Beta Sigma Beta (BΣB)

Also known as Beta Sig, Beta Samach or Beta Sigma Rho.

Beta Sigma Beta

The origin of Beta Sigma Beta Fraternity can be traced back to October 22, 1910 at Cornell University. At that time, four students who were denied participation in Cornell's existing fraternities because of their religion, decided to form their own secret society. This fraternity would be based on the principles of scholarship, mutual aid and companionship. Those four founding members were M.H. Millman, M.W. Millman, L. Krohn and M. Koenig. They were joined by eight others; S. Blickman, A. Pollack, A. Fox, M. Wyckoff, I.J. Elkind, F. Kleinman, H.Z. Harris and J. Cohen. Cornell University is a research university located on the East Hill of Ithaca, New York. ...

These men were the founding fathers of our fraternity. At that time they chose the name Beta Samach. The Greek letter Beta was chosen to signify the ideals of the Greek society. The Hebrew letter Samach was chosen to signify the social and cultural aspirations of the Jewish society. The word Jew ( Hebrew: יהודי) is used in a wide number of ways, but generally refers to a follower of the Jewish faith, a child of a Jewish mother, or someone of Jewish descent with a connection to Jewish culture or ethnicity and often a combination of these attributes. ...

Simplicity was the keynote of the founders and exhibited itself in the absence of formal rules. Meetings were held in a small attic room and eventually a constitution, a ceremonial ritual, a pin and a variety of traditions were inaugerated. They attracted new members and in several years progressed from the attic to a boarding house and finally into a house of their own. This became known as the Alpha chapter.

The ideals of the fraternity spread elsewhere and in 1913 a second chapter was established at Penn State. This was designated as the Beta chapter. Its charter members included George Belchic, Abraham Sherman and Louis Hendler. Beta chapter was the thirteenth fraternity to be chartered by Penn State. The Pennsylvania State University The Pennsylvania State University (commonly known as Penn State) is a state-related land-grant university in Pennsylvania, with over 80,000 students at 24 campuses throughout the state. ... The Pennsylvania State University The Pennsylvania State University (commonly known as Penn State) is a state-related land-grant university in Pennsylvania, with over 80,000 students at 24 campuses throughout the state. ...

In its early years, the men of Beta Samach, Beta Chapter resided in a boarding house on Allen Street. However, the house grew inadequate for the needs of the members, so in 1930 the present house was constructed.

In 1920, Beta Samach was formally organized as a national fraternity and at that time the name was changed to Beta Sigma Rho. Other chapters were established at Columbia, University of Buffalo, University of Pennsylvania, Carnegie-Mellon, University of Toronto, Rutgers, University of Western Ontario, University of Kentucky, Syracuse, University of Miami, St. John's University and New York University. In 1950, the ritual was modified to reflect a non-sectarian viewpoint. University at Buffalo The University at Buffalo, formerly known as the State University of New York at Buffalo, is located in Buffalo, New York, USA, and is one of the four university centers operated by the State University of New York. ... The University of Pennsylvania (Penn) is a private, nonsectarian research university located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. ... Carnegie Mellon University is a private research university located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. ... Founded in 1827, the University of Toronto (U of T), in Toronto, Ontario, is the largest university in Canada. ... Rutgers University Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is located in New Brunswick, Piscataway, Camden and Newark, New Jersey. ... The University of Western Ontario is a public, non-denominational university located in London, Ontario, Canada. ... The University of Kentucky (also as UK or simply Kentucky) is a public, co-educational university located in Lexington, Kentucky. ... Clinton Square in Downtown Syracuse Syracuse is an American city in Central New York. ... This is an article about the University of Miami in Coral Gables, Florida. ... Saint Johns University can refer to: College of Saint Benedict/Saint Johns University in St. ... New York University (NYU) is a major research university in New York City. ...

The national fraternity continued to prosper until the late 1960's. At that time, anti-fraternity sentiment spread across many campuses and memberships in fraternities dwindled. Many fraternities closed or merged with others. Many Beta Sigma Rho chapters were particularly hard hit, and some of these chapters closed their doors. Others faced an uncertain future with dwindling interests and memberships. The Beta chapter however had always enjoyed strong alumni and undergraduate support, and continued to prosper during these tough times.

In 1972, the national chapter of Beta Sigma Rho decided to merge with Pi Lambda Phi Fraternity in hopes of strengthening the remaining chapters. In exchange for financial assistance, all Beta Sigma Rho chapters would change their name and adopt a new set of traditions.

On some campuses, this merger enjoyed a degree of success. However, at Penn State, the brotherhood and alumni of Beta chapter felt that they would rather remain as an independent fraternity then give up their traditions. In the spring of 1975, Beta chapter of Beta Sigma Rho was officially chartered by Pennsylvania State University as Beta Sigma Beta fraternity. The Pennsylvania State University The Pennsylvania State University (commonly known as Penn State) is a state-related land-grant university in Pennsylvania, with over 80,000 students at 24 campuses throughout the state. ... The Pennsylvania State University The Pennsylvania State University (commonly known as Penn State) is a state-related land-grant university based in State College, Pennsylvania (the university uses a University Park, Pennsylvania to differentiate University addresses from those in town), with over 80,000 students at 24 campuses throughout the...