Merit Bar Questions 
We had a few merit bar questions come into the New York DeMolay mailbag and we wanted to provide some guidance.
1. Scholastics: Many of our schools switched to a “pass/fail” or a “satisfactory/unsatisfactory” how do we calculate that to determine a “B” average?
Answer: You may award a scholastics merit bar to a DeMolay provided that they have an “S” or a “P” in all subject areas. When in doubt err on the side of granting the merit bar. The close of the 2019-2020 School Year was complicated to say the least.
2. Religion Merit Bar: Many houses of worship suspended in-person services, how do we account for that?
Answer: Several different faith traditions have offered streaming or virtual or some form of an online experience. Attendance or participation in those count or some other equivalent observation of one’s faith tradition.
3. Conclave Merit Bar: May we count each virtual event hosted by New York DeMolay as a State Event?
Answer: Not every virtual event qualifies as a state event for the purposes of earning this merit bar. Below is what we are allowing:
Attendance at Both Nights of Online Convention: 1 qualifying event
Attendance at 50% of KeyMan or Region 1 LTC events: 1 Qualifying event
Attendance at another online event hosted by New York DeMolay: Every 3 counts as one qualifying event.
If we’re missing something that you would like to count please let us know.