Theta Nu Epsilon
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Founded at Wesleyan University 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. 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.
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[edit] Early History
Theta Nu Epsilon was founded on December 5, 1870 at Wesleyan by A.C. Truc, C.H. Furber, G.W. Shonk, R.E.H. McClay, Olin L. Livesey (ΨΥ), B.E. Gerst, C.A. Hart, L.H. Weeks, G.D.B. Toy, S.J. Kirby, Herbert H. Coston (ΑΔΦ), A.H. Hogland, G.W. Elliott, W.H. Lawrence, and G.H. Towlo. 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. In its early stages, TNE was exclusively a sophomore class society, and members were chosen near the end of their sophomore year. Once selected, the new members were active and responsible for operation of the chapter during their junior year. As seniors, they were considered honorary members and only had authority to lead active members in an advisory role. The society always excluded freshmen from membership of any type. From the beginning, the identities of the sophomore members were kept secret. In yearbooks, the names of the sophomores appeared in code. The society enjoyed immediate success at Wesleyan, and it grew rapidly and spread throughout the country. The Wesleyan Chapter acted as the national organization and continued to grant charters until 1907.
[edit] Internal Struggle
The society's national governance was disrupted over internal dissention, and by the mid 1890s, two major factions and several lesser ones had formed and were claiming to be the national organization of Theta Nu Epsilon. These factions were granting chapters frequently and holding conventions much like the Alpha Chapter at Wesleyan. Alpha Chapter realized the growth and size of the society was no longer manageable by a single mother chapter, so a convention was called in New York in 1907, and a more business-like national governing body was established and incorporated under the laws of the State of New York. The new national organization attempted to unify all chapters of the society, but the factions had flourished and grew in power and size for too long to submit to the control of another group. 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. Due to the growing independence of each chapter and the strained relationships with universities and other national fraternities, what was once one of the largest and most well-known Greek-letter organizations quickly deteriorated to merely a handful of chapters by WWII. 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] 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, who declared himself national president of TNE in 1989, before his death. It attempted to establish a couple chapters, including one at East Tennessee State University in 2002, which were not successful. Investigation by legitimate alumni of the society proved that Louderback possessed none of the secrets of the society, which likely contributed to the failure of his group.
[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 1918 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 - Dec. 19, 1895; Head of Western Division - Oct. 13, 1908
- 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) - 1905
