The seals and emblems of the Fraternity, provided for in The Laws of Beta Theta Pi, include a standard badge, pledge button, colors, flag, coat of arms, great seal, chapter seal and membership shingle.

The Marshall Badge

The first Constitution of Beta Theta Pi, adopted in 1839, specifically designated a badge to be worn by members of the society. Article four provided:

“The visible badge of this association shall be a breast-pin bearing on front the following characters: 1st, three stars; 2nd, a crescent; 3rd, the initial letters of the motto; 4th, the date of the formation of this association; on the back, a heart with a spear passed through it . . . with the name of the member.”

The first badge, designed by Samuel Taylor Marshall, was eight sided, of gold, the device and border raised in relief against a stippled background.

The design followed the specifications of the Constitution: straight sides top and bottom. At the four corners were concave quarter circles, and bearing three stars, a crescent, the Greek capital letters B Q P and small Greek letters awlq.

On the reverse of the original badge was engraved the owner’s name and a heart pierced by an arrow.

The Paddack Badge

The Marshall badge was changed in 1841 at the suggestion of Alexander Paddack, Miami 1841. The surface of the Paddack badge was black enamel; replacing the crescent was a wreath and diamond.

On the reverse of this badge was engraved the clasped hands, originally considered for the face of the 1839 badge in place of the crescent.

The early Paddack badges also bore the owner’s name and the founding date of his chapter. After the convention of 1842, the owner’s chapter Greek letter was added to the back of the badge. Some years later the individual’s date of  initiation replaced the date of the chapter founding.

Kirby and Newman Badges

In 1847, the badge, under the direction of Major Wyllys C. Ransom, Michigan 1848, finally attained the form we know today, when the four straight sides were curved inward, thus making all eight sides concave. Known as the Kirby badge because it was manufactured by Kirby in New Haven, Conn., it is authorized exclusively for chapter presidents today.

The first attempt at a standard badge was made by the convention of 1878. The badge was manufactured by the John F. Newman Company of New York, working under the direction of Major Ransom, but this early attempt at uniformity had little success.
In 1880, the convention substituted a badge manufactured by P.L. Miles of Cleveland for the Newman badge, but generally during this period each individual purchased his badge from the jeweler of his choice, so there were hardly two badges alike.

Enter George Chandler

The convention of 1899 made considerable headway toward a uniform badge when it adopted a standard badge manufactured by Roehm and Son of Detroit, under the direction of George M. Chandler, Michigan 1898. While this badge proved popular, the arrangements were not entirely satisfactory; so the 1907 Convention again called upon Major Chandler to head a committee to work on a standard badge.

To Major Chandler goes the credit for the careful design of today’s standard badge, adopted in 1909. Since 1913, all badges have been manufactured and distributed by a sole official jeweler, contracted by the General Fraternity. The current official jeweler is Burr, Patterson & Auld, a division of Herff Jones.

Proper Wearing of the Badge

The standard badge of the Fraternity is to be worn over the heart and in a manner befitting the honor and dignity to which the badge is entitled. The use of the badge as a ring, as a decoration or as a graphic element on printed matter or T-shirts or in any other manner, other than as the official badge of Beta Theta Pi, is specifically prohibited.

A member may, however, permit his mother, wife, daughter, sister or fiancée to wear the standard badge or the miniature “Mothers Badge.”

The Pledge Pin

Though the pledge pin is the first Fraternity insignia a prospective member is permitted to wear, the development of this device came much later than the badge.

The early literature of Beta Theta Pi does not suggest the idea of “pledging” as it is now understood. A prospective member was simply approached; if he accepted the Beta proposal, he attended a meeting of the chapter and was immediately initiated.

Before the pledge pin appeared in 1894, many chapters pinned the Fraternity colors on the prospective member to announce his pledging. The first pledge pin was in the shape of the badge, an eight-sided Grecian shield of pink and blue enamels, displaying the Greek capital letters BQP. In 1899, the current pledge pin was adopted:

“A Grecian shield of white enamel, of the same shape as the badge, bearing three five-pointed stars of gold arranged in a line running from the upper left-hand corner to the lower right-hand corner as one faces the pledge pin.”

The pledge pin may be worn by a prospective Beta who has been selected by an active chapter of Beta Theta Pi. Traditionally, the pledge button was worn only on a coat, affixed in the buttonhole on the left lapel. As collegians wear coats infrequently today, the requirement was dropped in favor of permitting pledges to wear the button on collared shirts and sweaters.

The Colors

The colors of the Fraternity, delicate (light) shades of pink and blue, were used by a few chapters prior to their adoption by the convention of 1879. During numerous conventions since, the issue of changing the official colors to stronger, darker shades of red and blue has been raised but always soundly defeated.

The Flag

The Beta flag has three equal horizontal stripes of blue, white and blue. The upper blue stripe bears a single white five-pointed star; the lower blue stripe, two similar stars, the three forming an equilateral triangle about the Beta crest (dragon) in red.

Designed by Major Chandler, this flag was adopted in 1902. An earlier flag, 1890, designed by John I. Covington, Miami 1870, bore three stars and a red rose, enclosed by a white border on a field of blue.

The Coat of Arms

The first Beta coat of arms was designed by Covington in 1869 and formed the basis of the great seal adopted in 1879. This early heraldic design had little in common with today’s official coat of arms, adopted by the Convention of 1897. Section 65 of the Laws gives an adequate description:

“A coat of arms is regularly upon a spade-shaped or triangular shield. The surface of the shield is divided vertically and horizontally into four quarters, the colors of which are these: First quarter, silver or white (argent); Second, red (gules); Third, silver or white; Fourth, red.

“The chevron is V-shaped, point upward and is frequently seen on heraldic shields and on the sleeves of military uniforms. This is ‘azure,’ i.e., blue. Upon this area are three stars (mullets) in gold (or.) The crest or piece above the shield is a dragon in gold, seated with wings raised.”

Below the shield is a ribbon scroll bearing the motto “____kai____.” The coat of arms is designed to be used wherever heraldic insignia is desired. It is properly used on jewelry, plaques, stationery and on the publications of the Fraternity.

Each chapter also has its own unique coat of arms, consisting of the Fraternity arms, each with a heraldic device specific to the chapter, and on the scroll a motto (in Greek) of one or more words beginning with the Greek letter or letters of the chapter’s name.

The arms of the first 10 chapters are consistent with established rules of heraldry; the Miami chapter uses the Beta arms, unchanged except for the motto which in this instance begins with “Alpha.”

The arms of the next nine chapters follow the laws of English heraldry, bearing the marks of Cadency for the nine sons in a family. The first of these is the label or file, so the coat of arms of the Cincinnati chaper is distinguished by a label — a three-pronged rake. The next chapter, Western Reserve, was distinguished by a crescent.

After the first 10 chapters, the first quarter of the shield contains a distinctive device. Careful study is made of the college and state seals, the locality, traditions, etc., so that an appropriate symbol designates the chapter. A complete discussion of chapter arms and mottos is in Shepardson’s The Beta Book.

The mottoes on the chapter arms were initially selected by General Secretary J. Calvin Hanna, Wooster 1881.

The Great Seal

The Great Seal of the Fraternity is composed of the coat of arms supported by two rose sprigs within a circular band on which appears the legend, “The Great Seal of Beta Theta Pi — 1839.” This seal was adopted in 1897, replacing the earlier Great Seal of 1879, drawn by John I. Covington, which was unsatisfactory from an heraldic point of view as it included much that was not related to Beta Theta Pi.

The Chapter Seal

The 1842 convention authorized use of chapter seals, and its design was re-adopted by the 1881 convention. These seals consist of an equilateral triangle enclosing three stars, clasped hands and the Greek letter(s) of the chapter name, all enclosed in a circle. About the only use made of these chapter seals today is on the membership shingle.

The Shingle

The Fraternity shingle first appeared in the Cornell chapter at the end of the 19th century. It was devised by Morris R. Ebersole, Cincinnati 1898, a Cornell graduate student. The shingle’s original design was favored by many chapters, and the 1913 Convention approved the shingle design.

The official shingle is a plain white card, 6 inches x 8 inches, displaying the Beta coat of arms engraved in the center upper portion; across the middle are the full name of the member and date of his initiation; below, the chapter seal is imprinted in red wax.

Today’s shingle differs from Ebersole’s in carrying the date of the owner’s initiation, instead of his class, and by displaying the old chapter seal of 1842 instead of the chapter seal bearing the badge, which was never official. The current shingle was designed by Major Chandler, and the red wax is simulated.

The Fraternity Flower

The rose was adopted as the official Beta flower at the semi-centennial convention, Wooglin-on-Chautauqua, in 1889. The suggestion had previously been made by Dean Leila McKee of Western College for Women, Oxford, Ohio, at the 1889 Convention.
A memorandum from that Convention concluded:

“On the last day of the session . . . the rose was formally adopted as the Fraternity flower. This was eminently fitting. The rose is both beautiful and hardy. Its quality of beauty makes it the most generally favored of flowers. Its hardiness enables it to adapt itself to every climate. In beauty and purity it symbolizes our principles. Its hardihood reminds us of our adaptability to our environment, but chiefly of the universality of our moral aims.

“The roses used at the original ceremony were procured from a bush not far from the college building at Miami, the Fraternity’s birthplace.”

The rose bush at Oxford, which inspired the Beta Rose, bore deep pink blooms.