Mug names at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) are a celebrated tradition among the Upsilon Chapter. Mug names are essentially nicknames given to new members. There is history recorded that shows mug names are almost as old as the chapter, but most don’t know when or how the tradition started.

“I do not know why they started in the first place,” Andrew Taber (Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, 2002) said. “Perhaps so they wouldn’t have to differentiate by calling someone John P. and John A.? Or because it was funny to call someone “Poodle”? It’s anyone’s guess, and that adds to the mystery of it all.”

RPI Delts from the 1950s shared stories of mug names and using them back then, but it was more of a mix between mug names and real names.

“Whatever the reason, the Upsilon Chapters does have a strong tradition of taking them seriously (or not-so-seriously, as the case may be),” Taber said. “It’s a tradition and a rite of passage that I believe every new member looks forward to having because of how often the names are used in the chapter.”

For “Chucko” (Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, 1977), he recalls the night being a little tense before the mug names were revealed. “You didn’t want that embarrassing moment to be immortalized in your mug name,” Chucko said. “I did not remember what my name was announced as, but henceforth, I was always known as ‘Chucko.’”

Sometimes picking a mug name can be challenging, but thankfully, there is a rule book for the tradition. “We always tried to have: a bird, a fish, an acronym, an inanimate object and so on. As a whole, it was a good system. I don’t know if it’s the same now, but I assume something of that nature is still in place. Provided there are enough new members,” Taber said. “There is some unwritten history handed down where we cover a handful of types of names. For example, Ostrich is a bird from the ’98 pledge class. Dove is from ’99. Kiver is the fish from ’99.”

The point of the system was not to give out a “cool” mug name but something that captures each member’s persona. “Can you imagine someone being named ‘turbo, ninja master’ or ‘lightning man?’ It would be pretty lame. Being named ‘Cinderella’ is like ‘aww, man! Guys, why?’ And then, over time, you just kind of become this caricature of precisely that.”

Some of Taber’s closest friends still call him Cinderella, but before him, there was Alice and Tinkerbell. During his time as an undergraduate in the chapter, there was a running theme of Disney characters. “I learned how to live with it and became Cinder, Cindy, Cinderella and so on. I stopped trying to be cool in situations and learned to be myself, goofy flaws and all.”

Not every mug name sticks like Chucko and Cinderella, some members end up with an adopted mug name, but very few brothers are referred to by their real name in the chapter.

The power of the mug name, while silly, is a way to connect with members from different generations. “I always enjoy when alumni who never lived in the chapter [shelter] together can share common bonds,” Taber said. “Mug names are certainly a part of that connection. The ever-popular question of, ‘How did you get your name?’ is a great way to connect during alumni weekend or other events.”