The Literary Society Elections |
In the fall of 1904, the literary society held elections to select its officers. The three chapters of national fraternities that existed on campus developed a "slate" of officer candidates from within their ranks. Kroeg, Mixson, Fogarty and some of their friends were not fraternity members, and with all campus fraternity men and their friends already sworn to the fraternity slate, Kroeg knew it would be tough winning unless an opposition party was quickly organized.
In the course of several meetings at Mixson's home on Wentworth Street, the three men led a small campus movement to form a group called Nu Phi, which stood for "non-fraternity." This organization of 15 men formed its own opposing slate and began campaigning. The group adopted "the outline of a hand" as its secret symbol. Meetings of Nu Phi were advertised to members by drawing an outline of a hand on a chalkboard in a classroom. The time of the meeting and the last name of the member hosting it were written inside the outline.
The elections were intense. The Nu Phi men even assigned a member to kidnap those who might vote for the fraternity ticket on election day. As the group worked together, and as election day approached, they realized that they possessed the skills, desire and friendship needed to build something of lasting value. In spite of their efforts, however, the Nu Phi ticket did not do well in the final count. It was later discovered that several of the members of Nu Phi had been disloyal to the group and had voted for the fraternity ticket.