Local names for national organizations?
 

Did your campus have any local nicknames for national organizations?

For example, at W&L, Sigma Phi Epsilon wasn't usually called SigEp, but "SPE." (I've heard this is common in the south?). I hardly heard anyone ever call them SigEp.

No one at W&L ever called Pi Kappa Alpha "Pike" either. They always said "Pika."

The one that was weirdest is that Pi Kappa Phi was NEVER called Pi Kapp. It was called "Pi Phi." :confused: This was weird because Pi Beta Phi was also on campus (my chapter!). So everyone would refer to them as "girl Pi Phi" and "guy" Pi Phi." I'm not even kidding about that.

The guys at Pi Kappa Phi said that it was supposedly based on some crazy thing they did long ago, the national organization told them they no longer had the right to be called "Pi Kap" but had to be called "Pi Phi" as punishment. The story went that the amount of time they had to be called "Pi Phi" had already expired but the name had just stuck. The whole thing doesn't really ring true to me (why would their nationals decree such a thing?) and sounds like an urban legend to me.

If I had to guess why it was, I think it's more likely that Pi Kappa Phi had a distinctive name to distinguish it from Phi Kappa Sigma, which was usually called "Phi Kap" and not "the Skulls." (Skulls was used occasionally but Phi Kap was far more common.) Because "Pi Kap" and "Phi Kap" sound alike sort of, and for years there were no women at W&L and thus no reason to worry about getting confused with Pi Beta Phi. (W&L went co-ed in '85, sororities came in '89, and Pi Phi came in '92). But who knows if my guess is correct?

Anyway, do you know of other instances of things like this happening on your campus with unusual or nonstandard nicknames for orgs?

Our Epsilon Epsilon chapter at Emporia uses the apple as a mascot and goes by the nickname Apples.

Hmmmm.... Interesting! We always called the Pi Kappa Phi's at my campus, Pi Kapp!

Yeah, W&L is the only time I've ever heard of Pi Kappa Phi being called "Pi Phi" for the obvious reason of confusion with Pi Beta Phi, which goes by "Pi Phi" nationally.

I'm actually really curious to see if this has happened anywhere else on other campuses.

Honestly, it always sort of annoyed me (as a Pi BETA Phi) that they used that nickname, but it wasn't exactly their fault since everyone on campus used that name and called them that, and had apparently done so for years. And we couldn't exactly just go around telling everyone not to call them that either, without looking petty/uptight.

That's really interesting. Were they formally a local sorority that was colonized by ASA or did they just develop that local tradition over time?

I know that in some national sororities many chapters have local mascots, but I've never heard of them being called by the name of he local mascot before. Thanks for posting that.

I don't think that they were originally a local. It's a name that they've had forever and just go by. Their website gives the following possible reasons for it:
1) Apple sounds like Alpha if you don't know the Greek alphabet
2) ASA was originally founded as a teachers' sorority and apples are associated with teachers
3) ASA's are known as the All-American girls on that campus so "as American as apple pie"

cool!

At SMU and SFA, Pi Kappa Alpha was always called Pike; however, at my husband's school (MIT), they are Pika.

The first time he said Pika, I told him he had it wrong. He said I had it wrong. Fifteen years later, he is still wrong. ;)

We definitely say Pike around here. The rest of the fraternities we call by their letters or name.

The only sorority with a real nick name is "DeeGee". The rest are just said or maybe shortened, like Alpha Gam.

National orgs don't have a huge presence on our campus. We have a Theta Chi chapter, and one of my sisters referred to them as "the Thetas." I was like, no, that's Kappa Alpha Theta. It doesn't make as much sense since we don't have a Theta chapter here but...at least I know better!

Another sorority that starts with a Kappa has some old Facebook pictures labeled "Kappas at the beach" or wherever they were. They didn't know KKG was coming over!

At my school, Phi Sigma Kappa is called "Kappa", because our very first sorority was Phi Sigma Sigma so Phi Sig was taken. We haven't needed to worry about conflict with Kappa Kappa Gamma, because even though they did express interest in expansion via letters, when we officially opened they didn't submit a packet.

Our Pi Kappa Alphas are Pikes, our Pi Kappa Phis are Pi Kapps. Our Phi Gamma Deltas are FIJIs and sometimes when people can't read, they're FIGIs (fig-ease) ! I don't think there are any other local nicknames that we have.

ETA: Oh! And our Sigma Phi Epsilons are most DEFINITELY SigEps!

Actually, it's pika (all lowercase). They've been an independent living group, no longer affiliated with Pi Kappa Alpha, for more than 30 years. They are also coed.

LOL - well, that explains it - he's class of '79. He said that the chapter got their charter revoked by nationals because they "initiated" a girl. Don't know if that's true or not, but like I said, he's been wrong before.:rolleyes:

Carnegie Mellon Pi Kappa Alphas were called Pikas when I was in school.

That is so interesting! When I was at Duke we heard about SPE because they had had their charter revoked and went out with a crazy party called "SPE ya later", probably in the early to mid-90's (Duke's website about greek life history is SO wrong!). Then they rechartered my senior year and everyone at Duke wanted to call them SPE and they kept telling us "no, it's SigEp". At the time they said they were doing this to distance their image from the SPEs that had been kicked off a few years earlier!

Same at Penn State when I was there. And I think I heard "SPE" once in a while, but we mainly said Sig Ep. Phi Mu Delta was the "Mud house", of course, and we had our "Crows" from Alpha Chi Rho. And I'm thinking there might have been another shorthand or two, but I can't think of them right now.

Interesting. SPE/SigEp got their charter revoked at W&L too, but are now back and I think mostly called SigEp. I'm pretty sure they were or are called "SPE" at Davidson too, because my aunt knew of "SPE". She went to Davidson in the late 70s so that could have changed by now, or they could not even be there anymore (many of the fraternities at Davidson left or left and then returned later due to the fraternity reforms the school imposed).

So it could be a regional VA/NC thing. Or mid-Atlantic if it happened at Penn State...

Isn't that what happened at several of the elite private schools up north that banned any organization that wasn't co-ed from being recognized on campus?

I want to say I think I heard about something similar at Brown, but I'm not sure if that's correct.

ETA: One of my few friends in grad school who is Greek is a SigEp from MIT. We reminisce about Greek life a lot :)

Well, don't quote me on that, I might have heard the term post-college, I just know I've heard it. We definitely referred to them mainly as SigEp that I can recall. Maybe some more recent grads can attest to whether they're ever called "SPE" there. (I much prefer "SigEp")

I definitely understand why national orgs want to supervise the nicknames on campus after experiencing the frustration of "girl Pi Phi" and "boy Pi Phi." So when SigEp came back to Duke I understand why they wanted the correct national brand... at the same time my heart tells me "SPE." LOL. I hung out there quite a bit before they left campus. (But that's a whole 'nother story.)

I also sympathize with Theta Chi being Theta when Kappa Alpha Theta isn't there, things like that. It's easier to say.

There are instances, of course, where two national orgs having the same nickname nationally. For example Kappa Alpha Psi and Kappa Kappa Gamma are both widely known as "Kappa."

Actually, there was a secret society at W&L known as the Sigma Society, wherein they took really popular guys from the "top" several fraternities and all the guys wore these mysterious/cool rings. Now Phi Beta Sigma is on campus and I wonder since they go by "Sigma" if that causes any confusion. They only revealed their first line at W&L in the spring of my senior year so I wasn't really there for much time after the NPHCs came. :( But, I did go to their step show that year which ROCKED OUT.

Sorry, but your husband is right(about this:) Pika is a local coed group that used to be a chapter of Pi Kappa Alpha. They are NEVER known as Pike!

Delta Gamma went by Dee Gees and Kappa Delta went by Kay Dees!

By SPE, I assume you folks are saying Spee, not S P E? It has been more common in the south, but somtimes up here as well.
We used to call LCA "the Smurfs" because their house was painted blue with white trim. Years afterwards, still smurfs:)
Our (ADPhi) chapter at Johns Hopkins was known as WaWas after the store in the basement of the old chapter house. Most places we're known as AD or Alpha Delts, but at a few schools, we are known as the phis.

Yes, "Spee" is the pronunciation. :)

I don't know if I've ever met an ADPhi on these boards. We had them briefly, sort of, at my school. Speaking of SPE... nevermind.

Someone mentioned these earlier (or at least Dee Gee). I don't consider these "nonstandard nicknames" exactly because they're just phonetic spellings of the standard nicknames (DG, KD). But I guess if they're putting them on shirts and stuff that might could be consider nonstandard/unusual.

All of our sororities pretty much go by the usual 'nicknames'... Theta, Pi Phi, ADPi, Kappa, Chi O, A Chi O, DeeGee, Zeta, TriDelt, Gamma Phi. (Sigma Kappa occasionally goes by 'SK')

I think all of our frats go by the usual nicknames as well... we call Sigma Phi Epsilon 'Sig Ep' and Pi Kappa Phi 'Pi Kapp'.

I have silly pet peeves with certain nicknames. It bothers me when a group with a Phi chooses a nickname with a P to replace the Phi. Phi doesn't make a "p" sound, Pi does. Same with Theta. Theta makes a "th" sound not a "t" sound, Tau makes a "t" sound. So of course, "TPA" causes me much cognitive dissonance.:p

I also hate when people say/write EK, EN, EX, etc. Sigmas are not Epsilons, and it's not that hard to write/draw Sigmas.

Well, technically, it sounds like her husband was a member when it was a Pi Kappa Alpha Chapter and that they still called "Pika" at that time.

The only place I have heard SigEp called SPE was at Oregon State.

Pi Kappa Phi on my campus was usually known as Pi Kapps, but there were some people who called them "Pi Phi for guys." They also tended to pair up with Pi Beta Phi rather often for events (Greek Week, Homecoming, Varieties).

We had PSS & PSK, but that wasn't the issue.

There was a local fraternity called Phi Sigma - I don't know if they broke away from Phi Sigma Epsilon or if they were one of the ones that didn't want to merge w/ Phi Sigma Kappa. So there was much disagreement on who were "the real Phi Sigs." If you would have called PSK "Kappa" it would not have been pretty.

Sigma Tau Gamma tried going by "Gammas" for a few seconds because there had been an underground local fraternity w/ that nickname (Alpha Gamma Phi) and I think they wanted to seem tough. That didn't last though.

I heard someone recently calling the KDRs Kappas, and I have no idea why - is that extra syllable really hard for you? Esp when we have Kappa Alpha Psi on campus!!

I've heard of "Alpha Delt" for ADPi, "Kappa Delt" for KD, and "Alpha O" for AOPi.

I completely agree. I've always wondered why we called Delta Sigma Phi, DSP; Tau Epsilon Phi, TEP; and one of our locals Alpha Theta Beta, AOB.

To me Phi Sigma Sigma was always Phi Sig. And Sigma Sigma Sigma was always Tri Sig. Sigma Delta Tau was SDT. Sigma Alpha Mu was just SAMMY. Nothing outrageous, I guess!

At GT, we have Phi Kappa Psi, Phi Kappa Tau, Phi Kappa Theta, and Phi Kappa Sigma. The first two go by "Phi Psi" and "Phi Tau," respectively, but the latter two argue over who has more of a right to call themselves "Phi Kaps." Personally, I've always referred to Phi Kappa Theta as the "Phi Thetas," because there's no one else with whom they could be confused. You can't really shorten Phi Kappa Sigma's letters any other way without confusing them with another group (such as Phi Sigma Kappa, who we also have on campus)...plus they're older, both nationally and on our campus, so I figure they have more of a right to the term.

I'm considerably biased though, so whatever. :p

At my undergrad campus, we had girl and boy Phi Sigs. Usually we'd say Phi Sig for Phi Sigma Sigma, then just "boy Phi Sigs" for the fraternity. And then Alpha Xi Delta was known as AZ. I've heard them called AZD everywhere else since, never AZ.

Some of the older ASA chapters in the Midwest go by Alphas, but I think they're at schools that don't have AST (we are on many of the same campuses). Picking one of those to be "Alphas" would be way too confusing.

Why not Skulls for PKS? That's their national nickname.

Alpha Sigma Phi is usually nicknamed 'Alpha Sig'. In some campuses where there are no Sigma-named fraternities or sororities, they sometimes go by 'Sigs'.

Re: the 3 above, when I was at Penn State, AST wasn't there (I think they're there now), but we still called Alpha Sigma Alpha "ASA"; used "Skulls", and in fact, I don't think I ever knew what their real greek letters were when I was undergrad; and we definitely used "Alpha Sig" not just Sig when I was there.

ASA is also known as the Alpha Sigs on some campuses.