Student Organizations. Strings Society and Pi Beta Phi Sorority
Strings Society was a local sorority founded at Wake Forest University in 1946 that remained active until 1993 when the the group, like other Wake Forest societies, affiliated with a national sorority. Strings Society became the North Carolina Gamma chapter of Pi Beta Phi sorority. That group has been inactive since 2010, when the national governing body of Pi Beta Phi revoked the Gamma Chapter's charter. This collection contains scrapbooks, newsletters, photographs, and artifacts.
Biographical and Historical Note
The Strings Society was the first local female society at Wake Forest University. According to organizational files, Strings was founded by friends Huldah Lineberry (1951), Kay Williams (1948), and Edith Rawls (1949) in the attic of Johnson Dormitory on the original Wake Forest campus in 1946. As a response to Kay being invited to join the Tassels honor society, the friends referred to themselves as "Strings." The small group grew as it added more members, and inspired the formation of other female societies at Wake.
Following a nautical theme, the symbols and traditions associated with Strings include whales, anchors, sailor caps, and the colors navy and white. The group's official flower was a white carnation and members were referred to as "Threads" (pledges) or "Ropes" (alumnae). In 1961, members Nan Dupree Miller and Carolyn Jones Burton introduced the song, Allemande, to Strings, having sung it every morning as counsellors at a New Hampshire summer camp. The group also claims Stringman as their mascot. They hosted a signature annual event, Frankfest, and heavily participated in the campuswide fraternity fundraising competition "Derby Days." Strings members were involved in social activities and participated in philanthropic endeavors that benefited local organizations such as the Salvation Army, the Red Cross, and the campus-wide fundraising efforts for cancer research in honor of former WFU football player Brian Piccolo (1964).
By 1965 there were five women's societies on Wake Forest's campus: Strings, Fideles, Laureles, Les Souers, and S.O.P.H.s. The societies worked together to create the Inter-Society Council (ISC). The ISC developed and maintained standards for rush and kept the societies connected to each other. The ISC also served as a point of contact between the societies and campus administration. Under the guidance of the Dean of Women, Lula Leake, the female societies of Wake Forest College achieved official campus recognition in 1967.
Due to complex insurance and liability issues, the campus administration decided that the societies had to limit their operations or affiliate with a national organization. In April 1991, the Phoenix Society affiliated with Alpha Delta Pi and the other societies followed by affiliating with other sororities within the National Panhellenic Conference. Strings moved to affiliate with Pi Beta Phi, known colloquially as Pi Phi, in 1992 and the organization remained active on campus for 17 years. Pi Phi members held onto their local Strings traditions and ceremonies while operating as Pi Beta Phi, which prompted the national organizing body to revoke the campus' charter in 2010. The sorority has been inactive since then.
Sources:
- Edgeton, Caroline. "Pi Beta Phi sorority loses charter." Old Gold and Black, 2010 Aug 26, p. A1. Accessed via Special Collections and Archives Digital Collections Old Gold and Black
- "Strings Society," book. Vertical Files (Printed Materials) Collection (RG15), Z. Smith Reynolds Library Special Collections and Archives.
Collection Overview
This collection documents the administration and social practices of the Strings society, and later the national group Pi Beta Phi sorority.
It is organized into two series, Strings Society materials and Pi Beta Phi materials. Series 1. Strings Society Materials cover the local sorority from 1946 until 1993. This series contains photographs, scrapbooks, historical materials, notebooks, and artifacts such as jewelry and textiles. Series 2. Pi Beta Phi Materials covers the years that the organization was the Pi Beta Phi sorority. This collection contains photograph albums, notebooks, and meeting notes.
Strings materials appear in both series, since Pi Beta Phi maintained some Strings practices and lore. Names in parentheses in an item title indicate the item's donor.
Collection Arrangement
Both series, Series 1. Strings Society materials and Series 2. Pi Beta Phi materials are organized in chronological order.
Administrative Information
- Publication Information
- Processed by Ashelee Gerald Hill, 2022
- Revision Description
- Revised by Kate Trathen, new materials added, 2024 April
- Access Restrictions
- Collection is open for use.
- Copyright Notice
- The nature of the WFU Z. Smith Reynolds Library Special Collections and Archives means that copyright or other information about restrictions may be difficult or even impossible to determine despite reasonable efforts. The Archives and Special Collections of ZSR Library claims only physical ownership of most materials. The materials from our collections are made available for use in research, teaching, and private study, pursuant to the U.S. Copyright Law. The user must assume full responsibility for any use of the materials, including but not limited to, infringement of copyright and publication rights of reproduced materials. Any materials used for academic research or otherwise should be fully credited with the source.
- Preferred Citation
- Student Organizations. Strings Society and Pi Beta Phi Records (RG8.35), Z. Smith Reynolds Special Collections and Archives, Wake Forest University, Winston-Salem, NC, USA.