Chapter Naming conventions...
 

Hi DGs,
as you know, I'm an alumna initiate and so, I am not always that well versed in all things DG.

I know that in DG, we pretty much name our chapters according to the Greek alphabet and now we're up to the 'Eta series', for example:
Eta Alpha Chapter - Pepperdine
Eta Beta Chapter - Hartford
Eta Gamma Chapter - Texas A&M
Eta Delta Chapter - North Florida
Eta Epsilon Chapter - Vanderbilt
Eta Zeta Chapter - Chicago
Eta Eta Chapter - Spring Hill
Eta Theta Chapter - Saint Louis University
Eta Iota Chapter - Nevada-Reno
Eta Kappa Chapter - North Carolina State


So how the heck did we get a chapter which is designated as:
Phi Alpha Chapter - Franklin
source: http://www.deltagamma.org/chapter_li...ter_name.shtml

I was always wondering about this, since we are not up to the "Phi series" yet?

Please explain or PM me.

I'd really like to know the answer to this too!

Also, I'm thinking about emailing the webmaster. I would really like to have a list of ALL of the chapters (active and not!) just for information purposes! I've seen lots of other GLO's keep a complete list! I'm just curious like that I guess! Sorry, to HIJACK!

aj

Try this....

go to archive.org (the website archive) and type in greekzone.com

they had lists for all the npc groups of open and closed chapters. the site doesn't appear to be active anymore, but you can try the archive.

Re: Chapter Naming conventions...
 

Hi Cutie Pie!

I have an old copy of A History of Delta Gamma and I can generally explain the naming of chapters, although it is from memory so if I am wrong someone please correct me.

While most chapters have been named in Greek alphabetical order as you mentioned, the first few chapters were not. For example, we know that the mother chapter at the Lewis School was called Psi, not Alpha. The chapter at Franklin College was the first that George Banta helped start. Because he was a Phi Delt, the girls chose Phi as their chapter name in Phi Delt's honor.

The Phi chapter at Franklin closed a few years later. But instead of designating Phi a closed chapter name, it was used again when Colorado chapter was started. When the Franklin chapter was reinstated, they couldn't use their old Phi name, so they were given Phi Alpha.

If I had my history book here with me, I could probably give a better explanation but I think that's generally what you wanted to know. Old copies of the History and the Shield are on eBay often if you are interested. That's where I got mine! I've learned so much from it and it makes it even more special to be a Delta Gamma!

UGAGal,
Thank you so much! wow - I am so glad that you have that book to refer to! I want to get one, but often the Ebay seller will not ship outside of the USA, so being in Canada, I am out of luck... :( boo hoo...

Here is two more questions for you.

1) I know that the first ever chapter was "Psi", not Alpha.
So, how did University of Washington in Seattle, get to be "Beta" chapter?
When I had my new member education as an AI, it was explained to me that the earliest chapters were permitted to sort of "pick" their own chapter's "call letter". Is that how Univ of Washington got to be "Beta chapter"?

2) I know that University of Southern California is called Alpha Nu chapter today. But apparently, they were a different "call letter" in earlier days. Can you please look this up for me and tell me what their old chapter name was? (Pretty please with sugar on top?)

THANK YOU!
ITB!

Well....heres my little bit of knowledge....:D

I was down in our basement a couple weeks ago and since we were around way back when, we have Anchoras from the late 1800s on a bookshelf. I started to look through one and got to chapter reports and updates. Our Alpha Chapter was at Mount Union College in Alliance, OH (about an hour south of Akron) and is no longer open, even though it'd be cool if it reopened cause I know a bunch of people in the Mount greek system and we'd fit in again well.

So there are my .02 of info. If you want to know more, I'll go downstairs and look ;) , but maybe after recruitment this week!

Cutie Pie,

You are very welcome! I’m happy to help and I love researching, especially considering the topic...DG! I will send you a PM about eBay.

Here are the answers to your other questions. I’m home now and have full access to the book.

1.) University of Washington: The advisability of going into the far Northwest with a chapter at Washington absorbed a session of heated debate. It was Susie Wegg Smith, Omega-Wisconsin, a name familiar in connection with the expansion question in earlier days, who had officially inspected the group and presented the case which won for the petitioners their charter. Delta Alpha, the local petitioning, had been organized in 1900 by Eleanor Hancock, a transfer from Michigan, with the express purpose of petitioning Delta Gamma. Finding the very active Delta Gamma, Mrs. Smith, was a happy discovery and probably the reason Delta Gamma was, by a few hours, the first national to enter the campus in 1901. This action too was to pave the way for our entering other fields in the far west.

After Convention, Susie Wegg Smith returned to Seattle to install Beta chapter – so named to honor Mrs. Smith’s and Mrs. Priest’s (the chapter patroness) Beta Theta Pi husbands.


2.) The University of Southern California was the Delta chapter from 1887 to 1897. Interestingly, the Delta chapter was first at Trinity College in Texas from 1880-1881 and then at Hanover College in Indiana from 1881-1887. So USC was the third Delta chapter. The current USC chapter, Alpha Nu, was formed from a local group called Beta Pi, which was established in 1902, five years after the Delta chapter was withdrawn from the USC campus. In 1909 Beta Pi became owners of their first house “The Pines.” By the early twenties, California’s potential for the future was apparent, and the Fraternity welcomed the opportunity to re-establish itself on the Southern California campus. And so Alpha Nu chapter was installed in 1922.

hannahgirl, that is very cool that y'all have the old Anchoras. I could probably spend hours down there looking through them!

Hope your recruitment is going well!!

I would love to read through those old Anchoras! How fabulous that your chapter has them. I hope you guys are taking VERY good care of them HannahGirl.
When I was an active in the late 60's the Anchora was all about going through each chapter and reporting how many cheerleaders, homecoming queens, fraternity sweethearts, little sisters, and beauty queens there were.

Thngs have definitely changed!

Thank you ladies for that interesting, and indeed, precious information!

I LOVE MY DEE GEES! :D

Super cool! I sent my request to EO's webmistress about a complete list of our chapters. She replied that they currently have this site CHAPTER LIST and they are working on getting ALL chapters (active, inactive, and pulled charters!)

aj-