Unearthing university history
Dear CM-Life Staff and Readers,
I want to offer a slight correction on an article published during the first week of classes. The article in question listed a variety of CMU facts, including one about the first Greek organization on campus. It stated the first fraternity chartered on CMU’s campus was Delta Sigma Phi in 1949.
In actuality, the first fraternity on campus was Phi Delta Pi in 1901, when CMU was still known as Central Normal School. Four years later, in 1905, Alpha Sigma Tau, founded at Eastern Michigan University (then known as Michigan State Normal School), would charter at Central Normal School, creating the Beta chapter of their organization.
One of the reasons for this error could be that sorority and fraternity life at CMU was banned in 1915 by the university’s administration, resulting in a considerable gap in the histories of our Greek organizations until the ban was lifted in 1940. The fear was a sense of classism would spread across the campus with the establishment of exclusive clubs like Greek organizations. Many of the members of these organizations were from more urban areas, leaving the rural students feeling left out of Greek Life.
Not to be discouraged, many of these organizations formed as literary societies and continued to operate almost identical to Greek organizations but without their corresponding Greek letters. Yearbooks and other documents in the Clarke Historical Library (a fantastic resource for anyone looking to know more about CMU or Michigan history) show the transition from Greek letter organizations to literary societies.
When the ban was lifted in 1940, the literary societies began to charter with Greek letters once more. The best example of this is our local chapter of the Alpha Sigma Alpha sorority which was the Rachel Tate Literary society prior to 1941. Our campus’ National Panhellenic Conference was formed in the early 1940s as well and continues to operate as a governing body for all Panhellenic sororities at CMU. When Greek organizations say they have been here forever, they mean it!
CMU has an extremely interesting and engaging history with a vast array of examples of student ingenuity, organizational excellence and educational distinction. The resources available to all CMU students through the Clarke Historical Library illustrate this rich history, and I encourage all of your staff and the student body as a whole to utilize these resources if interested in learning more about our university’s history or the history of its dynamic organizations, whether it be a fraternity chapter or the Alchemist Club.
Sincerely,
Katy Campbell
CMU and Greek Life Alumna
