[PhoenixAzul]

Ehh, this might not be what you are looking for, but I'll take a stab. When all of the current groups at Otterbein were founded, Greek Life was outlawed. So instead of using greek letters, the groups were "clubs". Epsilon Kappa Tau was the Arbutus club (their flower), Tau Delta was Tomo Dachi Club (hint hint, look at the letters...), Lambda Gamma Epsilon was Kings (the hall they were founded in and the name they use the most). Kappa Phi Omega was the Onyx club (one of their colors and their jewel), Sigma Alpha Tau was the Owls Club (they still use an Owl lavalier more than their letters), Theta Nu was the Greenwhich Girls, t TEM was the Talisman, Pi Kappa Phi was Country Club, and Sigma Delta Phi combined with another org after WW2 to form Sigma Delta Phi (after almost being absorbed by Delta Sigma Phi, their original letter combination, which interfered with the national org).

They opperated as "societies" and "clubs" that served the same purposes and functions as sororities and fraternities, just without the letters. It wasn't breaking the rules, just bending them. Eventually the ban was lifted, and almost every group took letters. Mine was one of the last groups to "letter up" as it were. Every group has maintained a lot from their original founding. The nicknames are still used a lot (Kings, Sphinx, Country Club, etc.). The clubs grew so large and so influential on campus and in campus government that they forced the administration to recognize their presence and sanction their functions. Until then, recruitment had been done by private invitation by individual members, and then moved to a more open atmosphere.