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Acacia Fraternity

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Acacia Fraternity is a social fraternity originally based out of Masonic tradition. Today the bonds with the Masons are more distant and informal. Acacia distinguishes itself from other fraternities by being one of three national fraternities that uses a word instead of Greek letters. Acacia is also the only national fraternity to have a Greek word rather than Greek letters as its name. Greek does not contain the letter "c", however, so the proper Greek spelling of the name is Ακακια, the root of which means "Leadership and Distinctiveness Among Mankind". Acacia was one of the charter members of the North-American Interfraternity Conference in 1909. Acacia's fundamental principles are high scholarship, fraternal brotherhood and human service. Acacia is one of the most secretive fraternities, as there is little public information known about the organization.

Contents

General History

Acacia Fraternity was founded on May 12, 1904 by a group of 14 Freemasons attending the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor. This first chapter was designated the Aleph(א) chapter. Subsequent chapters of Acacia were designated by Hebrew letters until 1913 when this system was abolished and replaced by naming each chapter by the school it resided at (i.e. the Acacia chapter at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute is designated the Rensselaer Chapter or Rensselaer Acacia Fraternity). Acacia Fraternity became International in 1988 at the 45th Conclave with the petitioning of two Canadian chapters the University of Western Ontario Chapter and the Carleton University Chapter.

At its founding in 1904, membership was originally restricted to those who had taken the Masonic obligations, and the organization was built on those ideals and principles. Within one year, four other Masonic clubs received Acacia charters, paving the way for rapid expansion in the following years. Today, the fraternity has no formal tie with, and members are no longer required to belong to, the Masonic Fraternity. Most undergraduate active members are not Masons. However, many Acacia Fraternity chapters maintain close ties with local Masonic lodges. In addition, many alumni members go on to become members of the Masonic Order, and individual Masons continue to be of invaluable help to Acacia.

Acacia Fraternity's supreme executive and judicial body is the International Council. It is comprised of eight officers: six alumni and two undergraduates. Alumni officers' terms run four years, while undergraduate counselors' terms are two years in length.

Founding Fathers

James M. Cooper, Benjamin E. DeRoy, Edward E. Gallup, Jared W. Hawkins, Clarence G. Hill, Harvey J. Howard, George A. Malcolm, William J. Marshall, Ernest R. Ringo, Harlan P. Rowe, Ralph B. Scatterday, Charles A. Sink, Harry B. Washburn, Walter S. Wheeler

The 14 Founding Fathers

Symbolism

Symbolism is very important in any fraternity, and Acacia is no different. The main symbol and representation of Acacia occurs within a 3-4-5 (base-altitude-hypotenuse) right triangle of the first quadrant. This triangle holds very special significance to the fraternity and its members. Unless specified otherwise, whenever a triangle is mentioned in this article, a 3-4-5 right triangle of the first quadrant is what is meant.

The Badge of Acacia Fraternity
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The Badge of Acacia Fraternity

The present Acacia badge is a right triangle of the first quadrant whose sides are of the proportions 3, 4, 5. The shortest side being the base. The sides are set with twelve pearls. Three on the base, four on the altitude, and five on the hypotenuse. The corners are set with garnets. Within the triangle are three small right triangles of the same proportion, outlined in gold on a black enamel background. The badge of Acacia as it appears today was adopted at the second Grand Council of Acacia which was held on December 6, 1913.

The crest of Acacia, shown above, depicts a three taper surrounded by a wreath of Acacia. Below the is a shield of old gold with two bands of black surrounding a thicker band of black. In this thicker band of black there resides three 3-4-5 right triangles. Below the shield is a blue ribbon holding with the of the fraternity in Greek: ΩΦΕΛΟΥΝΤΕΣ ΑΝΘΡΩΠΟΥΣ, which means "Human Service" or "In Service of Humanity".

Chapter Operations

The leadership of each chapter of Acacia is composed of at least five major officers: the Venerable Dean, Senior Dean, Junior Dean, Treasurer, and Secretary. The Venerable Dean is often referred to out of the house as the president of the chapter and performs such duties as running meetings and overseeing general house operations. The Senior Dean acts as the vice president of the chapter, stepping in for the Venerable Dean in his absence. In most cases, the Senior Dean is also the pledge educator. The Junior Dean is in charge of all things social within the fraternity including brotherhood events, formals, and mixers. The other two officers perform such functions as are normal for their positions. Some chapters assign additional responsibilities to various officers, so there may be slight variations from chapter to chapter.

Notable Acacians

Chapter Listing

:In order of chartering

External links


North-American Interfraternity Conference
Acacia | Alpha Chi Rho | Alpha Delta Gamma | Alpha Delta Phi | Alpha Epsilon Pi | Alpha Gamma Rho | Alpha Gamma Sigma | Alpha Kappa Lambda | Alpha Phi Alpha | Alpha Phi Delta | Alpha Sigma Phi | Alpha Tau Omega | Beta Chi Theta | Beta Sigma Psi | Beta Theta Pi | Chi Phi | Chi Psi | Delta Chi | Delta Phi | Delta Psi | Delta Sigma Phi | Delta Tau Delta | Delta Upsilon | FarmHouse | Iota Phi Theta | Kappa Alpha Order | Kappa Alpha Psi | Kappa Alpha Society | Kappa Delta Phi | Kappa Delta Rho | Lambda Chi Alpha | Lambda Phi Epsilon | Lambda Sigma Upsilon | Lambda Theta Phi | Order of Omega | Phi Gamma Delta | Phi Iota Alpha | Phi Kappa Psi | Phi Kappa Sigma | Phi Kappa Tau | Phi Kappa Theta | Phi Lambda Chi | Phi Mu Delta | Phi Sigma Phi | Pi Kappa Alpha | Pi Kappa Phi | Pi Lambda Phi | Psi Upsilon | Sigma Alpha Mu | Sigma Chi | Sigma Nu | Sigma Phi Delta | Sigma Phi Epsilon | Sigma Phi Society | Sigma Tau Gamma | Tau Delta Phi | Tau Epsilon Phi | Tau Kappa Epsilon | Theta Chi | Theta Delta Chi | Theta Xi | Triangle | Zeta Beta Tau | Zeta Psi

 

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