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11/12/2007 - Open Visor 09/17/2007 - Greek Week Puddle Pull 08/01/2007 - Welcome Class of 2011 07/24/2007 - Brother House Move-In 07/24/2007 - Fall classes |
DU HistoryThe Beginning The Williams campus, in the rugged hills of northwestern Massachusetts, was Spartan. Men lived in barely heated halls, doing the necessary chores themselves. There were no women students on campus. Life focused on knowledge and discourse, religion, and family. There were no radios or televisions; the electric light nor the phonograph had been invented. Even the telegraph Morse code transmitted by wire - was years away. There were neither trains nor paved roads; the efficient use of internal combustion and "horseless carriages" was a good 60 years in the future. The nearest "large" cities, Troy and Schenectady across the New York border, together sheltered only 20,000. The Union had about 14.5 million citizens and slaves in 24 states. Andrew Jackson was President and Abraham Lincoln was a young man of twenty five. Canada was firmly under British domination. The modern world as we know it today lay undiscovered and barely dreamed. Consider those men who founded Delta Upsilon at Williams College, on a crisp November day in 1834. What do they have in common with you? Why has their inspiration thrived for more than 165 years? What role will their principles play in your life? What is the import of a non-secret fraternity based on the Promotion of Friendship, the Development of Character, the Diffusion of Liberal Culture and the Advancement of Justice? A Premise of Fairness In the fall of 1834, there arose on the Williams College campus a matter of great concern to the faculty - and to many students as well. The focus of their debate fell on the two secret fraternities on campus; not on their presence, but on their activities. These two societies had conspired to make use of an advantage. Their members, like all men at Williams, wanted to fare admirably in the race for campus honors. However, by use of their secrecy, they had strayed from their earlier, legitimate mission as debating and literary societies, and had become political machines. Their goal was to place their members into high campus offices, whether qualified or not. They had done this effectively. Faculty members frowned on this trend. It raised previously unheard-of distinctions, jealousies, and animosity where none was needed. They questioned whether the emphasis on campus politics was contrary to the fundamental purposes of the college itself. Does this sound familiar? It may be that some faculty on your campus ask whether the activities of fraternities add to or detract from your college or university. Some students felt the same way. Their sense of justice was offended; they disliked the practice of conferring honors without merit. They longed for an even playing field. They were convinced that the spoils of victory should go to men on merit, men who truly earned their rewards, and not to unqualified men who used political clout to deliver them the prize. DU's First Meeting So it was that 20 men from the sophomore and junior classes met to forge a plan of action. They quickly found ten of the best men from the freshman class, and called a meeting for the evening of November 4. Though we would love to know exactly what happened that evening, we cannot; a fire destroyed all the Williams records seven years later. But we know that these 30 men gathered in the Freshman Recitation Room of Old West College, a building that stands today. They chose a name: The Social Fraternity. "Social" didn't mean entertainment events, as many fraternity men mistakenly believe today. Instead, it was much broader. It meant an interest in life's interactions among people, and how society would better itself through group action. The secret societies ridiculed the new group, but they knew full well that the Social Fraternity would thrive. And did it ever! Because its aims matched those of the college, the Social Fraternity soon had more than half the men on campus in its ranks - and soon, the first DUs dominated the lists of campus honors. This good idea of a spirited brotherhood based on merit spread rapidly. Within four years, men of similar beliefs set up another group, at Union College in Schenectady. Our Middlebury Chapter was born in 1845; Hamilton, in 1847. More followed: Amherst, Western Reserve, Wesleyan, Vermont, Rochester and Colby. These early groups thrived, powered by their zeal in battling the abuses of secret societies. These seven chapters at the 1852 Convention of the Anti-Secret Confederation came to be known as the "Seven Stars" of the anti-secrecy fight. Thus, they are commemorated in our Coat of Arms, in the Seven Stars you see below the open helmet, for non-secrecy and friendship, and above the balanced scales, for Justice. An early meeting of four chapters brought these anti-secret groups into an organized fraternity. It was in Troy, N.Y., in November 1847. Williams, Union, Amherst and Hamilton met in Convention, and formally established the Anti-Secret Confederation (ASC). Its Constitution paralleled that of Williams, and the Convention first adopted a member key, bearing the Greek words Ouden Adelon, "Nothing Secret." The Fraternity's colors were set as "old gold on a field of sky-blue." While other early fraternities fiddled with secret grips and recognition signs, DU was promoting friendship and developing character. While the secret fraternities wasted energy guarding their precious secrets from others, DU fought to advance justice and spread liberal, learned culture. DU had no need for mystic principles shrouded in secret ritual. Our aims were open, honest and direct. From these founders came these distinguished men: Stephen J. Field, Williams 1837, U.S. Supreme Court Justice From Troubled Times, New Strengths DU grew steadily, adding chapters at Wesleyan, Rochester, Bowdoin and Rutgers by 1860. Then came war of the most vicious kind--civil war. By 1864, the nation was in turmoil. The War Between the States had taken its toll on college men, and on fraternity chapters as well. In the South, some chapters enlisted in the Confederate Army en masse. Many Northern men left college to work in business, join the Union Army, or care for their families. DUs faced these facts, and fought hard to preserve their Fraternity. Some obvious changes were needed in the Anti-Secret Confederation. More centralized government of the chapters would be a big help. Issues about Fraternity insignia and ritual were unclear. It was obvious that the Convention of 1864 would be critical to DU's future. Delegates from Hamilton and Rochester went to Middlebury, ready to act. The times kept all other chapters from attending, except Rutgers, which had not sent word. But Rutgers was vital; the ASC needed four chapters for a quorum. March 9 brought a grim mood; no DU from Rutgers had appeared. But the afternoon brought great news: A Rutgers delegate, Thomas W. Jones, had arrived! The quorum was met and Convention could act! Brother Jones' arrival electrified the gathering. The DUs sprang into action. Within a day, the Convention formally adopted the name Delta Upsilon, in common but not universal use. It approved a new Constitution. It approved the DU badge used today, which had been adopted in 1858. Growth and Maturity After the Civil War ended and college life returned to normal, DU began to grow again. The mood was cautious, as the men wanted DU only at the strongest colleges and universities. And they found fertile ground: Colgate, New York University, Miami University, Brown, Cornell, Marietta, Princeton, Syracuse and Michigan. By 1880, DU had grown to 15 active chapters. Further illustration of DU's prominence comes in the achievements of DU alumni from this period. To name a few, and at great risk of deleting men with tremendous records, some notable DUs were: James A. Garfield: Williams 1856, second fraternity man to become President of the United States In addition were may diplomats and governors, corporate presidents, religious and military leaders and pioneers in industry. There were steps toward maturity, laying the foundation of the DU you know today. In 1879, the convention recognized that active opposition to secret fraternities was no longer needed. As our Ritual of Initiation states, the abuses of power were no less evil, but there was no longer the need to battle secrecy actively. So DU changed its formal policy from anti-secrecy to non-secrecy. About the same time, journals began to appear among general fraternities. Delta U also started one, with sporadic issues of Our Record in 1867 and 1869. Then in 1882, the Quarterly began publication, first as the University Review, then as the Quarterly. We haven't missed an issue since. DU is proud to issue one of the oldest continuously published fraternity magazines. Our first published history, The Quinquennial, appeared in 1884, DU's 50th year. It contained a brief history of each chapter and a list of members. DU's 50th anniversary sparked a surge of new chapters: Northwestern, Harvard, Wisconsin, Lafayette, Columbia, Lehigh, DePauw and Pennsylvania, Technology and Swarthmore. DU broke ground in other areas. Minnesota in 1890, was the first chapter west of the Mississippi River. Tufts, a local society formed in 1886, became the first chapter approved through petition in 1891. Stanford and California became the first West Coast DU chapters in 1896. McGill became the first Canadian chapter in 1898, and DU became an International Fraternity. Nebraska became the first Great Plains Chapter on December 9, 1898. Into the 1900's DU's growth slowed after 1900, but continued in measured steps. Petitioning societies, often well-established local fraternities with solid records of achievement on their campuses--were examined closely, and conventions often delayed acceptance into Delta U. Some groups petitioned five or more times! By 1920, DU had staked its claim to excellence in the burgeoning universities of the Alleghenies and the Midwest: Chicago, Ohio State, Illinois, Penn State, Iowa State, Purdue, Indiana, Carnegie and Kansas. In 1909, one of DU's most illustrious alumni, Charles Evans Hughes, Colgate and Brown 1881, led the move to incorporate the Fraternity. Incorporation under New York law meant that DU created an Assembly of graduate Trustees, who in turn elected the Board of Directors. This board governs DU between meetings of Convention and Assembly. Delta U went to Washington in 1911, our first chapter in the Pacific Northwest. Five years later, the first Manual of Delta Upsilon was printed, the earliest predecessor of the book you are now reading. Wesleyan was revived in 1919. Virginia opened the South for DU in 1922. Oregon State joined DU in the same year. Emphasis on chapter quality paid solid dividends. The 1920s were exceptional years for DU. For much of the decade, DU ranked above all other national fraternities in grades. A Permanent Trust Fund, established in 1921, is now a major force in DU financial stability, as you'll read in another chapter. DU added more excellent universities, public and private, to its chapter roll: Missouri, Iowa, Dartmouth, Oklahoma, Johns Hopkins. This quality has continued: of the 32 DU chapters between 1885 and 1928, 26 remain active today. DU leaders from the first quarter of the 20th Century are legion: Charles F. Kettering, Ohio State '04, founder of the Sloan-Kettering Institute 1929: No Crash for DU The Great Depression hit colleges hard, but DU was well prepared. Not a single chapter was lost--in fact, DU added UCLA, Manitoba, Washington and Lee, Western Ontario, Washington State, Oregon, Alberta and British Columbia from 1929 to 1935. This good fortune was the result of solid foresight; many other fraternities' chapters were not so fortunate. Many chapter houses were occupied for military needs during World War II, as had happened in the first Great War. But then came a serge of interest in college fraternities, and DU rode the wave as well. Focus on Education New chapters sprung up rapidly after the war. So did new ideas within DU. Standing committees were created within the Board of Directors, to build expertise in needed program areas. The first annual Leadership Conference occurred in the summer of 1949. DU is still one of a very few fraternities to offer an educational summer program like the Leadership Conference every year. And DU doesn't settle for just a summer conference on leadership. We were one of the first fraternities to hold Regional Leadership Seminars (RLS) across the continent each winter, too. These RLS meetings bring men together from the chapters in their region for a weekend of educational programs, seminars and fraternal fellowship. The Delta Upsilon Educational Foundation was formed in 1949 to raise money for education and assistance of DUs. You can read more about it in the chapter on DU finances. The chapter roll grew rapidly after the war. San Jose, Kent State, Louisville, Michigan State, Texas, Bowling Green, Denison, Bucknell, Bradley, Colorado and North Carolina were added within five years. This geographic diversity continued through 1960 with these new chapters: Ohio, Western Michigan, Kansas State, Georgia Tech, Florida, Pacific, Ripon, Wichita and Arizona. Highlighting top DU alumni from this period becomes extremely difficult and leaves out many qualified men, but here's a sampling: General David M. Shoup, DePauw '26, commandant, U. S. Marine Corps and Congressional Medal of Honor winner Chapters had a better way to plan their activities through the Superior Chapter Program, instituted in 1960. It has been superseded by the Seven Stars System, but the basic concept of careful planning and evaluation on objective criteria continues to serve DU Chapters well. After all, it's the plan followed by most successful businesses. Challenges of the 1960's and 1970's In the early 1960's, DU continued to grow. Oklahoma State, Clarkson, Auburn, North Dakota and Northern Illinois were founded and thrived. In the latter part of the decade, DU committed itself to even more growth and 14 colonies were underway in 1967. But the late 60's also meant social upheaval, and fraternities were among the institutions questioned about their relevancy. DU strongly emphasized the personal aspect of fraternity, rather than just its ritual and formalities. This was a strong argument for starting so many new chapters: Fresno State, San Diego and Northern Iowa in 1968; Creighton, Arlington, Tennessee in 1969; Delaware, Central Missouri, Marquette, Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo, North Dakota State, Maine and Eastern Kentucky in 1970; and Colorado State Dayton, South Dakota, Southern Illinois and Tyler in 1971. In 1969, a Fraternity committee determined that DU would save time and money by moving its headquarters from New York City. Indianapolis was chosen as a centrally located site, with attractive tax breaks and low personnel costs. A bequest from a dedicated DU paid for the new headquarters; Brother Lester E. Cox, Pennsylvania 1898, left about $175,000 to DU in his will. DU was the first fraternity to build headquarters on Founders Road in northwest Indianapolis. Today, seven other men's and women's fraternity headquarters are within a block, and a dozen others within a mile. Now men in today's news start to appear, men whose names you've heard, men who are achieving today. Here's a sampling: Dr. J. Robert Cade, Florida '45, inventor of Gatorade DU Always Open to All Men Another trend occurred in the 1960's in which DU was a natural leader. The civil rights movement in the United States led campuses to analyze whether all their institutions were fairly available to men of all races and religions. When they looked at fraternities, they found many with restrictions in the national bylaws that permitted membership only by white men, or Christian men, or other unjustified criteria. These fraternities were forced to amend their fundamental laws so that they complied with more modern and just policies. But DU was well ahead of the game. After all, since 1834, we had recognized one and only one distinction: merit. Men of every race, religion, national origin and economic background have become DUs. Never were there artificial barriers in our bylaws. We were the first fraternity to have none of these restrictive membership policies. Not that our Fraternity was perfect; some chapters were less receptive to social changes than is required by our bylaws and founding principles. But compared with other general fraternities, Delta Upsilon has always welcomed more men from more social and economic backgrounds. So DU was ahead of the times, and still is. What's even better is that since DU is non-secret, no one could doubt our position. Many of the secret fraternities had to be forced to reveal their positions on admitting men of various religions and races. Again, an open, non-secret philosophy paid dividends. Facing New Challenges The 1970's also meant difficult times for many fraternity chapters, as alcohol laws changed and it became legal for college men to drink. Many men handled this responsibility maturely. But at some chapters, an "alcohol cult" began to grow. Their use of the Fraternity as a social outlet distorted their understanding of the purpose of Delta Upsilon. Instead of a place to practice leadership and focus on personal development, they thought mostly about parties, entertaining the women on campus and preserving their "social budget." And alcohol took on a powerful distorting effect on rush, as some chapters would get men drunk, then offer them a bid. The result: poor decisions, poor quality pledges and damaged chapters. Certainly there is a place in your life for recreation, and dances and social functions with women are a part of that. But you'd be a fool to squander your time in college learning only what you could have learned working; that would waste time and money. You'd also be a fool to spend your recreation time only on late night partying, when there are hundreds of opportunities to perfect the social skills which will carry you far in the world beyond college. You may see chapters on your campus trapped in the misunderstanding of "social fraternity" which cropped up in the 1970's. Our strengths in Delta Upsilon came from building men, not a "party reputation." DU has not been immune to these forces. Nor has it sat idly by. DU was the first fraternity to call for dry rush on college campuses, even during the days when alcohol was legal for most undergraduates. DU was also one of the first to emphasize the dangers of hazing within chapters, and to create more positive pledge education programs that don't rely on archaic, misguided attempts at "pledge motivation." Enforcing high standards has also meant that some DU chapters have become inactive. In some cases, serious problems (such as drug use or alcohol abuse, hazing, disrespect for women, etc.) have meant that a chapter's charter has been suspended or revoked. While never a pleasant action, it's one that Delta Upsilon can and will take to preserve its name and its chapters. There was further growth in the 1970's and 1980's, after the surge in the early 1970's. Many of the newer chapters are in the South and Southwest: Houston, Arkansas, North Carolina State, Southwest Missouri, Baylor, South Carolina and Virginia Tech. Western Illinois, Massachusetts, Michigan Tech and Culver-Stockton have joined the fold, and Oregon was revived. In California, new chapters came to DU at Long Beach, Bakersfield and Santa Barbara. DU also added a chapter at Northern Colorado, and another Canadian Chapter, Guelph. Preparing for the Future Your fraternity today is preparing itself to thrive in the new millennium. The battle is being fought on many fronts. Together with men from other fraternities, we have been fighting the problems that can ruin fraternities and destroy men's lives: alcohol and drug abuse, hazing, sexually demeaning acts, racism and insensitivity to others, and poor academic priorities. Since 1986, DU has taken a new attitude toward its chapters. On one had, more DU staff members have made more visits to chapters than ever before; thus more help is available to you and your chapter. On the other hand, your Fraternity will be far less tolerant of chapters whose conduct threatens the good name of Delta Upsilon, and charters will be suspended or revoked, and men expelled from DU, if needed to uphold our standards. But these are the minority of cases. It is far more prevalent to see DUs leading the charge in improving the entire Greek system, and their chapter as well. In recent years, DUs have convinced their fellow fraternity chapters to ban the purchase of alcohol with chapter funds, and to end "little sister" programs. The focus is on quality and excellence: high grades, campus involvement and community service through volunteer work, respect for women on campus, good relations with faculty and administration, absolutely no drugs or hazing, responsible alcohol policies, and cooperation and enthusiasm for all student activities, Greek or non-Greek. These are the ways to build success for DU and your chapter. An expanded RLS and the summer Leadership Institute give more chapter leaders a chance to learn what they can do for their chapter and DU. The Assembly, which had met each year in New York, now joins the summer undergraduate meeting. Thus has been created a new training ground for the alumni who advise chapters through the Alumni Chapter program. You are coming into DU at an exciting time in our history. Now you have a chance to be a part of building its future. Your actions, and those of your chapter, will forge the DU history that pledges will read 50 years from now. The challenges to a modern fraternity are many. You'll have a chance to deal with them in your own chapter, as an associate member and as a member, but with these challenges come many opportunities to prove your mettle as a leader. That is precisely the experience you need to have early in life, to pave the road for a lifetime of achievement. As the decade of the 1990's began, the Fraternity's commitment to expansion brought about successful revivals of the Kent State, Pennsylvania, Western Michigan, Rochester, Cal Poly, Denison, and Minnesota Chapters. In addition, Delta U added three chapters in Canada at McMaster, Victoria and Calgary, and in the United States at Iona College, Texas A&M University, Arizona State, Carthage College, St. Norbert College, Pace University, University of Central Florida, Shippensburg, Albany, and the University Northern Arizona. The 90's also saw efforts strengthening towards alcohol free initiatives in order to keep up with society's demands and negative publicity. Delta Upsilon established the McQuaid Commission to review the Fraternity's focus on the alcohol-free policies. Led by then-Fraternity President James D. McQuaid, Chicago '60, the commission devise a plan whereby chapters can voluntarily become alcohol-free, or must maintain a certain standard of excellence in order to not be considered such. Any chapter falling below the minimum standards would become alcohol-free. In addition, any expansion, either to a new or returning chapter, would be installed as an alcohol-free facility. As the new millennium began to rise, bringing a close to the 20th century, Delta Upsilon continued to maintain its status quo. In addition, in March of 2000, the Fraternity installed its southernmost chapter at the University of Texas - Pan American in Edinburg, TX, followed by the triumphant return of the Ohio, San Diego, and Washington State Chapters. 2001 saw the installation of Delta Upsilon's 150th Chapter with the installation of the Northwestern State Chapter in Nachitoches, Louisiana. As of 2002, efforts are being made to expand to DePaul University in Chicago, as well as a return of the Michigan, Texas, North Carolina State, McGill, Arizona, Oklahoma State, and Calgary Chapters. This history is taken from The Cornerstone.
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The Miami Chapter of Delta Upsilon 400 East Vine Street Oxford, OH 45056
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