About the Pans
Pan Sophic History
The Pans have more history around the campus and town of Grove City than any other organization. We take great pride in our traditions and roots. Our presence has been noticeable in the great halls of academia and on the athletic fields since well before our grandparents were born. We are more than proud to carry on the Pan Sophic legacy through our own individual excellence.
The Pan Sophic Fraternity was established in the winter term of the 1911-1912 school year. The fraternity's original name was The Pansophic's Club. In 1913, the s was dropped, and by 1915 the current name, Pan Sophic, was in official use.
In 1911 there were only a few organizations on campus: the Webster Debating Society, the Shakespeare Club, and two girls clubs. When paying tuition, one had to sign a card which stated that he would not join or start a fraternity with Greek letters. That is why the fraternity is called the Pan Sophic Club, a term that was conceived while the young original members were studying the Greek Sophists in Dr. Ketler's philosophy class.
Founded in 1911 and recognized as Grove Citys first fraternity in 1913, Pan Sophic is the oldest organization of any kind at Grove City College. The fraternity is independent, meaning it is unaffiliated with any national society or organization. It is also the oldest independent fraternity in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and one of the oldest local fraternities in the United States. The Pans have traditionally been involved with campus life in nearly every aspect, but the fraternity has been maintained as a separate entity in and of itself.
Originally, there were no dining halls on the campus. Students ate together at various private boarding homes in Grove City. Pans dined at the McBurney house where the cost for two weeks board was $4.50 to $5.25. Each week one man would be in charge of buying all the food and then collecting the money from the rest of the fellows. Most of the ten original members lived at the same house, ate together, and had classes together. The first meetings were secretly held at the McBurney house, but the constitution was drawn at Orman Deans room on North Main Street. The meetings were simple but there were ceremonies of initiations.
During the two World Wars, our brothers did their part and we had a significant percentage of our number join the military to make the world safe for democracy. We also lost men in the Vietnam conflict. While we are not a political organization, Pan Sophic has always taken pride in our great nation.
In 1976, the Pans became the swimming fraternity when nearly the entire swim team pledged. This era began to come to a close in the early 2000s. Throughout its long and rich history, the Pans have been associated with several other campus sports, including the Football team and the founding of the Men's Lacrosse team in 1993 by brother Don Balla. Today our members can be seen in a plethora of clubs, groups, and teams on campus as we help promote both the name of Grove City College and the influence of Old Pan Sophic.
Pans Philanthropy
What do Austin, Pittsburgh, and Virginia Beach all have in common? The Pan Sophic Fraternity has a nonprofit or operation in each city, working to cleanup the streets and feed those in need. With over 15 cleanups completed, the Pans have worked to make their national impact heard. But the national level is only part of where change is done - it also happens in your home. That’s why the Pans fostered a puppy named Teetime, and trained her to be a service dog for veterans coming back from Afghanistan through a nonprofit advocacy group called ECAD. For 8 months, the Pans worked with Teetime, who is now one of the programs most accomplished dogs.
OTHER PHILANTHROPIC ENDEAVORS: While the Brothers of Pan Sophic believe in taking the initiative to perform our own charity work, we also believe in supporting the efforts of other groups on campus.
COLORS
The colors of Pan Sophic are blue and white. These are the same colors as the fraternity’s sister sorority, Gamma Chi.
MASCOT
The Pan Sophic fraternity animal is the hog or pig. This is the animal used as the mascot for Pan Sophic intramural and interfraternity sports teams. The “Hogs” compete in intramural football, basketball, and softball and interfraternity football, basketball, volleyball, and softball teams.
SONGS
The fraternity has five traditional songs which are associated with the organization; these are known only to initiated “Pans” and are rarely heard in public.
NAMES AND SYMBOLS
The symbols of Pan Sophic are the griffin, the torch, the helmet, and the pan (a large silver dish). These symbols are sacred to the fraternity and are featured on the shield of the Pan Sophic crest. The crest also features a bent blue stripe and three stars. Below the shield is a banner on which is written the name of the fraternity. To the left and right of the shield are the fraternity letters.
The body of initiated “Pans” who have since graduated from college is referred to as the “Old Guard”. The Old Guard currently includes over 400 living Grove City College alumni.
LETTERS
As you may have noticed from their prevalence in Pan materials, the letters TB have special importance to the fraternity. While these letters are displayed on the Pan Sophic Crest and sometimes on the brothers’ clothing, they have a secret meaning known only to initiated “Pans”.