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National Men's Fraternity History
A fraternity (Latin frater : "brother") is a brotherhood, though the term usually connotes a distinct or formal organization. The only true distinction between a fraternity and any other form of social organization is the implication that the members freely associate as equals for a mutually beneficial purpose, rather than because of a religious, governmental, commercial, or familial bond, although there are fraternities dedicated to each of these topics.
Fraternities can be organized for many purposes, including university education, work skills, ethics, ethnicity, religion, politics, charity, chivalry, other standards of personal conduct, asceticism, service, performing arts, family command of territory, and even crime. There is almost always an explicit goal of mutual support, and while there have been fraternal orders for the well-off there have also been many fraternities for those in the lower ranks of society, especially for national or religious minorities. Trade unions also grew out of fraternities such as the Knights of Labor.
The Phi Beta Kappa Society, founded on December 5 1776 at the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia, is generally recognized to be the first Greek-letter student society in North America. It was founded by several students who had decided that the general literary society on campus, P.D.A., was no longer a serious institution. The main developments associated with Phi Beta Kappa is the use of Greek-letter initials as a society name, and having branches or "chapters" of a society at different campuses following a pattern set by Masonic lodges.
UTEP Men's Fraternity History
Alpha Phi Omega was the first greek organization to be on the UTEP campus, started in 1919, they were only local and were in every Flowsheet up to 1970 when production was stopped. There is a national Alpha Phi Omega that has over 200 chapters nationwide. However, the Alpha Phi Omega on the UTEP campus was started first.
In the 1930's there was a couple organizations that considered themselves Fraternities but didn't survive for very long. They had very akward traditions, unlike any traditional Fraternities. One of the organizations even went as far as to expand and start a chapter in Juarez, Mexico, this is akward because Greek Organizations are usually only found in Canada and the United States. (more of their History is located under the non-traditional fraternities).
Now of days greek organizations on the UTEP campus don't have houses, but it hasn't always been like that. A few of the buildings that UTEP uses today were old greek houses. Such as, the Alumni lodge, which was the old Zeta Tau Alpha House and the Honors House, which use to be the old Lambda Chi Alpha House. Today, Greek Housing is prohibited by the University.
Men's Fraternities on UTEP (bold are still on campus)
*non-traditional fraternities
Alpha Phi Omega(local) 1919
Phi Sigma Psi 1930
*Brotherhood 1930
Phi Beta Mex 1933
*Women Haters Club 1935
Rho Sigma Tau 1939
Rho Sigma Phi 1939
Phi Kappa Tau 1941
Kappa Sigma Kappa 1944
Lambda Chi Alpha 1946
Sigma Alpha Epsilon 1947
Kappa Sigma 1949
Tau Kappa Epsilon 1949
Zeta Beta Tau(local)
Sigma Alpha Mu 1962
Alpha Kappa Lambda 1967
Nu Kappa Sigma
Omega Delta Phi 1986
Phi Delta Theta 2005
Phi Beta Sigma
Delta Lambda Phi 2009
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