|Reference=<ref>{{cite book | title = Zeta Psi Fraternity of North America Pledge Manual | publisher = [[Zeta Psi]] | year = 2006 | location = Pearl River, NY, USA | page = 22}}</ref>}}
|Reference=<ref>{{cite book | title = Zeta Psi Fraternity of North America Pledge Manual | publisher = [[Zeta Psi]] | year = 2006 | location = Pearl River, NY, USA | page = 22}}</ref>}}
{{FratChapter
|Chapter Name=Omega Alpha
|Chapter Name=Omega Alpha
|Founded=1864
|Founded=1864
Revision as of 20:27, 6 June 2013
Each chapter in Zeta Psi has a unique name composed of one or two Greek letters. A colony petitioning Zeta Psi to become a chapter chooses a name for their chapter upon receiving their charter. From this point on, the name is fixed. Even if the chapter goes inactive—in that it has no undergraduate members—the name will be taken up by any group that re-establishes a chapter at the university campus.
The name can be based on many different factors. For instance, it is common for new chapters to take on an element from an existent chapter that has helped them form. Theta Xi in Toronto adopted the Xi from their neighbor chapter in Michigan, and in turn every chapter in Ontario has a "Theta" as part of their name from their relationship to the Toronto chapter. Other times, a name is related to other factors like the Roman Catholic Villanova University chapter being named Alpha Omega due to the Christian significance.
A one or two letter name can only be re-used if the chapter possessing the name is pronounced "deceased." This has not happened since 1892.
^Pledge Manual of the Zeta Psi Fraternity of North America. Pearl River, NY, USA: Zeta Psi. August 2000. p. 28.
^Zeta Psi Fraternity of North America Pledge Manual. Pearl River, NY, USA: Zeta Psi. 2006. p. 22.
^Pledge Manual of the Zeta Psi Fraternity of North America. Pearl River, NY, USA: Zeta Psi. August 2000. p. 27.
^Biographical Catalogue of the Xi Chapter of the Zeta Psi Fraternity. New York, NY, USA: Zeta Psi. June 1897. p. 7.
^ abcdePledge Manual of the Zeta Psi Fraternity of North America. Pearl River, NY, USA: Zeta Psi. August 2000. p. 32.
^Pledge Manual of the Zeta Psi Fraternity of North America. Pearl River, NY, USA: Zeta Psi. August 2000. p. 33.
^Zeta Psi Fraternity of North America: Double Diamond Jubilee. Paducah, KY, USA: Turner Publishing Company. 1997. p. 15.
^ abcSemicentennial Biographical Catalogue of the Zeta Psi Fraternity of North America. New York, NY, USA: Zeta Psi. December 1899. p. 161. Cite error: The named reference "SEMCENBICAT" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).