 History of Alpha Phi
On October 10, 1872, ten women at Syracuse University founded the Alpha Phi Fraternity. Clara Bradley Wheeler Baker Burdette, Hattie Florence Chidester Lukens, Martha Emily Foote Crow, Ida Arabella Gilbert DeLamanter Houghton, Jane Sara Higham, Kate Elizabeth Hogoboom Gilbert, Elizabeth Grace Hubbell Shults, Rena A. Michaels Atchison, Louise Viola Shepard Hancock, and Clara Sittser Williams were ten of the first twenty women admitted to Syracuse. They saw a need for a social center for women, a tie of sisterhood that would unite a circle of friends, and thus they created Alpha Phi. Since the founding, Alpha Phi has flourished and grown to include over 150 chapters throughout the United States and Canada and remains the strong sisterhood that our founders intended it to be.
Zeta Phi Chapter at MIT
The process of forming the Zeta Phi Chapter of Alpha Phi began in 1981 when a small group of women from McCormick Hall, a women's dormitory on campus, presented the idea of forming a sorority to the MIT administration. Club Amherst was formed shortly afterward, and on February 11, 1984 the Zeta Phi chapter of the Alpha Phi International Fraternity was chartered, marking the creation of the first Panhellenic sorority at MIT. Sixty-four women were initiated that day, making them the first new member class of the Zeta Phi Chapter.
Traditions
Alpha Phi Badge The official badge of Alpha Phi is an unjeweled monogram of gold showing the symbol of Alpha superimposed upon the symbol of Phi. Inscribed in black on the symbol Phi are the letters a, o, e. The meaning of these letters is reserved for the initiation ceremony. |  New Member Badge
In 1898 the Fraternity adopted a special badge to honor her newest members. The badge they selected is in the shape of an ivy leaf, set in silver pewter. An ever-growing vine, the ivy symbolizes the growth of the Alpha Phi sisterhood.
|  Fraternity Crest
The Fraternity Crest is the Alpha Phi coat-of-arms, adopted by Convention delegates in 1922. The shield is Bordeaux with a scroll and ivy leaf above it. Inscribed on the scroll is the public motto, Union hand in hand. A bar of silver crosses the shield from left to right; the upper half of the shield contains a Roman lamp in silver and the lower half, Ursa Major. The meaning of the symbols depicted on the crest is a significant part of the ritual witnessed at initiation.
|  Fraternity Colors
Alpha Phi’s original colors were blue and gold. In 1879, noting that a fraternity had colors too similar to hers, Alpha Phi adopted the more distinctive colors of silver and Bordeaux.
| |  Fraternity Flowers
The flowers of Alpha Phi are the fragrant lily of the valley and the blue and gold forget-me-not. |  Fraternity symbol
The symbol of Alpha Phi is the ivy leaf with the new member badge taking its form.
|  Fraternity constellation
The Fraternity constellation is Ursa Major, the Great Bear. This symbol can be seen on the Alpha Phi crest | Alpha Phi Bear
The mascot of Alpha Phi, the “Phi Bear,” is named after Ursa Major, the Great Bear, and was adopted in 1974. |
|
