High school fraternities and sororities

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High school fraternities and sororities, also called secondary fraternities and sororities, were inspired by and modeled after Greek-letter organizations which became prevalent in North American colleges and universities during the nineteenth century (Owen 492). In some respects, these fraternities and sororities are designed to better prepare individuals for college-level fraternities.

Contents

Most of the American secondary fraternities that were successful in the twentieth century had national governing bodies, produced regular publications, and convened in regular (often annual) national conventions. Like their college counterparts, most have Greek letter names. They also each possessed a secret ritual and handshake and a Greek-letter name which, like college fraternities was usually derived from the abbreviation of a secret Greek motto. These groups were identified by a coat-of-arms and members wore distinctive fraternity badges or pins.

Although there were countless local high school fraternities and sororities with only one or two chapters, many secondary fraternities founded in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries in the United States grew into national organizations with a highly evolved governing structure and regularly chartered chapters in multiple regions. Many of the local chapters of these national fraternities were not affiliated with individual high schools but were instead area-based, often drawing membership from multiple high schools in a given area.

In the 1900s, some state governments banned fraternities and sororities in public schools, driving them underground, or out of existence. California, for example, passed a law banning them in 1906.

In the following list, known active groups are indicated in bold, while known inactive groups are in italics.

General fraternities

General sororities

Jewish fraternities and sororities

High school honor societies

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ The fraternity began as a high school fraternity on 22 June 1910, in New York. It was re-established as a collegiate organization in 1914
  2. ↑ Not to be confused with the professional fraternity for the creative and performing arts.
  3. ↑ Not to be confused with the international sorority with a similar name, Sigma Thêta Pi, founded in 2003, nor the local Christian fraternity at Howard Payne University, founded in 2004.
  4. ↑ Its Upsilon chapter was in the Twin Cities.
  5. ↑ Its Sigma chapter was at Syracuse.

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References

  1. ↑ Omega Nu homepage, accessed 7 Dec 2020.
  2. ↑ "History – Tau Delta Phi" . Retrieved 2023-08-02.
  3. ↑ "Media - Documenting Maine Jewry". Maine Jews. Retrieved 2023-08-02. Their 1960 convention program lists several chapters in the New England area
  4. ↑ Schneiderman, Harry, ed. (1941). American Jewish Yearbook September 22, 1941, to September 11, 1942 (PDF). Vol. 43. Spring Branch, Texas: The Jewish Publication Society of America.
  5. ↑ Adler, Cyrus; Szold, Henrietta (1920). American Jewish Year Book. Vol. 22. Jewish Publication Society of America.
  6. 1 2 "Sigma Theta Phi Group to Hold Annual Meeting", The Jewish Daily Bulletin, June 26, 1934, p. 7. via Jewish Telegraph Society, accessed 27 Jan 2020.
  7. ↑ "Sigma Theta Pi Sorority Conclave, 1940". digitalcollections.lib.washington.edu. Retrieved 2023-08-02.

Bibliography

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