Alpha Chi Omega:
• The design for the Alpha Chi Omega badge which appealed the most to the Founders was a replica of the harp because it seemed in keeping with the founders’ musical interest.
• Looking to Greek mythology, they found that the first instrument played by the gods on Mt. Olympus was a lyre.
• The jeweled golden lyre is adorned by 22 pearls.
• 1873 – “Hope” was the watchword of Delta Gamma when founded at The Lewis School in Kosciusko, Mississippi. Thus the gold letter “H” with the Greek letters engraved on the crossbar became the insignia .
• 1877 – The traditional symbol of hope is the anchor and because it was considered more decorative than the original, Alpha chapter adopted Corinne Miller’s design of the badge.
• 1905 – A uniform, smaller design of the badge was adopted by the fourteenth Delta Gamma Fraternity and is still being used today.
• In 1852, Philomathean Society Founder and first president, Mary Ann DuPont Lines, wore the first badge, which was fashioned from a $20 gold piece her father gave to her when she entered Wesleyan College.
• The Phi Mu badge is the same barbed quatrefoil shape as the Philomathean badge; the main change occurred in 1904 when the open motto, “Les Soeurs Fideles” was removed and the Greek letters “FM” were added.
• Phi Mu was the first NPC organization to allow the badge to be worn as a ring or pendant. The 1974 Convention voting body made that decision, with the National President casting the vote that carried the motion
• In October 1872, right after the founding of the Fraternity, Alpha Phi’s founding members ordered the fraternity’s very first badges from Stone and Ball Jewelers of Syracuse, New York.
• The official badge of Alpha Phi was adopted at the 1908 Convention held in Madison, Wisconsin.
• Prior to the adoption of the official badge, members designed their own badges, often choosing the design known as the “Lazy Phi.” This design incorporated the letter “Phi” lying on its side.
• Chi Omega’s first badge was crafted from dental gold by one of Chi Omega’s founders, Dr. Charles Richardson, as he was a dentist by trade.
• It was not until a vote at the 1906 Convention that Chi Omega badges were standardized in size and the stones were restricted to only diamonds or pearls.
• In the 1980s, the Governing Council determined that an alumna may wear the badge on a ring or pendant, or on the collar of a suit or dress. Collegians must wear it only over their heart.
