The Theta Nu Epsilon Society.
The Chapters at the University of Nebraska.
There were two chapters at the University of Nebraska.
The Alpha Eta Chapter at the University of Nebraska was founded in 1895 as a legitimate chapter of the society. It may have been chartered by the Alpha-Beta national, but it was legitimized in 1895 by action of the Alpha Chapter. It is also reported as having been named the Alpha Lambdsa or Lambda Lambda Chapter. The Alpha Eta Chapter did not participate in the creation of the 1907 United National. The Alpha Eta Chapter was a strong chapter at Nebraska in the early years of the 20th century, but it was not a regular participant in national society affairs. However, it did remain a part of the successive nationals until 1920.
This is the history of an illegitimate chapter.
A second chapter was created at the University of Nebraska in the late 1920’s, the new organization was apparently a Society of 1870 type chapter. This chapter has not been successful, but has proved an embarassment to the University of Nebraska and to Theta Nu Epsilon.
Naturally, we do not have exact data about this organization, but we do assume that the career of their chapter parallels those at Kansas and Kansas State, and we recommend reading the histories of those chapters to fill out the picture at Nebrasksa.
In 1961, Herbert Wunderlich, Dean of Students at Kansas State wrote up his notes on his region’s illegitimate chapters. He noted, “Sex rings are known to have developed as accompanying T.N.E. initiations with the counterpart organizations named red dot or Chis.” Chester Peters, Kansas State Dean in 1965, noted that “at the University of Nebraska two years ago there were,..., 26 members of the Red Dot association in five sororities and one independent.” We have been informed directly by an alumnus of this era that red dot referred to the consition of bed sheets.—Cornhuskers, indeed.
Wunderlich’s report also cataloged the usual list of complaints; drinking, dissapate habits, to which he added new complaints such as physical and moral decay. (The Fifties and Sixties were an era of great personal hygene;—that is, until society itself collapsed by the Seventies.) Despite his efforts, nothing concrete was achieved.
Today, the chapter at Nebraska frequently makes headlines. Every year the members issue an printed attack on their fellow students in a handout. A handout that is usually filled with jokes in very poor taste and other juvenile trash. The following is from The Daily Nebraskan, the campus paper :
A newsletter published Monday by a secret society at UNL includes lists of alleged promiscuous women, gay men and alcoholic greeks on campus. The newsletter, printed by the campus chapter of Theta Nu Epsilon, includes several other sexist, racist and homophobic statements.
Such offensive newsletters are nothing new at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. They’ve been published for years by this secret society and others, generating controversy after controversy.
A copy of the most recent newsletter was anonymously dropped off at the Daily Nebraskan on Monday.
Responding to the newsletter, some UNL officials and student leaders suggested the material should be ignored, arguing that the group thrives on media coverage. Others called for a crackdown on the newsletter.
All said they were appalled by the content of the newsletter, but none had concrete plans for stopping its continued publication.
“There’s so much hurtful information in that newsletter,” said Linda Schwartzkopf, the director of Greek Affairs, adding that the students who publish the newsletter are an embarrassment to the greek system.
“What they state they want to accomplish and what they are doing are so far away from what they say their mission is,” she said. “They are cowards who hide behind anonymity.”
All we can say about this is that we apologize to the University of Nebraska community for these people. They are not a chapter of our society, but even so, we are sorry that people using our great name are diminishing the reputation of your University.
One commentator DID get the story just about exactly right.
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| Cartoon by Neal Obermeyer after the 2007 episode. |
The National Organization of the Alpha Chapter of Theta Nu Epsilon 1999 - 2009 © All rights reserved.