Greeks whose names are subsets of others?

[Sciencewoman]

At my daughter's school, they call both Pi Beta Phi and Pi Kappa Phi fraternity "Pi Phi." Everyone who is not a Pi Kappa Phi calls them "Guy Phi." Apparently, the brothers do not like this nickname, but it just makes things less confusing.

[AOII Angel]

Originally Posted by Sciencewoman

At my daughter's school, they call both Pi Beta Phi and Pi Kappa Phi fraternity "Pi Phi." Everyone who is not a Pi Kappa Phi calls them "Guy Phi." Apparently, the brothers do not like this nickname, but it just makes things less confusing.

Why don't they go by Pi Kap?

[amIblue?]

Originally Posted by AOII Angel

Why don't they go by Pi Kap?

I've heard that, but I have to admit that Guy Phi is pretty funny.

[Sciencewoman]

Originally Posted by amIblue?

I've heard that, but I have to admit that Guy Phi is pretty funny.

I agree, and that's probably why it's stuck. Her campus happens to have about every fraternity that starts with a Pi or Phi, and ends with a Pi or Phi or Psi. I'm sure the students keep it straight, but I admit that I've thought, "who decided to let another Pi, Phi, Psi group colonize?" Any group with a clearly different set of letters would seem to be preferable!

[angels&angles]

Originally Posted by AOII Angel

Why don't they go by Pi Kap?

The legend is that Pi Kappa Phi got kicked off campus sometime in the early part of the century, and when they were recolonized, their nationals "punished" them by not allowing them to be called Pi Kap anymore, and they became Pi Phi instead. W&L was an all-male school at that time.

Again, total urban legend. (Another: ATO was kicked off campus, and never allowed to come back [even though it's the Alpha Chapter {effectively--I think it's actually VMI}] for derailing a train into a campus building.)

On the other hand, W&L's fraternity naming system is just slightly off kilter from the rest of the country. Pi Kappa Alpha is called PIKA not Pike, and LXA is just Lambda, not Lambda Chi. Additionally, Sigma Phi Epsilon was SPE before they closed, and Sig Ep after their recolonization.

It's a friggin' weird place. I miss it.

[Sciencewoman]

Originally Posted by angels&angles

The legend is that Pi Kappa Phi got kicked off campus sometime in the early part of the century, and when they were recolonized, their nationals "punished" them by not allowing them to be called Pi Kap anymore, and they became Pi Phi instead. W&L was an all-male school at that time.

On the other hand, W&L's fraternity naming system is just slightly off kilter from the rest of the country. Pi Kappa Alpha is called PIKA not Pike, and LXA is just Lambda, not Lambda Chi. Additionally, Sigma Phi Epsilon was SPE before they closed, and Sig Ep after their recolonization.

It's a friggin' weird place. I miss it.

Generallygreek gave the same explanation about Pi Kappa Phi, but she seemed to think the punishment was much more recent, because a brother told her that the ban had been lifted this year and they are now allowed to go by Pi Kap (I think this is a case of closing the barn door after the horse escaped...I think they're stuck with Guy Phi). She said the ban had something to do with them having a party while a national officer/visiting consultant was on campus. I thought it was highly suspect that anyone's national would tell them to go by Pi Phi, a well-known women's group. Your story about it happening when W&L was all male makes more sense.

We also called Pi Kappa Alpha PIKA, and my brother-in-law (who is one) told me that while PIKE is more common, PIKA is used at some chapters.