Kappa Kappa Kappa

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This article is about the real-life fraternity. For the fictional sorority, see MADtv recurring characters.
Tri-Kap, view from front lawn looking west.
Tri-Kap, view from front lawn looking west.

Kappa Kappa Kappa (Tri-Kap) is a local men's fraternity at Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire. The fraternity founded in 1842 is the second-oldest fraternity at Dartmouth College and the second-oldest local fraternity in the nation. Its house is at 1 Webster Avenue.

Despite offers to establish additional branches at other institutions, the brotherhood has remained a single-school institution for the duration of its history and is not a chapter of any national organization. Today it is one of the many recognized Dartmouth College Greek organizations.

The organization has no affiliation with the post-American Civil War Ku Klux Klan, which first formed 24 years later (in 1866) and adopted Roman-alphabet initials, “KKK”, similar to the Greek letters of Tri-Kap. According to legend, Kappa Kappa Kappa sued the Ku Klux Klan for defamation of name but lost because the judge ruled that the similarity in initials of the organizations was sheer coincidence[citation needed]. Image:headertrikap.gif

Contents

[edit] History

[edit] Early history

Dartmouth College was founded by Eleazar Wheelock in 1769. Fourteen years later the first student society came into existence, and student societies and the College have been intertwined ever since.

For much of the late 18th and early 19th centuries, two societies vied for preeminence: the "Socials" (officially the Society of Social Friends, est. 1783) and the "Fraters" (the United Fraternity, est. 1786). By 1815, half of the College were members, and a fierce competition existed between the two in order to attract the finest students.

In 1842, a dispute arose within the Fraters as to a vote for the organization's leadership. The fracture resulted in the formation of Psi Upsilon, by those who supported John Tyler in the contest, and Kappa Kappa Kappa, by those who supported Harrison Hobart.

[edit] The Society

Tri-Kap was founded on July 13, 1842, by Hobart and two of his close companions, Stephen Gordon Nash and John Dudley Philbrick. The society was based on the principles of Democracy, loyalty to Dartmouth, and equality of opportunity. Originally a literary and debating society, in 1905 Tri-Kap officially became a social society and has remained so ever since.

[edit] Physical Plants

Tri-Kap was the first student society at Dartmouth with its own meeting place, a building called The Hall that originally was located where the Hopkins Center stands today. Opened on July 28, 1860, the Hall served as Tri-Kap's home until the Society moved into the Parker House in 1894, located where the modern-day Silsby Hall stands. In 1923, the Society moved into 1 Webster Avenue, where it resides to this day.

[edit] Modern History

Since 1905, Tri-Kap has remained a popular society on the Dartmouth campus. During the mid-1990s, however, membership fell dramatically to only 11 active members and the house was in danger of losing its charter. In the fall of 1995, approximately 15 Asian-American students rushed the fraternity and restored its popularity by providing an alternative to the dominant mainstream fraternity culture. The rejuvenated brotherhood maintained the house traditions while infusing a forward-looking emphasis on urbanity, internationalism, and diversity. Currently, Tri-Kap is one of Dartmouth's largest and most active fraternities with over 60 brothers.

[edit] Famous alumni

[edit] External links

[edit] Society Websites

[edit] General information