Gamma Phi Beta is an international college sorority. It was founded in Syracuse University in 1874 and was the first of the Greek organizations to call itself a sorority. The term "sorority" was coined for Gamma Phi Beta by Dr. Frank Smalley, a professor at Syracuse University.
The four founders of Gamma Phi Beta
Fraternities and sororities
Fraternities and sororities, collectively referred to as Greek Life, are social organizations at North American colleges and universities. Generally, membership in a fraternity or sorority is obtained as an undergraduate student but continues thereafter for life. Some accept graduate students as well. Individual fraternities and sororities vary in organization and purpose, but most share five common elements:Secrecy
Single-sex membership
Selection of new members based on a two-part vetting and probationary process known as rushing and pledging
Ownership and occupancy of a residential property where undergraduate members live
A set of complex identification symbols that may include Greek letters, armorial achievements, ciphers, badges, grips, hand signs, passwords, flowers, and colors
The fraternity system in North America began at the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia, where Phi Beta Kappa was founded in 1776.
The Kappa Kappa Gamma house at the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign
Wesleyan College in Macon, Georgia, pictured c. 1877, was the birthplace of Alpha Delta Pi and Phi Mu sororities
Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity members assist the Georgia Air National Guard during a George Floyd protest in Atlanta in June 2020