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Iron Arrow Honor Society

Iron Arrow Honor Society (edit | talk | history | protect | delete | links | watch | logs | views) – (View log)
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This is a honor society for the University of Miami and is linked by that main article and the UM template. However, the only references I could find to this organization were in UM website, the student newspaper, the UM staff newspaper, and one obitutary of a member. In the 1980's, the Dept. of Education threatened to withhold Federal Funds from UM because the organization would not admit women, and Iron Arrow sued to challenge the legality of Title IX. Before the case could be considered by the US Supreme Court, the University told them they could not come back to campus without women regardless of the outcome of their court case. The case was dismissed as moot. This was a one-time event which does not warrant a separate article for Iron Arrow, and receives only brief mention in the article. (If necessary, it could be covered in Title IX or University of Miami.) There is no showing of notability beyond just this campus. While there are many worthwhile honor societies on many campuses, this one fails WP:N and WP:ORG. While the organization describes itself as UM's highest honor, it does not appear to engage in any activities which would bring it news coverage, independent of the press releases in the house organs that more members have been added. Racepacket (talk) 20:14, 8 September 2009 (UTC)

  • Comment The case was moot before it could be decided by the Supreme Court, and if coverage of the case is necessary, it could be handled by a sentence in either the Title IX or University of Miami articles. Many organizations decided to challenge Title IX in court, the only unique element here was that the University President sent a letter saying the organization would not be allowed back on campus even if they won the lawsuit, without letting in women. So it is not "a major, defining Supreme Court case", and is not even among the cases discussed in the Title IX article. Racepacket (talk) 23:14, 8 September 2009 (UTC)
The case was prominent--and the organization is too. Absent the case, it still would not warrant deletion, just as many other listed collegiate honor societies on here do not. In fact, of all the listings in Category:Collegiate secret societies, I'd say Iron Arrow is among the most notable and inclusion-worthy. MiamiDolphins3 (talk) 02:26, 9 September 2009 (UTC)
Response the case is separate from the organization and was a one-time event. There are 52 "Collegiate Secret Societies" which are different from Iron Arrow. Iron Arrow is for students, faculty and staff, while the others are student groups which (although "secret") have done things to gain notability in independent secondary sources. There are probably more than 1000 college campuses and most have some honorary societies. Few make the cut. I think this google search Miami "Iron Arrow " -Heckler -IX -Califano produces a better idea of the organization instead of the lawsuit. I could not find any reliable independent secondary source. Racepacket (talk) 05:56, 9 September 2009 (UTC)
Response That book does not count as a source. It was published by the Iron Arrow Society itself, so it is not independent. Amazon lists it as out-of-print, but we don't know if it was just sold to members or if the book was ever sold generally. Please see vanity press and WP:SELFPUB. Racepacket (talk) 05:56, 9 September 2009 (UTC)
Response I didn't suggest the book as a source, and it isn't listed as one. But the fact that there apparently is a 170-page-plus book on the organization is further suggestion that it is a notable organization with a rich history and notability. Article should stay. MiamiDolphins3 (talk) 14:31, 9 September 2009 (UTC)
Explanation: That is not how WP:N works. Self-published books that did not undergo the vetting of a normal publishing house cannot be used to establish notability. I have spent hours looking, but there is no media coverage of the group by the New York Times or other independent media. The 1980 lawsuit was a one-time event, WP:NTEMP. Come up with sources that meet WP:N. Racepacket (talk) 18:05, 9 September 2009 (UTC)
Response An article does not need a New York Times citation to be notable. But, alas, even if it did, this has that too. MiamiDolphins3 (talk) 06:47, 10 September 2009 (UTC)
Response Please show us a New York Times (or any other independent reliable media) that covered the group, and not just the lawsuit that carries the same name as the group. The other "Collegiate Secret Societies" have met the notability criteria, this article does not. 66.173.140.100 (talk)
  • Keep primarily on the basis of the supreme court case. In general I am rather dubious about the actual notability of single-campus honor societies, but this is a special factor. DGG ( talk ) 06:57, 9 September 2009 (UTC)
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