Zeta Beta Tau (ΖΒΤ) is a Greek-letter social fraternity based in North America. It was founded on December 29, 1898. Originally a Zionist youth society, its purpose changed from the Zionism of the fraternity's early years when, in 1954, the fraternity became non-sectarian and open to non-Jewish members, changing its membership policy to include "All Men of Good Character" regardless of religious or ethnic background, while still being recognized as the first Jewish Fraternity.
Zeta Beta Tau
Chapter house of Zeta Beta Tau's Zeta Alpha Chapter at Florida State University in Tallahassee, Florida.
Fraternities and sororities
In North America, fraternities and sororities are social organizations at colleges and universities. They are sometimes collectively referred to as Greek life. 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