TNE--the bad boys
 

Interesting story of Theta Nu Epsilon, aka TNE, once a fraternity
national in scope...got totally out of hand, finally disbanded or
went sub-rosa. Was instantly infamous, popularity skyrocketed
Scores of locations boasted of having TNE, and leading members of recognized members would join, drinking beer as "lefties", planning how to screw up the homecoming parade or Greek week with a garbage truck wedging in between floats...a Dean Wormer's nightmare. Interesting story and history, check out on
internet. Their badge, a skull and keys, was attractive. In fact,
virtually all of their symbolism was neat. Yep, TNE, all over the
USA, perhaps exists yet in some places. See Baird's for more.
At its best, t'was a camaradarie of top Greeks who could mingle and socialize without being castigated by their own chapters.
The HQs and schools, threatened and sometimes embarrassed,
took a different stance, often yanking pins or expelling. Many
a successful SAE, Beta, Teke, Sig, Phi...have been TNE's and they
in spite of breaking their vows in joining another outfit, have kept
their hearts open to both their first loyalty, and also to TNE. A
goodly number of cowardly and low-down deeds have been blamed on the TNEs. I take great umbrage at that. It was an
era, perhaps now gone, but one of pranks and fun, no harm. One
would be real surprised that TNE reunions are still held, on the
campus or nearby...to this day....believe me....

...?

senior moment...TNE con'td
 

I saw where I did not seem to complete a sentence, though perhaps it was understood...anyway....
TNE was comprised often of campus leaders who could fraternize
with their buddies who led other fraternities. The president, known as the "Knux" would call the gathering to order, often with
a keg nearby. They would drink left-handed, and hence were called "lefties"--the 'sinister' hand...in contrast to the dexter one,
the right hand. And there were passwords, a grip...much like
SAE's, t'was a loose-knit outfit ready to dis-assemble at a moment's notice to re-convene somewhere, sometime else, though...maybe at the local Elks, full of alums there...
These men were staunch supporters of each other and had the
noblest of intentions...sometimes, admittedly, to go awry....
Fun. So, additional friendships were made in the college
scene...no prancers, no limpdicks, no weenies...back when we could call a man a "hail fellow, well-met." Yes, there were black
members...highly-regarded collegians who got short shrift on
many other college experiences. I knew of one latino, a Sig Ep
who gave his life when his jet blew up...over there. RIP, Ray.

Allegedly Theta Nu Epsilon (a.k.a. "ONE") has a chapter here and is infamously referred to as "The Machine." I'm not going any further than that...does make for interesting research tho.

TNE was originally a sophomore society dedicated to sophmoric behaior (in the worst sense of the term.) It was not a "GLO's GLO."

There are two competing factions today, one of which claims to be some type of secret Order of Omega.

TNE is best not discussed in great detail. Most NIC groups will expell you if you join. Allegedly, the University of Nebraska chapter makes its tapped prospects completely divulge the ritual of their fraternities before admittance into Theta Nu Epsilon. And if that is refused, the prospect is severely beaten and dumped on a country road side.

If you want to join a society that truly works for interfraternalism, join Order of Omega.

You can't just join Order of Omega, though... You have to be invited. It's pretty hard to get, at least at my school.

I'm being initiated into OoO tonight. :D

You can't just join TNE either. Order of Omega, and the faction of TNE that recruits greek leaders, essentially recruit from the same pool of students.

At my school Order of Omega is the Greek honor society and you submit an application in order to be considered for membership. I am almost positive that it does not involve secrets, rituals or any form of hazing. So I'm confused... is Order of Omega a secret fraternity/secret society like org at some schools?

Kelly, No O of O is not associated with hazing anywhere.

What they are saying is that O of O and TNE at some schools recruit the same types of people, the greek leaders. At your school the invitations for O of O are done after sorting through the apps. TNE does it on an informal basis though, but it is still through an invitation.

As for TNE, I've posted about it before here. At Nebraska - as far as I have heard - you do have to divulge all the secrets of your own GLO...not sure about the beating. I do know that for the Secret Scrollers Society (SSS) a group nearly identicle to TNE here at Nebraska, a refusal to join them, only causes them to smear your name...through their semesterly newsletter.

TNE (and SSS) exist sub-rosa here, and only show up once or twice a year, printing off a newsletter that rips on the greek system, however each newletter is pretty much the same, picking on each house b/c of their stereotypes, naming several girls as sluts, several guys as closet homosexuals, and making fun of others for whatever other reasons. On the whole, while they claim to exist to improve the Greek system by pointing out its flaws, the people they tend to exalt are the guys who can drink the most, are able to get on the most girls, and the very hot girls who party a lot, and girls that aren't sluts yet still give it up on a regular basis.

Usually the newsletters are funny, and while i read them, after three years of seeing them, they are getting very cliched. Some people tend to take them too seriously, but there's really no harm except to the egos of the few they choose to target and those that let it get to them.

Fantastic for Oder Of Omega! It is disearvidly so!

What only a few figurerd our what was said!

Okay, I think I learned something About TNE. Is that good or bad?:confused:

Russ, thank you for the True explanation of The True Fact!:)

You still one of the Men Of Knowledge on GC!:cool:

Thanks for the clarification/explanation.

So, is TNE co-ed?

wrong again, Russ
 

Theta Nu Epsilon was never called ONE...other than by folks who
knew nothing of it and even less about greek letters. The O must
be an attempt at Theta without the crossbar....duh.
TNE is on the web, all you have to do is type it in
TNE, to my knowledge, has nothing on earth to do with the Order
of the Omega, which on at least some campuses, is a bona-fide
organization with many applicants seeking entry.
TNE never, that I ever heard of, required inductees to spill their guts about their rituals. There were other important and fun things to do. The Nebraska tale is pure bullshit.
TNE had sub-rosa chapters at both Kansas and Kansas State.
Sometimes TNE was called "Teens", and many old yearbooks
have a composite, photos of houses, etc. The Theta Nu Epsilon
site, I believe, has pix. The organization now is just a money maker's attempt at capitalizing on fraternalism and intrigue. I have seen, on the net, a page on the outfit, but Greek Pages has
it, too, but not without having to fill out more information than one might want...whatever.
There have been a goodly number of sub-rosa groups from time
to time..crop up on various campi, and some have tried to align
themselves, unsuccessfully, with Theta Nu Epsilon.
TNE was founded as a sophomore class society in 1870 at Wesleyan. The governing of the fraternity, nationally, was so
loose that the poor reputation induced many chapters to join
other nationals. Attempts at reorganization failed and TNE was
down to five chapters by the outset of World War II. Check Baird's for a rather melancholy historical treatise of TNE
TNE, while adversarial at times, was as a rule, highly respectful
of the NIC-fraternity rituals. I know of a couple of fraternities which have a specific vow about joing Theta Nu Epsilon and the
consequences. There was another one, at Nebraska in the 50s
called Pi Xi, and it had no contact with TNE at all; it was a poor
imitation. The symbolism of TNE is just part of the attractiveness
and members were generally of the highest calibre I've been told.
Unfortunately, Theta Nu Epsilon has lost some of its luster and
has, kinda, been put to bed...'nite all

Wow. So great to have an expert on the board. :rolleyes:

I've studied TNE history in detail for several years now. It was a sophomore society for pranksters that offered a little fun and a little camaraderie. Nothing more.

Realize that one of the stated missions of TNE was to create mischief and mystery purely for the sake of mischief and mystery, so pretty much everything you read about them is designed to make them look more interesting than they really are.

Aside from several lines of illegitimate stepchildren, the Theta Nu Epsilon Society of 1870 is defunct. What you see now on the web is, as Erik put it, "just a money maker's attempt at capitalizing on fraternalism and intrigue".

wptw

Re: senior moment...TNE con'td
 

I think I want to add that to my signature -- no prancers, no limpdicks, no weenies. Sounds like a good philosophy for life, no?

Re: Re: senior moment...TNE con'td
 

lol


I've seen a TNE web page before, it sounded like they were making themselves sound more elite than they were.

Re: Re: Re: senior moment...TNE con'td
 

Yeah, I saw that too years ago. They didn't allow women to join but they offered a similar organization called Rho Delta.

Damn...All this TNE talk is pretty interesting...The Greek System at my school is kind of weak, sounds like I need to start up some trouble here!

Re: wrong again, Russ
 

1) I never said that they were called "ONE."
2) How do you know that the Nebraska tale is BS? Are you a member of TNE? Also, I didn't state it as fact, but as an allegation.
3) How do you know that the members were of the highest caliber? If so, the organization would probably have had a continuous existance, without the schizm that may, or may not exist today.

russ...
 

no further comment, perhaps we will simply agree to disagree

Up for an interesting historical discussion.

Very interesting stuff. A quick look at Google produced a TNE chapter picture from Dickinson (caption below), a link to the Fraternity Collection at Illinois (I know both Stewart Howe and Bill Bingham donated their collections there), and a U. AL article exposing TNE.

=================
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Archives: Holdings Database
Campus Units > Student Affairs > Student Organizations-Residence Fraternities > Theta Nu Epsilon Records

Theta Nu Epsilon Records, 1910-1923

Record Series Number: 41/71/589
Volume: 0.8 cubic feet
Arrangement: Alpha

Description: Records of Theta Nu Epsilon social fraternity including constitutions (1910, 1913, 1920), correspondence, initiation forms, membership lists, minutes (1912), petitions (1911-12), photographs, reports (1915-17), and Theta Nu Epsilon Quarterly (1912-16, fraternity magazine) concerning Theta Nu Epsilon chapters, conventions, finances, government, and members. These were the records of Clarence J. Hand, the fraternity's historian from 1910-23. Founded at Wesleyan University in 1870, Theta Nu Epsilon was primarily a social fraternity for sophomores that accepted members of other fraternities. It fell into disrepute early and many of it's chapters were banned from campuses, but continued to exist sub rosa. See Baird's Manual (1991) for more details.

====================

The Pi Pi Chapter of the Theta Nu Epsilon Society was established at Dickinson College in 1887._ Theta Nu Epsilon selected its members from among those in fraternities at the college and the law school, and occasionally accepted non fraternity students as well._ The TNE adage, "Little is known and what is known is kept secret" aptly describes the Society whose chapter at Dickinson may have dissolved in 1905, the last year in which any mention appears in the college yearbook.

====================

IVA board claims proof of Machine

By Philip A. Sitton
Senior Staff Reporter
March 06, 2002

A bulletin board in the Ferguson Center now holds what Independent Voters Association Chairman John Beasley calls "proof that the Machine exists on our campus" for public display.

Beasley said the IVA-reserved bulletin board display bears paraphernalia claiming to be from the secretive greek organization Theta Nu Epsilon, locally known as the Machine. The Machine is a select coalition of traditionally white fraternities and sororities designed to influence campus politics.

The board, set up Monday night, displays an information sheet entitled "Theta Nu Epsilon, Alive and Well at UA," and a T-shirt bearing the greek letters.

The flier, which says it was published in 1989, makes several bold statements about Theta Nu Epsilon's prominence on campus.

"We are proud of our history at the University," it says. "Theta Nu Epsilon has elected an SGA president 68 times in the 75 years of the SGA's existence. This is because the SGA is ours. Our brethren formed it in 1914."

IVA Executive Director Jeff Jensen said this board helps to prove the Machine is present on the University campus.

"I think that [information] and the large bloc vote you see time after time proves their existence," he said.

Jensen said Theta Nu Epsilon shirts are not incredibly uncommon, and he has seen them before. Many of the shirts feature the organization's seal, a skull with crossed keys.

"There's a lot of shirts with the skull and keys. They're usually older shirts," he said. "You have to look for them."

Student reaction to the board seems mixed. Bradley Horton, a junior majoring in management information systems, did not seem to think much of the information.

"I truly wish the IVA would develop a platform that didn't primarily consist of anti-greek propaganda," he said.

Junior biology major Carson Bedingfield said she already knew the Machine existed.

"I didn't have any doubt that the Machine existed beforehand," Bedingfield said. "From experience, the independent candidates have never really stood a chance, because whoever the Machine supports is going to be elected."

Jensen said a lot of people who are currently in the Student Government Association walk by the display and laugh, but others find it interesting.

"A lot of people have told me they thought it was a good idea," Beasley said. "One person even called it a 'ball-buster.' It sure does open your eyes."

Jensen also pointed out www.tne.org, which claims to be the official Web site of Theta Nu Epsilon. As of press time, the University is listed on its "chapter" page, and its home page features cryptic language strongly reminiscent of past situations at the University.

"In the 1990's a major Southern university's SGA was banned," it says. "Was this due to the 'devil's own?' When elections were held after the reinstatment (sic) of the SGA ... guess who won?!"

Asked the origin of the paraphernalia, Beasley said only that it came from an alumnus.