Beta Theta Pi
National Founding
At nine o'clock on the evening of the eighth day of the eighth month of the year 1839, eight earnest young men, all students at Miami University, held the first meeting of Beta Theta Pi in the Hall of the Union Literary Society, an upper room in the old college building known as "Old Main".
The Founder's Paragraph (above) is a summary of the first regular meeting of Beta Theta Pi. To better understand this beginning some background of life in 1839 is necessary.
In 1839, when Beta Theta Pi was founded at Miami University, Oxford, Ohio, the college fraternity world consisted of only 19 chapters of five secret Greek-letter fraternities, located on 10 college campuses in five states. In addition, the Mystic Seven Society had been organized in 1837 at Wesleyan University, Middletown, Conn., and Delta Upsilon had been founded at Williams College, Williamstown, Mass., as a protest against secret societies.
College life at Miami University in 1839 was very different from today. There were only 135 students, all male, and six professors. Tuition would be quite apealing to us at only $24 per year. The academic year lasted from early October until early August with breaks for Christmas and Easter. There were only three main buildings, Elliott and Stoddard halls serving as dormitories and one main academic building known as Old Main.
For some of the students something was missing. During the winter and spring of 1839 our Founders began planning something different. It was in this time that Knox and Marshall, rooming in the west wing of Old Main with Harding and Smith, jointly conceived and worked together to create Beta Theta Pi. On August 8th eight young men crept up to the third floor of Old Main and entered the Hall of the Union Literary Society of which Knox was the president. Five of them were only 19 and four of them just barely so. Knox, Linton, and Ryan were about to graduate so Duncan was elected the first president and Smith as Secretary.
When the five remaining Founders returned to Miami in October they began to recruit new brothers. At their first meeting they elected Smith's cousin, Henry Hunter Johnson, and in February added John Whitney, Alexander Paddack, and A. W. Hamilton, two of whom would soon play important roles in founding the Cincinnati Chapter. And so the Founding of Beta Theta Pi was complete.
Zeta Nu Chapter
Times change, principles don't. That's why in 1995, nine students set out to join a fraternity steeped in tradition and exemplary values. With much hard work, dedication, and sacrifice, those nine men colonized the Zeta Nu chapter of Beta Theta Pi. Two years later, just steps away from the campus of George Washington University, the Zeta Nu chapter was officially granted their charter at the annual general convention.
Since its beginnings, Zeta Nu has always pushed forward in the ideals and principles of Beta Theta Pi. Over the years, Zeta Nu has grown in members and strength. In 1999, recognition was given to the chapter’s hard work in the form of the national Risk Management Award. In 2003, the chapter received its first Sisson Award, accompanied by being named Most Improved Chapter by the general fraternity. And in 2004, the brothers of Zeta Nu moved into their first official home at 603 22nd Street, just five blocks west of the White House.
Zeta Nu continues to grow in leaps and bounds - Zeta Nu currently boasts two consecutive Francis H. Sisson Awards. Forging ahead on the dreams and visions of those original nine men, Zeta Nu has emerged as one of the best Greek organizations on campus, and will continue to develop a “storied tradition” steeped in the principles of Beta Theta Pi.
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