Beta Psi () was a small American men's collegiate fraternity. It was founded in 1924 at the University of Illinois. Eventually chartering five chapters, it survived for about ten years until succumbing to the pressures of the Great Depression.
History
Beta Psi's origin dates back to February 1920 when six male students formed a social fraternity in a junior college in Chicago, Illinois.Unnamed in Baird's, could this have been the Armour Institute? Baird's Manual notes that, "with the move to the University of Illinois, the Junior college group was dropped." Was this same group quickly reorganized as the Beta chapter? When the members of this fraternity transferred to four-year colleges, they formed Mu Omega Beta at the University of Illinois and the Sodales Club at Armour Institute in 1922. In 1923 and 1924, respectively, these local fraternities received institutional permission to proceed with the formation of a national college fraternity. Beta Psi was formed on July 19, 1924.
Beta Psi dropped the junior college group. On August 29, 1924, the state of Illinois chartered the Beta Psi fraternity. The fraternity became national with the addition of the Delta Alpha chapter at Cornell University in 1925.
Beta Psi had chartered five chapters by 1928. All five chapters had houses, with the Alpha chapter owning its house that was valued at $75,000 ($ in 2024 money) in 1930. By 1930, it had initiated 273 members and had an alumni association in Chicago. Membership was at 400 in 1934.
Too small and too young to survive the financial downturn of the Great Depression, it disbanded abruptly in 1934, with members and chapters dispersing that year. Its dissolution seems to have been rancorous. Twelve men from the Alpha chapter at Illinois sought a merger or absorption by the neighboring Alpha Sigma Phi chapter, whose building was under-occupied at the time.Alpha Sigma Phi's website discusses this at length within the scope of the history of their Eta chapter, accessed 21 Jan 2020. The local Interfraternity Conference, Beta Psi's headquarters, and the NIC sought to suppress this merger.Any "HQ" at this time would have been recently formed, and likely dominated by Alpha chapter alumni. The dispute forced Alpha Sigma Phi to leave the NIC for three years in 1935/36, rejoining in 1938. Some of the Alpha chapter men joined Pi Kappa Phi instead.
Beta chapter joined Pi Kappa Phi. The three other chapters scattered, with some individual members released de facto to join other groups, notably at Cornell University and at Middlebury College. None of Beta Psi's chapters survived beyond 1935.
Symbols Beta Psi's badge was an equilateral triangle of enameled black, surrounded by a gold border, with a point toward the bottom. This was superimposed by the Greek letters . The was somewhat encompassing, encompassing most of the triangle and rendered in polished gold. The was superimposed on this, set with twelve pearls. The pledge pin was a gilded shield in which is set a black equilateral triangle.
There is a crest shown in the 1927 Cornellian yearbook, which was used several times and appears to be original to the fraternity. The fraternity's colors were black and gold.Kaleidoscope (yearbook). Middlebury, Vermont: Middlebury College, 1934. pp. 132-133. via The Internet Archive. This was the last entry for Beta Psi in Middlebury yearbooks. The 1935 edition shows one man joined Beta Kappa. Its magazine was The Lamp of Beta Psi, issued quarterly starting in 1923.
Governance Overall governance was by a Grand Council, an in-person meeting held bi-annually, composed of the council of administrators and two delegates from each chapter. In between Grand Councils, the council of administrators was composed of the president, secretary, treasurer, and four additional men, who together formed the governing body of the fraternity.
Chapters Following is a list of Beta Psi chapters.
ChapterCharter date and rangeInstitutionLocationStatusAlpha – 1934University of IllinoisChampaign, IllinoisInactiveThe Illio yearbook (1927), p. 447. via HathiTrust, accessed 21 Jan 2020. Includes a profile of its Beta Sigma chapter. Its last yearbook presence was in the 1934 edition.Beta1924 – May 5, 1935Armour Institute of TechnologyChicago, IllinoisWithdrew (ΠΚΦ)The Armour Engineer (via Internet Archive) regularly referenced the Beta chapter of the fraternity.Delta Alpha1925–1935Cornell UniversityIthaca, New YorkInactiveCornellian (yearbook). Ithaca: Cornell University, 1927. pp. 318-319. via HathiTrust, accessed 21 Jan 2020. The 1935 Cornellian yearbook was Beta Psi's last entry. In the 1936 edition, at least three members are shown as members of the new Beta Kappa chapter at Cornell, which started in 1934, but that group didn't survive beyond 1936, with its members opting later to merge into ΑΤΩ, and calling the two years with Beta Kappa a "failed absorption". Note that yearbook information typically trailed one year due to publication cycles.Delta Beta1927–1934Middlebury CollegeMiddlebury, VermontInactiveGamma1928–1932Lake Forest CollegeLake Forest, IllinoisInactiveThe Forester (yearbook). Lake Forest, Illinois: Lake Forest College,1932. p. 180. via The Internet Archive. This is the last yearbook entry for Beta Psi at Lake Forest College. No members show up in subsequent yearbooks.
See also
List of social fraternities
References