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Sigh. Excuse me as I hijack the thread a little bit, but this is a topic that absolutely riles me.
Nothing in Theta's history or member education that I have ever read has ever indicated that the ritual was written by any non-member. Theta's ritual evolved over its early years (through practices of initiated members) but its fundamental meaning and significances were instituted by the four founders.
That article (see UToledoFiji's post), though not unbased exactly (yes Bettie Locke had ties to FIJI and Beta), was written in a very patronizing tone that is fitting with the time in which it was written and, I think, belittles what the first Thetas achieved at DePauw. The first Thetas were stubborn, independent individuals who did a great deal of flouting the current societal trends.
And though there's a historical link there obviously, and we appreciate and hold dear the gift from the FIJIs, the implication that anyone but Thetas were ultimately responsible for the Fraternity or that the impetus for the whole thing was wise learned men guiding them in the right direction is a bit rude.
There's a fascinating article on 'the first coeds' at DePauw (not written from a Theta point of view particularly) that I'll link to as soon as I can find it.
Greekgrrl
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