More than three years after they changed the name of their house in an attempt to improve their image on campus, members of Kappa Chi Kappa fraternity unanimously voted Wednesday night to change the name of their house back to Kappa Kappa Kappa fraternity.
Tri-Kap President Andrew Koh '96 said last night the fraternity decided to change its name back to Tri-Kap because the house lost financial support from its alumni network following the name change to Kappa Chi.
The house also decided to revert to its old name because of historical and traditional reasons, Koh said.
"The fraternity was called Kappa Kappa Kappa for 150 years, and Kappa Chi for only three," Koh said. Founded in 1842, Tri-Kap is the oldest local fraternity at Dartmouth.
Many fraternities at Dartmouth are known by their Greek acronyms, which in the case of Tri-Kap would be KKK. However, Koh said the organization will be referred to as "Kappa Kappa Kappa" or "Tri-Kap." He said the group would not be called "KKK" and would not wear hats, sweatshirts and other apparel emblazoned with the letters "KKK."
Kappa Kappa Kappa fraternity has been in existence at least 25 years longer than the Ku Klux Klan, whose origins date back to sometime after the Civil War. However, the letters KKK are an accepted acronym for the Klan, a white supremacy hate group.
According to the Associated Press, "there are 42 separate organizations known as the Klan in America. Some of them do not use the full name Ku Klux Klan, but each may be called that, and the KKK initials may be used for any of them on second reference."
Koh said he did not think the switch from Kappa Chi Kappa back to Tri-Kappa was significant, adding the house has been discussing the change for a long time.
Any conflict that arises because of the fraternity's decision will come from people "trying to make news about something that isn't news," Koh said.
The fraternity house is not going to have the letters "KKK" above its door, Koh said. When the KXK letters are removed, they will be replaced with the words "Kappa Kappa Kappa," he said.
Dean of the College Lee Pelton said it is "unfortunate that this fraternity has chosen an acronym which most Americans readily associate with hateful racism."
Pelton also said the fraternity members will "have to live with the consequences of this action."
Tri-Kap vs. KXK
In April 1992, following several problematic years, the brothers of Tri-Kap voted to change their name to Kappa Chi Kappa fraternity.
"The name was changed because the negative connotations of the house's letters made attracting potential members extremely difficult," according to the July 1992 Tri-Kap newsletter.
By changing its name to Kappa Chi Kappa, the fraternity attempted to erase a stigma associated with the letters KKK.
The name change also attempted to rid house of the image of the most conservative fraternity on campus. In previous years, a large number of members of the fraternity had also been staff members of The Dartmouth Review, an off-campus conservative weekly.
Finally, the house had recently suffered alcohol violations, internal conflict and a systematic removal of the members associated with The Review.
"The change removes some mistaken perceptions, some negative perceptions of some members of the Dartmouth community which are based solely on the name of the house," Treasurer Steve Costalas '94 said in 1992. "There is a stigma that goes with KKK."
The fraternity has a much different makeup now than two or three years ago, said Koh.
One of the primary reasons that Koh stated for the change was the lack of financial support from the house's alumni following the name change.
But Tri-Kap alumnus Ham Chase '47 said yesterday while there was a lack of alumni funding to the fraternity in recent years, it was not entirely due to the fraternity's new name.
"The three main reasons for the lack of support of the alums over the last three years were due to the continuing disciplinary problems, the lack of leadership by the alumni officers and lack of contact from the fraternity to the alumni requesting funds," Chase said.
"The name change was also a reason that the alumni stopped giving money," Chase added. "The alums would possibly give even more funds to the fraternity if they change the name back."
The fraternity "certainly does not want to flaunt around the K's," Chase said. "We don't want controversy. We would hate more than anything to be contemplated to be a part of [the Ku Klux Klan]."
Chase said alumni relations with the fraternity have improved since the Spring term, when the members began to clean up the house.
This summer, the house passed the College's minimum standards committee's requirements, further boosting alumni interest, according to Chase.
Campus Reaction
While students expressed many different views on the name change, most students said they were wary of its implications.
"I am bothered by [the name change] on a personal level. Obviously the letters KKK have a definite, specific significance in our culture, one I don't agree with," Coed Fraternity Sorority Council President Matt Raben '96 said.
Raben said he plans to discuss the Tri-Kap name change with the CFSC, but does not know what he will recommend.
"It's such an emotional issue that it is hard to make a reasoned judgment on it right away. I don't know what the right course of action is yet." Raben said.
Afro-American Society President John Barros '96 said he spoke with many students on campus to get a better feel for students' reactions to the fraternity's decision.
"A response of fear of return to a horrible past in American history has been overwhelming," said Barros. "This change will bring with it, at the very least, discomfort to many students here at Dartmouth."
"Students have placed this [decision] in greater political context of governmental changes that have brought this nation to a conservative right in the past three years," Barros said.
Other people on campus defended the fraternity's right to make its own decisions.
"It is certainly the business of the fraternity to select or reselect a name," Class of '96 Dean Sylvia Langford, who also advises the AAm, wrote in an electronic mail message to The Dartmouth. Langford declined to comment further.
"As an independent fraternity, they are entitled to make their own decisions. The question is what do you do with a symbol that is older than its new meaning. This is not a question you answer glibly because it is an old, old question," Rabbi Daniel Siegel said. Siegel heads Hillel, the College's Jewish student organization, and is the College's Jewish chaplain.
Hillel President Jeff Morganstern '96 declined to comment on the matter.
Student Assembly President Jim Rich '96 said he thought it was an insensitive action on the part of the fraternity to change its name, although they have every legal right to do so.
"It is the responsibility of organizations on campus when they make such decisions to consider the impact on the entire Dartmouth community and the ramifications that may result," Rich said.
"I don't think the brothers realize the ramifications of their decision," he said.
Palaeopitus, a group of seniors who advise the Dean of the College and the College President, has tentatively scheduled a mediated panel for Nov. 1 to discuss the Tri-Kap name issue, according to Dani Brune '96, co-chair of the committee. The group hopes to start discussions across organizational lines, Brune added.
Brune also said Palaeopitus as a group "is concerned with the effect [the Tri-Kap decision] will have on the community."
