Reassigning chapter letters to a new school?

[GreekOne]

Originally Posted by GoldenAnchor

I know way back in the day DG did this, it wasn’t so much reassigning as it was members of the new chapter choosing that letter. A long time ago the founding members of a chapter choose their letters, which is why some of our oldest chapters are not in alphabetical order, such as Eta - Akron and Beta - Washington. Theta - Indiana is actually the third iteration of the Theta chapter, the first two being closed due to women leaving campus. I believe there was at least one other instance of this in our history before moving to alphabetical order.

With regards to the Theta chapter at IU, it is my understanding that the chapter selected the "Theta" in tribute to the woman that worked to bring them to campus. She was a Kappa Alpha Theta and they selected their chapter letter to thank her for her role in establishing the chapter in Indiana. It would be interesting to know if, when they were permitted to, other chapters also had a logical reason for their selections.

From our Theta chapter's website: With the help of Mrs. Joseph Swain, the wife of the Indiana University president and an alumna of Kappa Alpha Theta, they were able to obtain their charter by Thanksgiving. On December 10, 1898, the three women along with Elizabeth Hedderich and Clara Snyder received the charter and were initiated in a home on Forest Place, the current location of Ballantine Hall. That evening, the members went to a Kappa Alpha Theta party, and Miss Coleman wrote, "We had felt Kappa Alpha Theta was our friend and for that reason selected Theta as our chapter letter." (Source: Coleman, Mary Effie, "Reminiscences of Our Fraternity," The History of Delta Gamma, 1874-1915.)

[GoldenAnchor]

Originally Posted by GreekOne

With regards to the Theta chapter at IU, it is my understanding that the chapter selected the "Theta" in tribute to the woman that worked to bring them to campus. She was a Kappa Alpha Theta and they selected their chapter letter to thank her for her role in establishing the chapter in Indiana. It would be interesting to know if, when they were permitted to, other chapters also had a logical reason for their selections.

From our Theta chapter's website: With the help of Mrs. Joseph Swain, the wife of the Indiana University president and an alumna of Kappa Alpha Theta, they were able to obtain their charter by Thanksgiving. On December 10, 1898, the three women along with Elizabeth Hedderich and Clara Snyder received the charter and were initiated in a home on Forest Place, the current location of Ballantine Hall. That evening, the members went to a Kappa Alpha Theta party, and Miss Coleman wrote, "We had felt Kappa Alpha Theta was our friend and for that reason selected Theta as our chapter letter." (Source: Coleman, Mary Effie, "Reminiscences of Our Fraternity," The History of Delta Gamma, 1874-1915.)

That’s really cool about Theta chapter! Without giving away too much info I can say that designation holds a special place in chapter ritual, so the other chapters certainly had reasons for choosing their designation. Another public example I know of is from the same thread mentioned previously, Phi (I)/Phi Alpha chapter selected their designation to honor George Banta (a Phi Delta Theta/Delta Gamma) as an influential part of their founding.