Phi Omega Pi

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Phi Omega Pi
ΦΩΠ
FoundedMarch 15, 1910; 114 years ago (1910-03-15)
University of Nebraska
TypeSocial
AffiliationNPC (former)
ScopeNational
Colors  sapphire blue and   white
FlowerLily-of-the-valley
PublicationKochev
The Pentagon of Phi Omega Pi
Chapters0 surviving
Merged withDelta Zeta (1946), and scattered

Phi Omega Pi (ΦΩΠ) was a national collegiate sorority operating in the United States from 1922 until 1946 when its chapters were absorbed by several larger sororities, and merged with the national sorority, Delta Zeta.

History[edit]

The sorority originally formed as Achoth (Hebrew: אָחוֹת signifying one's blood sister or a female relative), created on the campus of the University of Nebraska on March 15, 1910. The fifteen founding sisters were all members in good standing of the Order of the Eastern Star. In a letter to the fraternity, Jessie Downing explained to Sigma Phi Epsilon that Achoth "is similar to that of the Acacia fraternity, but in no way are the two connected". In 1911, it was officially recognized by the Order of the Eastern Star organization, and only Eastern Star members were permitted to join. Chapters were named in Hebrew alphabetic order, The first chapter was Aleph (Nebraska), the second Beth (Iowa), etc.[1]

The sorority published a magazine called Kochev. Sources from various fraternal organizations demonstrate that Achoth was functioning as a typical collegiate sorority. The Trident of Delta Delta Delta (1920) recorded Achoth's petition for admission to the National Panhellenic Congress, but this was denied (The Adelphean, 1921).

Achoth may have changed its official name as early as 1922. Kappa Sigma's Caduceus (1922) reported that the "Supreme Governing Council of Achoth announces the change of the name 'Achoth' to 'Phi Omega Pi' fraternity." Other contemporary publications refer to Achoth as Achoth, e.g. "A chapter of Achoth, the organization of Eastern Star members, was installed last March" (IU Alumni Quarterly, 1922). The chapters were renamed according to the Greek alphabet and the sorority's periodical was renamed from Kochev to The Pentagon.[2]

In 1933, Phi Omega Pi dropped the Masonic requirement and was thus given full membership into the National Panhellenic Conference.[3] That same year, the sorority absorbed two other organizations. Sigma Phi Beta was a national group with ten chapters. Founded on November 1, 1920, at New York University as Sigma Sigma Omicron, in July 1927 its name was changed to Sigma Phi Beta.[4] Additionally, Phi Alpha Chi, formed at the University of California at Berkeley, was founded as The Tanewah in 1919. In 1926, that group renamed itself as the Alpha chapter of Phi Alpha Chi. They joined with Sigma Phi Beta just before the merger into Phi Omega Pi.[5][1][4]

One source describes a relatively uncomplicated merger: "after 1933, Achoth, Tanewah, Phi Alpha Chi, and Sigma Phi Beta members were all sisters in Phi Omega Pi.[2] In the 1937 Pentagon, sixteen collegiate and 39 alumnae chapters and clubs were listed." However Baird's Manual (20th ed.) notes:

The chapters at Iowa State Teachers College, Newark State Normal and Montclair Teachers College were placed on the inactive list by order of the Panhellenic Congress when [in 1933] Phi Omega Pi joined it. In the period following, chapters were taken over by Alpha Omicron Pi, Alpha Gamma Delta, Sigma Kappa, and Kappa Alpha Theta. The group disbanded in 1946. Through an NPC committee, Delta Zeta was asked to consider the alumnae and a few chapters which remained. In 1946, the members of ΦΩΠ were accepted into Delta Zeta sorority.[6]

It appears, therefore, that the chapters which were dropped as part of negotiations to join the Panhellenic Congress had come from Sigma Phi Beta, and were not original Achoth or Phi Omega Pi chapters.

Symbols[edit]

As described by Miner, the crest of Phi Omega Pi "had a sapphire blue ground crossed by an inverted chevron of white upon which were placed five five-pointed stars. Below the chevron and to the left was placed the sword and veil and to the right the lily of the valley with five bells. Above the chevron was the Roman numeral X. Surmounting the shield was a crown below which was a rod. Beneath the shield is a white ribbon upon which are the Greek letters ΦΩΠ."

The original Achoth sorority pin, used prior to the name change to Phi Omega Pi.

Its colors were sapphire blue and white. Its official flower was the lily-of-the-valley.[6]

While the sorority was known as Achoth, its badge and its symbolism were described as follows: "...the pin bore the Hebrew characters Shin, Nun, Aleph, the initial letters of the organization's motto, but in 1920 the letters were changed to Greek, and in October of 1922, the name was changed to correspond with the letters on the pin. The chapters formerly were named in the order of the Hebrew alphabet, but with the change of name, they automatically took [names based on] the Greek alphabet."[7] This change occurred at the 1921 convention in Minneapolis. Thus the badge of Phi Omega Pi became "an irregular pentagon. The center was raised and in black enamel. The upper section was surmounted by a raised five-pointed star set with a blue sapphire [above the letters ΦΩΠ engraved in gold.] Around the edge of [the pentagon or] blade were set 20 whole pearls."[2]

The pledge pin was "a black enameled pentagon bearing the Greek letters ΦΩΠ in gold. The pentagon was banded in gold also."[2] f

Chapters[edit]

Following is a list of chapters of Phi Omega Pi.[1][7][8][9] Before 1923 these had Hebrew language chapter designations, so the Nebraska chapter would have been Aleph, the Iowa chapter Beth, etc. The chapter designations were recast into Greek form in 1922-23.[10][11][12][9]

Chapter Former name Charter date

and range

Institution Location Status References
Alpha Aleph March 5, 1910 – 1935 University of Nebraska Lincoln, Nebraska Inactive
Beta Beth June 24, 1910 – 1934 University of Iowa Iowa City, Iowa Inactive
Gamma Gimel April 28, 1911 – 1946 University of Illinois Urbana, Illinois Withdrew (ΣΚ) [a][b]
Delta Daleth March 13, 1912 – 1925 University of Kansas Lawrence, Kansas Inactive
Epsilon (First) Hay May 11, 1914 – 1917 University of Washington Seattle, Washington Withdrew (ΦΜ)
Reassigned 		[c]
Zeta Waw April 2, 1915 – 1943 North Dakota Agricultural College Fargo, North Dakota Inactive [d]
Eta Zayin April 9, 1915 – 1933 Iowa State Teachers College Cedar Falls, Iowa Withdrew (local) [e]
Theta Kheth April 10, 1915 – 1946 University of Wisconsin Madison, Wisconsin Withdrew (ΔΖ) [f]
Iota Teth 1917–1919 University of Colorado Boulder, Colorado Inactive
Kappa Yodh 1917 – 1942 University of Minnesota Minneapolis, Minnesota Inactive [g]
Lambda Kaph 1919–1946 University of California, Berkeley Berkeley, California Merged (ΔΖ) [h][i]
Mu 1920–1933, 1940–1945 Ohio State University Columbus, Ohio Inactive [j]
Nu 1921–1929 University of Oklahoma Norman, Oklahoma Inactive
Epsilon (Second) 1922–1943 Northwestern University Evanston, Illinois Withdrew (ΣΣΔ) [k][a]
Xi 1922–1946 Indiana University Bloomington, Indiana Merged (ΑΞΔ) [l]
Omicron 1923–1941 Kansas State College Manhattan, Kansas Inactive [m]
Pi 1924–1934 Iowa State College Ames, Iowa Inactive [n]
Rho 1924–1933 DePauw University Greencastle, Indiana Inactive [o]
Sigma 1925–1946 University of California, Los Angeles Los Angeles, California Merged (ΔΖ) [p][a][i]
Tau 1926–1937 University of Washington Seattle, Washington Inactive [q]
Upsilon 1928–1932 Oklahoma A&M University Stillwater, Oklahoma Inactive [r]
Phi 1929–1933 University of Arizona Tucson, Arizona Inactive [s]
Alpha Beta 1933–1935 Utah Agricultural College Logan, Utah Inactive [t]
New York Alpha 1933–1943 New York University New York City, New York Inactive [u]
New York Gamma 1933–1946 Hunter College New York City, New York Merged (ΔΖ) [v][w]
Omega 1933–1937 Wittenberg College Springfield, Ohio Inactive [u]
Alpha Alpha 1933–1939 Transylvania University Lexington, Kentucky Inactive [x]
Psi 1933–1946 Alabama Polytechnic Institute Auburn, Alabama Withdrew (ΑΟΠ) [y][z]
Alpha Zeta 1938–1941 Georgetown College Georgetown, Kentucky Inactive [aa]
  1. ^ a b c Absorbed a chapter of Sigma Phi Beta with the national merger of the two sororities.
  2. ^ Chapter withdrew and revived a chapter of Sigma Kappa.
  3. ^ Chapter withdrew to become the Eta Beta chapter of Phi Mu.
  4. ^ The 1915 Baird's shows Waw as U of Washington, later revised.
  5. ^ Chapter withdrew and became a local organization.
  6. ^ Chapter formed from the local group Eastern Star, established in 1915. Later, it withdrew and revived a chapter of Delta Zeta.
  7. ^ Chapter formed from Areme, established in 1915.
  8. ^ Chapter formed from the local group Eastern Star, established in 1918.
  9. ^ a b Chapter withdrew to merge with an existing Delta Zeta chapter.
  10. ^ Chapter formed from Achoth, established in 1920.
  11. ^ Chapter originated as a local called Aeukiga. It withdrew to become a chapter of Sigma Sigma Delta.
  12. ^ Chapter withdrew and became a chapter of Alpha Xi Delta.
  13. ^ Chapter formed from the local group Eastern Star, established in 1921.
  14. ^ Chapter formed from Omega Pi, established in 1922.
  15. ^ Chapter formed from Lambda Omicron Alpha, established in 1922.
  16. ^ Chapter formed from Lambda Tau, established in 1925.
  17. ^ Chapter formed from Epsilon Sigma, established in 1924.
  18. ^ Chapter formed from Omega Pi, established in 1925.
  19. ^ Chapter formed from the Masonic Club, established in 1923.
  20. ^ Chapter formed from a chapter of Sigma Phi Beta, established in 1930.
  21. ^ a b Chapter formed from a chapter of Sigma Phi Beta, established in 1920.
  22. ^ Chapter formed from a chapter of Sigma Phi Beta, established in 1921.
  23. ^ Chapter withdrew to form a chapter of Delta Zeta.
  24. ^ Chapter formed from a chapter of Sigma Phi Beta, established in 1929.
  25. ^ Chapter formed from a chapter of Sigma Phi Beta, established in 1923.
  26. ^ Chapter withdrew to form a chapter of Alpha Omicron Pi.
  27. ^ Chapter formed from Phi Zeta, established in 1934.

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c Lurding, Carroll and Becque, Fran. (May 2, 2023) "Phi Omega Pi". Almanac of Fraternities and Sororities. Urbana: University of Illinois. Accessed February 12, 2024.
  2. ^ a b c d Miner, Florence Hood (1983). Delta Zeta Sorority 1902-1982: Building on Yesterday, Reaching for Tomorrow. Delta Zeta Sorority, Compolith Graphics, and Maury Boyd and Associates, Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana. p. 146.
  3. ^ Phi Omega Pi history Accessed December 30, 2008
  4. ^ a b Miner, Florence Hood (1983). Delta Zeta Sorority 1902- 1982: Building on Yesterday, Reaching for Tomorrow. Delta Zeta Sorority, Compolith Graphics, and Maury Boyd and Associates, Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana. p. 148
  5. ^ The Spring 1995 edition of The Lamp of Delta Zeta, p.10, has an article about the sorority's several mergers. Accessed 25 Aug 2020.
  6. ^ a b Anson, Jack L.; Marchenasi, Robert F., eds. (1991) [1879]. Baird's Manual of American Fraternities (20th ed.). Indianapolis, IN: Baird's Manual Foundation, Inc. pp. VIII-33. ISBN 978-0963715906.
  7. ^ a b Baird's Manual of American College Fraternities. G. Banta Company. 1923. p. 450.
  8. ^ Baird's Manual of American College Fraternities. Alcolm Company. 1915. pp. 463–.
  9. ^ a b William Raimond Baird (1940). Manual of American College Fraternities. G. Banta Publishing Company. p. 71.
  10. ^ North Dakota Agricultural College The Weekly Spectrum April 17, 1918
  11. ^ Acacia Fraternity (1913). The Triad. Acacia Fraternity. pp. 1–.
  12. ^ Order of the Eastern Star. Grand chapter of Kansas (1920). Proceedings of the ... Annual Session. p. 3.
  • Kappa Sigma Fraternity. (1981). The Caduceus. Charlottesville, VA: Kappa Sigma Fraternity. googlebooks Retrieved December 30, 2008
  • Miner, Florence Hood (1983). Delta Zeta Sorority 1902- 1982: Building on Yesterday, Reaching for Tomorrow. Delta Zeta Sorority, Compolith Graphics, and Maury Boyd and Associates, Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana.

See also[edit]

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