Triangle Fraternity. Northwestern University Chapter
Biography
The Northwestern University Chapter of Triangle Fraternity devolved from Kappa Phi Gamma, a local, unaffiliated fraternity in 1935. Kappa Phi Gamma was a fraternity of engineering students which had existed at Northwestern University for nine years prior to becoming a chapter of Triangle. Declining membership led to Kappa Phi Gamma becoming a Triangle chapter. According to student directories, Kappa Phi Gamma's membership dropped steadily from thirty-one in 1931 to sixteen in 1935.
The minutes of the newly-founded Triangle Fraternity's meetings give little indication of difficulties involved in the transformation from Kappa Phi Gamma to Triangle, noting only that “The alumni will take care of all the Kappa Phi Gamma debts….”
Until 1938, Triangle remained at its predecessor's house at 2000 Sherman Avenue, when the fraternity moved to 620 University Place for one year (1939), then again relocated, this time at 2211 Sherman Avenue where it remained for two years – until 1941. Triangle made a number of constitutional changes in 1941 in order to enter the Inter-fraternity Council in the fall. For the next eight years, the fraternity had no house of its own. The student directories from 1941 to 1943 record the fraternity's “mailing address” as 1820 Wesley Avenue, and as the Technological Institute from 1946 to 1949. For the academic year 1943-1944, Northwestern's fraternities loaned their houses for use by sailors and marines stationed on campus. For the following two years, the fraternities were still without houses, using a local “contact man” system for addresses and rushing purposes. Unlike most other fraternities, Triangle did not have a chapter house to reoccupy after the war. Nevertheless, its membership grew rapidly in the post-war years, reaching a near-record high membership of seventy-one in 1949. The fraternity had begun with seventeen members and pledges. Since 1949, the membership has generally fluctuated between forty and sixty.
In the late 1940's, Triangle began to develop a “House Fund,” and by February 9, 1948, the goal of purchasing a chapter house seemed realizable, as the “House Fund” had reached $617.85. In fall 1949, however, the fraternity found a new home at 1703 Chicago Avenue.
The late 1940's and 1950's were a troublesome time. In addition to problems engendered by the ongoing search for a permanent home, the discriminatory practices of Triangle and other fraternities were brought to question. At Triangle's February 2, 1948 meeting, member Douglas Jenkins “made a motion that the rushing chairman shall invite Jewish men up for rushing without announcing their religion. Motion carried.” On April 12, 1954, Derek Staats moved “that by 1960 all fraternities and sororities should ban from their charters all discriminatory clauses based on race, religion, or national origin, or cease to exist on this campus.” The motion did not pass until the final clause was dropped.
Triangle Fraternity remained at 1703 Chicago Avenue until 1954, when it moved to 2344 Sheridan Road. In 1958, it moved to 1936 Sheridan Road.
One of Triangle's traditions began in 1954. In that year, “Spring Weekend,” better known as “Tourney,” came into being. Each spring the Northwestern Chapter of Triangle hosts an athletic tournament and formal dance for Triangle chapters throughout the country.
In 1969, Triangle encountered its most difficult period. Little documented in the fraternity's records is the so-called “Triangle Affair,” during which a group of Black students destroyed much of the property in the chapter house at 1936 Sheridan Road. In 1973, Triangle occupied its present quarters, the former Alpha Omicron Pi sorority house at 626 Emerson Street.
The fraternity's most notable change in recent years has encompassed a shift in the composition of its membership from engineering students to a membership that is much more reflective of the varied majors of the undergraduate student body of the University.