Fraternity badges

Did you ever look up the etymology of the word "diamond"? Do you know the meaning of its Greek root? It's an interesting bit of research. (Hey, I'll let you do some of the digging once in a while...)

There is a certain fraternity (into which I was initiated) which has a diamond as an essential element of its badge. Interestingly, however, the first badges of that fraternity didn't have diamonds. But they still cost 10 bucks, as they were made of gold, and back then (over 150 years ago) that was a lot of money. At the time that fraternity was founded, the college tuition there was $24. Whew.

I wonder: would any fraternity man in the present spend almost half his tuition on a fraternity badge?

The badges which are still made of gold can be expensive. College tuition went up. It's not "higher" education any more. Lots of things changed.

The diamond didn't.