Beta Epsilon
From PhiSigWiki
The Beta Epsilon chapter was originaly founded in 1920 as Pi Sigma Epsilon at Kansas State Teachers College, Pittsburg (now Pittsburg State University). The chapter became the Beta chapter of Phi Sigma Epsilon on December 30, 1927 and later changed its name to Beta Epsilon following the 1988 merger with Phi Sigma Kappa.
History
Following World War I, the fraternity system gradually came to be accepted even within the small, specialized and conservative "normal school" structure. Local fraternities now were being organized and recognized within this system, including colleges having contacts through athletic and academic competition with Kansas State Normal.
Among them was a group, Pi Sigma Epsilon, at Kansas State Teachers College, Pittsburg (now Pittsburg State University), founded about 1920. Another was Sigma Delta Tau, established in 1924 at Kirksville (Northeast) State Teachers College (now Truman State University).
Contacts developed between the two groups and Phi Sigma Epsilon at Emporia. The contacts may have started among members of the football teams of the three colleges, including an active and talented student leader and athlete named Fred Schwengel, of Kirksville, who would later play a prominent roll in PSE history and development.
The three local fraternities met on December 30, 1927, at the Hotel Biltmore in Kansas City, MO, and formally organized a "new national fraternity." The selection of a name was easy, Phi Sigma Epsilon being the oldest of the three.
Thus Pi Sigma Epsilon became the Beta chapter of PSE, now known as the Beta Epsilon chapter of Phi Sigma Kappa.
