convention in Indianapolis, Indiana First fraternity to adopt an alumnus pin – adopted by the 1894 convention in Indianapolis, Indiana First fraternity to adopt a pledge manual – authored by Walter B. Palmer in 1886 First fraternity to adopt a National Day of Celebration – adopted by the General Council in 1889 First fraternity to adopt life subscriptions to the fraternity magazine – instituted by William Bates, the first editor of The Scroll in 1875 First national fraternity to expand west of the Mississippi River – a charter was given to Austin College in 1853 First fraternity to have a member walk on the moon – Neil Armstrong Current issues North American Interfraternity Conference (NIC) In 2002, Phi Delta Theta, along with Kappa Sigma and Phi Sigma Kappa left the North American Interfraternity Conference due to ideological differences. Fraternity officials had been concerned of the direction of the conference for six years before leaving. Phi Delta Theta officials believed that the conference had been placing too much emphasis on individual undergraduates through specific programs such as leadership conferences rather than focusing on the fraternity movement as a whole. Phi Sigma Kappa has since re-joined the NIC. Alcohol free housing policy In 1997, Phi Delta Theta spearheaded the initiative of having alcohol free housing within its chapters by the year 2000. The policy has since been adopted by other fraternities including Delta Upsilon, Sigma Phi Epsilon, Beta Theta Pi, FarmHouse, Theta Chi and Phi Gamma Delta (FIJI), although Theta Chi has discontinued their Alcohol Free Housing Policy as of July 2010. However, unlike Phi Gamma Delta, Phi Delta Theta has no exemption policy allowing chapters that meet certain standards, such as a cumulative GPA higher than 3.0, to have alcohol in the chapter house. Concern and criticism When Phi Delta Theta announced the inception of an alcohol free housing policy, the announcement was met both by hope and skepticism. While some saw the banning of alcohol in housing facilities as a welcome return to the principles on which the fraternity was founded, others felt the drastic cultural shift would hurt social dynamics. The General Council and GHQ had expected resistance from both alumni and undergraduate members when it was first proposed. Among the most vocal chapters against the policy were the University of Virginia chapter, where a faction split off from Phi Delta Theta and chose to form a separate local