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Fi Batar Cappar
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bitcruncher Offline
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I Root For: West Virginia
Location: Knoxville, TN
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Fi Batar Cappar
Anybody else remember these guys... 03-old
The Charleston Daily Mail Wrote:When Fi Batar Cappar fouled up bigtime in 1971, WVU cracked down
By Jake Stump
Daily Mail Capitol Reporter
November 20, 2008

Gallery 1 of 4 Photos
[Image: FBC3_I081120100757.jpg]
The group leads the marching band onto the field.


CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- People who go to WVU football games today witness several traditions that date back to the days of Old Mountaineer Field, such as the band running out of the tunnel and the buckskin-clad mascot firing his musket.

They do not get to see a bunch of rabble-rousers and troublemakers known as Fi Batar Cappar.

The mock fraternity group made its presence known for decades at the long-gone stadium on the downtown campus. Members donned bathrobes, derby hats and canes to drum up support for the Mountaineers.

Often times, they would launch pranks toward opposing athletes and fans, and that ultimately led to Fi Batar Cappar's demise.

The group lasted 57 illustrious years at WVU before disbanding in December 1971. That year, a faculty-student committee urged the university to strip recognition from the organization.

This punishment came after Fi Batar Cappar members displayed an obscene banner at a WVU-Penn State game. More than 37,000 fans - including women and children - saw a banner "with an inscription more likely to be found on the walls of a men's restroom," according to an editorial in the Weston Democrat.

The Mountaineers lost 35-7, and Fi Batar Cappar was to go down in flames as well.

"Because of its continued disreputable conduct as a student organization, Fi Batar Cappar is permanently removed from all University recognition," said the legendary Joe Gluck, dean of student education services at the time.

That meant Fi Batar Cappar was permanently denied use of any university facilities or participation in university-related activities.

Before the Penn State game, a committee sponsored a pregame banner parade featuring 24 student groups. According to Gluck, the student committee refused to include Fi Batar Cappar's banner because it was obscene. Members, however, sneaked the banner onto Mountaineer Field after the parade.

The name Fi Batar Cappar is an obvious play off Phi Beta Kappa, the nation's oldest and most prestigious honorary society for Arts and Science graduates, said Barbara Howe, a leading authority on WVU history and the director of women's studies.

According to Howe's account, law students organized the "Alfa Chapter of Fi Batar Cappar" and WVU recognized it in 1914.

Sometime in 1920, Phi Beta Kappa learned of Fi Batar Cappar and took exception. Officials with the original honor society felt Fi Batar Cappar's presence undermined them. One of them stated, "The attention of the authorities of the university should be called to this fact and drastic action taken to see that this society finds no further place at West Virginia."

Fi Batar Cappar assured Phi Beta Kappa it was not formed to discredit the prestigious society.

The mock fraternity was created, in large part, to build school spirit at athletic events.

The 1926 edition of the Monticola, the WVU student yearbook, says Fi Batar Cappar was founded in Athens in 327 B.C. by Socrates. It lists Tut as a member of the fraternity and Cleopatra as the first Fi Batar girl.

Several group pictures show members giving a thumbs-up or thumbs-down gesture.

Fi Batar Cappar didn't accept just anybody.

Only juniors, seniors and graduate students were offered membership. Nominations for new members were held within the first 30 days of each semester and candidates must have maintained a 'C' average or better.

"You had to be somebody to get in it," said Doug Skaff, group president in 1970. "It was hard to get into. I'm sure there were future senators in the group."

Those wanting to join had to endure initiation, another aspect that landed Fi Batar Cappar in hot water.

The group was suspended for a year in 1969 because it violated university policy prohibiting physical and mental hazing of students. One student was hospitalized with kidney injuries after he was repeatedly paddled.

"We did a lot of stupid things," recalls Skaff, who took over the organization after its suspension. "Paddles were predominant in that era for any service organization. Each member would swat you on your behind - that's how you met them."

Other initiation rituals involved eating an abundance of deviled eggs and chugging five gallons of mustard water.

Skaff, 60, later became a financial analyst and worked as economic development director under Govs. Arch Moore, Jay Rockefeller and Gaston Caperton. He's now a real estate developer. His son, Doug Skaff Jr., was elected to the House of Delegates earlier this month.

The elder Skaff reflected on his days with Fi Batar Cappar as a golden era. Most members just had fun and never intended to hurt anybody.

"We were known for pranks," he said. "Fun-loving, spirited pranks against opposing teams, cheerleaders and fans."

Fi Batar Cappar was allowed access to the field during football games, but that privilege was taken away when a member, draped in bathrobe and derby hat, followed a drum major onto the turf and interrupted a ceremony.

First-year members usually sported the goofy, colorful outfits while the elder members remained in the stands dressed in suits.

A multicolored robe identified you as a member and supporter of WVU athletics, Skaff explained. But the robes were only for new members and part of the initiation process. The neophytes were typically the ones clowning around.

"They were the people that did the crazy antics," he said.

Fi Batar Cappar also spread its cheer at basketball games. Members weren't allowed on the court at those functions, however.

There was a bit of method to the madness, at least, in terms of fashion.

Each member had the same exact derby, specially ordered.

Skaff remembers ordering them through Biafora's clothing store on High Street in Morgantown. The hats were shipped in from New York.

"Every member had the same type of derby," he said. "Same band and everything. You couldn't deviate from that. It was more distinctive than the bathrobes."

Members showcased individuality with their canes by decorating them to their own preferences.

"The more colorful the cane, the better," Skaff said. "You could decorate the cane and it would be used as the staff to rally students for cheerleading purposes."

Before Skaff's arrival, all freshmen on campus were required to wear a beanie.

Beanies for girls were black and white. Boys wore gold and blue ones. Students had to wear them for the first few weeks of class, and Fi Batar Cappar members served as the enforcers of this tradition.

If caught without the beanie, you had to sing a university song or cheer. Unlucky freshmen were tossed into a fishpond that used to sit behind Stewart Hall.

Gordon Thorn, assistant vice president of student affairs, believes the paddling incident that got the group suspended likely killed any respectability or relationship Fi Batar Cappar had with the university.

Thorn was never a member of Fi Batar Cappar but remembers the group from when he was a student and official at WVU. He graduated with bachelor's and master's degrees in psychology from WVU in 1953 and 1955, respectively. Since then he has served in several official capacities at the university.

"Mostly they were known as a spirit group for football," Thorn said. "They might even be an early rendition of the Mountaineer Maniacs. They tried to get people enthused about football, and they built bonfires and enforced freshmen rules and regulations."

An official file on the group doesn't even exist at WVU.

"They organized themselves in a haphazard way and had fun," Thorn said. "They did a lot of cheering and waving their canes. That was all harmless stuff. The problem was the hazing. I don't know how many whacks people got, but it sounds like a good number."

"But they weren't all bad. They were a fun group."

Fi Batar Cappar had about 80 members when Skaff served as president. Skaff cited the suspension and changes in the nation's political landscape as factors that diminished student interest in the group.

With the group on suspension for a year, some students graduated and moved on.

Anti-war and political protests were also shaking up campuses across the country. Students were more inclined to lend their voices to those efforts than a service organization.

"That era ushered in student involvement in political activities," Skaff said.

"We weren't an organization you stayed involved in once you graduated. We don't have an alumni chapter. Though that would be interesting."

Contact writer Jake Stump at jakestump@dailymail.com or 304-348-4842.
That was a nice little trip down memory lane...
11-20-2008 11:31 AM
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