 Kappa Kappa Kappa ( " Tri @-@ Kap " ) is a local fraternity founded on July 13 , 1842 . Currently , it is the oldest local fraternity in the nation and the second permanent Greek @-@ letter fraternal society established at Dartmouth College . The organization has no affiliation with the Ku Klux Klan , which was founded after Kappa Kappa Kappa was founded and unfortunately adopted the Latin initials " KKK " , similar to the Greek alphabet letters Kappa Kappa Kappa . According to legend , Kappa Kappa Kappa sued the Ku Klux Klan for defamation of name , but lost because the judge ruled that the similarity in the initials of the organizations was sheer coincidence . Kappa Kappa Kappa was the first society at Dartmouth to have a freestanding fraternity building in Hanover and one of the first in the country . Some prominent alumni include Channing Cox ( 1901 ) , Dr. Bob , ( 1902 ) Nick Lowery ( 1978 ) , Paul Donnelly Paganucci ( 1953 ) , and Peter Robinson ( 1979 ) . 
