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Old 02-11-2008, 12:48 PM
SAEalumnus SAEalumnus is offline
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Join Date: Mar 2001
Posts: 1,756
SAE has an issue with a group in the Philippines sharing our name. That group was originally organized in the 1940s as a Society of Agricultural Engineering, but later changed their name to 'Sigma Alpha Epsilon.' They weren't recognized by their founding campus until 1966. At some point early on an actual member of Sigma Alpha Epsilon Fraternity visited the Philippines and came across this group and, thinking they were members, attempted to make contact. He realized quickly enough that it was a mere coincidence with respect to the name, and that they were not, in fact, members of our Fraternity.

For a very brief period about 20 years ago as best I can tell, some communication took place between their governing body and our executive director, including sending them some pledge manuals in the hopes they might lead to an expansion of our Fraternity abroad. They were unable to put together the standard chartering fee or otherwise obtain Colony status, nevermind status as an actual charterered chapter. So instead they began incorporating our trademarks, copyrights, and service marks into their own group, claiming them as their own, and attempting to make it appear as though they shared a common ancestry with the rest of our chapters. A review of any of their websites will show images that include or are clearly based upon our flag, our coat of arms, and/or the images of our Founders.
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