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elected to membership, and the name "Phi Nu Theta" was disavowed as too much like a Greek-letter fraternity. The alumni closed the Alpha Dining Club, the permanent staff (housekeeper and chef) was dismissed, and the house was sold to the university. For some, the new organization was entirely different, and any connection to the older organization was utterly severed; to others, the new organization continued the principles and community position of the old. In recent years, the students living in
Eclectic attempted to rebuild connections to the older alumni with events during Homecoming and Family Weekend and Commencement & Reunion Weekend.
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275:, making it one of the oldest fraternities in the United States. In 1970 the alumni and active members split. The building was sold to the university and the Eclectic organization continued in the form of a co-ed cooperative living space, sharing the building with Wesleyan's dance organization, Movement House. The succeeding
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Because of the prestige of the older organization, the prominent position played by the succeeding organization in student life, and other factors, the
Wesleyan University administration has never pushed the issue of whether the old Eclectic and the new Eclectic were two organizations or one, and for
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to elect and initiate themselves. (Chandler
Robbins was also elected that night but was initiated a week later.) The early Wesleyan societies adopted English, rather than Greek names. Eclectic quickly adopted a motto, the Greek initials of which are Phi Nu Theta, and the society operated under both
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After a wrenching crisis at the annual meeting of alumni in 1970, the alumni severed ties with the undergraduate institution and dissolved the
Socratic Literary Society alumni organization. At the same time, the undergraduates abandoned both the initiation ceremony and the constitution, women were
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The society has always claimed an 1837 foundation for itself, for reasons understood by the members, although no advocate of the society has refuted the accepted date of the founding meeting, which is held to have taken place in late 1838. Eclectic was
Wesleyan's second fraternity, after the
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reported in an address to the society that after a detailed analysis of the academic standing of each college fraternity chapter at every major university in
America back to the 1820s, Phi Nu Theta then had the highest academic ranking of any chapter of any fraternity in the country.
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campus are named after prominent
Eclectic members, such as Crowell Concert Hall, Olin Memorial Library (Stephen Henry Olin, '65 and his father), Hall and Atwater Labs, the Zilkha Gallery (Ezra Khedouri Zilka, '46 and his wife), and the Van Vleck Observatory, (Astronomy Professor
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The first permanent home for the society was constructed in 1882 on a site behind the
Allbriton Center where Cross Street runs. It had no residential accommodations for undergraduates, and was used for meetings, dining facilities, and society offices. The society in 1906 hired
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A history of the society was published in 2007 by the
Wesleyan University Press, called A History of The Eclectic Society of Phi Nu Theta, 1837–1970. The author, William B.B. Moody, is a member and an alumnus of the class of 1959.
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361:, 1865, who was a professor at the university for 51 years and also from time to time acting president of the university. He was universally regarded as the guiding spirit of the society through the 1920s.
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in
Philadelphia. The play centers on a fraternity at an unnamed New England college in the early 1960s, as they collide with race, class, and gender issues, while a new world prepares to unfold under the
640:(not members but regulars at the house), and was derived from life and characters in that house at the time. The early scenes at the house in PCU refer to the older, formerly prestigious organization.
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As other Greek-letter societies came to Wesleyan, Eclectic did adopt a Greek motto, and has since been known as either Nu Theta or Eclectic (with one or the other dominating different eras).
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in Pennsylvania, but both succumbed to the perturbations accompanying the Civil War or to anti-fraternity sentiment among faculty members. There were long discussions about a chapter at
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revival structure at 200 High Street. The new house was an exemplary design for group living. Many people view the Eclectic house as a design precursor to Bacon's later
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542:-style consensus decision-making system. The consensus system was formalized under a set of by-laws authored by member Paul Menair in the mid-1980s.
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The alumni organization of Eclectic was incorporated by the Connecticut legislature as the Socratic Literary Society in 1870.
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406:.) The Alpha Eating Club was housed in the lower stories of the southern wing of the house. The building was listed on the
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In 1863, the Eclectic society's meeting place was said to have been vandalized and robbed by rival fraternity
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The society might not have survived the stresses of the Civil War without the tireless dedication of
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The Eclectic Society building, 200 High Street, Middletown, Connecticut, built 1908. (2012 photo)
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The existing society has operated without a constitution for extended periods, and adopted a
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In 1970, the undergraduates broke ranks with their alumni, the primary issue then concerning
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in Washington, D.C. (They are both designed in a strong Doric style, but lack the typical
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743:"The Eclectic Society" by Eric Conger, world premiere at The Walnut Street Theatre
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National Register of Historic Places in Middlesex County, Connecticut
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Fraternity (1838–1970) or its successor co-op at Wesleyan University
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From about 1856 to 1865 the Eclectic Society were partners in the
675:"The Lost Brotherhood: the Tragic History of Chi Psi at Wesleyan"
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which proved unfruitful. Thereafter, the only chapter was the
738:"A History of the Eclectic Society of Phi Nu Theta 1837-1970"
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In 1912, at the seventy-fifth reunion of the society,
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The Eclectic society of Phi Nu Theta was founded by:
702:, Frank W. Nicholson, ed., 1883 edition, pg. xcviii
625:, and Keenan Mitchell and Fareed Sajan of the band
46:. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.
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530:50 years the relationship has remained ambiguous.
715:A History of The Eclectic Society of Phi Nu Theta
493:'50 (Acting), and Edwin Deacon Etherington, '48.
946:Fraternities and sororities in the United States
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429:Alumni of the old Phi Nu Theta Eclectic include
489:'65 (Acting), Stephen Henry Olin '66 (Acting),
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433:, a founder of Eclectic, and his son, member
797:Davison Arts Center (Richard Alsop IV House)
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956:Student organizations established in 1838
106:Learn how and when to remove this message
643:On January 19, 2010, Eric Conger's play
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311:The five founders met by appointment on
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351:at Wesleyan University in Connecticut.
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698:Alumni Record of Wesleyan University,
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457:while serving as president and CEO of
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408:National Register of Historic Places
44:adding citations to reliable sources
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966:1838 establishments in Connecticut
852:Xi Chapter, Psi Upsilon Fraternity
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279:dropped the use of Greek letters.
55:"Eclectic Society" fraternity
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249:Eclectic Society of Phi Nu Theta
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718:. Wesleyan University Press.
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733:Eclectic Society Website
632:The script for the film
485:'54, John W. Beach '45,
333:Ohio Wesleyan University
479:Northwestern University
306:Chester Dormund Hubbard
291:Herman Merrills Johnson
152:; 186 years ago
150:September 13, 1838
638:Adam Leff and Zak Penn
523:See 1991 Argus letters
447:Frederick M. Davenport
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807:Van Vleck Observatory
649:Walnut Street Theatre
519:recreational drug use
503:John Monroe Van Vleck
498:Wesleyan University's
491:John Monroe Van Vleck
477:, later president of
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392:McKim, Mead and White
645:The Eclectic Society
40:improve this article
951:Wesleyan University
780:Wesleyan University
571:Andrew VanWyngarden
513:One society or two?
443:Frederick W. Pitkin
265:Wesleyan University
163:Wesleyan University
894:The Wesleyan Argus
569:, Will Berman and
496:Many buildings on
487:William North Rice
435:William P. Hubbard
431:Chester D. Hubbard
423:Stephen Henry Olin
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359:William North Rice
313:September 13, 1838
301:Clark Titus Hinman
172:Cooperative living
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461:, now known as
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29:This article
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873:Little Three
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825:Student life
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682:. Retrieved
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623:Amazing Baby
606:White Collar
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217:Headquarters
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38:Please help
33:verification
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591:Joss Whedon
465:, and poet
396:Doric Greek
388:Henry Bacon
273:Connecticut
232:Connecticut
180:Independent
177:Affiliation
940:Categories
925:Presidents
788:Campus and
660:References
619:Stylophone
615:Das Racist
551:Chris Wink
377:Mystical 7
322:Mystical 7
269:Middletown
261:fraternity
226:Middletown
157:1838-09-13
66:newspapers
866:Athletics
790:buildings
579:Jem Cohen
410:in 2013.
375:with the
684:June 15,
463:Citicorp
459:Citibank
404:pediment
209:Meetings
201:Chapters
366:Chi Psi
316:names.
283:History
155: (
147:Founded
80:scholar
913:People
878:NESCAC
700:Annals
587:Fugazi
583:R.E.M.
540:Quaker
335:and a
188:Active
185:Status
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887:Media
277:co-op
236:06457
196:Local
193:Scope
87:JSTOR
73:books
904:WESU
686:2020
621:and
603:and
585:and
575:MGMT
547:Le1f
247:The
169:Type
59:news
654:JFK
634:PCU
505:).
481:),
455:ATM
267:in
263:at
255:ΦΝΘ
131:ΦΝΘ
42:by
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