Frat houses
I went for a chilly but nice walk through the back area of our Northern Campus at the University of Alberta. I discovered some interesting sights including weird mushrooms, a discarded book about love, and a toilet that looks like it is now a planter.
As I walked through I also noticed some “Frat Houses” . I never joined a fraternity when I went to University. Did you?
If you did, what were some of your most memorable experiences?
I actually knew very little about fraternities except perhaps from what I witnessed in the movie,”Animal House”, ha ha ha, so I looked up some information…..
Here is what I found out….. ( from ‘Tales of Times Forgotten’)
Some historical context
First, let us go into a little historical context. In the United States in the late 1700s and early 1800s, higher education was almost completely dominated by the study of Latin and Ancient Greek. Prospective students were required to already know Latin in order to even apply to undergraduate school at most universities.
Ancient Greek, meanwhile, was widely seen as an even more prestigious language than Latin. Latin was taught to most schoolboys; whereas if you wanted to learn Greek, you had to go to university. Knowing Ancient Greek meant you were a well-bred, cultured gentleman—a real kalos kagathos.
Long before the Phi Beta Kappa Society was founded, there was already a longstanding tradition of organizations with Latin letter names at the College of William and Mary. The earliest recorded Latin-letter society at the College of William and Mary was the F.H.C. (whose name stood for “Flat Hat Club”), which was founded in 1750. The American Founding Father Thomas Jefferson (who graduated from the College of William and Mary in 1764) was a member of it. Another Latin-letter society, the P.D.A. Society (whose name stood for “Please Don’t Ask”) was founded in March of 1773.
What about the women….? Read on….
Originally, Greek letter organizations for women were not called sororities, but rather “female fraternities.” A Latin professor at Syracuse University named Dr. Frank Smalley, however, objected to this word, noting that frater means “brother” in Latin, so a “female fraternity” literally means “female brotherhood,” which he insisted was ridiculous and an oxymoron. Therefore, the esteemed Dr. Smalley insisted that they should be rightly called “sororities,” from Latin soror, meaning “sister.” The name eventually caught on.
According to the information on that website the Greek letters remain on the Frat Houses but they are mostly a jumble of symbols and have lost their meaning . Interesting!
Anyway, I enjoyed my chilly walk and look forward to warmer days.