Fraternity (disambiguation)

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A fraternity is an organisation of men.

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Fraternity may also refer to:

Associations

Academic and student fraternities

Europe

North America

Sociology

Other uses

See also

Related Research Articles

The Kappa Alpha Society (ΚΑ), founded in 1825, was the progenitor of the modern fraternity system in North America. It is considered to be the oldest national, secret, Greek-letter social fraternity and was the first of the fraternities which would eventually become known as the Union Triad that pioneered the North American system of social fraternities.

A student society, student association, university society, student club, university club, or student organization is a society or an organization, operated by students at a university, college, or other educational institution, whose membership typically consists only of students and/or alumni.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alpha Gamma Delta</span> International collegiate womens fraternity

Alpha Gamma Delta (ΑΓΔ), also known as Alpha Gam, is an international women's fraternity and social organization. It was founded on May 30, 1904, by eleven female students at Syracuse University in Syracuse, New York, and thus it is the youngest member of the Syracuse Triad of North American social sororities that also includes Gamma Phi Beta (1874) and Alpha Phi (1872). Since its founding, Alpha Gamma Delta has, as of December 2021, initiated over 201,000 members and installed 199 collegiate chapters and more than 250 alumnae groups.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">North American fraternity and sorority housing</span> Residential aspect of Greek life

North American fraternity and sorority housing refers largely to the houses or housing areas in which fraternity and sorority members live and work together. In addition to serving as housing, fraternity and sorority housing may also serve to host social gatherings, meetings, and functions that benefit the community.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Commons club</span> American collegiate organization

A Commons Club is a type of social organization whose membership is "open" rather than selective based on personal introduction and invitation. It may also refer to the lodge or other meeting facility associated with such a club and used for its activities. Usually, Commons Club refers to a type of men's social organization which flourished at institutions of higher education in North America in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Order of Omega</span> American collegiate honor society

The Order of Omega is an undergraduate Greek society recognizing "fraternity men and women who have attained a high standard of leadership in inter-fraternity activities." It functions as an adjunct to traditional fraternal organizations, rather than a social or professional group in se. It is not an academic honor society; a minimum grade point average is only one of six criteria for admission, and Order of Omega is not a part of the Association of College Honor Societies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sigma Sigma Sigma</span> North American collegiate sorority

Sigma Sigma Sigma (ΣΣΣ), also known as Tri Sigma, is a national American women's sorority.

Professional fraternities, in the North American fraternity system, are organizations whose primary purpose is to promote the interests of a particular profession and whose membership is restricted to students in that particular field of professional education or study. This may be contrasted with service fraternities and sororities, whose primary purpose is community service, and social fraternities and sororities, whose primary purposes are generally aimed towards some other aspect, such as the development of character, friendship, leadership, or literary ability.

Service fraternity or service sorority may refer to any fraternal public service organization, whether college or community-based. However, in Canada and the United States, the term "fraternity" is typically used to refer to fraternal student societies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Phi Lambda Chi</span> American collegiate fraternity

Phi Lambda Chi (ΦΛΧ), commonly known as Phi Lamb, is a social collegiate fraternity founded at the Arkansas State Teachers College in 1925. It was formerly a member of the North American Interfraternity Conference (NIC).

There are many collegiate secret societies in North America. They vary greatly in their level of secrecy and the degree of independence from their universities. A collegiate secret society makes a significant effort to keep affairs, membership rolls, signs of recognition, initiation, or other aspects secret from the public.

Phi Omega Sigma may refer to the six unrelated student organizations:

The North American fraternity and sorority system began with students who wanted to meet secretly, usually for discussions and debates not thought appropriate by the faculty of their schools. Today they are used as social, professional, and honorary groups that promote varied combinations of community service, leadership, and academic achievement.

The term Triad is used to designate certain historic groupings of seminal college fraternities in North America.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fraternity</span> Organization, society, or club of people associated together for various religious or secular aims

A fraternity or fraternal organization is an organization, society, club or fraternal order traditionally of men but also women associated together for various religious or secular aims. Fraternity in the Western concept developed in the Christian context, notably with the religious orders in the Catholic Church during the Middle Ages. The concept was eventually further extended with medieval confraternities and guilds. In the early modern era, these were followed by fraternal orders such as Freemasons, the Rosicrucian Society of England, and Odd Fellows, along with gentlemen's clubs, student fraternities, and fraternal service organizations. Members are occasionally referred to as a brother or – usually in a religious context – frater or friar.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">University of Virginia fraternities and sororities</span> American Greek life system

Fraternities and sororities at the University of Virginia include the collegiate organizations on the grounds of the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, Virginia. First founded in the 1850s with the establishment of several fraternities, the system has since expanded to include sororities, professional organizations, service fraternities, honor fraternities, and cultural organizations. Fraternities and sororities have been significant to the history of the University of Virginia, including the founding of two national fraternities Kappa Sigma (ΚΣ) and Pi Kappa Alpha (ΠΚΑ).

In North America, fraternities and sororities are social organizations at colleges and universities. They are sometimes collectively referred to as Greek life. Generally, membership in a fraternity or sorority is obtained as an undergraduate student but continues thereafter for life. Some accept graduate students as well. Individual fraternities and sororities vary in organization and purpose, but most share five common elements:

  1. Secrecy
  2. Single-sex membership
  3. Selection of new members based on a two-part vetting and probationary process known as rushing and pledging
  4. Ownership and occupancy of a residential property where undergraduate members live
  5. A set of complex identification symbols that may include Greek letters, armorial achievements, ciphers, badges, grips, hand signs, passwords, flowers, and colors