1903-04 Volume 28 No 1–5 - Phi Delta Theta Scroll Archive

THE INTER-COLLEGIATE FRATERNITY SYSTEM.^ R K, founded atWilliam and Mary,1776, remained the^ only Greek-letter societyuntil 1821, whenwas founded at Yale,X A 0, a senior society.However, this societynever developed intoa general fraternity.*The origin of thepresent Greek lettersociety system maj^ beattributed to the esoftablishment by $ B Ka chapter at UnionCollege, t This wasin 1817, when * B KPHI DELTA THETA.still had a secret charappearedacter. A new societyat Union, 1825. It called i tself K A, and outwardlyat least it was an imitation of B K. It was a secret, socialKAPI'A ALHHA,(Southern.)THETA DELTA CHI,with the occasion. The historians of Williams, Dartmouth and Bowdoin give similar testimony. Insome colleges the faculty interfered, and apportioned new men to the societies by some impartialmethod of allotment. Even this could not put a stop to intrigue and factional fights"The early debating society was one of the great interests of the student world; its meetingswere eagerly anticipated, and its exercises considered to be of much greater importance than theregular recitations of the college, a belief strengthened by the sympathetic attitude of the faculty.We have the testimony of a hostile critic that the champions of the debating hall were held in greateresteem by their fellow-students than the men who gained the traditional college honors for proficiencyin their studies. The athlete had not yet arisen as a college hero, so the orator and writerrepresented the ideals of the academic youth"Such a condition of affairs was not destined to endure. A new organizadon, appealing moredirectly to the interests and sentiments of youth, entered the field, and the debating society lostground before it. The fraternity struck the older a.ssociation at its weakest point. About 1830 thedebating societies, through increase of numbers, began to be unwieldy, and in consequence a victimto factional contests. In some colleges cliques for controlling elections in the literary societies badcrystallized into formal clubs before the appearance of the fraternities. The fraternity greatly hastenedthis tendency to dissolution; the debating society became the arena in which rival fratemidesor secret and non-secret societies fought for the supremacy. The literary exercises were neglectedwhile rival factions struggled for the offices. The new organizations became the centre of interestwhile the old societies died slowly. The process did not take place in all the colleges at the sametime. The conflict in the eastern colleges began as early as 1840, and by 1870 the old societies hadbecome merely a tradition."—"Student Life and Customs."* "The object of X A 0 was to compliment and encourage literary as distinct from scholasticability. About a fourth of the senior class, including all the 'good writers', were annually elected toit and met fortnightly in one of the Lyceum lecture roomsX A © died out in the class of43 or '44, having had only a nominal or honorarj' existence—like that of ^ B K at the present time—in several previous classes."—"Four Year at Yale", 1871.X A 3 was revived at Yale, 1868, at the suggestion of one of the editors of the Yale LiteraryMagazine, "the oldest college periodical", and its membership has since been confined to that editorialboard,—See "Four Years at Yale" and "American College Fraternities."A branch of X A 0 was organized at Amherst, receiving a charter from the society at Yale. 1830.It was established by juniors, and membership was restricted to juniors and seniors. It was "purelyliterary in character and strictly secret." It disbanded 1843- "A prominent cause of its declinewas the introduction of other societies, which gradually absorbed the interest of the students,"—"Student Life at Amherst".1 See "The First Greek-Letter Societj-,'' The Scroll, February, 1889, and "The Development ofthe Fraternitj- System", The Scroll, October, 1889, by W. B. Palmer.The English spelling of the Greek letters is given below for the benefit of those who may nothave studied Greek.A Alpha. E Epsilon. I Iota. N Nu. P Rho. * Phi.B Beta. Z Zeta. K Kappa. = Xi. 5 Sigma. X Chi.r Gamma. H Eta. A Lambda. O Omicron, T Tau. * Psi.A Delta. © Theta. M Mu. H Pi. T Upsilon. n Omega.