The Sigma Kappa and Gamma Phi Beta conundrum....
According to "From Here to Fraternity" by Robert Egan, this is what is says about Gamma Phi Beta:
"The Gamma Phi Betas were the first Greek letter-women's organization to call themselves a sorority, a word coined for them by a Syracuse Latin professor, six years after they were founded on that campus. Until that time, they had referred to themselves as a society. They have never called themselves a fraternity."

Sigma Kappa was founded November 9, 1874
Gamma Phi was founded November 11, 1874

Even though Sigma Kappa is older than Gamma Phi Beta by 2 days, I presume that GPHIB adopted the term "sorority" first. I do not know how Sigma Kappa referred to themselves in the early, early, days.

Sigma Kappa does have this "first" though, they are the first sorority founded in New England.

To add to the list of firsts, Delta Phi Epsilon was the first sorority to be founded at a professional school: NYU Law School; Washington Square http://www.greekchat.com/forums/ubb/wink.gif

Alpha Omicron Pi was the first national sorority to be founded on the campus of an Ivy League school --at Barnard College of Columbia University. Are there any NPC sororities founded west of the Mississippi?

good question. it is used many times inappropriately and is all a matter of perception.

mainstream according to the American Heritage dictionary : the prevailing current or direction of a movement, influence or activity. to integrate a (disadvantaged student) into regular classes. to incorporate into mainstream.

mainstream seems to imply the "norm" of something, the path most taken, anything outside of the mainstream is therefore not the "norm" No one person has the final say on what is normal, although many try, but i believe many view the majority as being the "norm" and anything not fitting into that category is not normal. it is often the habit of some to imply that because certain people
are not like them that they are the ones who are somehow different http://www.greekchat.com/forums/ubb/smile.gif i remember in elementary school a classmate asking why my hand was "normal" and light like hers on the front but brown on the other side, which i thought was funny at the time and a bit unnerving also that she would ask such a question of me as if i was the one who was not "normal", when in fact i could have asked her the same thing, but i guess i didn't see her as not "normal" just different http://www.greekchat.com/forums/ubb/smile.gif

I know I'm coming to this discussion a little late, but I'd never heard this fact. However, the first non-caucasian woman to join a sorority at the University of British Columbia was Diana Lam in 1953, so it appears that her sorority, Alpha Gamma Delta, has a better claim.

I'm learning a little bit more about Greek culture in one of my classes this semester. FYI:
Hellenic means pure greek culture dynamic and Hellenistic is the spread of the ideals. I believe (from my notes) that the term panhellenic meant in greek times "unifying force." It's significance is that it helped to create a "fusion" of city-state identity into a greek identity (Hellenistic). This dates back to 776 with the first Olympic Games.
Still doesn't explain the seperationg of pan and hellenic in NPHC. HOWEVER I will see if my teacher has an explination...perhaps the term "pan" means something too!?!?!


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What do you get when you cross and Alpha Omicron Pi and a Sigma Phi Epsilon? A beautiful Chi Omega!!!

When I was in school, all of the sororities on campus decided to get together for an information session on the differences and similarities between Panhellenic and Pan-Hellenic groups. The president of each sorority spoke for a few minutes to give information about her particular sorority, then at the end there was a Q & A session to discuss anything not covered. We really had a good time. Not only did we learn about other Greek organizations -- we gained some new friends as well! Maybe FSU Greek women would like to do something like that? I don't know if it's feasible or not since y'all are so large. We only had 5 sororities on campus, so it was easy for us to all meet. If nothing else, perhaps the presidents of each group could get together one night. Just a thought!

In the Greek bond,
Carrie

I'm not sure which group came first, NPC or NPHC, but I would assume from your explanation of the word panhellenic that NPC came first, and NPHC wanted to incoporate the word panhellenic into their name, but didn't want the 2 groups to be confused, and the only differentiation to be that the C in NPC stood for 2 different things for the 2 groups, council vs. conference? Of course it's entirely possible that NPHC was first and NPC chose the non-hyphen panhellinic to differentiate themselves http://www.greekchat.com/forums/ubb/smile.gif

As to the post on what is "normal", most people consider themselves normal, providing they aren't drastically different than what they were brought up around. So, of course to two little kids on the playground, one purple and one green, they would wonder why the other wasn't "normal". If you were brought up in a nudist colony, you'd wonder why everyone was so wierd, wearing clothes and all. that's not normal! http://www.greekchat.com/forums/ubb/smile.gif

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Steve Corbin
Lambda Chi Alpha
Theta Kappa Chapter
Rose-Hulman Inst. of Tech.

One of my fellow DZ sisters is going to have to help me out here. I'm a member of DZ and SAI and one was founded in 1902 and the other in 1903 and I can never remember which is which!

Anyway, that means DZ was not one of the first. I know DZ is international--which was the first to go international?

Go to this website. It is the official site of pan-hell. It will answer your q&a's
http://npcwomen.org/

X Girl

I'M A MEMBER OF A BGLO, KAPPA ALPHA PSI, FRATERNITY INC. I'M HERE AT FLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY WHERE WE HAVE A VERY LARGE GREEK POPULATION. I WAS JUST CURIOUS ABOUT YOUR SYSTEM AND HISTORY. I HAVE KNOWN A FEW GIRLS IN PANHELLENIC SORORITIES. MY QUESTION IS WHAT WAS THE FIRST WHITE SORORITY. WAS IT PHI MU OR DELTA ZETA? I KNOW THAT THE FOUNDER OF PHI MU AND ADPI WHERE ROOMMATES. I BELIEVE THAT'S WHY THEY BOTH SHARE THE LION AS A MASCOT. BUT WHAT ARE SOME OTHER INTERESTING FACTS THAT US NPHC ORGANIZATIONS SHOULD KNOW ABOUT YOU. I BELIEVE THAT ALL GREEKS SHOULD SUPPORT ONE ANOTHER AND I WAS JUST CURIOUS.
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KAPPA ALPHA PSI FRATERNITY, INC.
SPR 97
XI LAMBDA

Hi -- To answer your question, Delta Zeta was founded in 1902 at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. http://www.greekchat.com/forums/ubb/smile.gif

While all of the questions are interesting, As a Brother of Lambda Chi Alpha, I have always professed that all Greeks are one in the same even though GLO/BGLO mean different things, We are all Greeks. If some of the Soroitys have Fraternity after their Greek Names it is because it a fraternital organization which is a common group of people of the like ideas. I am not in a frat. , I am in a Fraternity! I have many freinds whom I have met over the years who are not in my Fraternity but are Brothers and Sisters as we have many if not all of the same ideals!!

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Tom Earp LX Z#1
Pittsburg State U. (Kansas)

I agree 100%!