Theta Nu Epsilon

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Founded at Wesleyan University in December of 1870 as a branch of Skull and Bones, ΘΝΕ (Theta Nu Epsilon), also known widely as TNE, (or, at the University of Alabama, The Machine), Theta Nu Epsilon is primarily a sophomore class society that accepts members of other fraternities. Two years after the founding of the Wesleyan chapter of Skull & Bones, the chapter cut its ties to Yale and changed the bones of the Skull & Bones emblem to keys. The society has maintained a reputation of secrecy largely based on the lack of verifiable records. The colors of the fraternity are black and green. From the beginning, the identities of the sophomore members were kept secret. In yearbooks, the names of the sophomores appeared in code. Upper-classmen are considered honorary members of the society. The society's national governance was disrupted over internal dissention in the mid 1880s, leading to two major factions and several lesser ones. Illicit chapters began to be created very frequently, and often were organized for the sole purpose of controlling the outcome of campus elections, or were used as front organizations for the fraternities themselves. The illicit chapters became very problematic for the society. Several of its chapters were banned from campuses, and many fraternities prohibited members from accepting membership in the society. In the 1910s, many of the older legitimate chapters reorganized themselves as independent organizations which were loosely allied across campuses. An attempt was made to convert about a quarter of the then existing chapters into a four-year college fraternity in the 1930s. Several of the older chapters that separated in the 1910s have survived as intact entities on their respective campuses, (Wesleyan, Berkeley, Alabama, etc.). Such chapters began initiating women as members in the 1970's.

[edit] Official Chapters

Because of early splits in the national organization, several unofficial national coalitions and rogue groups granted their own charters. As a result, many conflicts exist surrounding the actual founding dates and chapter designations, even at the institutions that had officially recognized groups. The following list of chapters is based not on Internet sources, but instead it has been compiled using several yearbooks, photographs, and other items published between 1890 and 1910 by chapters widely recognized as official.

Alpha - Wesleyan University - 1870
Beta - Syracuse University - 1874
Gamma - Union College - 1876
Delta - Cornell University - 1877
Epsilon - University of Rochester - 1877
Zeta - University of California - 1879
Eta - Colgate University - 1880
Theta - Kenyon College - 1882
Iota - Case Western Reserve University - 1882
Kappa - Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute - 1882
Lambda - Stevens Institute of Technology - 1882
Mu - Lafayette College - 1882
Nu - Amherst College - 1883
Xi - Allegheny College - 1884
Omicron - Pennsylvania State University - 1885
Pi - University of Pennsylvania - 1887
Rho - New York University - 1888
Tau - Wooster College - 1891
Upsilon - University of Michigan - 1892
Phi - Rutgers College - 1892
Chi - Dartmouth College - 1893
Psi - Ohio State University - 1893
Omega - Swarthmore College - 1894
Alpha Alpha - Bowdoin College - 1894
Alpha Beta - University of Kansas - 1894
Alpha Gamma - University of Virginia - 1894
Alpha Delta - Washington & Jefferson College - 1893
Alpha Epsilon - University of Minnesota - 1894
Alpha Zeta - University of Chicago - 1894
Alpha Eta - University of Nebraska - 1894
Alpha Theta - University of Missouri - 1895
Alpha Iota - Harvard University - 1896
Alpha Kappa - University of Iowa - 1896
Alpha Lambda - Yale University - 1896
Alpha Mu - Stanford University - 1897
Alpha Nu - University of Texas - 1898
Alpha Xi - Tulane University - 1898
Alpha Omicron - Vanderbilt University - 1898
Alpha Pi - Columbia University - 1898
Alpha Chi - University of Illinois - 1898
Alpha Tau - University of Indiana - 1898
Alpha Upsilon - Purdue University - 1899
Alpha Phi - Northwestern University - 1900
Alpha Rho - University of Alabama (The Machine)

[edit] The Louderback Theta Nu Epsilon Society of 1870

There was an independent organization centered at the Universities of Kansas and Nebraska which was led by John L. Louderback before his death. It attempted to establish a chapter at East Tennessee State University in 2002, which was not successful.