The Tabard co-educational fraternity at Dartmouth College was originally founded in 1857 as a local fraternity for students in the Chandler Scientific School named Phi Zeta Mu. In 1893, as the Chandler School was absorbed by Dartmouth College, the house sought to associate itself with a national fraternity and was granted a charter as the Eta Eta chapter of Sigma Chi national fraternity.
In 1960, with Sigma Chi’s national fraternity membership policies continuing to discriminate against minorities, the fraternity at 3 Webster Avenue dissociated from the national organization to chart a new future.
The new organization sought to uphold an ethos of inclusion and open-mindedness and turned to Geoffrey Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales for inspiration:
“In Southwark, at the Tabard, as I lay
Ready to start upon my pilgrimage…
The rooms and stables spacious were and wide
And well we there were eased, and of the best.
And briefly, when the sun had gone to rest
So had I spoken with them, every one,
That I was of their fellowship anon…”
Drawing of the Tabard Inn, Southwark, London
The Tabard was one in a row of inns lining Borough High Street in Southwark, across the Thames River from central London. In his Survey of London, published in 1598 and revised in 1603, John Stow (1525-1605) says the inns could be identified by images on their signs. In Southwark, he says, “be many fair inns for receipt of travellers, by these signs: the Spurre, Christopher, Bull, Queen’s Head, Tabard, George, Hart, King’s Head, etc.”
The Tabard was constructed in 1307, repaired during Queen Elizabeth I’s reign (1558-1603), and destroyed in a fire in 1676. Among the lodgers at the Tabard and other Southwark inns were pilgrims traveling south to the shrine of Saint Thomas à Becket, Archbishop of Canterbury. The inns also hosted northbound travelers to London and other points.
The founding members felt it was appropriate to express the spirit of the place as a gathering point before great adventures begin, contrasting the widespread feeling of finality and arrival, which many other Greek organizations strive for.
3 Webster Avenue; Post-1932.
When the College began admitting women in 1972, The Tabard decided to become co-educational and admit female pledges. In 1997, the Tabard approved new membership policies that affirmed their policies of non-discrimination on the basis of race, gender, or sexual orientation and further removed self-selection from the pledging process.
My sense was that the Tabard didn’t go co-ed until 1980 or 1981. I thought my pledge class in spring ’81 was the first co-ed group. Or were there earlier attempts to go co-ed that I don’t know about?
Tabard had been co-ed in the early-mid 70′s, but was all male when I joined in spring 1980 my freshmen year. We voted that term to again admit women as members and the first to do so sank the following year.
I, too, was in the first class of the second wave of co-ed membership — and distinctly recall pledge questions about previous female mebers, specifically Victoria Thys, not sure anything more but the name stands out. Among our pledge class mere Jane Saunders; Gigi Roane; Kristin Lindveit; Andrea Farrington; Sue Warms; and Alix Madigan — Rocco, Guato, am I missing anyone?
I think there were two phases of women in the Tabard. Women were admitted in the 70′s. I was told it was mostly girlfriends of guys in the house but would love to hear from some women from that era.
For some reason, the house went single sex again. Details, gentlemen?
Thanks to the intrepid 83′s, the class of ’84 was the first four-year class that re-admitted women.
Could some of the 83′s shed some light on how that historic vote came about?
The Tabard admitted women in 1972. This was the first class of women (Class of 1976) admitted to the College as fully matriculated students. The first women were definitely not “girlfriends” but Dartmouth students fully.
I don’t know what happened that it moved to becoming an all male house by th 1980′s.
Jay Garfinkel had it pretty much right. When I joined in 1975, the house was co-ed. By 1978 when I was president, there remained only a few girlfriends as members. We felt at that time that guys looking to join an all male house would not consider “co-ed” Tabard and those looking for a truly coed house wold find it really wasn’t that either. So we decided to return to all male. I was gone by the time they reverted back in 1980.
Also, Zeta Mu become the Eta Eta Chapter of Sigma Chi in 1911. the local chapter razed the original structure and built a wood clapboard house in the same basic layout in 1912. It burned down in Sept of 1931, and was completely designed and reconstructed in the brick as you see today by Sept 1932. The architects were Wells & Hudson, who also designed Heorot, Bones Gate, SAE, and Gamma Delta, along with several other College buildings in the 20′s and 30′s
CORRECTION: Zeta Mu became Eta Eta of Sigma Chi in 1893.