
The social fraternity Chi Phi, officially formed in 1854, traces its roots to a short-lived organization founded at Princeton in 1824 bearing the same name. The further birthing of Psi Upsilon (1833), Chi Psi (1841) and Theta Delta Chi (1847) collectively established Union College as the Mother of Fraternities. In 1827, Sigma Phi and Delta Phi were also founded at the same institution, creating the Union Triad. In 1825, Kappa Alpha Society, the first fraternity to retain its social characteristic, was established at Union College. By the early 19th century, the organization transformed itself into a scholastic honor society and abandoned secrecy. In 1779 Phi Beta Kappa expanded to include chapters at Harvard and Yale. The founding of Phi Beta Kappa followed the earlier establishment of two other secret student societies that had existed at that campus as early as 1750. The first fraternity in North America to incorporate most of the elements of modern fraternities was Phi Beta Kappa, founded at the College of William and Mary in 1775. The fraternity system in North America began at the College of William and Mary in 1755. Many colleges and universities have sought to reform or eliminate Greek life due to these concerns, but these efforts have typically been met with intense controversy. Fraternities specifically have been further criticized for encouraging misogynistic behavior and perpetrating sexual violence.

Generally, membership in a fraternity or sorority is obtained as an undergraduate student but continues thereafter for life. Traditional fraternities of the type described in this article are often called "social fraternities".
Sonority definition professional#
Two additional types of fraternities, professional fraternities and honor societies, incorporate some limited elements of traditional fraternity organization, but are generally considered a different type of association. In modern North American usage, "Greek letter organization" is often synonymous with the terms "fraternity" and "sorority". Similar, but much less common, organizations also exist for secondary school students, as do fraternal orders for other adults. Similar organizations exist in other countries, including the Studentenverbindungen of former and current German-speaking countries, braterstwa in Poland, and the goliardie in Italy.

A form of the social fraternity, they are prominent in Canada, US, Europe and the Philippines.

For other uses, see Fraternity (disambiguation).įraternities and sororities, also referred to as Greek-letter organizations ( GLOs) or, collectively, as " Greek life" in North America and the Philippines, are social organizations at colleges and universities. For other types, see Professional fraternities and sororities and Honor society. This article is about the student social organizations.
