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During this brief period, the society came to serve as a kind of fraternal body for college students who, as Jews, were excluded from joining existing fraternities because of the sectarian practices which prevailed at the end of the nineteenth century in the United States. The continuing need for a Greek-letter fraternity open to Jewish students prompted Z.B.T. to change its raison d'etre, structure and emphasis and to become Zeta Beta Tau in 1903.
The history of mergers in the Zeta Beta Tau Brotherhood followed a pattern of linking common traditions. In 1959, Phi Alpha merged into Phi Sigma Delta, and in 1961 Kappa Nu merged into Phi Epsilon Pi. In 1969-70, Phi Sigma Delta and Phi Epsilon Pi merged into Zeta Beta Tau.
During the 1980's, every Greek-letter group continued their efforts
to stop hazing. Despite ZBT's best efforts, hazing continued and
increased in frequency and severity. ZBT concluded that all efforts to
reform the institution of pledging had failed; pledging was the
problem. This was because pledges were considered second-class
citizens, with no rights and no chance to refuse even the most
outrageous demands of a Brother, unless he quit the Fraternity. In
1989, in a last-ditch effort to eliminate hazing, ZBT eliminated
pledging and all second-class status from the Fraternity. In its place,
ZBT established a Brotherhood Program, with minimum standards
(Brotherhood Quality Standards), as well as programs of education,
bonding, and earning one's Brotherhood status that applied to all
Brothers of ZBT.
Gamma Kappa Colony