Phi Kappa Psi

ΦΚΨ (Phi Kappa Psi) is a service-based fraternal organization founded in 1852 in Canonsburg, Pennsylvania, on the campus of Jefferson College by William Henry Letterman and Charles Page Thomas Moore. Through long nights of caring for the sick during an outbreak of disease, the founders grew to appreciate their service, and decided to form an organization that would ensconce these ideals, and on the dreary night of February 19, 1852, the brotherhood of Phi Kappa Psi was founded.

The creed of Phi Kappa Psi is as follows:

I believe that Phi Kappa Psi is a brotherhood of honorable men, courteous and cultured, who pledge throughout their lives to be generous, compassionate, and loyal comrades;

I believe that I am honor bound to strive manfully for intellectual, moral, and spiritual excellence; to help and forgive my Brothers; to discharge promptly all just debts; to give aid and sympathy to those who are less fortunate;

I believe that I am honor bound to strengthen my character and deepen my integrity; to counsel and guide my Brothers who stray from their obligations; to respect and emulate my Brothers who practice moderation in their manners and morals; to be ever mindful that loyalty to my Fraternity should not weaken loyalty to my college, but rather increase devotion to it, to my country and to my God;

I believe that to all I meet, wherever I go, I represent not only Phi Kappa Psi, but indeed the spirit of all fraternities; thus I must ever conduct myself so as to bring respect and honor not to myself alone, but also to my Fraternity.

To the fulfillment of these beliefs, of these ideals, in the noble perfection of Phi Kappa Psi, I pledge my life and my sacred honor.

The fraternity colors are Hunter Green and Cardinal Red (any red and dark green approximate).

The fraternity yell is "High! High! High! Phi Kappa Psi! Live ever! Die Never! Phi Kappa Psi!"

The fraternity flag is in the propertions of eight and one-half feed wide by six feed high; the colors are the official fraternity colors; the design is three vertical stripes of equal width, a green in the middle, flanked on either side by a red stripe.

The fraternity flower is the Jaqueminot rose, because it is the natural embodiment of the fraternity colors.

The official drink of Phi Kappa Psi is "Quimgambuli", this a distortion of the earlier title Quimbambuli, from the German drink Krambabuli. The "gam" in Quimgambuli is in honor of the Wisconsin Gamma chapter of Phi Kappa Psi, which prepared a description of the recipe and history of the drink and accompanying song.

Famous Phi-Psis include President Woodrow Wilson, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, John F. Kennedy Jr, Astronaut Owen Garriott, Peter Graves, Roy Scheider, John Astin, James Thurber, Olmpian Mark Spitz, YAHOO! co-founder, Jerry Yang, and many others.