the society adopted a fraternity color - white, and the previously described badge as its fraternal regalia. Although it was originally intended to be a literary society rather than a Greek-letter fraternity in the modern sense, the ideals of the organization carried many of the precepts of its modern-day counterpart. The first minutes of the society read as follows: "There having been some previous understanding with a few young men of the University that a meeting be held for the organization of a secret society, the object of which was to be a social and intellectual culture, as well as close intimacy through life..." The society's constitution soon took on these principles and added "the perpetuation of brotherly love" as the organization's reason for existence. The society met for a time in a third floor room of the old Academic Hall (whose remaining columns now are the centerpiece of Francis Quadrangle), then in Switzler Hall, and finally in a second floor room in a downtown hall. Members adopted secret designations selected from the names of prominent figures in the literary or scientific world and these designations served as a member's chapter identification. Early minutes of the Zeta Phi Society include, for example, references to members known as Julius Caesar, Sir Isaac Newton, Copernicus and others. Expansion The members of Zeta Phi soon envisioned the creation of a regional fraternity beyond the bounds of Missouri University, and began the task of organizing additional chapters at nearby universities and colleges. On November 18, 1871, the Sigma chapter of Zeta Phi was chartered at William Jewell College in Liberty, Missouri, and on December 9, 1872, the Omicron of Zeta Phi was chartered at Washington University in St. Louis. There is some indication that a fourth chapter was planned in Kansas, but no details, other than approval of a charter in old society minutes, are given in surviving records. The William Jewell chapter continued on, apparently somewhat robustly, for the next 15 years until it petitioned out of Zeta Phi to become a chapter of Phi Gamma Delta. The Washington University chapter, however, became extinct after only two years in large part because of opposition from members of the University's faculty. However, the MU chapter continued to flourish and staved off banishment by the University by initiating members of the faculty. Social activities began to carry greater emphasis with the society and the minutes