Greek Letters

 Greek Letters

What are Greek letters?  What is the point of them?  Why are fraternities and sororities represented by Greek letters?  What do they even mean?  I know it may be confusing for anyone who is not part of the Greek community on why Greek letters are even important.  Here are just a few basic meanings of what they stand for and represent:




1.) First and foremost, Greek letters are simply just the Greek alphabet.  They are in chronological order just like our alphabet and that will be important to know later on in this post.  Here is a list of the Greek alphabet:

2.) The combination of different Greek letters in the alphabet are used to signify different organizations.  For example, different fraternities and sororities in the U.S.

3.) Within a certain fraternity/sorority, they are always expanding and adding their organizations to different campuses across America.  There are more than one Pi Kappa Phi fraternity and more than one Kappa Delta sorority across the U.S.  So to organize within a fraternity/sorority, we have different chapters.  For example, the sorority Zeta Tau Alpha has a chapter at Sacred Heart University which is the Lambda Alpha chapter and another chapter at University of Rhode Island which is the Lambda Beta chapter.

 

 (Lambda Alpha chapter at Sacred Heart University)

(Lambda Beta chapter at University of Rhode Island)

Now just like I said in the first point, the Greek alphabet is going to be important chronologically soon and soon is now, regarding to different chapters.  Wherever the first fraternity/sorority was founded would be considered the Alpha Chapter.  Once they expand and start a second chapter they will be the Beta Chapter, then the next would be the Delta Chapter and so on.  Once we get to the end of the alphabet we would start at the beginning again while also having a second letter chronologically again.  For example, once the Omega chapter has been established, the next chapter would be considered the Alpha Alpha Chapter then the Alpha Beta Chapter and so on like that all over again.



4.) We can go even deeper and have a hierarchy within a chapter too.  If an organization is new to a campus, they have to gain interest in some men and women.  Once they have people to join their new fraternity/sorority on campus, have been officially chartered, and recognized at that campus/nationally by whatever organization that is, these men and women are considered founding fathers and founding mothers of that new fraternity and sorority.  Each semester (or each year, depending on the school), more men and women will want to join these Greek organizations.  So the first group of men/women to join this fraternity/sorority will be considered the Alpha Class.  Then the next semester, or year, once there is more men and women joining, they will be the Beta Class and so on.
 

So to make sense of all these confusing Greek letters here is an example:

I am a founding father of Pi Kappa Phi fraternity, Iota Alpha chapter (Sacred Heart University).  So to break it down, the organization I am in is Pi Kappa Phi fraternity.  The chapter I am a part of is the Iota Alpha chapter.  Lastly, I was part of the first group to join this fraternity at my campus, so I am considered a founding father.

Every man and women that is in a fraternity and sorority wear their letters proudly.  They will tell you what their letters mean to them and how much it has molded them.  It represents and defines them and makes them who they are.