Why was your org started?
 

With all the talk of the SAEPi thing, Why was your organization started?

Some of the Founding Members of my sorority were former pledges of another sorority. They became very dissatisfied with the sorority that they were pledging so three of them plus an active member of that sorority started Alpha Theta Chi and we've been around for 13 years.

Well...
 

In 1872 there weren't very many women in school, so the few that were had it rough. Ten women came together and decided that they needed to come together for support, friendship, and to share their common experiences. So they created Alpha Phi Fraternity. A fraternity for women.

Ronnie :D

I'm lazy, so I cut and pasted....

The State Female Normal School, now Longwood College, in Farmville, Va., was the first institution of higher learning in Virginia to admit women for collegiate study. Naturally, it attracted superior students, many of them daughters of college professors already familiar with the fraternity idea.

Among the students in the fall term of 1901 were five women who had become very good friends. Attractive, vivacious, and intelligent, they had been rushed and bid by the existing sororities. However, if they accepted these bids, it would mean that the five would not be sorority sisters. The women thought, if the school could have three sororities, why not four?

On November 15, 1901, a new sorority was organized and named Alpha Sigma Alpha. As stated in the charter, "The purpose of the association shall be to cultivate friendship among its members, and in every way to create pure and elevating sentiments, to perform such deeds and to mould such opinions as will tend to elevate and ennoble womanhood in the world." Signatures to this document include those of Alpha Sigma Alpha's five Founders: Virginia Lee Boyd (Noell), Juliette Jefferson Hundley (Gilliam), Calva Hamlet Watson (Wootton), Louise Burks Cox (Carper), and Mary Williamson Hundley.

ok, correct me if i am wrong AZD's...but i think this is how the story goes.
In 1893, 10 women at Lombard College, in Galesburg Illinois were dissatisfied with the only organization for women on their campus, Kappa Kappa Gamma. So they decided to begin their own organization that would be fundementally based on dedicated to the personal growth of women. With the help of Sigma Nu Fraternity, Alpha Xi Delta was soon born and then later became a National Fraternity, and joined NPC. The Panhellenic Creed which is still said today was written by an AXiD.

The founders of my sorority started the First Nonsectarian sorority. They all attended the same high school and then the same college. When one of them did not get into the sorority of her choice, they all decided to start their own so that ALL WOMEN would be able to join.:)

I think AOII was a similar situation. I think one member was not bid because of her faith, so the others dropped that sorority and started AOII!

Here's your correction :) - it was Pi Beta Phi, not KKG. KKG was the national we considered affiliating with, which is why double blue was chosen for our colors.

Cut and pasted from our HQ's site:

"The Founding"

The story of Sigma Nu began during the period following the Civil War, when a Confederate veteran from Arkansas enrolled at the Virginia Military Institute in Lexington Virginia. That cadet was James Frank Hopkins, and it is to him and two of his classmates that Sigma Nu owes its existence. When Hopkins enrolled at VMI, the south was in a state of turmoil and just beginning to recover from the devastating military defeat it had suffered. The Virginia Military Institute was highly recognized for its civil engineering program and the South badly needed to repair its bridges and railroads. At the Institute cadets suffered, not only of the ravages of war and a disrupted homelife, but because of the system of physical harassment imposed on lower classmen by their fellow students in the upper classes.

Hopkins had experienced military subservience during the war, and was willing to tolerate a reasonable amount of constraint intended to induce discipline. However, Hopkins was unwilling to accept any amount of hazing then being allowed at VMI. Not one ounce of hazing was he willing to suffer and he was doggedly adamant about eliminating it.

Hopkins soon was joined by two classmates and close friends who were also equally unhappy with the hazing situation. They were Greenfield Quarles, from Arkansas, a Kentuckian by birth, and James McIlvaine Riley from St. Louis, Missouri. These three men began a movement to completely abolish the hazing system at VMI. Their efforts climaxed on a moonlit October night in 1868, presumably following Bible study at the superintendent's home, when the three met at a limestone outcropping on the edge of the VMI parade ground. Hopkins, Quarles and Riley clasped hands on the Bible and gave their solemn pledge to form a brotherhood of a new society they called the Legion of Honor.

The vows taken by these three Founders bound them together to oppose hazing at VMI and encouraged the application of the Principle of Honor in all their relationships. That the founders should adopt Honor as a guiding principle was a natural move since a rigid code of Honor was already an established traditon of the VMI Corps of Cadets. The Honor system at VMI required each cadet to conform to the duty imposed by his conscience that each act be governed by a high sense of Honor.

You can find this and the rest of the story at:

http://www.sigmanu.com/fraternity/ou.../#Introduction

LHT
Kevin

As did some others, I have done some cutting and pasting, along with some editing:

Sinfonia was born on October 6, 1898, at the New England Conservatory in Boston, when a group of thirteen young men under the guidance of Ossian Everett Mills met “to consider the social life of the young men students of that institution” and “to devise ways and means by which it might be improved.” At the time, male students at the Conservatory were far outnumbered by female students. Mills, bursar of the Conservatory, was profoundly interested in the physical, mental, moral, and spiritual development of the Conservatory students and recognized that a large proportion of them intended to put their musical knowledge into the church either as organists or singers. Mills felt that this class of people, as much as any, needed to be men of high ideals and, beginning in 1886, had invited a group of male students to meet with him once a week. Thirteen years later, Mills was still leading these weekly prayer meetings, and he encouraged the “Old Boys” of the Conservatory to invite the “New Boys” to a “get-acquainted” reception. The result of this invitation was the birth of The Sinfonia Club, which soon became The Sinfonia Fraternity. Sinfonia became a national fraternity on October 6, 1900, with the admission of a group of men at the Broad Street Conservatory in Philadelphia.

It is noteworthy that Sinfonia was not founded as a Greek letter fraternity, but rather chose to become more “Greek.” The Greek letters FMA appeared in Fraternity life very early on, and were officially placed on the badge within 10 years of the Fraternity’s founding. The name of the Fraternity was officially changed from The Sinfonia Fraternity of America to Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia Fraternity of America in 1946, although in practice the current name had been used since the first decades of the Fraternity.

I think there has been another thread a lot like this one, but it is worthwhile, I think.

The following is from our website, www.delts.org.

"1776 Phi Beta Kappa, the first Greek letter society, is formed at the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia, in response to strict faculty members' attempts to rule all phases of students' lives. Nine men chronologically and geographically at the heart of impending revolution in the asyetunformed United States create for themselves an opportunity to secure freedom and the chance to govern their own affairs outside the classroom. Those nine students meet in the Raleigh Tavern on December 5 where they adopt a secret oath, a badge, a handshake, and mottoes in Greek and Latin. They devise an initiation ceremony and adopt a Greek letter name. The stage is now set for other Greek letter societies to follow suit.

You should recognize some of the same qualities in the story of Phi Beta Kappa's founding as those we at Delta Tau Delta embrace. The nine men who pledged their loyalty to each other in 1776 were also committed to excellence; they found strength in brotherhood, saw the importance of courage in the face of what they considered injustice. So you see, the quest for excellence extends deep into our roots, beyond even our own founding as a Fraternity, to the very beginning of the Greek system itself.



1858 Delta Tau Delta is founded at Bethany College. Eight undergraduates, angered by a fixed vote for a prize in oratory to be given at the Neotrophian Literary Society the only real forum for students to practice and demonstrate skills in poetry, public speaking, and writing essays respond by forming a secret society. The purpose of the new society, known only by the Greek letters Delta Tau Delta, is to see that the Neotrophian is returned to popular control, and delivered from the hands of the group of students who seized it.

The Fraternity was founded to right an unjust situation; Delta Tau Delta was born of the knowledge that integrity is essential. Its eight founders' outraged that one group of students would and could choose in advance the candidate they favored, then join together to swing enough votes for that man to win, regardless of his actual performance in the contest, presented the first opportunity for Delts to realize the importance of accountability."

DeltAlum comment:

Remember that this was before TV and the NCAA. These kinds of "contests" were the only competitive outlets at most of these small colleges in that era.

My 3 Founders were snowbound over the Christmas holidays at their School. Going by dates, they were basically teenagers, so they were at more of a finishing school, than a "university".
They decided to start the Delta Gamma club, which became Delta Gamma fraternity. Some were dating Delta Psi's at Ole Miss, so that might be where they got the idea from, but they were not ex-pledges of another sorority who grew dissatisfied.

Pi Beta Phi was founded as IC Sororsis at Monmouth Collge in Monmouth IL after our twelve founders met together to try to form a national secret college society of women to be modeled after the Greek-letter fraternities of men.
An interesting story to that is Pi Phi's first chapter called themselves the Beta Chapter and refered to a chapter "back east" as the alpha chapter.

TG

OK heres the history of Theta Nu Xi Multicultural Sorority Incorporated........ coming straight from the Alpha Chapter website....... ONE Love!
In the spring of 1996, Founding Monarch Melissa Jo Murchison-Blake was in search of sisterhood. She wanted to be part of a family that openly embraced all women and crossed cultural boundaries. As a bi-racial woman, she did not want to choose between historically white or black sororities. Founding Monarch Murchison-Blake felt that if she did choose one, she would be denying half of her heritage.

Still wanting to be part of a strong sisterhood, Founding Monarch Murchison-Blake recruited six other women to join hands in her quest to found Theta Nu Xi Multicultural Sorority. At first, the Founding Monarchs were discouraged from fulfilling their vision. The Director of Greek Affairs advised them to consider joining an existing organization, expressing his concern that a new Greek organization, based on the principal of multiculturalism, would not survive at UNC-CH. However, the Founding Monarchs believed there was a need for such a sisterhood. Their efforts set the stage for Theta Nu Xi's presence in the Greek, non-Greek, and surrounding communities.

After much work and dedication, the Founding Monarchs built the foundation for Theta Nu Xi. Finally, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill officially recognized Theta Nu Xi Multicultural Sorority as the Alpha Chapter on April 11, 1997. With the collaborative efforts of the Founding Monarchs and the Sisters of Spring 1998, the organization grew beyond our expectations. The Sorority incorporated on April 29, 1999, and with the participation of the Alpha Chapter and Beta and Gamma Colonies, the National Organization was founded at the first annual National Convention on August 21, 1999.

Our founding mother was a pledge with another local sorority on campus and felt that she didn't connect with the sisters, so she recruited a few friends and started her own local sorority in 1996!:)

6 years (wow, it's been 6 years!), Iota Beta Chi is 45 sisters strong and looking for expansion!:)

A little copy and paste...
 

On March 17, 1917, five women at New York University Law School took a pledge of sisterhood and loyalty and so founded the Alpha Chapter of Delta Phi Epsilon, the first non-sectarian, social sorority and the only one founded at a professional school. Five years later on March 17, 1922, Delta Phi Epsilon was formally incorporated under laws of the State of New York. On December 5, 1922, stretching out to international boundaries, the first Canadian chapter was installed at McGill University in Montreal, Quebec. Growth has been steady, but expansion in numbers has never been favored over strengthening within. From this small group making up the first chapter, there are now more than 25,000 members with chapters throughout the United States and Canada. Our chapters, both undergraduate and alumnae, enjoy a distinguished reputation for scholarship, service, and leadership.

Delta Phi Epsilon has worked to develop a social conscience and a willingness to think in terms of the common good in order to assure for its members continuous development and achievement in the collegiate and fraternity world. With a continuing philosphy of faith in the inherent good judgement of the undergraduate membership, Delta Phi Epsilon has remained steadfast throughout its history, forward to the continued growth of a sisterhood which keeps pace with the ever changing nature of the collegiate world.

Each year on March 17, undergraduates and alumnae celebrate Founders Day, honoring the women to whom each chapter of Delta Phi Epsilon is directly indebted for the establishment of our sisterhood. We honor them for the fine ideals and purposes which inspired them. Over three quarters of a century after Delta Phi Epsilon began, there are women who still embrace the beliefs of our founders by sharing sisterhood in their hearts and lives.

Minna Goldsmith Mahler*, Eva Effron Robin*, Ida Bienstock Landau*, Sylvia Steireman Cohn* and Dorothy Cohen Schwartzman*, five young law students saw Delta Phi Epsilon as a society to "promote good fellowship among the women students among the various colleges in the country...to create a secret society composed of these women based upon their good moral character, regardless of nationality or creed...to have distinct chapters at various colleges..." with the motto Esse Quam Videri: to be rather than to seem to be. (* deceased)

OH yeah and I almost frgot to mention.....this past April we celebrated our 5th Birthday!......We are currently....10 chapters strong.....with 2 colonies :D ....:D

I don't feel like typing so I'm just going to copy and paste from our National website.

Zeta Tau Alpha was founded October 15, 1898, by nine women at the State Female Normal School in Farmville, Virginia. Only 14-15 years of age, these young women desired permanence to their friendships and hoped to perpetuate their sisterhood long after college. Though dedicated to the formation of a Greek-letter group, the band of nine delayed selecting a formal name. A temporary name of "???" was taken when, as legend has it, a member of another group met with the Founders. Raising her eyebrows and forming her fingers in the shape of a question mark, she asked "Who are you?" In unison, the group answered "Yes, Who? Who? Who?" Thus, the group came to be known as "???" while they sought an appropriate Greek name and symbols. During this time, the group received valuable assistance from two of the members' brothers - Maud's brother, Plummer Jones, and Frances Yancey Smith's brother Giles Mebane Smith. Both were students at the college of William and Mary, members of men's Greek-letter organizations and knowledgeable of Greek lore. After a year of careful contemplation, the group chose the formal name, the patron goddess and the badge.

my sorority was started because of a fraternity, actually called Kappa Delta Phi.. we are not, however, a co-ed GLO.. we do have the same ideals and mottos, and as far as i know, a similar affiliation program, but if you ever notice a girl wearing Kappa Delta Phi letters we will always make them say:

KDF nas

the nas stands for National Affiliate Sorority

:)

CutiePie, that's right!
 

It's so interesting to read everyone's founding stories, especially the local GLOs! My chapter of AOII started as a local, and I love that story as much the story of AOIIs founding :)

Alpha Omicron Pi International Fraternity was founded on January 2, 1897 at Barnard College, Columbia University in New York City. It is true that one of our Founders was not allowed to pledge any of Barnard's existing women's fraternities due to her faith, so the four friends decided to begin their own fraternity. Quoted from the www.alphaomicronpi.org site:

Unfortunately, the room where we were founded no longer exists but I was able to see the building and the general area when in New York for our Centennial a few years ago.

Christin

A Little Copy 'n Paste For Ya
 

Here's our Story:

The organization of the groups which formed Gamma Sigma Sigma as a National Service Sorority is attributed to the women of Drexel Institute of Technology, a local service sorority known as Gamma Sigma Sigma. After searching for other groups having similar ideals and purposes, the Drexel group discovered the Omega Service Sorority at Boston University and the Women's Service Organization at New York University. After periodic informal contacts and information exchanges about their local organizations, the three groups determined they had nearly identical ideas, service programs and ideals. A Constitutional Convention was scheduled to establish formal ties and form a National Service Sorority.

The Constitutional Convention was held at Beekman Towers in New York City, October 10-12, 1952. Representatives attended the meeting from Boston University, Brooklyn College, Drexel Institute of Technology, Los Angeles City College, New York University, Queens College, University of Houston and Miami University of Ohio. During these three days, a national constitution was drafted and adopted, officers were elected (Barbara Van Sciver Ferraro from Drexel was the first National President) and a name was selected for the new National Service Sorority. The date commemorating the Constitutional Convention, October 12, is designated as Founder's Day for our sorority.
Our National Constitution went into effect on January 1, 1953.



The purpose of our sorority, "To assemble college and university students in the spirit of service to humanity, and to create friendships among students of all races and creeds" still holds true as we celebrate our Golden Anniversary this coming October 2002!

Our Zeta chapter at Drexel is our oldest chapter, as it is the only founding school still active.

Copied and pasted from the AEPhi web site:

From AGD Online:

Alpha Gamma Delta was founded at Syracuse University, Syracuse, New York on May 30, 1904.

When Alpha Gamma Delta was founded at Syracuse there were many professors of great reputation, but none more widely known than Dr. Wellesley Perry Coddington, head of the department of philosophy and psychology. Dr. Coddington graduated from Wesleyan University in 1860 and was a member of Eclectic Fraternity, Phi Nu Theta and Phi Beta Kappa. He taught Greek, Latin and German at old Genesee College and became one of the first five members of Syracuse University's faculty when Genesee became a part of Syracuse in 1871.

"Fraternity life must have meant much to him in his undergraduate days," wrote Georgia Dickover, Founder. "Over a half a century in a college community as student and professor, he remained as enthusiastic as a recent initiate."

From 1900-1905, however, enrollment at Syracuse doubled. This is what led Dr. Coddington to discuss the need for more organizations with Marguerite Shepard, class of 1905.

Because Marguerite was ending her junior year and would soon be graduating, she shared Dr. Coddington's idea with her younger sister, Estelle, a member of the class of 1908. Estelle saw the chance to make college friendships deeper and more permanent and discussed the possibility with her close friend, Georgia Dickover. These three women embraced the idea and made a list of other women to consider for membership. With Marguerite, Estelle and Georgia's approval, Dr. Coddington spoke with Jennie Titus, a member of his ethics class about the opportunity. She joined the group at their second meeting and became an energetic and eager worker.

On May 30th, 1904, 11 pioneering women came together to form Alpha Gamma Delta. Today Alpha Gamma Delta has grown to be an international organization with 179 collegiate chapters and 250 alumnae chapters, clubs and Junior Circles.

I've heard somewhere that some of the Founding women were invited to join an existing women's organization on campus, but they declined when they felt the need to have one more since female enrollment was increasing. Gamma Phi Beta and Alpha Phi were already on campus...so I wonder which one offered the invitation???

phi kappa psi was founded on the great joy of serving others...

150 years ago William H. Letterman and Charles P.T. Moore were nursing and watching their stricken friends during an epidemic of typhoid fever at Jefferson college. Through the long night vigils, an appreciation of the great joy of serving others came into their lives. Calling a number of others to join them, a Brotherhood was founded on February 19, 1852.

At the time of our founding, Jefferson College was considered one of the "Big Three" in what was known as the "Jeffersonian Cradle." The other two institutions comprising this group, Harvard and Princeton, were of very nearly equal size and equal high esteem.

Lambda Chi Alpha was founded by Warren A. Cole, while a student at Boston University, on November 9, 1909; with the expressed objective purpose of bringing about the association together of college students of good moral character in the various collegiate institutions within the United States and Canada; to foster a high Christian standard of life and ideals, to promote honorable friendship, to cultivate intellectual excellence, to secure for members the greatest advantages in college life, to establish brotherly love, mutual aid, close personal connection between alumni, undergraduates and college, and to bind them together for mutual pleasure and interest in college as well as after life by testing each with courage, self-control, obedience, democracy and courtesy toward all with whom the may come in contact.


At the time, if you as a group wanted to start or had a group started, it was very hard to affiliate with a National Fraternity. It sometimes took 5 years as there was at the time very little expansion! Union and Miami Triad were considered some of the Old Line Fratgernitys.

LXA was kind of a uniqe thing starting from scratch and flying on a wing and a prayer, or as is sometimes said very loosely run!

As the old line Fraternitys were not into expansion, there was an open door for new Fraternitys!

In 1939 TKN which was set up to go to smaller schools merged with LXA, it is still the largest merger in Greek Dom!

There had been talks with TKE and another National but they both fell through! Sorry ZEKE you could have been a Brother LXA! Or vice versa!

I started my Local after being Booted out of a Fraternity that was a local when I joined and went to a well known Natrional.

I feel very much like Brother Warren Cole as for what I did!

I admire anyone who starts a Local Organization as I know what goes into it!

Sit back and think of what these people did in an age where it was hard to get around and to communicate!

That was tough!

Today, it is not impossable to start a group, but even harder to start a group and expand in this time of life with all of the things going on!

Hats Off To One And All!:)

Cut and pasted as well...
 

In short.. AXP was founded at Trinity College, Hartford, Conn., June 4, 1895 by the Rev. Paul Ziegler, '72, Herbert T. Sherriff, '97, William A.D. Eardeley, '96, Carl G. Ziegler, '97, and William H. Rouse, '96.


There were approximately 117 students attending Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut. Most of the students attending Trinity College were from preparatory schools located in New England. The college system of that day was much different than today's system of higher education. Not every man went to college and those who did were expected to help shape the future of our country.

The Reverend Paul Ziegler had attended Trinity College and received his degree in 1872. While a student at Trinity, Rev. Ziegler was a member of the local Beta Beta Society. In today's terms, Beta Beta is a fraternity, but in that era, it was a literary society. In the 1890s, Reverend Ziegler and his family lived in Detroit, Michigan, and he wanted to send his oldest son, Carl, to his alma mater. This made Carl a unique student at Trinity. Instead of an easterner who had attended a prep school in New England, he was a Midwesterner. He was attending an eastern school that associated itself with schools such as Yale and Brown in the state.

Upon entering Trinity, he became friends with William Rouse and former pupil Herbert Sherriff. Both Carl and Herbert were not invited to join Reverend Ziegler's fraternity, Beta Beta, which had now become the Beta Beta chapter of Psi Upsilon Fraternity. As a result, Reverend Ziegler wanted to found a Greek letter society on a basis that was distinct from that of existing societies. Reverend Ziegler wrote his beliefs about what the new brotherhood should stand for and portray in the "Exoteric Manual of Alpha Chi Rho." This document, the first Exoteric manual of Alpha Chi Rho, was a non-secret statement of the principles of the new fraternity. The three men who accepted the first manual were Paul and Carl Ziegler, and Herbert Sherriff. Detroit could be considered the birthplace of Alpha Chi Rho.

When Ziegler and Sherriff returned to school, they interested four other men in joining them in their venture. All four had either refused or been refused membership in the existing fraternities at Trinity. Most all of the fraternities were part of some old and prestigious national organization. There were many doubts that such a new group had any hopes of survival. Two of the four dropped out of the group, which left us with our five Revered Founders. On June 4, 1895, the first formal meeting was held. The four undergraduate men exchanged the vows of brotherhood in Ziegler's room in Northam Towers on the Trinity campus.

A personal letter from Ziegler to Rouse relates to us that the name of the chapter, "PHI PSI", came about because Ziegler thought it was a nice sounding name for a chapter. They needed a chapter name since it was planned from the very beginning that Alpha Chi Rho would spread to other campuses.

At the conclusion of the school year in 1897, Carl Ziegler and Herbert Sherriff finished their studies at from Trinity. The Founders left the brotherhood in the hands of 17 Brothers. They had become one of the largest fraternities on campus, having over one-sixth of the student body. They included the brightest scholars and athletes on the campus. The first chapter hall was a rented room and the chapter had an eating club, which cost $4.50 per week. At that time, the college did not provide meals, and it was left up to the students to form clubs, join fraternities or eat with a private family in town. In addition to our respected membership, Alpha Chi Rho was the first fraternity on the campus to accept local students or "townies" as members.

Re: Another lazy cut and paste! :)
 

I couldn't have said it better myself either :D

The sad thing is that a few years ago Colby College dissolved it's greek system. So Sigma Kappa no longer has a chapter there. :( But the dormitories are named after our founders.

Sandy... Maria and I have some guesses about who this could be. I wonder if IHQ would know for sure?

Actually, in the fall of 1904, our 11 Founders declined the invitation to become the Epsilon chapter of another GLO looking to expand onto Syracuse's campus.

I have my suspicions, and 2 GLOs stand out in my mind in particular. But, who knows? I could be totally wrong. ;)

Whoever it was, I'm glad our Founders declined! :)

A lil copy and paste for the full PHI SIG history- taken from the *cougholdasdirtcough* website!! (wheres the one we picked at LTS this past summer?!)

In 1913, when college was primarily for wealthy men, academic women were a new breed and skirt lengths were no higher than six inches above the floor. In this climate, ten Hunter High School lunchmates, committed to strength in friendship and the act of giving, founded Phi Sigma Sigma at Hunter College in New York City.

There were several sororities at Hunter College in 1913, including Gamma Tau Kappa, Omega Iota, Phi Sigma Psi, Epsilon Phi, Omega Theta Pi, J.A.P., Pi Sigma, Kappa Delta, Sigma Phi Omega, Phi Delta Sigma, Sigma Alpha Gamma, Alpha Epsilon Phi, Pi Delta Theta, and Zeta Pi. The Hunter College Panhellenic Council was founded in 1912, just one year before Phi Sigma Sigma was founded.

The Founders of Phi Sigma Sigma came from a variety of religious and socioeconomic backgrounds. They wished to stay together as the group they had become while still in high school, but found that because of their varied backgrounds they all could not join one of the existing sororities on campus. Lillian Gordon, Ethel Gordon, Josephine Ellison, Shirley Cohen, Fay Chertkoff, Claire Wunder, Estelle Melnick, Rose Sher, Jeanette Lipka and Gwen "Rae" Zaliels approached Dean Higgenbottem, the Dean of Women at Hunter College, and inquired about starting their own sorority, one that would promote open membership to all women of character regardless of background.

Under the leadership of Fay Chertkoff, the first Archon of Alpha Chapter, the Founders obtained permission and Phi Sigma Sigma was born on November 26, 1913, quietly, unobtrusively, and without thought of expansion. Phi Sigma Sigma was the first non-sectarian sorority, the only one open to diverse membership from its inception with a ritual not based in scripture. First in the minds of these ten women were the twin ideals which endure today. To the brotherhood of man and the alleviation of the world's pain, each Founder extended herself to her fullest capacity to live up to the mottoes the group chose.

The Founders attained high scholastic standing in an effort to stress the importance of scholarship and the advancement of womanhood. Each served in philanthropic activities such as filling baskets for the needy, assisting in hospital nurseries, and volunteering in homes for the aged. Phi Sigma Sigma's Founders affiliated with and raised money for the Godmother's League and Foster Mothers of America. The Founders also donated to a variety of charities consistent with Phi Sigma Sigma's character as a nonsectarian sorority.

The Fraternity's symbols were chosen because they were appealing to the Founders. It is said that Shirley Cohen Laufer chose the Sphinx because historically it was a mythological figure of mystery and secrecy for women. The American Beauty Rose was chosen because of its statuesque beauty, and because of the balance of sharp thorns and soft petals. The first ritual was written by Fay Chertkoff, Gwen Zaliels Snyder and Estelle Melnick Cole, who literally locked themselves in a room together to write it. Gwen Zaliels Snyder designed the familiar sapphire-eyed Sphinxhead pin.

For five years, Alpha chapter was content to continue locally without thought of expansion. Then a friend of Rose Sher Seidman who attended Tufts College contacted Rose with interest in the sorority. The thought of expansion not only became an idea, but a reality. In 1918, the Founders installed Beta chapter at Tufts College and Gamma chapter at New York University. The year 1918 also saw the first national convention, held in New York City, at which Fay Chertkoff was elected as the first Grand Archon of Phi Sigma Sigma.

This laid the foundation and planted the seeds which enabled Phi Sigma Sigma to grow and blossom into a garden of roses spread across North America and Canada. Clearly, as Phi Sigma Sigma prospers today, the Fraternity is as meaningful and exciting as it was on the day it was founded.

In 1837, the Methodist Church established Indiana Asbury (now DePauw University) in Greencastle, Indiana.

Indiana Asbury officially opened its doors to women in 1867, but not without great uproar from the male students. The first women students at Indiana Asbury were looking for ways to make friends and find support and encouragement for their academic pursuits. They were reviled by their teachers, taunted by their classmates, and ignored by their girlhood friends who did the "right" thing and attended conservatories for girls. It took these brave pioneers three years to found Kappa Alpha Theta, the first Greek-letter Fraternity for women.

To be sure, there were societies for women before 1867, and some of these had secret rituals with badges, passwords, mottoes, and other symbols. But in 1870, Theta became the first women's Greek-letter fraternity because its primary founder, Bettie Locke, wanted full membership in a male fraternity. When the men asked her to wear their fraternity badge as a "mascot," she responded, "If you won't initiate me into your fraternity, I'll start my own."

i dunno
 

avec la brièveté, i don't know why FarmHouse Fraternity was founded. I wasn't there, and not all of the pieces I find completely and absolutely correlate. So I may draw my own conclusions, as I think many others may well have done.

I do know it was organized in 1905, and founded as a club; recognized as a fraternity 2 years later, i believe. chartered at Western Kentucky Univ in '95, as a proud chapter of the terrific international organization FarmHouse Fraternity!!! woohoo.

:eek: :eek: :eek:
look! a big tractor!! http://www2.wku.edu/~fhouse/images/39.jpg

Delta Sigma Phi was one of the first GLO's to be open to men of all races, religons and cultures. Dec 10, 1899.

ADPi history from the Epsilon Xi Chapter Website:

Founded on May 15, 1851 at Westlyn Female College in Macon, Georgia; Alpha Delta Pi became the first secret society in the world for college women. It began as the Adelphean Society founded by Eugenia Tucker Fitzgerald. The six founding members were Eugenia Tucker Fitzgerald, Ella Pierce Turner, Octavia Andrew Rush, Mary Evans Glass, Sophronia Woodruff Dews, Elizabeth Williams Mitchell. In 1904 the sorority went national, and in 1905 changed its name from The Adelphean Society to Alpha Delta Phi. Trying to avoid confusion with the fraternity Alpha Delta Phi, in 1913 the sorority desided to change its name to Alpha Delta Pi. Then in 1979 Alpha Delta Pi desided to take on The Ronald McDonald House as its national philanthropy. Now there are more than 170,000 initiated members of the sorority worldwide and more than 130 collegiate chapters throughout the United States and Canada.

Cuttin' and Pastin'!!
 

The first school west of the Allegheny Mountains was established at Ypsilanti, Michigan in 1849. The name was changed to Michigan State Normal College in 1889 and to Eastern Michigan University in 1959.

One name at Ypsilanti that has not changed is Alpha Sigma Tau. It has been on that campus since November 4, 1899 when a group of girls met at the home of Ruby Pratt on Huron Street to organize a little club or sorority.

As told by founding member Harriet Marx Pfeiffer, "There were present at this first meeting, Helene Rice, her sister Adriance, Eva O'Keefe, Harriet Marx, May Gephart, Mayene Tracy, Mable Chase and Ruth Dutcher. There were then in existence on campus three other sororities: Pi Kappa Sigma, Sigma Nu Phi and Zeta Phi (now inactive). The name Alpha Sigma Tau was chosen and purple and gold were chosen for the colors. Thus it was Alpha Sigma Tau, the third oldest educational sorority, was organized. A dozen or more very enthusiastic girls were present at this meeting.

The next meeting was a little party at the home of Mrs. Depew on Forest Avenue where Helene and Adriance Rice, Eva O'Keefe and Harriet Mark roomed. The part was indeed gay and festive with decorations of gold and purple. Even the cake was golden with purple icing. Here it was decided that the next day should witness the introduction of a newly born sorority to the world at large and to the student body in particular. Accordingly the members attended chapel en masse, everyone wearing the chosen colors. Imagine their surprise and chagrin when the members of the Zeta Phi informed them that the Alpha Sigma Tau had appropriated their colors. The group then chose emerald green and gold.

Mrs. E.A. Lyman was chosen patroness. During the first year of its existence the sorority did not display any marked activity. The charter was not received until the second year when Edith Silk, Myrtle Oram, Zoe Waldron, Grace Townley, Marie Gedding, Louise Agrell and Mable Pitts had joined the organization and with the organizers were the charter members. On the suggestion of Mrs. Lyman, Miss Pearce and Miss Norton were asked to be patronesses. The charter members were very, very close friends and have ever remained so ..."


Regarding my chapter. . .
We were founded in 1946 at Henderson State University. From what I can discover, the University wanted all of the female organizations to affiliate with National Sororities. I cannot find any mention of local sororities. I looked at yearbooks from that time (which didn't seem to make a big deal out of these new sororities on campus). At the time, we had a Philomeathean Society and an Adelphian (I think) society that were social clubs. By comparing 1945's yearbook and 1946's yearbook, it seems that our chapter was half Adelphian and half Philomeathian members. I don't really know any more info than that.

I think I've read somewhere that Philo's became Phi Mu somewhere, and Adelphians became Alpha Phi? Alpha something? (I dunno. . .can't remember for sure!)

Guess the Arkansas girls didn't get that memo!!!! (JOKE!! :p )

"Alpha Chi Omega was founded on October 15, 1885, at DePauw University in Greencastle, Indiana. Professor James Hamilton Howe, Dean of the Music School, invited seven young women from the school to attend a meeting for the purpose of forming a society. The first appearance of the seven founders – Anna Allen, Olive Burnett, Bertha Deniston, Amy DuBois, Nellie Gamble, Bessie Grooms and Estelle Leonard was in Meharry Hall, wearing scarlet and olive ribbon streamers attached to their dresses."

Hehehe, I'm lazy too! I copied that from our National Website. And though the name of the man escapes me I know a member of Beta helped with our founding. Do any of my AX sisters know what his name was? Or even any Beta's? Also our name was chosen because we were the first music sorority (Alpha) and expected to be the last (Omega) and then connected the words with the greek word for and, "kai", which we later changed to Chi so that it was a greek letter.

Re: i dunno
 

Ahh the tractor makes me feel like Im back in good ol Clarion... eh Shelia?! :p

I know that KD, ZTA, Tri Sigma, and ASA were all founded at Longwood College, (formerly State Female Normal School), but are there any other universities that have 2 or more GLO's founded there? I guess Longwood just had a bunch of classy women who had great ideals and values!

Cut and Paste
 

National History:

Gamma Alpha Omega Sorority was the first Hispanic founded sorority on the campus of Arizona State University, in Tempe, Arizona. Founded on January 25, 1993 with a strong desire to serve the Hispanic community and a quest for higher learning by five determined collegiate young women Michelle Seanez, Amy Alvarez Patsy Guardado, Clara Lopez Michelle Mendoza known today as our Most Honorable Founding Madres. These visionary young women formed this community service based sorority in conjunction with their benevolent vision. Their focus was not only on social issues, as manytraditional sororities before them, but also as a dynamic and altruistic group of advanced women, to excel in school, motivate others, generate role models, and eventually yield considerable Hispanic community leaders.


Local History:

On October 2000, seven women came together to discuss the possibility of establishing a Latina based sorority on the HSU campus. At the time of their meeting, there was only one other Latino interest organization on campus. Noticing the lack of Latino representation, these women formed the Interest Group of Gamma Alpha Omega Sorority, Inc. and began meeting on a regular basis.


Our purpose is to promote and instill in every member of our sorority the values of Honesty, Integrity, Leadership, Scholarship, and Unity. These pillars have become the foundation of our organization and a symbol of devotion to our purpose. By encouraging these admirable characteristics, each member enriches her life with these lifelong attributes. We strive not only to be an asset to our community, but to also strengthen the bonds that are present within our sisterhood.

Check out our websites:
www.gammaalaphaomeganationals.homestead.com
www.humboldt.edu/~gaopg
www.humboldt.edu/~greek