Alpha Sigma Phi
The Yale University of the 1840s was a far different place from any of today’s colleges. Unlike many American schools, Yale was patterned after Cambridge University in England, where class loyalties and traditions were extremely important. As a result, hazing and bullying by upperclassmen towards their younger classmates was common. Thus a fraternity system developed that was strongly focused around class ties. One such fraternity, founded in the fall of 1845 by three young men who had become tired of the condescending attitude of Yale’s sole sophomore society, was known as Alpha Sigma Phi (Alpha Sig).
