When I was at the Fraternity and Sorority Archives conference last month, a few of us had a discussion about the “official organs” of our organizations. The first issues of many of the fraternity and sorority magazines state “official organ of” in a prominent position. Was it due to mailing regulations or was it just accepted practice back then, from the late 1800s until the early 1900s?
And why the word “organ”? Some felt it was an odd word, even if it was a correct usage. According to the Merriam Webster Learner’s Dictionary, an organ is a “newspaper, magazine, etc., that is published by a particular group and that gives the news and opinions of that group.”
A Kappa Kappa Gamma friend sent me this message which I think explains the use of the word, “When I studied journalism in college, ‘organs’ were clearly distinguished from other publications because they were naturally biased in favor of the publisher. The term ‘organ’ was used for a distinct category of publication.”
The first fraternity magazine made its debut on December 15, 1872. It was published by Beta Theta Pi. The Scroll of Phi Delta Theta has been published continuously since 1875, making it the second oldest fraternity magazine.
In the Alpha Sigma Phi listing in the 20th edition of Baird’s Manual of American College Fraternities (1991), it is noted “The Tomahawk is the Fraternity’s quarterly national magazine and it is the oldest fraternity publication still in existence today since its founding in 1847.” The publication which debuted in 1845 was The Yale Tomahawk, the forerunner of Alpha Sigma Phi’s fraternity magazine. Alpha Sigma Phi was founded in 1845 at Yale. The Tomahawk was the chapter newsletter, published in part, to fuel a rivalry with Kappa Sigma Theta’s The Yale Banger. In 1852, The Tomahawk editors were expelled after violating faculty orders to cease publication. Volume 6 of The Tomahawk was published in 1909-10 and publication began anew.
The Key of Kappa Kappa Gamma was the first women’s fraternity magazine published. Its existence was authorized by Kappa’s 1881 convention. The first issue appeared in May 1882 and was titled The Golden Key. The Arrow of Pi Beta Phi and Kappa Alpha Theta both debuted in 1885. Perhaps the creation of these two magazines came in response to the publication produced by the Kappa Kappa Gamma chapter. The Pi Beta Phi and the Kappa Alpha Theta women on the University of Kansas campus likely heard of or saw The Golden Key. The magazines of the other NPC organization quickly came into existence. In fact, Delta Gamma’s magazine, The Anchora, was the second NPC magazine to be published but it wasn’t created at the University of Kansas.
The Arrow of Pi Beta Phi began publishing in 1885. The first issue states “the official organ of Pi Beta Phi.” Pi Beta Phi was the motto of I.C. Sorosis, a women’s fraternity founded at Monmouth College in 1867. Some chapters began using the Greek letters prior to the official change of name which took place at the 1888 convention. The chapter at Kansas University, the first women’s fraternity on that campus, published the first issue of the Arrow and it was also one of the first chapters to use the Greek letters of the motto. By 1888, when the chapter at the University of Iowa took over the responsibility of publishing the magazine, the words “organ of” were gone. In the 1910s, the words “a publication of” were included on the masthead.
© Fran Becque, www.fraternityhistory.com, 2014. All rights reserved. If you enjoyed this post, please sign up for updates. Also follow me on twitter @GLOHistory and Pinterest www.pinterest.com/glohistory/
