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Quote:

Originally Posted by Psi U MC Vito (Post 1892797)

So apparently Clinton is very Greek. That is what, four different orgs?

He probably thought it meant he would get to go to four times the mixers.

That was too easy.:p

I love how this went from a train wreck to a Greek History lesson. :)

And yes, I'd say anyone with 4 orgs, should be considered very Greek.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Psi U MC Vito (Post 1892797)

So apparently Clinton is very Greek. That is what, four different orgs?

Some would say making up for lost time... :)

Seriously, Georgetown, where Clinton was an undergraduate had two active pledging greek letter organizations in the 1960s: Alpha Phi Omega and the Foreign Service Fraternity. He pledged and initiated into Alpha Phi Omega. Alpha Phi Omega is a service fraternity, but IMO, with no social greeks on campus, had a somewhat wider organizational niche than it might have at other schools.

Senusret can speak to this in even greater detail, he pledged Alpha Phi Omega at Georgetown.

Quote:

Originally Posted by naraht (Post 1892820)

Delta Sigma Pi was also on campus and shared many of the same traditions. That's all I can think of to add. :)

Benjamin Harrison was also a Delta Chi. He was the president at the time of our founding and was a highly acclaimed lawyer, making him an ideal candidate. He was initiated at a time when we were still a professional law fraternity and we still allowed dual membership.

ETA: To further clarify, Delta Chi does not have "Honorary Initiates" at present. I do not know if this was the case when Harrison was initiated, but I think the policy was the same. Alumnus Initiates are full members of Delta Chi

Quote:

Originally Posted by MysticCat (Post 1892781)

I knew that at one point. Thanks for the reminder.

Now that I did not know. :D

These I don't know about. Thanks.

I found the Churck Norris fact on the Kappa Kappa Psi web page, not a chapter one so I think it is going to be more accurate. I remember the Phi Beta Sigma announcement re: Clinton, they voted him for membership but there hasn't been a ceremony yet so he technically wasn't a member, yet.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gusteau (Post 1892842)

I'll grant from the poster that he may not count as an "Honorary Initiate", so perhaps the question is better asked in the positive, "Which of these presidents were actively seeking an Associate's or Bachelor's degree during the time at which they became a member of the fraternity?".

Randy

Quote:

Originally Posted by naraht (Post 1893138)

Good point.

I won't deny that Harrison's initiation (and others during that time period, William Jennings Bryan being another notable one) was certainly honorary in nature, if not terminology.

Quote:

Originally Posted by MysticCat (Post 1892479)

I'll see your Justinian and raise you a few Spartans.

I think that would make sense! :)

Quote:

Originally Posted by MysticCat (Post 1892522)

That could be accurate, depending on whether non-social/general fraternities are included (and depending on whether Obama has been initiated by a fraternity).

Per The Center for the Study of the College Fraternity in Bloomington, Indiana:

The North-American Interfraternity Conference has also compiled a list of U.S. Presidents who were/are fraternity members. Contrary to the statistic quoted above ["All but two U.S. Presidents since 1825 have been fraternity men"], no president prior to 1877 was a fraternity member and seven presidents since then have not been fraternity men. Presidents who were fraternity members are:

President/Years in Office/Fraternity
Rutherford B. Hayes 1877-1881 Delta Kappa Epsilon
James Garfield 1881 Delta Upsilon
Chester Arthur 1881-1885 Psi Upsilon
Benjamin Harrison 1989-1893 Phi Delta Theta
William McKinley 1897-1901 Sigma Alpha Epsilon
Theodore Roosevelt 1901-1909 Delta Kappa Epsilon/Alpha Delta Phi
William Howard Taft 1909-1913 Psi Upsilon
Woodrow Wilson 1913-1921 Phi Kappa Psi
Calvin Coolidge 1923-1929 Phi Gamma Delta
Franklin D. Roosevelt 1933-1945 Alpha Delta Phi
Harry S. Truman 1945-1953 Lambda Chi Alpha
Dwight D. Eisenhower 1953-1961 Tau Epsilon Phi
John F. Kennedy 1961-1963 Phi Kappa Theta
Gerald R. Ford 1974-1977 Delta Kappa Epsilon
Ronald Reagan 1981-1989 Tau Kappa Epsilon
George H. W. Bush 1989-1993 Delta Kappa Epsilon
George W. Bush 2001- Delta Kappa Epsilon

That means that 7 presidents (not counting Obama) since 1877 were not social/general fraternity members, and all presidents since 1877, except for Rutherford B. Hayes, were born after 1825. If Warren G. Harding and Jimmy Carter (for Phi Alpha Delta) and Bill Clinton (for Alpha Phi Omega) are added, that does leave four (again, not counting Obama) who were not fraternity members.

It should also be noted that at least one president (Harry Truman) was an honorary initiate, not a collegiate. I leave to others how that should be counted.

Stephen Grover Cleveland 1885–1889 and 1893–1897 Sigma Chi

TO INITIATE MR. CLEVELAND.; HE WILL PROBABLY BE A SIGMA CHI SHORTLY.
December 17, 1892, Wednesday
The New York Times
Page 9, 739 words

The initiation of Grover Cleveland as an honorary member of the Sigma Chi fraternity is probably near at hand. The Alumni Chapter of the society in this city, of which the Rev. Dr. Theodore A.K. Gessler is Consul, has sent the following letter to the persons interested in the ceremony:

View the full original New York Times article here

Quote:

Originally Posted by TSteven (Post 1893455)

Thank you for the info. He should probably be in a separate list with Truman and Eisenhower.

I guess what that means to me is that is that if you are *the* resident at 1600 Pennsylvania long enough, some social GLO will offer you Honorary (or other post collegiate) membership.

I don't think that says negative things about social GLOs, but I think indicates carelessness/greed on the part of those trying to use the collective GLO membership of Presidents for recruitment.

Hmm. How would one go about initiating a president anyway? I don't see the Secret Service letting their principle be looked in a room full of strangers.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Psi U MC Vito (Post 1893580)

Hmm. How would one go about initiating a president anyway? I don't see the Secret Service letting their principle be looked in a room full of strangers.

First, I'm sure the secret service wants a list of who will be in that room, secondly, I'm guessing everyone gets patted down and thirdly, I'm guessing for most fraternities that if the requirement on making a president a member is that 2 trained secret service professionals have to be in the room as well, that they would accept the requirement. Who knows, you might actually be able to find who secret service agents who are already brothers, or consider them worthy to be honorary brothers as well!

Quote:

Originally Posted by TSteven (Post 1893455)

Stephen Grover Cleveland 1885–1889 and 1893–1897 Sigma Chi

Thank you, thank you, thank you. I knew there was a president who was an honorary Sigma Chi, but I couldn't remember who.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Psi U MC Vito (Post 1893580)

Hmm. How would one go about initiating a president anyway? I don't see the Secret Service letting their principle be looked in a room full of strangers.

Wouldn't happen in a post JFK world. Might not happen politically either. A former president (like Clinton), sure. A sitting president -- nope.

Part of the confusion here is terminology. "Honorary membership" can be confusing, witness the embarrasment between Mrs. Obama and one of the NPHC groups. Hayes, Cleveland, McKinley & Truman were all actually initiated as members after college in, we presume, the traditional ceremony. By contrast, there is no record anywhere that either Eisenhower or Kennedy were ever initiated. It is likely they were made "honorary" members either by citation by the national or some local chapter just deciding to do so. The first president to be legitimately initiated as an undergraduate was Garfield and the last was Bush II. I don't mean to split hairs but many Greek organizations allow special initiations of people beyond college age and they probably should not be called "honorary." My conception of that term is someone who is not really a member but deserve the title because of the respect the organization has for them.