The 1,000th @GLOHistory Post, Thanks to You!

Before intercollegiate athletics became a mainstay of collegiate life and before the introduction of the things we take for granted (indoor plumbing, electricity, automobiles, and telephones, etc.), there were literary societies. Monmouth College, where Pi Beta Phi and Kappa Kappa Gamma were founded, had four literary societies, two for men, the Philadelphian and the Eccritean, and two for women. The Philomatheon Society was founded in 1857 and soon changed its name to the Amateur des Belles Lettres, and five years later, the Aletheorian was founded. The literary societies provided an avenue for competition in debate and oratory. They were independent organizations on their respective campuses. They were not affiliated with one another, although they might have had the same or a similar sounding name. They often had rooms in an academic building. What was missing in the literary societies was a sisterhood, something a little deeper and richer, than the literary societies provided.

Although I have made many visits to Knox College (five years of football Saturday’s worth), it wasn’t until recently that I saw the literary society names above the doors on Alumni Hall.

What changes have you seen in the area of GLO history?

In the dark ages before the world wide web, information was hard to find. There were books. They were found in libraries and in bookstores. Sometimes it was possible to buy a copy of a fraternity history or borrow one on interlibrary loan. I remember requesting the heavy, bound editions of Banta’s Greek Exchange through interlibrary loan, lugging them home, and poring through them, making copies and notes about interesting articles and information. 

The internet has opened wide the opportunity to share fraternity history. Fraternity history books and past issues of GLO magazines have been digitized and are sometimes available on the organization’s website. Recent GLO magazine issues are routinely on-line and accessible.  Information is so much easier to find. And it’s possible to find others with the same interests. I feel blessed to have friends within the community who will answer my questions, direct interesting information to me, and put up with my incessant historical blathering when we meet in person.

I firmly believe that it is imperative for GLO members to know the history of their organization. Too often, it is glossed over for other types of programming, or it is used in a punitive way (learn these names or you won’t be initiated). Realizing that you are part of something so much greater than yourself, with a host of people who have come before you, who led lives much different from your own, and, yet, at the same time, that your efforts and actions are integral to the future of the organization, is something that I wish every newly initiated member could comprehend with full import.

Do you think we’ll ever see a significant expansion of GLOs outside of North America?

Expansion outside of North America has occurred, but I would not bet the farm on it being a significant expansion. I don’t think the time and place are ripe for it to happen as it did in the U.S. in the mid to late 1800s and early 1900s when the stage was set for the growth of the early 1900s. By then there were GLO systems at many institutions (in part because the organizations helped fill a need for housing) and the groups became an accepted part of campus life. The expansion to Canada came slowly but I think the Canadian institutions and chapters have more similarities to their American counterparts than they do to their European ones.