Category Archives: Men’s Fraternities

A Phi Gam Starts a National Tradition, Helped by His Pi Phi Wife

This year’s White House ornament honors the presidency of my favorite First Couple. It was during his administration that the White House Christmas tree tradition began. The White House Historical Association does a great job of telling the story of … Continue reading

Posted in Amherst College, First Ladies, Grace Coolidge, Phi Gamma Delta, Pi Beta Phi, University of Vermont | Tagged , , , , , , | Comments Off on A Phi Gam Starts a National Tradition, Helped by His Pi Phi Wife

R.I.P. DeMarcus

The weirdest thing happened this weekend. It reminded me of how fleeting life truly is. On Saturday, I was scanning some slides, a laborious task, and I was shuttling between two laptops. I had my twitter feed open, but really … Continue reading

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4Σ + 2Κ + 2Φ +Α + Δ + Λ + Π + Ρ + Υ = 5 Founders’ Days

Five GLOs were founded on December 10. The theme of the foundings is a common one in the history of Greek-letter organizations, “let’s found a society of our own.” The University of Virginia was the founding campus of the oldest … Continue reading

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December 7, 1941 and the GLO World

December 7, 1941, is a day that has lived in infamy. About a week earlier, fraternity men and women were meeting in New York City at the first joint meeting of the National Interfraternity Conference (NIC) and the National Panhellenic … Continue reading

Posted in Alpha Delta Pi, Fran Favorite, Kansas State University, Marine Corps, Phi Gamma Delta, Phi Mu, Sigma Chi, Sigma Nu, University of Maine | Tagged , , , , , , , | Comments Off on December 7, 1941 and the GLO World

Alpha Sigma Phi’s 170th with a Price

Alpha Sigma Phi was founded on December 6, 1845, at Yale University (it was then known as Yale College). The Yale of 1845 was worlds away from the Yale of today. In 1845, only a very small percentage of American … Continue reading

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In the Land of the Illini Thinking of the ‘Cuse

Syracuse has been on my mind lately. I’m not in Syracuse, but this view as I walked out the door yesterday morning reminded me of the quad at Syracuse. The school’s colors even involve orange. And for many years both … Continue reading

Posted in Fran Favorite, Gamma Phi Beta, Pi Beta Phi, Psi Upsilon, Sigma Alpha Epsilon, Syracuse University, University of Illinois | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on In the Land of the Illini Thinking of the ‘Cuse

Syracuse on My Mind

I am writing this post on the Amtrak train grateful for the wifi. Last night as I was getting ready for this research trip, when I should have been packing, I was jumping down a rabbit hole, courtesy of a New … Continue reading

Posted in Alpha Tau Omega, Delta Delta Delta, Delta Kappa Epsilon, Delta Upsilon, Fran Favorite, Phi Delta Theta, Pi Beta Phi, Syracuse University | Tagged , , , , , , | Comments Off on Syracuse on My Mind

Cyber Monday on the Way to Giving Tuesday

On this Cyber Monday, the last day of November and before December and Giving Tuesday, I am grateful for many things. I am grateful to the men and women who founded Greek-letter organizations, and the builders who came after the founders, … Continue reading

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GLO Musings on a Soggy Saturday

“We can conceive of no more fitting manner of honoring the early sacrifices of our Founders than to impress the new initiates with the deep meaning of fraternal duty and obligation through the inspiration of the initiation ceremony. In a … Continue reading

Posted in Alpha Kappa Alpha, Alpha Tau Omega, Beta Theta Pi, Chi Omega, Delta Sigma Theta, Dickinson College, Fran Favorite, Mary Love Collins, Sigma Kappa, Theta Chi | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on GLO Musings on a Soggy Saturday

Psi Upsilon, Sorrow at Washington State, and a Message from Cal

Today marks the 182nd anniversary of Psi Upsilon’s founding at Union College in Schenectady, New York. On November 24, 1833, Robert Barnard, Samuel Goodale, Sterling G. Hadley, George Washington Tuttle, Edward Martindale, Merwin Henry Stewart, and Charles Washington Harvey founded … Continue reading

Posted in Chi Omega, Delta Delta Delta, Fran Favorite, Pi Beta Phi, Psi Upsilon, Syracuse University, Union College, Washington State University | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on Psi Upsilon, Sorrow at Washington State, and a Message from Cal