving our charter. |
