Alpha Theta
Alpha Theta (ΑΘ) is Dartmouth College’s gender-inclusive fraternity in Hanover, New Hampshire. It began in 1920 as a local group called Iota Sigma Upsilon, founded by seven Dartmouth students. In 1921 it became the Alpha Theta chapter of Theta Chi, one of the first Dartmouth fraternities to push for civil rights. In 1952, after learning the national fraternity would question a racial clause in Theta Chi’s constitution, Alpha Theta voted to drop that clause and became an independent local fraternity.
Alpha Theta was an early adopter of coeducation. Dartmouth became coeducational in 1972, and Alpha Theta voted to admit women. After a period of mixed membership, the fraternity briefly returned to male-only status in 1976 and then restored coed membership in 1980.
The fraternity’s colors are red and white, and its pillars are Unity, Loyalty, Scholarship, Integrity, and Siblinghood. Its house, Appalachia, is located at 33 N. Main Street in Hanover. The current building opened in 1941 after the old Theta Chi house (from 1852) burned down in a deadly 1934 accident; nine members died from carbon monoxide poisoning, and the tragedy led to changes at the chapter. The basement portion of the original building remains as part of Appalachia, tied to local lore about ghosts.
In 2008, Alpha Theta’s house corporation carried out a major safety and quality-of-life renovation. In 2011, the fraternity faced financial trouble when a former treasurer was accused of stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars; he was indicted for wire fraud in 2011 and sentenced in 2012 to 18 months in prison, plus restitution and supervised release, with a portion of the sentence served at a medical facility due to health issues.
Today, Alpha Theta remains an active, independent, non-profit fraternity at Dartmouth.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 18:20 (CET).