Zeta Psi

The Zeta Psi Fraternity of North America Inc. was founded in 1847 as a social college fraternity. The organization now comprises about fifty active chapters and twenty-five inactive chapters, encompassing roughly twenty thousand brothers, and is accredited by the North American Inter-Fraternity Conference. It has historically been selective about the campuses at which it establishes chapters, focusing on forging new territory and maintaining a presence at prestigious institutions: it was the first fraternity on the West Coast in 1870, the first fraternity in Canada in 1879, and the only fraternity to have chapters simultaneously at all eight Ivy League schools with the chartering of Eta at Yale University in 1889 (although the Brown University chapter has been inactive since 1988).

Regalia and symbols

The official color of the fraternity is white, while black and gold are frequently used as secondary colors.

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The fraternity flower is thus the white carnation.

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The pennant (flag) of the fraternity depicts the Greek letters zeta and psi, wrought in gold with a black outline, set on a white field.

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The escutcheon is composed of a shield divided quarterly—the upper left tierced pallwise, the upper right quarterly per satire, the lower left simple quarterly, the lower right unpartitioned. At its center appears a perfect circle of gold, bordered by a shield in outline. It is surrounded by a wreath of oak leaves and acorns with the badge of zeta psi at their center, and surmounted by a radiant star, below which appear the Greek letters tau, kappa, phi.

Related Topics:
Escutcheon - Oak

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The public motto is Τ Κ Φ (Tau Kappa Phi), whose significance is considered one of the fraternity's mysteries.

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The badge of Zeta Psi consists of “a gold pin formed of the Greek letters zeta and psi and there shall be engraved upon it the letters O and A.” The arms of the psi are also engraved, with a Roman fasces upon the left and a star upon the right. The badge is set with seven stones (usually pearl or jet) along each of the bars of the zeta, for a total of twenty-one.

Related Topics:
Fasces - Pearl - Jet

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