 The Tabard at Dartmouth College was founded in 1857 as a local fraternity for students in the Chandler Scientific School named Phi Zeta Mu . In 1893 , as the Chandler School was absorbed by Dartmouth , the house sought to associate itself with a national fraternity and was granted a charter as the Eta Eta chapter of Sigma Chi national fraternity . In April 1960 , the Dartmouth chapter of Sigma Chi became the third fraternity on campus to dissociate from its national organization , following the 1954 Undergraduate Council referendum requiring fraternities to amend its national charters to end discrimination against minorities or go " local " . [ 92 ] The fraternity officially chose to use the name The Tabard , but retained use of the Greek letters ΣΧ for its local corporation use to include all living and deceased members of both the chapter 's national affiliation and the new local independent organization . The new name was inspired by The Tabard , a fictitious London inn described in the General Prologue of The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer . The Tabard was one of five Greek organizations at Dartmouth to become coeducational and admit women pledges when the college began admitting women students in 1972 . The organization unofficially uses the Greek letters Sigma Epsilon Chi ( ΣΕΧ ) , having inserted an " E " between the Sigma and Chi on a wrought iron railing above the front door of their residence . Prominent alumni of the Tabard include : its first president Stephen W. Bosworth , class of 1961 - U.S. Ambassador to South Korea , the Philippines , and Tunisia , as well as Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Dartmouth College ; Gordon Campbell , class of 1970 - the 34th Premier of British Columbia ; and Aisha Tyler , class of 1992 - an American actress , comedian , and author . 
