Greeks whose names are subsets of others?

[lizardz]

Sigma Chi and Zeta Sigma Chi

[tld221]

Unless yall know of some locals names Sigma Gamma or Gamma Rho...

advantages of using a not-so-common greek letter. I often get other org's chapters named Gamma Rho or Sigma Gamma, though.

[TSteven]

Kappa Alpha Order and Kappa Alpha Society.

[Leslie Anne]

Kappa Delta and Kappa Delta Rho, Kappa Delta Pi.

Sometimes Alpha Kappa Delta, Pi Kappa Delta, and alpha Kappa Delta Phi. There are several locals too that show up.

[TSteven]

Sigma Phi and Sigma Phi Delta. Sigma Phi and Sigma Phi Epsilon.

[MysticCat]

Originally Posted by naraht

Phi Mu: Phi Mu Delta

And Phi Mu Alpha.

Originally Posted by carnation

There was a problem at the last college I taught at with this. There had been a Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia chapter there forever and they called themselves Phi Mus, even though I've heard that most chapters call themselves Sinfonians. So when a Phi Mu chapter colonized, there were obviously problems!

I've heard that occasionally (as in a handful of times in the last 30 years), and only on campuses where there is no Phi Mu chapter. But the chapter should have known better.

ETA: The random things one thinks of when walking the dog. I realized that I should mention that I can think of one old Sinfonian sweetheart song that sing the praises of "a girl of old Phi Mu."

[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.

[ElieM]

Originally Posted by tld221

Unless yall know of some locals names Sigma Gamma or Gamma Rho...

The "sorority" from this TV series was called Sigma Gamma http://www.e4.com/sororitygirls/

[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!

[alum]

Originally Posted by carnation

The Alpha Chi Omega/Chi Omega thing made it so hard for me to search for gifts for my daughters online, even when I put Chi Omega in quotes!

There was a problem at the last college I taught at with this. There had been a Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia chapter there forever and they called themselves Phi Mus, even though I've heard that most chapters call themselves Sinfonians. So when a Phi Mu chapter colonized, there were obviously problems!

Although not really a subset, I keep getting tons of Tri-Delta hits when I have been searching for DTD stuff for my son.

[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.

[pshsx1]

Originally Posted by TSteven

Sigma Phi and Sigma Phi Epsilon.

I find this kind of funny because Sigma Phi was SigEp's original [proposed] name!

[TSteven]

Originally Posted by pshsx1

I find this kind of funny because Sigma Phi was SigEp's original [proposed] name!

And the original name of Sigma Chi.