Interest Groups Using Letters

[FAUNikki]

This happened at my school this year. I posted about ti once. A group of girls created a club called "Beta Chi Omega". Using Chi-o's colors and all. They want to become Chi-O one day. That is a bad mistake, especially since their first problem is that the sororities on campus are not at total and we have had recruiting problems for the past year and it will be a long time before they could even try to affiliate with any sorority.
Chi-O would most likely not even come to my school being that we are a big commuter campus, no houses, the 4 sororities on campus are medium sized national sororities and therefore I doubt that we would be of interest to them.
They kinda look like fools walking around with their shirts and all.
They shoud have chosen a more neutral name.

[aephi alum]

Originally posted by DeltaSigStan
Well, they're still just known as Alpha Epsilon, as in, local.

Then they're not an official AEPhi colony, but rather, a local interested in affiliating with AEPhi.

(Drat. I thought we had a new colony I didn't know about... )

ETA: Apparently we do have a new colony I didn't know about. Thanks AEPhiSierra

[AEPhiSierra]

i think they might actually be a colony. Problem is I keep mixing up UCSD and SDSU. At convention one of the groups came as an interest group and I think it got promoted to colony status this fall.

[AchtungBaby80]

I didn't think interest groups were "allowed" to use the letters of the group they wanted to affiliate with.

Colonies can use the letters, though, because we did and it was encouraged by National.

[PhiPsiRuss]

Originally posted by AchtungBaby80
I didn't think interest groups were "allowed" to use the letters of the group they wanted to affiliate with.

Colonies can use the letters, though, because we did and it was encouraged by National.

Whether or not an interest group is "allowed" to wear letters, depends on the legal status of the collateral. In other words, if the letters are trademarked, or copyrighted, then they are not, and such a group may be subject to litigation.

If such letters are not legally protected, it may still be undesirable for an interest group to wear the letters of the group with which it desires to affiliate because doing so may be seen as overly presumptuous and highly disrespectful. Why would a group want to admit a new member who has no respect for its procedures? That's just asking for unneeded conflict down the road.

[madmax]

Originally posted by kddani
Legal Reasons
* By using the name of the group, you are perpetuating yourselves as a member of that group. Even if there was an "interest group" tacked on, you're still giving the image as being sanctioned and a part of the bigger group, regardless of whether or not you actually are. This creates HUGE liability issues

*Trademark/copyright infringement- most groups have their symbols, name, etc. registered as trademarks/copyrights, etc. Only members of the group may use them. This is also why people who manufacture products with GLO names on it, etc. must be licensed

I dont think the interest groups are doing anything illegal unless they use the same exact letters and call themselves a national fraternity. I think there is a difference between "TKE local fraternity" "TKE Society/Order" and "TKE International Fraternity". Look at KA Order and KA Society. They both have the same name.

How come the US copyright/patent/trademark office issues multiple trademarks/patents/copyrights? http://www.uspto.gov/

Example: If you do a search of ACACIA, or any GLO for that matter there might be dozens of companies registered and hundreds of companies using the same name or similar names around the country. Acacia Insurance, Acacia Financial, Acacia Bank, Acacia Software, Acacia Fraternity, and so on.


Strange but true. PBJ sandwich is patented by Smuckers.

[TigerLilly]

Originally posted by AlphaXi4983
i forget the letters of the sorority, but there was a local who used almost everything AZD

It was Alpha Xi Zeta, and I can't tell if they want to affiliate with AXiD or not...my guess is no, they just want to copy.
But as for other interest groups using similar letters...I think it's wrong. You don't know the meaning these other groups have for their letters, so why plaster them on yourselves?
Not to mention that it does just look tacky, especially if "Beta Chi Omega" decided they might want to affiliate with another sorority instead. What are they going to do, change their letters?

[Discotish]

Our founding members picked many symbols and phrases to represent our sorority and distinguish it from others. In addition, there are many phrases used in common between all fraternities and sororities to describe things common to all organizations.

I don't think their intent was to necessacarily copy one specific sorority, but rather a compositie of different sororities...

[radioZTA]

I visited my alma mater a couple of weeks ago and saw Sigma Kappa Omega letters on a vehicle. I asked the campus Greek advisor about it. She is a Sigma Kappa alumna and told me that a few ladies were trying to revive Sigma Kappa there. I got the impression from her that this was not an official re-colonization effort but I could be wrong.

[sfasammy]

Originally posted by radioZTA
I visited my alma mater a couple of weeks ago and saw Sigma Kappa Omega letters on a vehicle. I asked the campus Greek advisor about it. She is a Sigma Kappa alumna and told me that a few ladies were trying to revive Sigma Kappa there. I got the impression from her that this was not an official re-colonization effort but I could be wrong.

Is your alma mater Stephen F. Austin State University? Sigma Kappa Omega is quite big there. From what I heard, there used to be a Sigma Kappa chapter there until "something happened" about a decade ago that caused it to shut down. The ladies decided to form an independent sorority, Sigma Kappa Omega, with the hope of being reaffilliated with Sigma Kappa some day.

[radioZTA]

Axe 'em, Jacks! You're correct!

I was attending SFA when SK closed down. There wasn't any specific incident as far as I can remember. I knew several ladies in the chapter and they were all great. There was a huge campaign on the part of ALL the fraternities and sororities to help them recruit and remain on campus. I remember every Greek wearing a "Go Sigma Kappa" button for at least a month if not longer.

The main problem seemed to be that there just weren't enough Rushees/PNM's to support 6 chapters and they will probably run into that problem again. Gamma Phi Beta tried to come on campus after Sigma Kappa closed. While they started out very well, they were not successful either. (Their house was supposed to be between the DZ & Tri-Delt houses.)

Although all 5 NPC chapters got quota this fall, a couple had to scramble to get NM's after the formal bids had been given out and before the official announcement of pledge classes. Also, chapter total there has been set too high and none of the groups have reached it, even the top on campus. There doesn't seem to be as much alumnae support as there should be but Nacogdoches is also a small town in the middle of nowhere. Because of those factors, I'm not sure how successful another group could be. If it works...great! But I would just hate to see young ladies get hurt if it doesn't work out. I've seen it there twice already and it is not pretty.

[dzandiloo]

Using other group's emblems/letters can be a slippery slope for any local group, interest group or not. A couple of years ago, a group at Texas Tech formed, hoping to colonize a national-they liked DZ, so they called themselves DZA...used pink & green, turtles, etc. While DZ national was happy to talk with them, Tech's College Panhellenic wasn't ready to expand. In the meantime, some of the other groups (but not all) on campus seemed offended that they would dare form a local sorority & actually threatened to "report" them to DZ national (who was quite aware of their existence, and supportive of their efforts). When it became clear that expansion wasn't going to happen, they dissolved for a while. They're back now, but changed their colors & symbols (to Pink & black, and candles instead of lamps), and I hear they have been concentrating on their sisterhood...they now ignore the unfriendliness of some of the national sorority women on campus, although some are still pretty harsh about them. They have been successful in recruitment & as participants in campus events, though, so I don't think they are going away. They did put a clause in their constitution that if DZ National ever colonized at Tech, they would change their name or dissolve....I don't hold my breath that Tech will expand anytime soon--and if they do, they'll probably invite a group that has been there before (Phi Mu, Sigma Kappa & GPB have histories there). *sigh*

There was also a group at Tarleton that wanted to colonize Chi Omega-they called themselves Chi Omega Nu, and used pretty much all the same colors/symbols. It was started by a transfer student who had pledged Chi O @ her original school...I don't know if they are there anymore. That campus can't support another sorority (although the groups are strong, Greek life just isn't that big) and even if they could, I suspect Chi O would not be open to colonizing there, since one chapter has folded there in the past, and another chapter there has taken almost 10 years since colonizing to reach total--and still has trouble making quota during formal. I don't think the Tarleton Sororities were that down on the idea, though. Locals at TSU aren't that unusual, so they weren't spurned as "posers" like the group at Tech.

[sfasammy]

Originally posted by dzandiloo
Using other group's emblems/letters can be a slippery slope for any local group, interest group or not. A couple of years ago, a group at Texas Tech formed, hoping to colonize a national-they liked DZ, so they called themselves DZA...used pink & green, turtles, etc. While DZ national was happy to talk with them, Tech's College Panhellenic wasn't ready to expand. In the meantime, some of the other groups (but not all) on campus seemed offended that they would dare form a local sorority & actually threatened to "report" them to DZ national (who was quite aware of their existence, and supportive of their efforts). When it became clear that expansion wasn't going to happen, they dissolved for a while. They're back now, but changed their colors & symbols (to Pink & black, and candles instead of lamps), and I hear they have been concentrating on their sisterhood...they now ignore the unfriendliness of some of the national sorority women on campus, although some are still pretty harsh about them. They have been successful in recruitment & as participants in campus events, though, so I don't think they are going away. They did put a clause in their constitution that if DZ National ever colonized at Tech, they would change their name or dissolve....I don't hold my breath that Tech will expand anytime soon--and if they do, they'll probably invite a group that has been there before (Phi Mu, Sigma Kappa & GPB have histories there). *sigh*

Funny that you mentioned that. I am currently doing my Ph.D. work at Tech and come across DZAs from time to time. I didn't know they were trying to become DZ. They seem to be a nice group of ladies, though. There are so much more GLOs here at Tech than at SFA that I stopped keeping track.