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Fraternities and sororities in North America
Fraternities and sororities (from the Latin words frater and soror, meaning "brother" and "sister" respectively) are social organizations for mostly[1] undergraduate students. The term refers mainly to such organizations at colleges and universities in the United States, although it is also applied to analogous European groups also known as corporations. There are also many fraternities and sororities in the Philippines due to its close association with the United States since 1898. Similar, but less common, organizations also exist for secondary school students. In modern usage, the term "Greek letter organization" is often synonymous in the United States, with the terms "fraternity" and "sorority".
Typically, Greek letter organizations are gender-based initiatory organizations. Fraternity refers to a male membership, whereas sorority refers to a female membership. Membership is typically considered active during the undergraduate years only, although a notable exception to this rule are historically black organizations and National Multicultural Greek Council organizations, in which active membership continues, and into which members are often initiated long after the completion of their undergraduate degrees. As with Freemasonry, Greek letter organizations may sometimes be considered mutual aid societies, providing academic and social activities. Most groups also maintain a chapter house, providing residential and dining facilities for members.
- 1 Terminology
- 2 History and development
- 3 Types of Greek letter organizations
- 4 Rituals and symbols
- 5 Chapter houses
- 6 Joining
- 7 Controversy and criticism
- 8 North American Greek letter organizations in other regions
- 9 Philanthropy
- 10 Sororities
- 11 High school fraternities and sororities
- 12 In popular culture
- 13 Other countries
- 14 See also
- 15 References
|This section does not cite any references or sources. (June 2013)
In modern usage, the term "Greek letter organization" has become synonymous with the North American fraternity and sorority. The term fraternity, often colloquially shortened to "frat" (though use of such term may be derogatory in some contexts), typically refers to an all-male group, while the term "sorority", created for Gamma Phi Beta by Dr. Frank Smalley, typically refers to an all-female group. Additionally, some groups that define themselves as "fraternities" or "sororities" may be mixed-sex. Due to the ambiguous nature of the terms "fraternity" and "sorority" with respect to gender, and due to the inaccuracy and potentially sexist nature of the use "fraternity" to describe aforementioned organizations, it has become commonplace to use the synonym "Greek letter organization", since the vast majority of fraternities and sororities identify themselves using Greek letters. A recent example of this is the usage of the terms "(historically) Black Greek letter organizations" (BGLOs) and "Latino Greek letter organizations" (LGOs) within the literature. However, since most of those organizations that do not identify themselves using Greek letters are structured similarly to and share other several common characteristics with those that do identify themselves using Greek letters, all of these organizations are still considered to be "Greek letter organizations". All this said, the public at large and most members of fraternities and sororities still use the traditional terms ("fraternity" and "sorority"), to refer to all-male and all-female groups, respectively. Coeducational service fraternities and academic honors organizations (despite sharing a common history, as well as a common naming scheme, with modern fraternities and sororities) tend to be referred to more specifically. "Greek letter organization" tends to be used in "formal" contexts, but rarely in popular discourse.
The term social fraternity is used to differentiate four-year, undergraduate, and frequently residential groups from other organizations, many of which also have Greek-letter names, such as honor societies, academic societies, or service fraternities and sororities.
History and development
The Phi Beta Kappa Society, founded on December 5, 1776, at The College of William & Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia, is generally recognized as the first Greek-letter student society in North America.[2] It was founded by John Heath, who had failed at admission to the two existing Latin-letter fraternities at the College, the F.H.C. Society (nicknamed as backronym the "Flat Hat Club") and the P.D.A. Society (nicknamed "Please Don't Ask").[citation needed] The main developments associated with Phi Beta Kappa are the use of Greek-letter initials as a society name and the establishment of branches or "chapters" at different campuses, following the pattern set by Masonic lodges.[citation needed] The Greek letters (ΦΒΚ) come from the motto Φιλοσοφία Βίου Κυβερνήτης (philosophia biou kybernētēs, "Philosophy is the helmsman of life"), now officially translated as "Philosophy is the guide of life".[3] Greek was chosen as the language for the motto due generally to classical education at the time, and specifically because Heath "was the best Greek scholar in college." One official historian of the society, William T. Hastings, and some others believe that the society was originally known by the Latin name Societas Philosophiae (Philosophical Society), and that the name Phi Beta Kappa became the society name over time.[4] This use of Greek letters was briefly preceded by the use of Latin letters, notably the F.H.C. Society drawing its name from its secret motto, presumed to be "Fraternitas, Humanitas, et Cognitio," or "Fraternitas Humanitas Cognitioque." (These are two renderings of "brotherhood, humanity, and knowledge.")
However, Phi Beta Kappa was very different from a typical college fraternity of today, in that the membership was generally restricted to upperclassmen, if not seniors; and men initiated as students remained active in the society after becoming members of the faculty of the host university. The annual Phi Beta Kappa exercises at Yale were public literary exercises, with as many or more faculty members of the society than undergraduate.
As Phi Beta Kappa developed, it became an influential association of faculty and select students on several college campuses, with membership becoming more of an honor and less of social selection. Many came to see the increasing influence of the society as undemocratic and contrary to the free flow of intellectual ideas in American academia. As a curious side effect of anti-masonic controversy in the early Republic, the secrets of Phi Beta Kappa were published in the appendix to a book in 1831.[5] After that time, Phi Beta Kappa ceased to be a social fraternity in any real sense and is now only an honorary society, though prominent and respected.
Chi Phi was established at Princeton University in Princeton, New Jersey on December 24, 1824 on the principles of Truth, Honor, and Personal Integrity.[6] However, shortly after the founding the Chi Phi Society (which included both faculty and student members) became inactive. Some 30 years later the name and traditions of the group were unearthed and adopted by a second organization founded at Princeton in 1854, but not as a direct outgrowth of the original organization. This was acknowledged formally by Chi Phi's national president A. Holley Rudd, at the public ceremonies in 1924 celebrating the Centennial of the original group. Two other organizations of the same name merged with it to create the modern Chi Phi Fraternity in 1874. It is also possible that other college organizations with Greek letter names may have existed prior to 1825 without having a direct influence on the future history of the fraternity system.
Union College in Schenectady, New York became the "mother" of the existing college fraternity movement with the establishment of the Kappa Alpha Society on November 26, 1825, an outgrowth of an organization called the Philosophers that was founded a year earlier as a literary society. Kappa Alpha possessed most of the distinctive elements of a modern fraternity, and was clearly the model that inspired the development of other societies according to Baird's Manual, the definitive reference work on fraternities. (The Kappa Alpha Society is distinct from the southern Kappa Alpha Order.) Kappa Alpha's founders adopted many of Phi Beta Kappa's practices, but made their organization an exclusively student group, adopted a much more elaborate ritual and doubled as a literary society. Its example encouraged the formation of two competitors on campus; the Sigma Phi Society formed in March 1827, followed by Delta Phi in November. These three are generally called the Union Triad.
The fraternity system becomes "national"
Sigma Phi was the first fraternity to expand "nationally" when it opened a second chapter at Hamilton College in 1831.[citation needed] That and an effort by The Kappa Alpha Society to enter Hamilton led to the formation of Alpha Delta Phi in 1832. Delta Upsilon, the first non-secret (originally anti-secret), fraternity was founded at Williams College in Massachusetts in 1834, following the establishment of chapters of Kappa Alpha and Sigma Phi in 1833 and 1834, respectively.[citation needed] Beta Theta Pi was founded at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio in August 1839 in response to the chartering of the new chapter of Alpha Delta Phi.[citation needed] Kappa Kappa Kappa, the nation's oldest local fraternity was founded in 1842 at Dartmouth College. Delta Kappa Epsilon was founded in June 1844 at Yale College, followed by Alpha Sigma Phi in December 1845. Phi Delta Theta (1848) and Sigma Chi (1855) were founded at Miami University.[citation needed] Along with Beta Theta Pi, these three fraternities have been called the Miami Triad. Also, around that time the Jefferson Duo was formed at Jefferson college in Canonsburg, Pennsylvania, consisting of Phi Gamma Delta (1848) and Phi Kappa Psi (1852).[citation needed] Although this is a duo, it is recorded along with the other triads formed at the time.[citation needed] Union College continued its role as the "Mother of Fraternities" with the founding of Psi Upsilon (1833), Chi Psi (1841) and Theta Delta Chi (1847). With this second "triad", Union College can lay claim to the foundation of nearly half of the thirteen oldest fraternities in the country.[citation needed] Delta Tau Delta was founded in 1858 at Bethany College in Bethany, Virginia (modern day West Virginia). It later absorbed a southern fraternity known as Rainbow Fraternity due to declining membership in the south following the Civil War.
The Mystical 7 was founded at Wesleyan University in 1837, and established the first chapters in the South, at Emory in 1841, and elsewhere.[citation needed] Sigma Alpha Epsilon was founded at the University of Alabama in 1856, and it is the only fraternity founded in the Antebellum South that still operates.[citation needed], Then in 1847, Phi Alpha Pi was founded at Olivet College (Michigan), and it remains the oldest house on campus. Phi Alpha Pi is the brother house to Iota Kappa Omicron
Growth was then mainly stunted by the Civil War. Theta Xi, founded at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, New York on April 29, 1864, is the only fraternity to be established during the War. However, following the War, the system as a whole underwent strong growth in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, both in the number of organizations founded and chapters of existing organizations established.[citation needed] This was aided, in part, by the reopening of schools and the return of veterans as students.[citation needed] Alpha Tau Omega was the first Fraternity founded after the Civil War, and it also was the first Fraternity to be founded as a national organization, not local or regional.[7]
Alpha Phi Alpha,[8] Phi Iota Alpha,[9] Rho Psi, Phi Sigma Nu, Zeta Beta Tau, and Alif Laam Meem - Alpha Lambda Mu (as a national fraternity) were founded as the first fraternities for African-American, Latino-American, Asian-American, Native American, Jewish, and Muslim students, respectively.[citation needed]
Greek letters
The names of North American fraternities and sororities generally consist of two or three Greek letters, often the initials of a Greek motto, which may be secret. For example: Phi Beta Kappa (Society), from phi (φ) + beta (β) + kappa (κ), initials of the society's Greek motto, "φιλοσοφία βίου κυβερνήτης" (philosophia biou kybernētēs), meaning "philosophy is the guide of life".
Fraternities and sororities are referred to by the encompassing term "Greek letter organization" and described by the adjective "Greek", as seen in phrases such as "Greek community", "Greek system", "Greek life", or members as "Greeks". An individual fraternity or sorority is often called a "Greek house" or simply "house," terms that may be misleading, since it could be taken to refer to a chapter's physical property, whereas many fraternities and sororities do not have a chapter house. "Chapter" and "organization" are used in these contexts, with the latter referring to the group as a collective entity, and the former referring to a specific division of such entity, though not all fraternities and sororities have multiple chapters.
The use of Greek letters started with Phi Beta Kappa, then a social fraternity and today an honor society, at the College of William & Mary. Several groups, however, do not use Greek letters. Examples include Acacia, FarmHouse, and Triangle, as well as final clubs, eating clubs, secret societies at some Ivy League colleges, such as Skull and Bones at Yale and the military affiliated fraternity the National Society of Pershing Rifles. Alpha Epsilon Pi uses Greek letters for its North American chapters but Hebrew letters for its Israeli chapters, with the Herzliya IDC chapter designated "Aleph", and the Hebrew University chapter "Bet". The name of Alif Laam Meem - Alpha Lambda Mu is derived from an ayah of the Quran which contains only three Arabic letters: Alif (ا), Laam (ل), and Meem (م), hence "Alif Laam Meem" (2:1). The meaning of this ayah (verse) is unknown. The fraternity is named after those three Arabic letters in addition to their formal Greek equivalents: Alpha, Lambda and Mu.
Types of Greek letter organizations
The variety of Greek letter organizations are distinguished from more informal clubs and from each other by their function. They can be specifically organized for service to the community, for professional advancement, or for scholastic achievement.
Most Greek letter organizations are social organizations, presenting themselves as societies that help their members better themselves in a social setting. The most visible of these are the often residential "Academic and Social" fraternities and sororities, which are almost exclusively populated by undergraduates. "Professional" fraternities and sororities align to a specific major field of study (for example, Chemical Engineering), group of major fields (like Performance and Fine Arts, broadly), or to a specific career. Professional societies admit members at the undergraduate or graduate level, and vary in their class requirements. They can be residential, but are often not, but will include social programming within their meeting schedule. "Honor Societies" are similarly grouped with the other forms of fraternities and sororities because of historic ties (well over a century of such listing in Baird's), because of their adherence to a national and chapter hierarchy, and their adoption of Greek letter names. Some are among the oldest of all Greek letter societies. Honor societies have much higher criteria for entrance, which are publicized and promoted. Typically they may admit only the top 10% of a class, or GPA rankings at 3.5 or higher on a 4-point scale, though this varies by society. Honor societies award past achievement and meet less often than other societies, perhaps only annually. Many Professional and Honor societies publish journals of their activities and member achievements. Similar to Honor societies, "Recognition Societies" award membership upon completion of a training course or entrance into a select rank; today, Recognition societies and Honor societies are closely aligned in purpose, and the definition between the two is blurred. Finally, "Service Fraternities", such as Alpha Phi Omega are a small but viable contingent of the broad family of Greek letter organizations, and exist to effect campus or community service projects.[10]
Certain organizations were established for specific religious or ethnic groups, while others focus on numerous qualifications. For example, Phi Sigma Pi, a national honor fraternity, stresses both academic achievement and leadership in the community. Some social organizations are expressly Christian, such as Alpha Chi Rho (founded as Christian, presently non-exclusive). Jewish fraternities, such as Alpha Epsilon Pi, Zeta Beta Tau, and Sigma Alpha Mu (historically Jewish, but has been non-sectarian since the 1950s) were established, in part, in response to restrictive clauses that existed in many social fraternities' laws barring Jewish membership, which were removed in the mid-20th century.[11][12] A controversy remains between the idea of creating supportive communities for distinct groups on the one hand and the intent to create non-discriminatory communities on the other.[citation needed]
There are also organizations with a cultural or multicultural emphasis. For example, Alpha Phi Alpha and Kappa Alpha Psi, both African American Fraternities, were established at Cornell University in 1906 and Indiana University – Bloomington in 1911, respectively, the first Chinese fraternity, established at Cornell in 1916, and Sigma Iota, the first Hispanic fraternity, established at Louisiana State University in 1904.[12] The latter later merged with other Hispanic fraternities and organizations around the nation to form Phi Iota Alpha, the oldest Latino fraternity in existence, in 1931.[13] The Phi Sigma Alpha fraternity in Puerto Rico can also trace its roots back to Sigma Iota. There are now 20 Latino fraternities in the National Association of Latino Fraternal Organizations. A distinct set of black fraternities and sororities also exists, although black students are not barred from non-black organizations and there are black members of non-black organizations. Non African-American students are also not barred from predominately African American fraternities and sororities.
Organizations designed for particular class years do exist, but are usually categorized separately from other types of Greek letter organizations.[citation needed] While these were once common in older institutions in the Northeast, the only surviving underclass society is Theta Nu Epsilon, which is specifically for sophomores. Many senior class societies also survive, and they are often simply referred to as Secret Societies.
Competition and cooperation
Early fraternal societies were very competitive for members, for academic honors, and for any other benefit or gain. Some of this competition was seen as divisive on college campuses. Today there is still competition, but that competition is intended to be within limits, and for nobler purposes, such as charitable fundraising.[14] Often, organizations compete in various sporting events. There is also a greater emphasis on interfraternity cooperation. The single greatest effort along these lines was the creation of the National Interfraternity Council, now the North American Interfraternity Conference, a century ago, which was intended to minimize conflicts, destructive competition, and encourage student members to recognize members of other fraternities and sororities as people who share common interests. The National Panhellenic Conference regulations has similar goals to unite national sororities.
Structure and organization
Most Greek letter organizations were originally organized on one campus.[15] An organization that has only one established chapter is a "local." A local can authorize chapters of the same name at other campuses. After the first authorized chapter, a local is considered a "national," even if it only has two chapters.[15] Over the past 180 years, North America has accrued several large national organizations with hundreds of chapters.[15] Two or more nationals can also merge, and some of the larger nationals were created this way. Several national fraternities are international, which usually means they have chapters in Canada.[15]
A local organization can petition one of the existing national organizations and be absorbed into their organization dropping all ties to the former local organization. Through the 20th Century this has been the preferred method for expansion within national organizations because the members have already formed a bond and presence on campus but choose to change their name, ritual, and structure for (almost always) an older, more elaborate set.[15]
The central business offices of the organizations are also commonly referred to as "Nationals". Nationals may place certain requirements on individual chapters to standardize rituals and policies regarding membership, housing, finances, or behavior. These policies are generally codified in a constitution and bylaws. Greek letter organizations may once have been governed by the original chapter, but virtually all have adopted some version of governance with executive officers who report to a board of trustees, and 'legislative' body consisting of periodic conventions of delegates from all the chapters.[15]
Rituals and symbols
All Greek letter organizations maintain traditions, sometimes accompanied by secret rituals, which are generally symbolic in nature.[15] They include an initiation ceremony, and may also include passwords, songs, and handshakes. For example, writer Julian Hawthorne, the son of Nathaniel Hawthorne, wrote (in his posthumously published Memoirs[16]) of an ironic coincidence surrounding his fraternal initiation:[17]
I was initiated into a college secret society—a couple of hours of grotesque and good-humored rodomontade and horseplay, in which I cooperated as in a kind of pleasant nightmare, confident, even when branded with a red-hot iron or doused head-over heels in boiling oil,[18] that it would come out all right. The neophyte is effectively blindfolded during the proceedings, and at last, still sightless, I was led down flights of steps into a silent crypt, and helped into a coffin, where I was to stay until the Resurrection...Thus it was that just as my father passed from this earth, I was lying in a coffin during my initiation into Delta Kappa Epsilon.
Meetings of active members are generally kept private and not discussed without formal approval of the chapter as a whole.[citation needed]
For organizations with Greek letters composing their name, these letters are the initials of a motto (such as Delta Upsilon), a set of virtues (such as Alpha Kappa Lambda), or the history of its organization (such as Phi Tau).
Greek letter organizations often have a number of distinctive emblems, such as colors, flags, flowers, in addition to a badge (or pin), coat of arms, and/or seal. An open motto (indicating that the organization has a "secret motto" as well) is used to express the unique ideals of a fraternity or sorority.
Pins or badges
Pins have become increasingly popular to collect, even by individuals who never were members. Groups such as the Fraternity Pin Collector Society have collected thousands of pins worth tens of thousands of dollars in individual collections while organizations such as Kappa Kappa Gamma's "Keepers of the Key" work to reunite lost or stolen badges with their original owners.[19]
According to Martin (1918), the primary fraternal jewelers of the late 19th and early 20th centuries were D. L. Auld Co. of Columbus, L.G. Balfour Company of Attleboro, Mass., Burr, Patterson and Co. of Detroit, Upmeyer Company of Milwaukee, A. H. Fetting Co. of Baltimore, Hoover and Smith Co. of Philadelphia, O. C. Lanphear of Galesburg, Ill., Miller Jewelry Co. of Cincinnati, J. F. Newman of New York, Edward Roehm of Detroit, and Wright, Kay and Co. of Detroit. Currently the most widely used jewelers are Herff Jones and Jostens. Jewelers' initials and stampings are typically found on the back of pins along with the member name and/or chapter information. The history of fraternal jewelers is important when determining age of non-dated jewelry pieces.
Since fraternity and sorority pins are used as the primary symbols for societies, licensing and marketing concerns have developed. As a result, many of the larger organizations have had to put a legal team on retainer as consultants.[citation needed]
Coat of arms
Fraternities and Sororities have coat of arms that represent the familial aspect of brotherhood and sisterhood. The greatest representation of fraternal coat of arms is found in yearbooks and chapter publications from 1890 to 1925. Engravings were made of coat of arms and tipped into the yearbooks, often later removed and framed. Sizes range from a square inch to a full page layout. Many of these engravings were signed, creating a period art form.
Fraternal coat of arms engravings were typically made by cutting lines in metal or wood for the purpose of printing reproduction. The earliest known engravings printed on paper in this fashion date back to the 16th century. Much of the engravings done in the 19th century were metal engravings where the image was carved into a piece of steel or iron. In the early 20th century, it became more common to use photo-engraving, or photogravure to print the coat of arms.
Believing in their beginnings in Greek tradition, Alpha Omicron Pi is the only Greek organization that does not have a coat of arms, and instead uses a Jacqueminot rose as their symbol. A coat of arms is a medieval or masonic tradition, and therefore has no roots in the Greek tradition.
Apparel such as shirts, pants, bags, canteens, jewelry and key chains are often worn by members with their Greek letters on them. These shirts and other articles may later be used for a pass-down ceremony between seniors and fellow members. Seniors may choose to pass down some or all of the clothing they own that is associated with the sorority. Some of the shirts are ten or more years old and in some chapters, girls will compete for them. In those chapters, generally members feel it is an honor to have older artifacts. At some institutions, it is considered inappropriate and may be prohibited to wear apparel with the society's name when the member is consuming alcohol. It is considered disrespectful to have their letters on when drinking, regardless of their age. Also, it is generally taboo for non-members to wear any apparel with a group's letters.
Membership pins are not worn at all times. Some organizations limit pin-wearing to times of professional or business dress, also known as "Pin Attire".[citation needed]
Chapter houses
Unique among most campus organizations, members of social Greek letter organizations often live together in a large house or distinct part of the university dormitories. This can help emphasize the "bonds of brotherhood or sisterhood" and provide a place of meeting for the members of the organization as well as alumni. For reasons of cost, liability, and stability, housing is usually owned or overseen by an alumni corporation or the organization's national headquarters. As a result, some houses have visitor restrictions, and some national organizations restrict or prohibit alcohol on the premises.[20] At some colleges where chapters do not have residential houses for the general membership, they may still have chapter houses where meals are served for their membership and guests.[21]
The process of joining a Greek letter organization varies from organization to organization. Organizations governed by the National Panhellenic Conference or the North-American Interfraternity Conference commonly begin their process with a formal recruitment period, often called "rush week," or formal recruitment, which usually consists of events and activities designed for members and potential members to learn about each other and the organization. Rush week can be very stressful for the many girls who are interested in checking out the different sororities. Some sororities even require special clothes to wear. At the end of the formal recruitment period, organizations give "bids", or invitations to membership. Most organizations have a period of "pledgeship" before extending full membership. Some organizations have changed the name of pledgeship due to negative connotations to the process (such as calling pledges "Zobes" or "new members").[citation needed] Some organizations, such as Sigma Alpha Epsilon, have given up the process in favor of other joining requirements.[22] Upon completion of the pledgeship and all its requirements, the active members will invite the pledges to be initiated and become full members. Initiation often includes secret ceremonies and rituals. Organizations governed by the National Pan-Hellenic Council (NPHC), the National Association of Latino Fraternal Organizations (NALFO), or the National Multicultural Greek Council (NMGC) have very different recruitment processes. The fraternities and sororities associated with these councils often do not participate in a typical recruitment process nor do they host a rush week. Instead interested students must formally express their interest to a member, or more often than not, members of the particular organization they are interested in.
Requirements may be imposed on those wishing to pledge either by the school or the organization itself, often including a minimum grade point average, wearing a pledge pin, learning about the history and structure of the organization, and performing public service. When a school places an age or tenure requirement on joining, this is called "deferred recruitment", as joining is deferred for a semester or year. The pledgeship period also serves as a probationary period in which both the organization and the pledge decide if they are compatible and will have a fulfilling experience.[citation needed]
Controversy and criticism
Impact on members
A 1994 study examined the cognitive effects of fraternity/sorority affiliation during the first year of college. Statistical controls were made for individual pre-college ability and academic motivation as well as gender, ethnicity, age, credit hours taken, work responsibilities, and other factors. Data showed that men who were members of fraternities had significantly lower end-of-first-year reading comprehension, mathematics, critical thinking, and composite achievement than their peers who were not affiliated with a Greek organization. Sorority membership also had a negative effect on cognitive development. However, only the effects for reading comprehension and composite achievement were significant and the magnitude of the negative influence tended to be smaller for women than for men.[23]
A follow-up study in 2006 by the same researchers and using similar sampling techniques and controls showed that negative effects of fraternity/sorority affiliation were much less pronounced during the second and third year of college than during the first year of college. On objective, standardized measures of cognitive skills, the effects of Greek affiliation continued to be negative for both men and women, but they were substantially smaller in magnitude and only one could be considered statistically significant (a negative effect for fraternity membership on end-of-third-year reading comprehension). The study also included self-reported measures of students' cognitive growth. For men, fraternity membership continued to exert small negative effects in the second and third years of college, but only one[clarification needed] was statistically significant. For women the impacts of sorority membership on self-reported gains were just the opposite. In both the second and third years of college, sorority membership exerted small positive effects on all self-reported gains measures, several of which reached statistical significance.[24]
George D. Kuh, Ernest T. Pascarella, and Henry Wechsler used research from the National Study of Student Learning (NSSL) and concluded that "fraternities are indifferent to academic values and seem to short-change the education of many members."[25]
A 2006 study which was published in the American Journal of Economics and Sociology found that fraternity and sorority members suffered from 1 to 10 percent lower cumulative GPAs (Grade Point Average) than non-affiliated students. This negative effect was most pronounced for small fraternities and weakest for sororities.[26] Further impact was demonstrated by a study in the Journal of College Student Development, which surveyed college men, both fraternity/sorority-affiliated and non-affiliated, from freshman year to senior year and tested their scores on the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale. The study shows that affiliated men have significantly higher self-esteem than their non-affiliated counterparts.[27]
Hazing issues
According to the The National Collaborative for Hazing Research and Prevention at the University of Maine, hazing is defined as "any activity expected of someone joining or participating in a group that humiliates, degrades, abuses or endangers them, regardless of a person's willingness to participate."[28] Traditionally, hazing has been prevalent in fraternities and sororities as well as numerous other organizations, such as military units, high school and college bands, gangs, and other clubs, as well as class hazing of incoming freshmen, however, in recent years, many universities and collegiate fraternities and sororities have made progressive changes to eliminate hazing on college campuses.[29] To prevent the practice, some organizations have stopped the process of pledging as a means of entry into the chapter.[30][31] The University of Florida changed its policies following numerous hazing allegations on their campus. Limits were set on the pledging time and it is now required that alumni or chapter advisers be present for initiation rituals.[29]
Collegiate bans
Some colleges and universities have banned Greek letter organizations with the justification that they are, by their very structure, set up to be elitist and exclusionary. The most famous, and oldest ban was at Princeton (Leitch 1978), though Princeton has now had fraternities since the 1980s.[32] Oberlin College banned "secret societies" (fraternities and sororities) in 1847,[33] and the prohibition continues to the present.[34] Quaker universities such as Guilford College and Earlham College often ban fraternities and sororities because they are seen as a violation of the Quaker principle of equality.[35][36]
Fraternities have been banned in recent times from Williams College, Bowdoin College, Middlebury College, and Amherst College.[37] Stanford University banned sororities in 1944, but not fraternities, even though sororities were restored in 1977 under Title IX.[38] The Yeshiva University administration enforce a strict ban, and non-recognition of fraternities citing their exclusionary nature. The University of Victoria also held a ban until a controversial repeal in 2010, which has paved the way for the university's first fraternity (Delta Kappa Epsilon) and sorority (Kappa Beta Gamma).[39] Fraternities do not require recognition by a university. For instance, the University of Mary Washington does not recognize fraternities or sororities, but several national Greek organizations have unrecognized chapters of Mary Washington students.[40]
North American Greek letter organizations in other regions
North American Greek letter organizations (NAGLO) are present almost exclusively in the United States and the English-speaking universities of Canada, with a minority of organizations having chapters elsewhere, such as the Caribbean, Africa, and some in France there have also been temporary accommodations. Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, a prominent historically African-American Sorority, currently has chapters in the Virgin Islands and Bermuda. There was a brief chapter of Chi Phi at Edinburgh, Scotland during the American Civil War to accommodate Southern students studying abroad, and another for American servicemen who were still college students during World War II, but there has been no real export of the system to Europe.
Greek organizations pride themselves in participating in a variety of philanthropic events. Philanthropy and volunteer work hold a very high importance within every Greek chapter, and can oftentimes be forgotten as a large part of many people's decisions to join a chapter. Social fraternities and sororities emphasize their community involvement during stages of formal/informal recruitment to potential members, in hopes of standing out from other chapters. There are numerous ways fraternities and sororities go about raising money for charities and organizations. Many fraternities host competitive athletic events. Pi Kappa Alpha, a men's fraternity, has a nationally known philanthropy called the Fireman's Challenge.[41] This philanthropy raises over $25,000 a year for local firefighter foundations. Sororities also partake in entertaining ways to fundraise and volunteer for their philanthropies. Hosting pageant-like events where other fraternity members compete in dance competitions in order to raise money is a common trend amongst many sorority chapters at universities. Tri Delta, a women's sorority, has a nationally distinguished philanthropy, which supports Children's Cancer Charities since the 1970s.[42] These two sororities and fraternities are just two examples out of the hundreds of Greek organizations that support philanthropic causes and charities.
There have been an increasing number of professional fraternities on college campuses within the past 10 years. Many of these fraternities have also adapted a section for philanthropy in their responsibilities as a chapter. Business fraternities, specifically, have become popular and been established longer than most other professional fraternities. This longer duration led to a more organized and structured system in terms of roles and responsibilities within the fraternity. There are specific positions assigned for philanthropy/community service within the five business fraternities, PGN, PCT, PSE, AKPsi, and DSP. Although the charity may differ across chapters and throughout the nation, the level of importance for the role remains the same. Many people may be under the assumption that professional fraternities solely focus on business or medical components, however, surprisingly, almost a majority of them operate like a social fraternity or sorority in terms of service and events.
There is normally a fee to participate for many of the events put on by Greek chapters. By charging a small entrance fee to participate in most of the events, the Greek organizations are able to raise tremendous amount of money each year to support their charity. Additionally, some philanthropy efforts raise even more money by selling food, clothing, or accessories during the events. According to The Fraternity Advisor [43] Greeks raise over $7 million a year. In addition, the Greek system is the largest network of volunteers in the US, with members donating over 10 million hours of volunteer service each year.
The Independent Order of Odd Fellows, also known as the three link fraternity, was the first organization to form a woman's auxiliary when it formed the Daughters of Rebekah in 1851 but the term sorority was not yet coined during that time. However, many of the first societies for women were not modeled as fraternities, but were woman's versions of the common Latin literary societies. The Adelphean Society (now Alpha Delta Pi) was established in 1851 at Wesleyan College in Macon, Georgia.[44] The Philomathean Society (now Phi Mu)[45] was founded at Wesleyan College a year later in 1852. The Adelphean Society and the Philomathean Society did not take on their modern Greek names (Alpha Delta Pi and Phi Mu, respectively) until 1904 when they expanded beyond the Wesleyan campus.[citation needed]They are now often referred to as the Macon Magnolias. Many aspects of Alpha Delta Pi and Phi Mu (such as the stars and hands on their badges and the mascot of the lion) are similar due to the fact that while at Wesleyan a founder of Alpha Delta Pi, Eugenia Tucker Fitzgerald, and Phi Mu's Mary Ann DuPont (Lines) were roommates.[citation needed]
On April 28, 1867, I.C. Sorosis (later known by its original Greek motto Pi Beta Phi) was founded at Monmouth College, in Monmouth, Illinois.This was the first all female, secret society patterned after the men's organizations.[46] A year later it established a second chapter at Iowa Wesleyan College. Three years later on October 13, 1870, Kappa Kappa Gamma was founded. These two fraternities were later known as the Monmouth Duo.
On January 27, 1870, Kappa Alpha Theta was formed at Indiana Asbury University (now DePauw University) as the first Greek-lettered fraternity known among women. The Adelphean society and I.C. Sorosis were already in existence, but Kappa Alpha Theta is notable for being originally founded with Greek letters (as many male fraternities were at the time), whereas Phi Mu and Pi Beta Phi changed their names to Greek names later.[47]
In the mid-19th century, previously all-male universities began to admit women, and many women students felt it was in their best interest to band together. The first collegiate women formed woman's fraternities in an effort to counteract the widespread opposition to their presence (Turk 2004). Others[who?] disagree with this agonistic historical view.[citation needed]
The earliest organizations were founded as "women's fraternities" or "fraternities for women;" the term sorority was coined by professor Frank Smalley in 1874, in reference to the Greek organization, Gamma Phi Beta being established at Syracuse University. In 1872, Alpha Phi was founded at Syracuse University. In 1873, Delta Gamma was founded at the Lewis School for Girls in Oxford, Mississippi. In 1874, Sigma Kappa was also founded in Waterville, Maine at Colby College. Also founded at DePauw University, was Alpha Chi Omega in 1885. Delta Delta Delta was founded at Boston University in 1888.[48] Like Pi Beta Phi, Tri Delta was modeled after the men's fraternity.[48] In 1893, Alpha Xi Delta was founded at Lombard College in Galesburg, Illinois.[49] Just a few years later, Chi Omega Fraternity was founded April 5, 1895 at the University of Arkansas. January 2, 1897, Alpha Omicron Pi was founded at Barnard College of Columbia University. Later in 1897 Kappa Delta was founded in Farmville, Virginia at Longwood University. A year later, Sigma Sigma Sigma, Zeta Tau Alpha followed by Alpha Sigma Alpha were founded, also at Longwood and are called the Farmville Four. After, Alpha Sigma Tau was founded in 1899. After that in 1902 Delta Zeta was founded at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio.
Most of these sororities are now ranked top 10 in the nation by the amount of initiated members they have. Largest to smallest: 1. Chi Omega 310,000 2. Alpha Delta Pi 280,000 3. Delta Zeta 244,400 4. Kappa Kappa Gamma 240,000 5. Kappa Delta 230,500 6. Pi Beta Phi 230,000 7. Zeta Tau Alpha 228,000 8. Alpha Chi Omega 200,000 9. Delta Delta Delta 200,000 10. Delta Gamma 200,000
Alpha Kappa Alpha, Lambda Theta Alpha, Alpha Pi Omega were founded as the first sororities by and for African-American, Latina-American, and Native American members respectively. Alpha Epsilon Phi was established at Barnard College in October, 1909 as the first Jewish sorority in response to women at Barnard not being able to join other sororities because of their Jewish faith. Alpha Epsilon Phi is home to women of all religions who respect and honor the Jewish culture and heritage the sorority was founded upon. Theta Phi Alpha fraternity was founded in 1912 at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor for women of the Catholic faith. Theta Phi is now open to members of all race and religion. In 1913, at Hunter College, New York, Phi Sigma Sigma became the first non-denominational sorority, allowing any woman, regardless of race, religion, or economic background into membership.[citation needed]
A number of sororities have been founded at the graduate school level. In 1917, at New York University School of Law five female law students founded Delta Phi Epsilon Sorority.[50] Currently active collegiate membership is only open to undergraduates. Although, this year a colony was started by the name of Alpha Sigma Alpha. This year's members and new recruits will be named founding members when the colony becomes initiated into a "Chapter" later this year.
High school fraternities and sororities
High school fraternities and sororities (or secondary school fraternities and sororities), are social organizations for high school-aged students.
Torch and Dagger (later Omega Eta Tau) was the first such organization and was established in Council Bluffs, Iowa in 1859. The movement more generally developed in the 1870s with Gamma Sigma, Alpha Zeta and Alpha Phi, all closely modeled on college fraternities in their areas. Some of these early groups were discussed in the early editions of Baird's Manual of American College Fraternities under the heading "Academic Societies". In 1913, American Secondary School Fraternities by J. Ward Brown, provided a detailed history of these organizations. By that time there were at least 57 national fraternities and 21 national sororities. Some like Gamma Delta Psi, Gamma Eta Kappa, Delta Sigma, Delta Sigma Nu, Lambda Sigma, Sigma Phi Upsilon and Phi Sigma Chi were spread broadly across the entire country, but most were regional in nature given the difficulty for high school students to travel. Typical of those that survive are Phi Kappa, limited to around 50 chapters in the deep south (with five still active) and Omega Gamma Delta with more than 100 chapters in the northeast (two still active) and a couple of chapters further afield. In addition there were an enormous number of local fraternities scattered around the country.
Another 15 nationals were founded after this period including several that still exist. But starting around 1910, a strong anti-fraternity movement among high school administrators took a heavy toll on such organizations in many parts of the country. A reduced level of interest by high school students themselves since 1970, has brought the number down even further.
The largest such organizations are Aleph Zadik Aleph with around 250 chapters and Sigma Alpha Rho (SAR) with more than 100. Both of these have the advantage of being sponsored by Jewish community groups and are more than simple fraternities. Beyond that, Gamma Eta Kappa, Delta Sigma, Phi Lambda Epsilon and Theta Phi all had more than 75 chapters over the years, with Omega Gamma Delta and Phi Sigma Kappa having more than 100 each.
Several nationals also had chapters in Canada and, in recent years, a whole class of similar fraternities has emerged in the Philippines, many of them outgrowths of sponsoring college organizations.
The fraternity tradition still has pockets of interest. Beyond Aleph Zadik Aleph, Sigma Alpha Rho, Omega Gamma Delta and Phi Kappa, there are similar groups such as the Order of DeMolay sponsored by the Masons. Alpha Omega Theta of New York still exists, though not in high schools, ΕΣAΔΕ is in Barcelona, The Lounge operates in Saginaw, Michigan; Phi Eta Sigma and Zeta Mu Gamma are located in Puerto Rico; Sigma Nu Xi is on the mainland United States. Sigma Delta Chi is an active sorority that was established in Alabama and continues today with several different chapters throughout Alabama, Tennessee and Florida. Although these are analogous societies, they are considered wholly different and unrelated societies. Deb Clubs or local chapters can be found in neighboring towns such as Decatur, Hunstville, Florence, Sheffield, Russellville, and Pulaski, Tennessee. Theta Phi Delta was the second high school sorority founded in Durham, North Carolina in 1996 and was incorporated in 2004. Fox Theta Delta, is a Philippines fraternity, founded in Butuan City in 1977, and claiming a somewhat tenuous connection with an American organization in Michigan.
In popular culture
- The 1978 comedy movie National Lampoon's Animal House portrayed members of a fictitious fraternity (Delta Tau Chi) at a fictitious college.
- The 1984 comedy movie Revenge of the Nerds portrayed 'rejected' fraternity members taking revenge on popular fraternities by setting up their own fraternity and the change in power from the jocks and cheerleaders to the nerds. Starred Robert Carradine and Anthony Edwards. The co-ed fraternity Lambda Lambda Lambda takes their name from the fraternity in this movie.
- The 1994 comedy movie PCU also portrays members of a student group at a fictitious college where fraternities have been prohibited.
- The 2006 film Stomp the Yard depicts African American Greek life centered around the tradition of stepping, made popular by Black Greek Letter Organizations.
- The 2006 film Accepted includes a fictional fraternity Beta Kappa Epsilon, which Sherman Schrader attempts to become a part of because his father is a member.
- The 2007–2011 ABC Family television series Greek depicts students of the fictional Cyprus-Rhodes University (CRU) who participate in the school's Greek system.
- The 2007 film American Pie Presents: Beta House where new college freshman try to gain eligibility to the Beta House fraternity.
- The 2007 film Sydney White Uses the sorority system and how it affects social dynamics to tell the classic fairy tale of Snow White in the modern day.
- The 2009 slasher film Sorority Row features the sorority 'Theta Pi' in which Audrina Patridge's character was one of their members.
- The 2009 movie Sorority Wars revolves around sorority experience in college.
- The 2010 television series Glory Daze depicts students of the fictional Hayes University who participate in the school's Greek system.
- The 2010 film Brotherhood directed by Will Canon depicts hazing which gets out of hand.
- The main plot point of the 2013 movie Monsters University is a competition between fictitious fraternities and sororities to determine the best scarers.
- The 2014 film Neighbors pitches a fraternity house against a young family in a battle of hearts and minds.
Other countries
Other countries have similar institutions; in German-speaking countries (including the non-German linguistic regions of Switzerland) these are significantly older, and fall under the umbrella term of Studentenverbindung, including the Burschenschaften, Landsmannschaften, Corps, Turnerschaften, Sängerschaften, Catholic Corporations (such as the German CV), Wingolf, Christian Corporations (such as the Schweizerischer Studentenverein) and Ferialverbindungen.[51]
In Belgium and The Netherlands there are student clubs similar to the German Studentenverbindungen, however they are not the same. The main differences being that clubs do not own a clubhouse with dorms but rather have a bar where they regularly meet and there is no fencing[clarification needed]. The largest clubs are based around a specific academic course or a collection of them, the others usually are based on regional origins of the students and the others are simply a group of friends or patrons of the same bar.
In the United Kingdom, there are a limited number of student dining clubs, which are similar to American eating clubs which were later eclipsed by Greek societies. Some, such as the well-known Bullingdon Club at Oxford University, are socially exclusive due to being prohibitively expensive. Several secret societies exist, the most famous being the Cambridge Apostles, also known as the Cambridge Conversazione Society.
In Portugal, there are also fraternities, especially in Coimbra, the city with the oldest university in the country and one of the oldest in Europe. These houses, called "Repúblicas", are independent, protected by law, and run by students. They first appeared in 1309 when King D. Dinis first ordered to build student housing for the recently founded University of Coimbra, in 1290. The name, translating to "Republic", represents the house spirit: every member of the house participates in the household tasks and decisions are made unanimously. There are 27 Republics in Coimbra, 3 in Lisbon and 1 in Oporto. Republicas are also found in Brazil, like at the Federal University of Ouro Preto in Ouro Preto, in the state of Minas Gerais, and at the Federal University of Lavras (UFLA) in Lavras' City, also in the state of Minas Gerais.
In Sweden and Finland, there are similar student institutions called Nations. At the oldest Nordic universities, the Nations have existed since the late 16th and early 17th centuries, inspired by the German Landsmannschaften. The universities in Uppsala, Lund, and Helsinki have the oldest Nations. Since the beginning, the Nations have been social gatherings for students that came from the same parts of the country, and they are also named after parts of Sweden and Finland. Their main purpose has always been to provide support to out-of-town students in various ways, even financial help. Nations have also been founded at younger universities like the ones in Umeå and Linköping. It has been mandatory for students attending the universities of Uppsala and Lund to be members of nations until the autumn of 2010. After the mandatory membership was abolished by the parliament the Nations of Sweden are now contemplating founding a League of Nations to help further connections between Nations and universities.
In France there are no such exclusive student organizations. In most schools and universities there is a Student office (BDE, Bureau des Élèves) that is elected each year by students to organize student life and activities. It often organizes bonding activities for the newcomers of the school called integration. A few fraternities mimicking the US ones have been created in recent years, but all have very small membership.
See also
|Wikimedia Commons has media related to Fraternities and sororities in the United States.
- ^ Some organizations, such as Phi Kappa Tau and Alpha Xi Delta, have provisions in their Constitutions that they can accept graduate students as well as undergraduates. Sources for Phi Kappa Tau, http://www.phikappatau.org/learning/chapter-management/constitution-and-bylaws.html, and Alpha Xi Delta, http://www.alphaxidelta.org/clientuploads/Academic/2012%20Academic%20Achievement%20Chair%20Breakout%20Workbook.pdf.
- ^ Vincent, Fran.The history of college fraternities.Greeklife.com, 1996, p.1.
- ^ Everett, Edward (1840). "Importance of Practical Education and Useful Knowledge". Boston: Marsh, Capen, Lyon, and Webb. p. 382.
- ^ Hastings, William T. (1965). Phi Beta Kappa as a Secret Society with its Relations to Freemasonry and Antimasonry Some Supplementary Documents. Richmond, Virginia: United Chapters of Phi Beta Kappa. p. 3.
- ^ http://www.pbknca.org/handshake.phi.beta.kappa.pbk.htm
- ^ "About Us: The Authentic Fraternity". Chi Phi Fraternity. Retrieved May 31, 2009.
- ^ "The ATO Story". Retrieved April 13, 2011.
- ^ "Congressman Scott Honors Centennial Anniversary of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc.,". davidscott.house.gov. Retrieved 2006-12-01.
- ^ Baily, Harold J. (1949). Baird's Manual of American College Fraternities. Menasha, Wisconsin: Banta Publishing Company. p. 315. OCLC 1353909.
- ^ Anson, Jack L.; Marchenasi, Robert F., eds. (1991) [1879]. Baird's Manual of American Fraternities (20th ed.). Indianapolis, IN: Baird's Manual Foundation, Inc. p. I-9–10 (Essay: "The Kinds of Fraternities and Sororities"). ISBN 978-0963715906.
- ^ Sanua, Marianne Rachel (2003). Going Greek: Jewish College Fraternities in the US, 1895– 1945. Wayne State University Press. ISBN 978-0-8143-2857-6. Retrieved 2008-11-14.
- ^ a b Torbenson, Craig L. (2005). "Origin and evolution of college fraternities and sororities". In T. Brown, G. Parks, & C. Phillips (Eds.), African American fraternities and sororities: the legacy and the vision (37–65). Lexington, KY: University Press.
- ^ "Fraternal History". About Us. Phi Iota Alpha Fraternity, Inc. Retrieved May 30, 2009.
- ^ Anson, Jack L.; Marchenasi, Robert F., eds. (1991) [1879]. Baird's Manual of American Fraternities (20th ed.). Indianapolis, IN: Baird's Manual Foundation, Inc. p. I-7–9 (Essay: "Interfraternalism"). ISBN 978-0963715906.
- ^ a b c d e f g Anson, Jack L.; Marchenasi, Robert F., eds. (1991) [1879]. Baird's Manual of American Fraternities (20th ed.). Indianapolis, IN: Baird's Manual Foundation, Inc. p. I-10–24 (Essay: "Origins and Evolution of the College Fraternity"). ISBN 978-0963715906.
- ^ "Books: Hawthorne's Line". Time. April 25, 1938. Retrieved 2010-08-17.
- ^ Matthews, Jack (August 15, 2010). "Nathaniel Hawthorne's Untold Tale". Excerpts from Julian Hawthorne's Memoirs<span />. The Chronicle Review. Retrieved 2010-08-17.
- ^ Matthews, Jack (August 15, 2010). "Nathaniel Hawthorne's Untold Tale". The Chronicle Review. Retrieved 2010-08-17.
This was, of course, all very collegiate for that long-ago time, and—with the exception of the "red-hot iron" and "boiling oil" references, if taken too literally—quite typical.
- ^ Katherine, Rosman (August 11, 2002). "O Brother (and Sister), Where Art Thy Pins?". The New York Times. p. Section 9 Column 2 Style Desk. Retrieved May 30, 2009.
- ^ Bill, Schackner (August 18, 2000). "Fraternity houses turn off the taps and sober up". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved May 31, 2009.
- ^ "Housing". Greek Life at Vanderbilt University. Office of Greek Life, Vanderbilt University. Retrieved May 31, 2009.
- ^ Dave, Paresh (9 March 2014). "Sigma Alpha Epsilon ends pledging process, citing hazing deaths". Baltimore Sun. Retrieved 11 March 2014.
- ^ Ernest T. Pascarella, Elizabeth J. Whitt, Amaury Nora, Marcia Edison, Linda Serra Hagedorn, Patrick. T Terenzini. What have we learned from the first year of the National Study of Student Learning?
- ^ Pascarella, Ernest T., Lemont Flowers, Elizabeth J. Whitt, Research revisited: Cognitive effects of Greek affiliation in college: Additional evidence. The Research Journal of the Association of Fraternity, Vol. 2. Iss. 1, September 2006.
- ^ Kuh, G. D., Pascarella, E. T., & Wechsler, H. (1996). The questionable value of fraternities. Chronicle of Higher Education, 42(32), A68.
- ^ Farley Grubb (2006). Does Going Greek Impair Undergraduate Academic Performance? American Journal of Economics and Sociology, 65, p. 1085-1110.
- ^ Bledsoe, T; S.R., Goldstein, A.R., Goyen, K.D., Rounds, L.E., Street, J., Winston, R.B., Wisbey, M.E. (1997). "Describing the Climate of Student Organizations: The student Organization Environment Scales". The Journal of College Student Development (38): 417–427.
- ^ "Hazing Research and Prevention". Umaine.edu. Retrieved 15 August 2014.
- ^ a b Dostis, Melanie (November 21, 2013). "Hazing imbedded in college culture". USA Today.
- ^ Kingkade, Tyler (2014-03-11). "Sigma Alpha Epsilon Bans Pledging Nationwide In Effort To Stop Hazing". Huffington Post.
- ^ "Anti-hazing statement". Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity.
- ^ "Princeton's Fraternities Growing". New York Times. November 28, 1993. pp. Section 1 Page 56. Retrieved May 31, 2009.
- ^ Fletcher, Robert Samuel (1943). A History of Oberlin College from Its Foundation Through the Civil War. Oberlin College. "Revised codes were issued every few years, but not many important changes were made in them. Provisions with regard to the hours of 'athletic exercises and sport' were added in 1847. In the same revision there appeared for the first time the 'peculiar' Oberlin rule against secret societies. 'No student,' it runs, 'is permitted to join any secret society, or military company.'"
- ^ Student Regulations, Policies, and Procedures, Oberlin College 2011–2012 (PDF). Oberlin College. 2011. p. 34. D. Secret Societies: "No secret society is allowed at Oberlin, and no other societies or self-perpetuating organizations are allowed among students, except by permission of the faculty. This is to be understood to include social and rooming-house clubs."
- ^ http://www.guilford.edu/about-guilford/quaker-heritage/quaker-testimony/equality/
- ^ Earlham College - A national liberal arts college in the Midwest
- ^ Donofrio, Leana (October 16, 2002). "Private colleges ban fraternities, sororities nationwide". ISU Bengal (Idaho State University). Retrieved May 31, 2009.
- ^ "The Amherst Chapter of the Alpha Delta Phi Fraternity". The Alpha Delta Phi Fraternity. Alpha Delta Phi Fraternity. Retrieved May 31, 2009.
- ^ [1][dead link]
- ^ url = http://blueandgraypress.com/2014/11/20/umw-debates-possibility-of-greek-life/
- ^ [2]
- ^ [3]
- ^ [4]
- ^ "Alpha Delta Pi".
- ^ Not associated with the Philomathean Society of the University of Pennsylvania.
- ^ "The History of Pi Beta Phi". pibetaphi.org. Retrieved 2014-10-14.
- ^ "Kappa Alpha Theta". Kappa Alpha Theta. Retrieved 2014-05-04.
- ^ a b "The History of Tri Delta". Tridelta.org. Retrieved 2011-09-17.
- ^ "Women's Fraternity". Alpha Xi Delta. Retrieved 2011-09-17.
- ^ "Who We Are...The Founding of Delta Phi Epsilon". Delta Phi Epsilon. Retrieved July 27, 2008.
- ^ Klimczuk, Stephen & Warner, Gerald. "Secret Places, Hidden Sanctuaries: Uncovering Mysterious Sites, Symbols, and Societies". Sterling Publishing, 2009, New York and London. ISBN 978-1-4027-6207-9. pp. 212–232 ("University Secret Societies and Dueling Corps").


text:
The Mashantucket Pequot Police Department continues its expansion with the addition of three veteran officers on Friday.
The Mashantucket Pequot Police Department continues its expansion with the addition of three veteran officers on Friday.
In addition, current tribal department member Patricia Lieteau was promoted from sergeant to lieutenant.
The department's explosive growth — five officers also were added in February, and one in March, bringing its strength to 24 — is in preparation for getting the authority to arrest non-tribal members on the tribe's reservation.
That authority is expected to come later this year, after a bill supported by Gov. Dannel P. Malloy is approved by the Legislature and an agreement is negotiated with the state stipulating how the police force would operate.
The bill also would affect the Mohegan tribe's police department, which would gain similar authority on its reservation in Montville.
Currently, tribal police can only detain non-American Indians and wait for state police to handle arrests. The change would free up state police now stationed on the reservations, which include Foxwoods Resort Casino and Mohegan Sun casino, to patrol elsewhere.
"It's a win-win for the state and us," Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Council Chairman Rodney Butler said.
Butler said the bill's prospects in the Legislature look good. "We feel pretty confident it will work out as it should," he said.
The latest additions fill the tribal police force's two lieutenant and four sergeant positions, Police Chief William Dittman said.
Lieteau will be in charge of patrols, and Lt. Katy Tougas, who was promoted in February, will be in charge of training.
"My two lieutenants are highly capable individuals," Dittman said, noting they have more than 40 years' police experience combined.
Lieteau joined the tribal police in 2009 after retiring from the New London police force, where she had been a sergeant.
Getting sworn in Friday were Andre Parker, who will join as a sergeant, and Carlos Colon and Peter Beckwith.
Parker is a 28-year police veteran. He worked for police departments in Old Lyme and East Lyme and with the New London County marshals before joining the Waterford Police Department in 1988. He became a sergeant there in 2003.
Colon and Beckwith are both veterans of the New Haven police, where each served more than 20 years.
"We're stealing the best," Dittman said.
Dittman said four more officers are expected to be added next month, bringing the department to its planned full strength of 28.

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While lyric reading app Strophes has already been in the Mac App Store for a while, more often than not, it's when you're on the go that you'll need to whip out lyrics at a moments notice. So whether want to sing along or end a friendly argument about the correct words (or lines... or paragraphs...), Strophes has finally arrived in pocket form, ready to offer sage lyric wisdom at your every whim.
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Monday, May 23, 2011
Of Rhubarb Cake and Armchair BEA
And rhubarb cake. Staying home has its benefits.
Now, for Armchair BEA, I'm supposed to introduce myself today. Honestly there's not much to tell other than what I've already covered in the sidebar and About section of my blog. I'm Janelle, and I blog primarily about the children's books I read with my two young kids. We read mostly picture books, beginning readers and easy chapter books together, but every so often I review middle grade and YA titles. On Fridays I compile the weekly "Full to the Brim" Kid's book giveaway list. Besides reading we spend time crafting, exploring the outdoors, gardening and doing all the normal things families do together ...
... like making rhubarb cake. (I like it much better than rhubarb pie.)
We picked the rhubarb at my grandparents' farm. That's my grandparents' garden pictured in the header. We try to visit the farm as often as possible. In fact, I much prefer the country to the city, and I'm not altogether sure I'd enjoy BEA even if I had the chance to attend. NYC is a little too big for my liking. Plus, I imagine that trying to find rhubarb is a little tricky in the city. Did you know that when you harvest rhubarb you shouldn't cut it off with a knife? You just gently twist and pull the stems off at the base of the plant.
So, this week, instead of marveling at all the new books at BEA, I'm up to the usual -- attending Music Together classes with my son, volunteering at my daughter's school, working outside in my vegetable and flower gardens, going for walks, spending time together with other moms at playgroup, trips to the library, grocery store and visiting with family, going to church, blogging, and so on and so forth...
... and making rhubarb cake. I used the "Rhubarb Cake I" recipe from allrecipes and made the following alterations -- I used three cups of rhubarb instead of two and only one cup of white sugar instead of 1-1/2 cups. We also added a handful of blueberries to our batter. The rhubarb flavor is subtle, not at all tart and the cake is very moist. The kids even like to eat it, especially with a little ice cream or whipped cream!
There aren't many children's books about rhubarb. Rhubarb pie makes an appearance in Elizabeth Enright's Then There Were Five. Mona tries her hand at making it, but she forgets to add sugar! Yuck. In Patricia Polacco's autobiographical picture book about her childhood and relationship with her brother, My Rotten Redheaded Older Brother, the two siblings have a little contest eating raw rhubarb. Yuck again! I think I'll stick to rhubarb cake.
10 comments:
- Unknown said...
I have never had Rhubarb pie or cake, but it does sound interesting and I may have to try it. Have a great Armchair BEA. :)
- May 23, 2011 at 9:23 AM
- Alyce said...
It sounds like you keep very busy between the kids, the gardening and the blog!
- May 23, 2011 at 9:40 AM
- toothybooks said...
i've never had rhubarb cake before, but it looks delicious! i'll have to try out the recipe sometime.
- May 23, 2011 at 10:38 AM
- Laurel-Rain Snow said...
I haven't tasted rhubarb in ages! My mother grew it in her garden and made the best rhubarb pie.
Thanks for sharing....and now I'm hungry! LOL
Here's MY ARMCHAIR BEA KICK-OFF POST
- May 23, 2011 at 11:06 AM
- Christy Killoran said...
I have never tried rhubarb in any form!
- May 23, 2011 at 11:09 AM
- Allison said...
Cake is generally superior to pie, in my estimation, so I think your rhubarb cake sounds fabulous! Yum.
Lovely blog- so glad to come across it via Armchair BEA. I am a mom to two young ones, so I always enjoy children's book reviews. I was a children's librarian for a few years, but since moving on to teen librarianship, I'm much more current with YA than kidlit. So your reviews will be very helpful to me!
- May 23, 2011 at 12:29 PM
- Michelle said...
I'll admit - a complete disgust for rhubarb on the part of my father has made me cautious about ever trying it, but your cake looks delicious!
Welcome to Armchair BEA! On behalf of the organizers, we hope you have a blast this week!
- May 23, 2011 at 8:30 PM
- Anonymous said...
I never heard of rhubarb before. Now I want to try some in a cake or a pie. Cute post!
- May 23, 2011 at 8:51 PM
- Marie Cloutier said...
the rhubarb cake looks wonderful :-) Nice to meet you, too!
- May 24, 2011 at 6:47 AM
- ibeeeg said...
Yum, the rhubarb cake sounds fantastic. Will have to get my hands on some rhubarb and make some.
I love how you are spending your week. While I would actually love to attend BEA, your list of weekly activities is the primary reason why it will be a long time before I am at BEA; children, family, and life activities.
- May 24, 2011 at 12:37 PM


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text: Yuck are an alternative rock band that originated from London, England. The band features members Daniel Blumberg and Max Bloom, both of which formerly played in the band Cajun Dance Party. The band's self-titled debut album was released through Fat Possum on 21 February 2011 in the United Kingdom. Critics have likened the band to Dinosaur Jr… Read More


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Camp Lakamaga
- Marine on St. Croix, MN
- Camp Type: Overnight, Adult
- Age of Campers: 5 - 13
- Gender of Campers: Girls
- Accreditations: 1
This is a basic camp listing: no contact information is provided.
Camp Lakamaga is all about girls! In a supportive, fun environment girls learn to work together as a team, make decisions, and take responsibility for their actions. They develop their creative abilities, build independence and self reliance, learn new skills and gain confidence.
At Camp Lakamaga we use program activities and group living in a natural outdoor environment to create a camp community that nurtures girls' successful, healthy development. Camp Lakamaga is a place where having fun is a daily experience! Our camp staff members are positive role models who take time to listen, talk, relax and reflect as they interact with girls.
At Camp Lakamaga girls will discover, connect, and take action as they develop hands-on leadership skills. Camp Lakamaga offers girls a framework for girls to create their own experiences, refect on them and apply what they learned to new challenges both at camp and at home.


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Happy New Year!
I hope your holiday celebrations were pleasant and refreshing.
WHA is now in its 5th year. I think it is only fair to discuss future plans. This is not an easy task since we cannot predict the watched-for outcomes with a high degree of reliability or certainty. So, the future course will be subject to alterations based on results, or lack of. Information of late points to the first quarter of 2019 for some possible commencement.
The most probable events to transpire first, will, of course, be the legitimate, large private groups. The sovereigns, military, big dogs, etc., are first in line and we can only guess as to what will be the end result for the public, if anything is left for such a distribution to take place. Zimbabwe dollars are reportedly dead forever, having been advised that it's a hopeless case to ever see a public speculative return from such. Dinars are still a troubled bundle of overprinted, war-torn paper, of which the ultimate outcome is still far from confirmed. The dong is considered the most stable, is internationally traded and recognized, and may offer some speculative returns. But, the realities of the Vietnamese economic processes are said to offer significant barriers to an easy, carefree cash-out.
It is not surprising that the clear advantage in all this business is with the top tiers, military, sovereigns, legitimate groups, and it will be from the top down, and not the bottom up, that any economic largess might be distributed through the system and perhaps ultimately reach the street. This could be in many forms, such as infrastructure projects, job programs, investment, etc. It's final form remains unclear. Equally unclear is a blueprint for solid public RV exchanges. Even at this late date, we are told the banks have made no plans for such a thing. Contrast this to the almost constant reminder from dinar talk show hosts that the banks are "ready", and that call centers are "manned".
Of course, the principal driver of those who hold currencies is to profit from them. Few are concerned with the "how". They just want to know "when" and "how much". Set against this is the reported total lack of desire for anyone in banking to ensure you have even a slim chance at RV speculation. Given that banking cartels are demonstrably uninterested in human well-being, this should not be a surprise among RV devotees. Yet, notwithstanding the above, we have not been given a complete death sentence for possible public speculative success. Maddening – truly maddening.
At present, that's how it looks, based on all we have learned from those who sit high enough to see it, and have been generous enough to share such information with our readers.
So, what now? All we can do is watch and wait. But, be prepared for either case, be it a pre-warning to get ready for a possible public exit, or a let-down. Currency speculation is a very tough road, and too many promoters and money grubbing bloggers have tried to paint it into a pink fuzzy cosmic fantasy of easy, endless cash on the horizon. Sadder still, far too many people are buying into such things.
This leads us to some plans for the future.
Until it is firmly called off, we will stay on station to assist for any public pre-RV notifications as needed. If the process starts, in whatever fashion, we will remain available to do whatever is asked in the way of helping. We may not be asked to help. I don't know for sure. At that point, if an RV/funds release has transpired, and we are not tasked, then WHA will close, or transform; it's purpose fulfilled in one way, with another purpose to possibly be determined.
If the private groups are successfully transacted, those of whom are interested may wish to use WHA as a gathering place for administering beneficial efforts for those who could not, or won't, directly benefit from either private or public exchanges. In this day and age, one cannot splash significant money around to whomever they wish without some possible repercussions if the receiving parties are somehow questionable in the eyes of the law. So, this type of thing may be in coordination with OWoN or whoever in an official capacity asks us to help and be lawfully cleared to do so. We will have to wait and see.
Moving on…
While we are not a crypto blog, there is certainly interest here to hedge against possible failed RV speculative gains. This is understandable. We cannot cover all possible methods, approaches or disciplines to this entire industry from end to end, and all of you are free to do your own research and share your ideas and beliefs. I have shared how I personally approach this industry, with an eye on the long term opportunities, and not quick, short term chart trade speculations. You may approach it as you wish, but experience has taught me that in new sectors, and especially in commodities, such as cryptos are considered, the long term plan is where the transformational wealth is most easily made. To that end, let's discuss the current scene, and the many roadblocks, minefields, hobgobblins, demented wood sprites, and personal demons that will be cast before you, should you decide to take a stake in this new space in search of transformational wealth to enable you to be of greater service to your fellow man.
The over 80% retreat from the highs of January 2018 are now offering you unparalleled value for entry of your spare, risk dollars into sound tokens with good management and ideas that solve critical needs. Also, it offers excellent chances to dollar cost average your older positions, to potentially magnify your future gains once prices reverse.
Remember that the key components to participating in this kind of highly speculative market, is position size and risk management. Risk capital, is just that – money you can risk. Uniform position sizing is also important. Equal amounts in each idea – balance. This approach will keep you calm under the bodhi tree while those who bet the farm and got caught in draw-downs that deprived them of needed funds are spending inordinate amounts of time in the WC conducting a symphony in B flatulence. Up, down, sideways – the market action at this juncture is not of concern to the person who entered safely. The wild ride is just that – a ride. It will have an ending, and we are far from that ending at this point. It will either end in a crash and disappearance of your funds, or a screaming ride upwards into the stratosphere with incredible gains. Prices won't stay the same forever in front of increasing demand, adoption and innovation. And I doubt the best ideas will crash to 0 in the face of such, either.
This ride to lower prices is designed to make you want to get off, to give up and shake you loose from the coaster. Others will step in and take your seat; the strong taking from the weak. It's your decision to partake. Be responsible in your approach, and let the entire industry work its way forward. We cannot possibly outline all the reasons to expect considerable increases in future value, but the limited supply vs. the expected demand of BTC alone will probably propel its value past last year's highs. This will affect alt coins as well, with Wall St greed contributing to that effort. Major players like Fidelity, TD Ameritrade, Citigroup, ICE, CBOE, Goldmans, Coinbase are all developing BTC products, notwithstanding anything you hear to the contrary. They are sitting on client lists which number into the hundreds of millions, and they are signaling interest in increasing rates. Then there is BAKKT, operated by the owners of the NYSE and their plans to offer the first-ever institutional BTC settled market in 2019.
All this is being overshadowed by panic selling, which presently stems from SEC actions against ICOs which now have to refund, defend and deal with enforcement actions against them, and they are raising cash for this by selling their positions. There are other reasons, but let's not get too deeply into things we can't control. It's all part of the game to get you to fear and dump, rather than look coherently at the potential numbers of players coming into this space via institutional platforms, which shows no signs of abating so far. Think like a Wall St player. Would they be giving up with such potential staggering profits to be had? Not a chance. They have been quietly buying in large volumes, in a market that ultimately has an extremely limited supply. To do this, and to shake both supply and prices loose from weak hands has necessitated some extreme market manipulation and fear mongering. Your defense is to buy smartly within your safe limits and sit quietly in the knowledge that you won't let their Jedi mind tricks work on you.
So, for those of you who are holding crypto positions, good luck, and let's see what some patience will bring within the next few years. Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to risk rather small amounts to potentially win big, or risk nothing to gain nothing.
As an adjunct to future plans, a while back I mentioned that I had met with some key players in the world of creatively using credit to leverage into wealth. This association continues, and more doors are opening. I did not engage this process for my own benefit, since I really didn't need it. I did so to explore a viable and quality pathway to offer any interested and qualified readers the chance to improve their lot in lieu of a possible public RV failure. I am happy to report that, so far, all is proceeding well, and the parties with whom I am interacting are proving to be of complete honesty and integrity. When I am in possession of the required final results, I will possibly organize a way to lead others through to benefit as well.
I cannot go into all the details at this time. This process, if undertaken, will not be solely to line my pockets by front-end commission loading, and then casting you to your fate in untested waters. Oh no. I would cut my liver out with a dull knife, and eat it, before I turned this blog into a shameless bordello of pecuniary opportunism, where only I can benefit from something easily sold, but impracticably applied after the fact. That won't happen.
My work on this continues. More later.
Thank you all for your readership in 2018. Let's see what 2019 brings. We will continue to watch for news and updates and bring them to you here as they occur. Be safe, and as always, plan and be ready for anything.


text:
Is the bank required to provide Truth in Lending disclosures for all loans?
No. The bank is not required to provide a Truth in Lending disclosure, which outlines the cost of the requested credit, for the following types of loans:
- business, commercial, agricultural, or organizational
- student
- consumer loans over $50,000, adjusted annually for inflation, not secured by real property or the consumer's principal dwelling
- public utility services
- securities and commodities


text:
Lather up at electronic dance party in Bridgeport
Organizers advertise Foam N' Glow as "The World's Largest Foam Party."
And they have the ammo to back it up.
The spectacle, which comes to Bridgeport's Webster Bank Arena on Friday, April 11, fuses high-energy dance music with ultra-violet dancers, fire-performers, laser light shows and foam -- lots and lots of foam.
Foam-spewing cannons blast thousands of gallons of white fluffy suds during the event, creating a massive bubble-bath dance floor.
"It's not your typical DJ event," said Kyle Kelly, who founded Foam N' Glow with his brother, Corbin, two years ago. "We try to incorporate all these extra effects to illicit different emotions and different senses. We go big on the visual element, the sensory effect."
That's not to take anything away from the music. Delux and Syrus, two of Foam N' Glow's top resident DJs, will be on the decks, spinning a nonstop pulsating mix of house, electro, techno and dubstep.
The concert, which makes close to 60 stops a year, attracts as many as 10,000 people depending on the size of the venue. It takes a lot of manpower to get a show of that scale up and foaming. Kelly said that as many as 100 people -- light technicians, video and disc jockeys, tour managers, performers, security and stage hands -- are staffed to make sure everything runs smoothly.
"There a lot of moving parts that all have to come together to make it go off," Kyle Kelly said.
Prior to launching Foam N' Glow, the Kelly brothers organized hip-hop and electronic dance parties in their home state of Pennsylvania. Ironically, Kyle Kelly doesn't "go to that many concerts." He isn't the clubbing type. Still, he has a firm handle on what makes club kids tick.
As it turns out, that involves a ridiculous amount of foam. "It's the world's largest foam party, and we lay claim to that for a reason," he said. "It's an experience, and everybody should experience it at least once."
email@example.com; Twitter: @scottgarg
Webster Bank Arena, 600 Main St., Bridgeport. Friday, April 11 at 8 p.m. $57.90. 800-745-3000, www.ticketmaster.com.


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GCN LAB REVIEW: If you want to hook up your projector to a high-end desktop PC using a DVI cable to maximize the display properties, the PG-F255W is the only game in town.
Sharp Electronics' PG-F255W is a good all-around performer that excels in a few areas but lags in others.
The unit weighs 6 pounds, 8 ounces, and is 11.5 inches wide and 11.2 inches long, which means it's too big to truly be considered portable. Although its weight is not totally out of bounds, the fact that it's 4.2 inches thick adds to its seemingly large size.
Sharp PG-F255W
Pros: Only projector with DVI input, best fine-lines display in test history.Cons: Colors are slightly off, a bit heavy to be considered portable.
Portability: B-Features: AColor accuracy: C+Brightness: B+Value: B-Price: $1,495
That thickness facilitates a variety of ports — VGA, local-area network, monitor out, S-Video and USB. The PG-F255W is the only projector in this review with a Digital Visual Interface input, which means you can connect it to a desktop computer with a high-end video card just as easily as you can hook it to a laptop PC. Projectors started including DVI a few years ago but have since backed off because the laptop market didn't follow suit.
In many cases, the extra quality offered by the DVI port is worth the investment. However, because we tested other projectors using VGA, we did the same with the PG-F255W.
Despite using the lower-end VGA interface, the PG-F255W scored extremely well on our fine-lines display test. It was perfect across the entire screen, without a pixel out of place. It was the first projector ever to get a perfect score for fine lines, and it is something to behold in that area. Other reviewers came into the lab to see what a perfect score looked like, and it was quite a show.
It's no surprise that the PG-F255W also did well with text display. It rendered text clearly down to 6.8-point size — among the best in the review in that area as well.
Unfortunately, despite some fine-tuning, the colors were off in almost every area. Reds took on that tomato-soup glow common to projectors when the colors are not quite perfect, and greens were yellowish. Shades of blue, however, looked just about right.
The PG-F255W was one of the few projectors that did a perfect job with color registration, which, combined with accurate blues, makes it great for video.
It put 800 lumens on the screen in the middle of an image, with only a 60-lumen drop-off at the corners. It will work in most environments, but you probably need to at least dim the lights to get the most out of a presentation.
The $1,495 price tag is a bit steep compared with others in this review. However, if you want to hook up your projector to a high-end desktop PC with a DVI cable to maximize the display properties, the PG-F255W is the only game in town. And it's a pretty good one.
Sharp Electronics, 800-237-4277, www.sharpusa.com
About the Author
John Breeden II is a freelance technology writer for GCN.
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text:
How We Got Here: Post-Doctoral Division
The New Left Review will either excite or exhaust your brain. But if you want to see the rise of capitalism on a global scale through the eyes of an economist who speaks economese, this is your guy: Robin Blackburn. I'm not saying I understood the whole thing (I wonder if many outside the ivy-clad ivory towers could), but the whole issue of how corporations came to be the driving force in almost everything in the world, and how money became both the ends and the means to all things, is somewhere here between the lines.
The NLR summarizes the piece thusly: "The concept of alternative futures, banished from postmodernity's
eternal present, flourishes on the financial summits of the global
economy. Robin Blackburn argues against a neo-Luddite dismissal of the
new financial engineering techniques by the Left, while coolly
assessing the economic and social costs of their current configurations."
Uh-huh. I almost said that.
The gist is, once you see everything - people, the environment, cultures - as commodities, it all makes perfect sense. Of course, money doesn't have a soul.
Therefore, this begins to appear to be a genius corporate philosophy:
In the years 2001-03 about three million jobs were lost in the United
States. By the turn of the century Enron's managers had become famous
for a regime in which each employee knew that one tenth of the staff,
those who failed to reach trading targets, would be sacked each year,
no matter how good or bad the overall performance. Many of the most
powerful corporations today do their best to avoid having a workforce;
instead they out-source and sub-contract.
We've seen see how well that works.
Ultimately, the soveriegnty of financial institutions that make this entire "financialization" thing work, actually causes corporations and the system they have creates, self-destruct (see Enron, WorldCom, Delphi et al):
[F[inancial profits over the last
decade have mainly taken the form of the cancellation of promises made
to employees-exploitation over time-the erosion of small capital
holdings by large and unscrupulous money managers and the swallowing of
shoals of tiny fish by a shark-like financial services industry. Few of
the gains from the reallocation of capital through superior risk
assessment have been channelled to production. Financial profits have
instead prompted a surge in upscale real-estate prices and the turnover
of the luxury goods sector. The mass of employees and consumers have
sunk deeper into debt. Yawning domestic inequalities have been
compounded by escalating international imbalances, with an inflow of
foreign capital covering a deficit on the us
current account. With a sagging dollar, an oil price shock and rising
interest rates, American households-the consumers of first and last
resort-are likely to find the strain of carrying the world on their
shoulders ever more difficult. Financialization promotes such a skewed
distribution of income that it ends by undermining its own
credit-driven momentum.
Took the words right out of my mouth.
- 104 Globalization
- 201 Executive Compensation