Underground Chapters

[MysticCat]

Originally posted by PhiPsiRuss
There is only one widely accepted definition of an underground chapter.

Its is a fully chartered chapter that is not recognized by its host institution.

Its that simple.

Well, it's almost that simple.

Historically, "underground chapters" were fully-chartered chapters that the academic institution was not aware of -- that is, the chapter was located at a school that did not know of or could not prove the chapter's existence. Such chapters were also called sub rosa ("under the rose"), a reference to an old practice of using a rose over a door to mark a secret meeting place.

Sub rosa chapters, particularly of "young" fraternities, were not uncommon in the nineteenth century, when in some institutions membership in a fraternity could be grounds for expulsion from school. The existence of the chapter had to be kept secret from the school administration.

Obviously, that is not as much of an issue anymore, and arguably the term "underground" chapter may have taken on a more "fluid" usage. But I don't think it is the proper word to apply to the situation of a group operating without the knowledge of the fraternity in question. Because a charter is required to make a group of people a "chapter," a group operating without the knowledge of the fraternity's governing body is not a chapter, underground or otherwise. It is a group of people posing as a chapter.

Nor is a fully-chartered chapter that is simply unrecognized by an academic institution "underground" if the institution has knowledge of it, or if the chapter is not operating in secret. The chapter is merely unrecognized. As Lady Pi Phi noted, "underground" or sub rosa presumes that the existence of the chapter is being concealed from the institution's administration.