delta tau delta - the beta upsilon house corporation … · delta tau delta: from upsilon to beta...

Delta Tau DeltaIllinois’ First Fraternity

299-060 DTD Illinois Hist 6 9/28/07 4:44 PM


Delta Tau Delta: From Upsilon to Beta Upsilon, to John Street and Back, 1872-2000

Jon Coit, GHHP GA, March 6, 2001

Information courtesy of University of Illinois Archives and the Society for the Preservation of Greek Housing

This history was produced as part of the Society for the Preservation of Greek Housing’s Greek Chapter History Project. The Society was foundedin 1988, with the goal of preserving the historic buildings that embody the history of the nation’s largest Greek system, and educating the publicabout the historical significance of fraternities and sororities on the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign campus. Dues paid by memberfraternity and sorority chapters and donations from chapter alumni fund the Society’s work. In keeping with their mission, the Society began theGreek Chapter History Project in May 2000 in conjunction with the University of Illinois Archives. The GCHP aims for nothing less thanproducing a complete historical record of fraternities and sororities on the University of Illinois campus by employing a graduate assistant toresearch and write histories of campus chapters. Making the work possible are the extensive collections of the University of Illinois Archives,especially its Student Life and Culture Archival Program. Supported by an endowment from the Stewart S. Howe Foundation, the heart of the SLCArchives is the Stewart S. Howe collection, the world’s largest collection of material related to fraternities and sororities.

© 2001 The Society for the Preservation of Greek Housing and the Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois. All rights reserved.

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From Upsilon to sub rosa to defunct: 1871-1879

Delta Tau Delta at the University of Illinois got its start during a period in which student life was restricted to a degreehardly fathomable today. Students’ classes largely consisted of dry recitation with little opportunity for the developmentof one’s own creative energies. On many campuses, student-run literary societies were founded to allow students to bothexpress themselves without the restrictions of faculty supervision, and engage issues of the day. Indeed, Delta Tau Deltaitself was founded at Bethany College, Bethany, West Virginia in 1858 after a group of members of that school’sNeotrophian literary society watched a clique within the society conspire to award a prize to one of its own members.1

Although the specific reasons James N. Matthews, Ira O. Baker, and James R. Mannbanded together to found what became the Upsilon chapter of Delta Tau Delta are unclear,Winton Solberg’s history of the University of Illinois suggests that dissatisfaction with thelevel of faculty control over student life might have been at the heart of the matter. All threemen were members of the University’s (then called Illinois Industrial University)Philomathean literary society. It is also clear that they came into contact with Delta TauDelta through Indiana’s Nu Chapter. R. L. Organ of Nu Chapter wrote to DTD’s Alpha

chapter in November 1871, stating that “We have been corresponding with them [Illinoisfledgling Delts] for several weeks. They have 15 men at present.…” Two weeks after the chapter obtained its charter,January 19, 1872, an unauthorized choir practice precipitated a crisis in campus government. At the time, control of thestudents’ dormitory was vested in a student-only General Assembly, with a five-man Council empowered to levy fines forinfractions of the Assembly’s rules. But final authority, of course, remained in the hands of the school’s faculty. TheCouncil had fined 15 members of a choir for practicing during study hours. The choir members, though, had permissionfrom a faculty member, and appealed to University President James Gregory to overturn their fines. The students weresplit over the issue. The General Assembly, which according to Solberg was dominated by the still-secret Upsilon Chapterof Delta Tau Delta, passed a resolution by a near-unanimous vote demanding the faculty sustain the Council’s verdict.Another student, Charles W. Rolfe, got a majority of students to sign a petition protesting the ultimatum the GeneralAssembly had issued. Quite clearly the issue was whose authority reigned in the dormitory—the student government orthe faculty. The conflict ended ambiguously. Gregory and a Trustee of the University upheld the Council’s fines, but thefines were paid by the faculty and not the students in question.2

The conflict did, however, suggest that fraternities had invaded the University. Delta Tau Delta, as the firstfraternity on the Illinois campus, clearly bore the brunt of the general suspicion of fraternities. Solberg notes that theUpsilon chapter of Delta Tau Delta was not “officially” discovered until 1876. But the choir conflict and opposition tofraternities in the broader society clearly indicated to some students that the “serpent” as President Gregory called it, wasamong them. Gregory, like many fraternity opponents, argued first and foremost that it was fraternities’ secrecy whichposed the greatest threat to the authority of University faculty. Solberg repeats the charge of Rolfe and Gregory that thechoir crisis had been induced by DTD to take control of the General Assembly. In 1875 students unsuccessfullyattempted to ban fraternity members from offices in student government, while that year the Board of Trustees“condemned secret societies”—that is, Delta Tau Delta—“as detrimental to” the campus’ form of government. After theexistence of the chapter was officially recognized in 1876, one hundred students petitioned the faculty to abolish it.Gregory elaborated on the charge that the existence of the Upsilon chapter hampered the student-run government.Solberg writes that Gregory “attributed troubles experienced by the College Government to covert fraternity factions,

1 History of Delta Tau Delta, www.delts.org/history.shtml, accessed March 6, 2001.2 Winton Solberg, The University of Illinois 1867-1894: an Intellectual and Cultural History, Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1968,

p. 186-87, 200-1; F. Darrell Moore, “Defection and Expansion - - - The Fraternity Emerges,” The Rainbow 85:4 (Summer 1962), p. 187.

University Hall circa 1873



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and believed that these clandestine activities frustrated all hopes of asuccessful experiment in self-government.” This opinion was reflected inan 1876 Board of Trustees’ resolution which, while condemning “secretsocieties” and asking students to disband and refuse to tolerate them, didnot ban them wholesale.3

The hostility of many students, as well as the college faculty, made itdifficult for the Upsilon chapter to survive. An early member, L. F.Warner, Jr., requested for this reason that the Alpha chapter correspondwith the Illinois fraternity in plain envelopes: “Secret societies arestrongly forbidden by the faculty, and discountenanced by many of thethe students.” Noting the previous communications bearing the DTDinsignia and directed to the chapter, Warner wrote: “Our mail isdelivered to the University post office, and it has been by mere accidentthat they were not discovered. Each time one of the boys happened to behelping with the mail and got them.” For reasons of secrecy the chaptereven avoided sending representatives to the Karnea, the Delts’ biennialconvention.4

In a series of articles on defunct Delt chapters published in the nationalfraternity’s publication The Rainbow in 1890-91, Lowrie McClurg arguedthat what seemed to Gregory and others like a secret cabal intent onusurping college government, was in fact an organization “composed ofthe pick of the upper classes [juniors and seniors].” It was a result of thegenerally high caliber of these early Delt men, McClurg suggested, thatmany of them did occupy College Government offices. Once the groupwas discovered, graduating Upsilon chapter seniors began wearing theirbadges on commencement day. Once it was noticed that “most of thestudents occupying prominent positions were fraternity men,” this fueledthe fire of those students and faculty who believed “that they wereorganized for the purpose of electing their members to office.”5

It is difficult to know what the original motives of the Founders were,and why exactly Delta Tau Delta at Illinois was organized. Is does seemclear, though, that opposition to fraternities in general dramaticallyshaped student and faculty opinion of the chapter’s early actions. Anactivity which later became the standard measure of a fraternity’ssuccess—involvement in campus government—was in this case construedas an attempt of a select few to run student government for their ownbenefit. In any event, the opposition to Delta Tau Delta at Illinois hadthe desired effect. The chapter elected to operate sub rosa in 1876, andreturned its own charter to the Alpha three years later. During that timethe chapter accumulated a large debt to the Alpha chapter, and, when the

3 Solberg, op. cit., p. 190, 200.4 Quoted in Moore, “Defection,” p. 1875 Quoted in ibid., p. 187.

Our Illinois Founders

James Newton Matthews1872, the son of a countrydoctor and brother of a civilwar veteran, became the veryfirst student to enroll at whatwas then known as theIllinois Industrial University. On March 2, 1868, three of the original ten faculty

members stood at the steps ofthe University’s only building to welcomeMatthews, a young man of 16 from the smalltown of Mason, Illinois, in Effingham County.Matthews studied literature and medicine beforegraduating with honors in 1872.

After graduation, Matthews worked brieflyas a journalist for the Chicago Record and variousregional newspapers. He eventually entered medicalschool and returned home to take over his father’smedical practice. Although hailed as a selfless herofor tireless care of his patients, Matthews neverrelinquished his love of literature. In 1888, his firstof many volumes of poetry, Tempe Vale and OtherPoems, was published. Throughout his life,Matthews continued to publish poetry and manywere picked up by national magazines. During hisfrequent speaking tours and participation inliterary conferences he became close friends withthe celebrated poet James Whitcomb Riley and wasa key mentor and advocate for African-Americanpoet Paul Laurence Dunbar.

Known as the “Poet of the Prairie,”Matthews’ drew his inspiration from the subtlebeauty of rural Illinois and his deep devotion tofamily and friends. In 1910, Matthews walkedmore than five miles through a snowstorm totreat a patient. He suffered a fatal heart attack onhis return home.

Editor Walter Hurt eulogized his friend by saying, “he went forth as a physician andministered like a priest. He healed the heart aswell as the body. He looked for the good in hisfellow men – and found it.”

James NewtonMatthews



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Alpha refused to remit the debt, the chapter returned their charter.Solberg notes that two 1881 University graduates, Francis M. McKay andJohn H. Morse, claimed membership in Delta Tau Delta.6 But aside fromthose two, between 1879 and 1894 Delta Tau Delta was absent from theUniversity campus.

Beta Upsilon: 1894

Just as the chapter struggled and ultimately succumbed in a climatehostile to fraternities at Illinois, it experienced resurgence when the socialand regulatory climate improved. Beginning with the appointment ofThomas J. Burrill as the acting regent of the University in 1891, theprospects for fraternities at Illinois brightened considerably. The Trusteeslifted previous regulations against student membership in fraternities inSeptember of that year. Sigma Chi and Kappa Sigma were the firstorganizations to take advantage, and were both officially approved by theUniversity in 1891 (Sigma Chi had been at Illinois since 1881). Over thenext two years several other groups formed, including a local fraternitythat called itself Delta Delta Delta. It was this group which, in late 1893,began corresponding with the Alpha chapter of Delta Tau Deltaconcerning affiliation.7

While the animosities toward fraternities in general had subsided,the indirect impact of those on the Upsilon chapter remained. Expansionof Delta Tau Delta was a cause of much debate in the late 19th century,as it and many other fraternities that had expanded quickly in the 1880sfound their chapters failing quickly. In that context, some Delts who remembered the details of the Upsilon chapter’s disbandmentbelieved Illinois represented a less promising location for a new chapter.Future Delt President Alvan E. Duerr, at that time an official in the ArchChapter (the national executive body of Delta Tau Delta), arguedadamantly against the new Illinois chapter: “For goodness sake let’s defeatthe Illinois petition. If we are not careful, we will have a lot of the worstnew chapters on hand imaginable.”8 However, the investigator appointedby the Arch Chapter, Roy O. West, returned an extremely favorablereport about the applicants, which apparently convinced the national ofthe merits of the men. West wrote “Both the registrar and ProfessorsEdwards and Van der Voort, the latter two being Delta Tau Deltas,recommended the petitioners very highly in every respect. I think DeltaTau Delta could not hope to institute a new chapter with better men.”9

6 Solberg, op. cit., p. 285. 7 ibid., p. 379, F. Darrell Moore, “Babcock Begins, 1893,” The Rainbow 89:2 (Winter 1966), p. 10.8 Moore, op. cit., p. 10.9 Quoted in ibid., p. 10.10 Quoted in ibid., p. 10.

Ira Osborn Baker 1874,served as head of theUniversity of Illinois’ CivilEngineering department for39 years (1878-1915 and1920-1922) and is theindividual who influencedmost strongly the earlydevelopment of the

department. He received his BS and CE degreesfrom the University in 1874 and 1878,respectively, and was appointed Assistant Professorin 1879 and promoted to Professor in Charge ofthe Civil Engineering Department in 1880.

Baker was a man of extraordinarycapabilities and energy. During his tenure asdepartment head, he taught courses in engineeringdrawing, surveying, railroad engineering, bridges,masonry construction, geodesy, descriptive andpractical astronomy, tunneling, contracts andspecifications, roads and pavements, and analyticalmechanics. In the absence of adequate textbooksfor his students’ use, he prepared such texts andpublished them in blueprint form. He alsoestablished cement testing and road materialslaboratories to improve both the instructional andresearch programs of the department. He wasunusually active in professional organizations,having conceived and founded both “The WesternSociety of Engineers” and “The Society for thePromotion of Engineering Education,” the secondof which evolved into “The American Society forEngineering Education,” which is the primaryengineering education organization of today.

In recognition of his outstandingcontributions, the University of Illinois awardedhim the honorary degree of Doctor ofEngineering in 1903. Baker retired from theUniversity in 1922 after 48 years of service.

Ira Osborn Baker



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Delt President Kendric C. Babcock concurred with this assessment afterattending the installation banquet of the new chapter, April 19, 1894.“They are the best looking lot of men we have ever started with, so far as my knowledge goes.”10

Interestingly enough, while some old Delts could not put the Illinoischapter’s past behind them (Stevens College’s Rho chapter going so far asto pass a resolution censuring the Arch Chapter for granting the Illinoischarter), it is quite possible that the new Beta Upsilon chapter wasunaware of its own past. The chapter listed 1894 as its establishment datein the Illio, the University’s yearbook, until the 1904 edition. Then, itnoted the chapter had been established in 1872, but “re-established” in1894—just as Sigma Chi listed it’s Illinois chapter as having beenestablished in 1881 and re-established in 1891.11

The First House: 1894-1913

Beta Upsilon did not occupy a house until 1900. As was the practicewith University of Illinois fraternities, the chapter rented a meeting hall.The chapter hall was located on Main and Walnut streets, Champaign,on the second floor of a building which housed and was owned by theFirst National Bank.12 The chapter moved to its first house in 1900, arented property at 410 E. Green, Champaign.13 Very little was recordedabout that particular house, but there are photographs of it in the Illio. It was, though, the house in which the longest of all Delt traditions wasbegun—carving fireplace bricks. The available records don’t indicate howthe tradition started, but most contemporary Delts say every memberwho lived in the house at least five semesters carved their name into abrick in the fireplace.

Fundraising for a new home, though difficult, was no doubtmade easier by the increasing strength of the active chapter. By 1909 thechapter boasted thirty active members. The centerpiece of the chapter’sactivities was an annual alumni dinner (or, as prominent alum Louis M.Tobin ’01 usually termed it, the “love feast”), usually held in late April orearly May. The chapter began several annual traditions during thisperiod, some of which survived for many years. Annually, aroundChristmas, the pledges put on a Christmas dance, and, in addition to theannual Halloween party, some of the actives performed a play for thechapter’s amusement. The 1907 playbill featured “’Blotches of Blood: orPursued by Percy Cauliflower,’ described as the legitimate successor to

11 The Illio, 1895-1904.12 “Delt Room Picture Recalls Early Days,” Beta Upsilon Booster 31:2 (December 1935), p. 1. 13 Student Directory, 1907/08-1910/11.14 The Beta Upsilon, (vol. and issue number indistinct) December 1907, p. 2.15 The Beta Upsilon Booster, passim.

James Robert Mann 1876,was elected a U.S.Representative from Illinois in1896 and served 13 successiveterms until his death in 1922.Known as an extraordinarypolitician and lawmaker, heserved as House MinorityLeader from 1911 to 1919.

Mann was born near Bloomington inMcLean County, Illinois. He was admitted to the Illinois bar in 1881 and commenced hispractice in Chicago. Before being elected toCongress he served on the Chicago Board ofEducation, as Chairman of the Illinois StateRepublican Convention in 1894, as a member of the Chicago City Council (1892–1896) andMaster in Chancery of the Superior Court ofCook County.

Considered to be a leading voice forwomen’s voting rights, he strongly supportedpassage of the 19th Amendment to the U. S.Constitution which grants suffrage to women.Mann opposed the Harrison Act and Prohibition,despite its popularity at that time and introducedlegislation that became the Pure Food and DrugsAct of 1906. He is probably best known for hisauthorship of the Mann Act of 1910, which was a reaction to the “white slavery” issue andprohibited transportation of women betweenstates for nefarious purposes.

As a student, “he led all sorts of projects,”said Prof. C. W. Wolfe, “often not because hefavored them, but because he loved a politicalfight. In the same manner, he attacked many an important student law, just for the fun ofbeing anarchistic. He used his ability to talk tohelp him through many a course for which hefailed to prepare.”

James Robert Mann



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‘Gobs of Gore.’”14 The chapter also held frequent dances and parties, as well as a winter formal.

When the University began celebrating Homecoming in 1910, the Delts added it quitesuccessfully to their social calendar. While not the focus of the chapter’s activities they were tobecome later, the exploits of the University’s sports teams were chronicled in the chapter’snewsletter, The Beta Upsilon (renamed The Beta Upsilon Booster in 1908). Baseball and footballwere of most interest. Beta Upsilon also had men in all phases of University activities, fromthe campus newspaper to honor societies.15 The overarching emphasis of the early years of BetaUpsilon, though, was their drive to build a house equal if not superior to their rivals’. Thoughalumni and actives began attempting to raise funds for a house in 1901, ten years passedbefore the project came to fruition.

The house at 302 E. John, Champaign, that served as home for Beta Upsilon until1967, owed its existence primarily to three Delts: Leslie Weaver ‘95, Louis Michael (Mike)Tobin ‘01, and Bert Nelson ’05 (aka “Shylock”). Weaver helped form the house corporation in

1903 in order to begin the process of raising funds, and saw the chapter take its first real step towards its goal with the1905 purchase of two lots at the northwest corner of John and Third streets, Champaign.16 He was not to see thefulfillment of the chapter’s dream, however, due to an untimely death. The mantle thus fell to Tobin and Nelson. Tobinwas extremely important to the fraternity, and the University, in the years between his graduation and his death in 1943.While Tobin served in various chapter offices including President, and was President of the house corporation, it isprobably his editorship of the The Beta Upsilon in which he served the chapter best. He was editor of the publicationfrom its inception in 1904 until the early thirties, and stayed on as alumni editor until 1936.17 Bert Nelson earned theaffectionate nickname of “Shylock” due to his diligence in dunning Delts for delinquent house fund accounts, astreasurer of the chapter’s corporation. Nelson directed the fund through at least the early twenties, although this is hardto determine. Even when Nelson moved to Peoria in 1919 he retained his position with the fund.18

1904 proved to be a pivotal year in the history of Beta Upsilon. In that year, thechapter began publication of The Beta Upsilon to promote the chapter’s annualdinner, and Nelson took over management of the house fund. At the time Nelsonentered office, the fund had just $160 in the bank, a loan of $183 outstanding, aswell as the note on the lots at 302 E. John.19 In addition to regularly asking fordonations through the newsletter, Nelson also devised ways to demonstrate to thealumni that the actives were serious about a new home. In the December 1907Booster, Nelson announced that the actives had agreed to require each initiate todeposit $20 in the house fund, as well as increasing the annual chapter-wide

contribution of $500 to the fund. “All this,” Nelson wrote, “is in spite of theexpense of maintaining a big house and could not be done was not the chapter in healthy financial condition.”20

While Nelson proved to be an exceptionally shrewd and successful businessman, he clearly benefited from Tobin’stalent for publicity. The chapter was also able to appeal to the competitive nature of fraternities in seeking house fundcontributions, as some of the Delts’ main rivals—including Sigma Chi, Alpha Tau Omega, and Sigma Alpha Epsilon—were in the process of building grand new chapter houses while Beta Upsilon attempted to raise funds for theirs. Tobin

16 William R. Kent, “Beta Upsilon’s Own House,” The Rainbow 34:4 (June 1911), p. 572.17 The Beta Upsilon Booster. The end of Tobin’s tenure as editor is difficult to pinpoint, as the newsletter ceased publishing that information

in the 1920s, and the University of Illinois Archives has few issues from that period. His first appearance as alumni editor was in 1932.18 The Beta Upsilon Booster 15:1 (August 1919), and passim; Kent, passim. 19 The Beta Upsilon Booster 15:1 (August 1919), p. 2.20 The Beta Upsilon Booster 4:1 (December 1907), p. 2.21 The Beta Upsilon Booster 3:(issue number indistinct) (1906), p. 1

410 E, Green, Champaign

Delts’ first meeting room at FirstNational Bank of Champaign

on Main and Walnut.



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typically paired pleas for funds with notice of these new houses. For example, in a 1906 Booster Tobin’s article aboutdelinquent house notes stated, “If brothers who are delinquent could visit here and take a look at the houses our rivalsare erecting, they would swear an almighty vow that their own chapter must not be behind.”21

It took several years of diligent fundraising to bring about the construction of the Delts’ newhome at 302 E. John Street. Nelson wrote in the December 1907 Beta Upsilon that the chapter“wants to build in two years—when her present lease is up. Will she?” But the Illinois chapter wasable to capitalize on strong Delt alumni spirit. The 1907 Karnea at Chicago set a record (to bebroken three times since by the Delts) for the largest fraternity convention ever, and the Illinoischapters themselves set a record for having the largest delegation at any convention. The mainactivity of the chapter in those years was the annual alumni dinner, held in late spring. At each ofthese occasions, Tobin and Nelson implored the alumni to support the efforts of the active chapter.At the 1908 dinner, Tobin needled alumni with a lengthy speech. Asking rhetorically if it were

possible to build a house to occupy by fall of 1910, Tobin said, “The plan is impractical, you say?Do you mean to say that Delta Tau Delta cannot do what Alpha Tau Omega has done?”22

But even with the active chapter’s hefty contributions and Nelson’s and Tobin’s effective appeals, the constructionof the house proceeded by fits and starts. The directors of the house corporation met on Thanksgiving day 1909 to givefinal approval to house construction plans, even though a considerable bit of fundraising awaited the chapter. After anaborted attempt to sell bonds to the alumni to sponsor a $20,000 loan, the corporation elected instead to attempt toraise $10,000 from them directly with this appeal: “To build a fraternity house at the University of Illinois that willendure for all time as the home of Delta Tau Delta there, $10,000 must be raised by September [1910].”23 Constructionbegan on the chapter house that fall, in the end supported by a $20,000 loan with the $10,000 expected to beforthcoming. It appears, though, that the chapter was not successful in meeting their fundraising deadline. By earlyspring 1911, around $5000 had been raised, but needed an additional $5000 to make a payment to their contractor byJuly 1. The chapter failed to meet even this extended deadline. In the January 1912 Booster Tobin noted that, althoughthe chapter had paid out nearly all the contributions that had come in to support the house, around $6,900, it stillneeded to raise about $3000. The chapter was eventually able to retire the promissory note engaged to meet thatobligation, but not until the house had been occupied for two years. Given the difficulty with financing, the actives hadto move into the house long before it was completed. Although they first occupied the house in the fall of 1911, it wasn’tuntil the Booster of August 1913 that the chapter announced it was completed.

Through the War, and into the Depression

Between the time Beta Upsilon moved into their new home, and the onset ofWorld War I, the chapter focused considerable attention on scholarship. Whilemaintaining their involvement in campus activities, including sports, the Illio,the campus circus, Homecoming, and social events, the chapter saw its gradesfluctuate but generally stay in the top half of all fraternities on campus. Duringthe spring semester of 1914, the chapter ranked third of all fraternities inscholarship, and the Booster gave credit to a new scholarship program in the

22 The Beta Upsilon Booster 4:4 (June 1908), p. 3.23 The Beta Upsilon Booster 6:2 (May 1910), p. 3. 24 The Beta Upsilon Booster 11:1 (November 1914), p. 2.25 The Beta Upsilon Booster 12:1 (October 1915), p. 1.

Bert Nelson

302 E. John, Champaign



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house. The newsletter noted “a junior was appointed a sort of bookkeeper, whose duty it was to keep account of all theabsences taken by the members and to record all of the scholarship reports forwarded; and a senior, a forceful, impulsivefootball player, forced the fighting” with schoolwork.24 With the building success of the Illinois football team,Homecoming became an even more popular event at 302 E. John. A highlight was no doubt the 1915 Homecoming tiegame between Illinois and Minnesota for the conference title.25 The Delts also spent time and money in smoothing offsome of the rough edges left by the long and difficult process of constructing their house. For example, the chapter notedin two consecutive 1914 Boosters that the house needed new furniture, but it was not until the end of the 1914-1915school year that they were able to furnish the house as they had hoped. That year, the chapter finally ended springsemester in the black: “the chapter managed its affairs so successfully last year that the year ended with a large profit—in CASH—which has been expended in placing cork carpets on the two upper floors and on placing new furniture inthe library and in the living room.”26

However, the War, which did not seem to enter the thoughts of the chapter before 1917, intruded upon themrather quickly. The nation as a whole had been hearing debates about the necessity of “preparedness” for some time, but as late as April 1917 the Booster reported the house was running at capacity.27 Soon afterward, however, the chaptersaw cause for alarm. Members sent out an emergency letter to the alumni on May 15 about the financial condition ofthe chapter. At the end of the 1916-17 school year, the chapter consisted of ten men, including two seniors. By thenfourteen men had enlisted in the service and nine had returned home to farm. Thus the chapter believed “It is absolutelynecessary to create a large emergency fund which will be available to make up any deficit which may ensue.”28 Butalthough the chapter did shrink to about two-thirds its pre-war size, in the end, World War I only closed the house for a couple of weeks in the fall of 1918. This is all the more remarkable given that the chapter did more than its fair sharefor the war effort. Twenty men from the active chapter and thirteen alumni were in the service by the fall of 1917, andby war’s end the roll of Delts in the service took up half the Booster’s front page. Through the help of the alumni, thepayments on the house were made on time throughout the War. However, the Student Army Training Corps ordered the house closed and the brothers into barracks two weeks into the fall semester of 1918. As the war ended during thatsemester, the actives were permitted to return to the house in the spring. By fall 1919, the chapter was back up to fullstrength, in terms of numbers of men, but with the noticeable absence of four Beta Upsilon Delts who gave their lives in service: Tom Goodfellow, Ralph Gifford, E. L. Harshbarger, and Phil Smith. With the exception of Goodfellow, who died in combat in France, the rest succumbed to the great influenza epidemic which killed millions worldwide.29

The 1920s was a decade of great growth in popularity and numbers for the fraternity systemnationwide. This growth was centered at the University of Illinois, and Beta Upsilon was at itsheart. University students had long referred to themselves as “rah rahs,” in reference to theimportant role University sports played in their recreational activities. That this happened in the1920s and the 1940s and 1950s, in the wake of two horribly destructive wars, is not as surprising asit might seem. Even in World War I, which the United States entered late and suffered fewcasualties in relation to the other combatants, seems to have strengthened the bonds felt by thebrothers. The Booster for August 1919 noted that “All during the War the men from overseas wroteback about the great reunion that would be held when the War ended,” and the 1919

Homecoming proved it. More alumni returned that year than could fit in the house.30 But Tobin also noted that thissentiment extended even to the house fund: “One of the most inspiring things to the men at home was the loyalty of the

26 The Beta Upsilon Booster 12:1 (October 1915), p. 2.27 The Beta Upsilon Booster 13:2 (April 1917), p. 3.28 The Beta Upsilon Booster 13:3 (June 1917) p. 1.29 The Beta Upsilon Booster, 14:1,2,3, 15:1 (1917, 1918).

Louis M. “Mike” Tobin



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boys in France to the house-fund. Look over the roll of honor and see how many men in the service sent checks.”31

Clearly Beta Upsilon was something the brothers felt closely tied to.

It was in the 1920s when the chapter assumed the form it would take for the next fiftyyears. Intramural athletics, as well as the usual participation in University sports, becamea major focus of the chapter. No doubt this was in part due to the influence of Tobin.As both a dedicated Delt alumnus and the man in charge of publicity for theUniversity’s sports program, Tobin was clearly in a position to make the connectionbetween the growing popularity of the football program and the Beta Upsilon chapter.Over the next fifty years the chapter boasted at least one starter on the University’sfootball squad. The ties ran even deeper—in the 1930s Bob Zuppke, the legendary

coach of the Illinois football team, regularly attended the Delts annual spring reunion. Zuppke’s status as a Kappa Sigmaalumnus, though providing the occasion for much derision, deterred neither himself nor the chapter from welcominghim to the house. At the 1938 reunion, for example, the Booster noted that Zuppke “was greeted with the traditionalsong with its dire threat of what would happen to a Kappa Sig found ‘within the sacred walls.’”32

As athletics and homecoming assumed prominence in the chapter’s activities, members didn’t neglect othertraditional areas of focus. Actives stayed involved with the Illio, the Daily Illini (the campus newspaper), and honorarysocieties. While scholarship wasn’t a strength of the chapter, they nevertheless made concerted efforts here as well. In atypical year, 1925-26, the chapter’s actives included Russell Daugherity, house president and star back on the Illinoisfootball squad; John Morse, editor of the Illio; Richard Ramey, sports editor of the Daily Illini; three members of thesenior activity honorary, Ma-Wan-Da, including Daugherity, Paul Doolen, and Byron Phillips; and three members of thejunior honorary, Sachem, including Morse, Bruce Morse, and Paul Bush. Although Beta Upsilon only managed 39th

place out of 64 fraternity chapters at Illinois in grade point average,this put them on par with other Delt chapters nationwide.Moreover, they were only slightly below the all-men’s and all-fraternity averages.33 The chapter continued to hold its winterformal, parties, and exchanges. The 1920s also saw the chaptermemorialize important milestones in its history. At Homecoming1923, the chapter celebrated both its 50th anniversary and dedicateda plaque, donated by the alumni and sculpted by renowned artistLorado Taft, which memorialized Beta Upsilon’s four members whodied in World War I.34

The Great Depression hit many fraternities and sororitieshard, but Beta Upsilon seemed to have had little trouble attractingpledges over the decade. Even at the depths of the Depression, in1932, the chapter continued to operate in the black.35 Although it

looked like the chapter might have difficulty filling the house due to economic conditions in the spring of 1933, by thebeginning of the 1933-34 school year the house had twenty-one pledges. Even in periods where other Illinois fraternitieshad difficulty rushing men, Beta Upsilon did well.36

The chapter did express difficulty, though, in getting alumni interested in the chapter’s activities. No hint was

30 The Rainbow 46:1 (November 1922), p. 22231 The Beta Upsilon Booster 15:1 (August 1919), p. 2.32 The Beta Upsilon Booster 33:4 (June 1938), p. 1.33 The Rainbow 50:1 (November 1926), p. 105.34 The Rainbow 46:1 (November 1922), p. 222.35 The Beta Upsilon Booster 28:1 (December 1932), p. 4.

1923 football at Memorial Stadium

1924 Daily Illini



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given as to the reason, although it could be in part that the Depression affected the ability of the alumni both tocontribute money to the chapter and to travel to 302 E. John for Homecoming. There is also some suggestion thatpublication of the Booster had lapsed for a few years.37 As a result, the chapter took steps to try and attract alumniinterest. They instituted a new alumni event, a “Spring Reunion,” which typically featured a Saturday morning golfgame, an afternoon Illinois baseball game, and an evening banquet. The idea of a spring meeting was not new to thechapter, as its chief activity before the inauguration of Homecoming was a spring alumni dinner. The announcement ofthe dinner to be held May 6, 1933, suggested that the active chapter believed finances were discouraging alumni interestin the house. It urged “Don’t let finances interfere with your plans for attending the Spring Reunion. No charge will bemade for the banquet, and many Delts are organizing parties to drive to Champaign to cut transportation costs. Low

round-trip rail fares are also available for the week-end period.”38 The initial and subsequentreunions were a great success.39 The chapter also began publishing an alumni directory, the first inthe chapter’s history, in 1934.40

In addition to its’ usual success in intramural sports, campus activities, and support of theIllinois football squad, the chapter made two major changes in its structure during the 1930s. Thefirst was the addition of a “house manager,” Mrs. Lillian Wisegarver. Wisegarver was not a “housemother,” presiding over the chapter’s social functions. Instead, she supervised the commissary andlooked after the house and ensured “that it is operated on a wholesome and economical basis.”41

Except for a brief interval during World War II, Wisegarver stayed with the chapter through thelate 1960s.

The second change was the inauguration of what the chapter called a “praeceptor” position. Basically a chapteradvisor dedicated to improving the actives’ scholarship, the praeceptor system, as it was followed in the 1930s, placed aman, usually a Delt, in the position of advisor to the actives regarding their schoolwork.42 The chapter supplemented thesystem, beginning in 1934, with two new scholarship awards. A plaque was made to carry the names of two actives eachyear: one who led the chapter in grades, and the other who showed the most improvement over the previous year. Thechapter also began awarding an inscription on a gold cup every semester to two freshmen, one who led the chapter’sfreshmen and the other who had improved the most.43 However, the chapter’s heavy emphasis on activities and socialevents made it difficult to get Beta Upsilon in the top 10 chapters on campus. The chapter had an annual Christmasdance organized by the pledges, the Spring Reunion, Homecoming, Dad’s and Mom’s Days, and an annual springformal, in addition to their typical line-up of intramural and college sports and campus activities. It was in the 1930swhen the chapter newsletter first mentions exchanges with sororities, and participation in events like Sachem Sing.44

World War II and the Postwar Era

As with World War I, the effects of the Second World War seemed to creep up on Beta Upsilon. The chapter had successfulyears in 1939, 1940, and even 1941. They completely renovated their library, improved their standing to fourteenth ingrades, won the intramural title in baseball in 1940 and basketball in 1941, and continued to hold successful reunions and a

36 The Beta Upsilon Booster 32:3 (March 1937), p. 3.37 Note in The Beta Upsilon Booster 30:5 (June 1935), p. 3 about having revived the Booster “a few years back.”

The University Archives holdings stop in 1929 and resume in 1932.38 The Beta Upsilon Booster 28:3 (March 1933), p. 1.39 The Beta Upsilon Booster 28:4, 29:5, 30:5, 31:4.40 The Beta Upsilon Booster 29:5 (June 1935), p. 2.41 The Beta Upsilon Booster 28:3 (February 1934), p. 3.42 The Beta Upsilon Booster 28:1 (December 1932), p. 3; 29:3 (February 1934), p. 3.43 The Beta Upsilon Booster 29:3 (February 1934), p. 1.

Lillian Wisegarver



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full social schedule.45 But after the United States’ entry into the War, Delts in the service and out again found themselvescaught up in it. Lt. Harry Ripkey ’40, for example, was commanding an anti-aircraft battery at Pearl Harbor on December7, 1941, when the Japanese surprise attack catapulted the nation into war. However, it was unclear early on how the Warwould affect fraternities on campus. The Booster speculated—correctly, as it turned out—that the unpopular Student ArmyTraining Corps would not be reinstituted. It took several war years to actually close the chapter house.

Remarkably, as in WWI, the chapter remained functioning, if at abbreviated strength, even asboth actives and alumni from Beta Upsilon answered the call to arms. The last reports of thechapter’s social activities were in 1943. The February Rainbow of that year noted that the chapterhad held “several informal parties and dances,” as well as the annual Christmas Pledge Formal theprevious semester. The chapter also watched one of their all-time college athletic greats, cagerAndy Philip, lead the “Whiz Kids” of the Illinois basketball team to the Big 10 championship in1943.46 It wasn’t until 1944 that the chapter house closed down. For the duration, Beta Upsilonrented three rooms in an office building, located at 709 S. Wright St., Champaign. The chapterdid continue to pledge and initiate members, however.47 In the end, 213 Beta Upsilon actives andalumni served in the military, and the chapter mourned sixteen of its own who had fallen incombat.48 Perhaps the most mourned Delt of that era didn’t wear the uniform of his country. Louis

M. Tobin passed away in 1943. After the War, the chapter memorialized Tobin along with those sixteen Beta UpsilonDelts who gave their lives for their country.49

Although Beta Upsilon actives reoccupied 302 E. John St. in early 1946, it took some time to get the chapterrunning smoothly. About a year lapsed between chapter reports to The Rainbow, from May 1946 to May 1947. But theMay 1947 report showed the chapter had returned to its’ pre-war schedule. Heavy involvement in intramural sports andcampus activities, as well as the chapter’s annual reunion, spring formal, and social events, showed that the chapter wasback to normal. The 1947 reunion, held April 18-19, also provided the occasion for the unveiling of the chapter’smemorial portrait of Louis M. Tobin.50 The chapter finished its first year back with a flourish, winning the trophy foroverall points in the entire intramural sports tourney. Alumni interest in the chapter waxed, as it had after the previouswar. After the 1947 spring reunion the chapter announced that alumni and actives had laid the groundwork for anambitious four-year house renovation program. That fall, Homecoming saw one of the largest crowds ever at BetaUpsilon—around 250 actives, alumni, family and friends celebrated the resumption of Illinois Delts’ traditions. In 1952,the chapter celebrated its 80th anniversary at the University of Illinois.51

Just as before the War the Delts continued to grapple with scholarship. Indeed, the nationalfraternity as a whole turned its eyes to the issue. While Beta Upsilon had never consistently excelledin grades, in this it tended to mirror the national as a whole, as few Delt chapters were known fortheir scholastic excellence. At the 1950 Karnea, the national passed a lengthy resolution in anattempt to refocus the attitude of its chapters on scholarship. In this, interestingly enough, BetaUpsilon had led the way. In early 1949 the chapter adopted an “advisor” system, which paired apledge and an active for the purpose of improving grades, and later in the year added new studyroom assignments and a scholarship honor roll board to the chapter’s system. The renewed emphasisthis time seemed to pay off. While the chapter recruited an especially strong pledge class during the1950-51 school year, which won the campus award for highest pledge class scholarship, the chapter

44 The Beta Upsilon Booster, passim.45 The Beta Upsilon Booster, passim.46 Louis M. Tobin, “All-America Andy Phillip,” The Rainbow 66:3 (May 1943), p. 139-140.47 The Rainbow 67:3 (May 1944), p. 84.48 The Rainbow 69:1 (November 1945), p. 20, 23; 69:3 (May 1946), p. 126-127.49 The Rainbow 69:3 (May 1946), p. 117.

1953 Pledge Class

Andy Phillip: “Whiz Kid”



14

stayed within the top ten for the next few years.52 But again, the chapter’s focus oncampus activities, especially given the increased prominence of the Spring Carnival andHomecoming decorations in the 1950s and 1960s, certainly must have made it difficultto keep up these early successes.

As it had before the War, the chapter excelled in intramural sports and campusactivities, and of course boasted a full social calendar. Its entries in the Spring Carnivalgrew increasingly complex. For the 1953 carnival, the chapter made a “Tarzan” movieaptly titled “Vine, Vimmen, and Sarong,” and the next year’s carnival booth featured acontraption which projected the six-inch image of a female assistant into a smallfishbowl.53 The chapter was consistently competitive in intramural sports, winning the

track championship in 1955, the recreational basketball tournament in 1950 and 1956, and the intramural footballchampionship in 1958, for example.

It also continued to boast of exceptional University athletes as well. Bill Tate ’53, who later becameBeta Upsilon’s chapter advisor, won Most Valuable Player honors at the 1952 Rose Bowl as an Illinitailback, and Jon Culbertson ’56 excelled in gymnastics for Illinois.

The report in the June 1960 Rainbow displayed a typical social schedule for this period.Exchanges were held with Kappa Alpha Theta, Delta Gamma, and Alpha Epsilon Phi sororities; thechapter paired with Delta Delta Delta for Sheequon (the event that replaced the Spring Carnival),and several serenades were given.54 Chapter reports in the Rainbow become less frequent during thisperiod, but those available, as well as information from alumni interviews, suggests that Beta Upsiloncontinued to excel in its traditional areas. The fall 1965 Rainbow report noted that the chapter hadfinished within the top five in the intramural sports program the previous few years. As the

University of Illinois celebrated its centennial in 1967, Beta Upsilon reported a high chapter scholarship average, and a rededicated and enthusiastic chapter leadership.55

The Fire and its Aftermath

The morning of September 2, 1967, Beta Upsilon’s beloved house at 302 E. John was gutted by fire. Even rooms thatescaped burning still suffered extensive smoke and water damage, the total cost estimated at the time at $200,000. JohnGleeson ’68 and Lucky Somers ’69 came back to John St. without advance knowledge of the fire, and were the firstamong the actives to discover the total loss.56 Alumni and the University worked together to find the chapter temporaryhousing for the coming year—the fire had occurred only two weeks before classes were to start. They were able to salvagesome memorabilia, including the carved bricks on the fireplace. Jack Fredrickson ’69, writing in the Rainbow, noted that,at least initially, the chapter remained strong: “…we have realized that the only thing the fire destroyed was our chapterhouse. We are still a top rushing chapter on campus.” Their strong rushing program, he noted, would “ensure ourcontinued prominence in the fraternity system here at Illinois.”57

The chapter initially continued its strong showing in the Illinois Greek system. In 1967-68 the chapter placed

50 The Rainbow 70:3 (May 1947), p. 158.51 The Rainbow 71:1 (November 1947), p. 21; 71:2 (February 1948), p. 105; 76:1 (September 1952), p. 40.52 The Rainbow 72:2 (February 1949), p. 88; 73:1 (November 1949), p. 24; 74:1 (September 1950), p. 3, 35-36; 74:2 (December 1950),

p. 108-109; 74:3 (March 1951), p. 172; 74:4 (June 1951), p. 253; 76:4 (June 1953), p. 20153 The Rainbow 76:3 (March 1953), p. 147.54 The Rainbow 83:4 (June 1960), p. 196-197.

Bill Tate

Delt Fireplace circa 1954



15

third in the Interfraternity Council Intramural sports competition, following that up with a second place finish thefollowing year. Even though the emergency housing arrangements provided Beta Upsilon with both rush and socialobstacles, the actives found solutions to their problems. The year after the fire, the chapter held rush at a sorority house,

and until the fall of 1969, when the chapter moved into 713 W.Ohio, Urbana, it held all its exchanges at sorority houses as well. Asthe chapter noted in their Spring 1969 Rainbow report, this was anecessity given the condition of the emergency housing. Lacking afurnace the winter of 1967-68, the men grew used to sleeping inthe cold! In 1970-71, Beta Upsilon initiated a system wherepledges were assigned to act as assistants to chapter officers for amonth on a rotating basis, and won an award from the national forthe Booster. The chapter’s centennial in 1972 capped off therebuilding process, and the chapter celebrated by winning the IFCIntramural sports championship cup.58

The 1970s proved to be a difficult decade for the fraternitysystem in general, and the chapter itself had its own particular

problems. In the early 1970s Beta Upsilon lost to retirement Mrs. Lillian E. Griffith (Wisegarver), the chapter’s housemanager since the early 1930s. Griffith had taken a real interest in Delt history in her later years with the chapter. Afteridentifying all but a handful of the Delt bricks in the 302 E. John fireplace in 1965, she gathered historical materials towrite a chapter history which she unfortunately was unable to finish.

The loss of Mrs. Griffith symbolized a whole host of changes broughton by the chapter’s relocation. Few alumni from the pre-fire periodmaintained a connection once the chapter moved to 713 W. Ohio, andthe chapter rarely sent reports to the national for publication in theRainbow during the period. Between the Summer 1970 issue and theWinter 1977 issue, the chapter only sent in two reports; and one ofthose only contained news of a Beta Upsilon Delt’s tragic death. Kirk“Kirby” Badgely, a sophomore in 1974 and three-semester Delt, wasaccidentally killed May 4, 1974 when a man attempting to start a fightwith Badgely and his friends hit Kirk, knocking him to the pavement.Badgely hit his head sharply on the concrete, and was declared dead thenext day.59 That the altercation began after Badgley and his friends left a

bar highlighted a growing identification between the Greek system andalcohol abuse. Clearly alcohol had always been a part of fraternity life, but in the 1970s the changing nature offraternity life gave rise to increasing toleration of its abuse. Although much of the impetus came from activesthemselves, liquor companies contributed to the problem. For example, the major philanthropy the chapter engaged inin the late 1970s was a “keg roll” to benefit the March of Dimes. The event, sponsored by different beer companies,required students to roll a beer keg around Champaign County. Greg Kazarian ’84 notes that while charities mademoney from these events, that beer companies were “using these events to move product.” Moreover, there was a

55 The Rainbow 90:3 (Spring 1967), p. 33; 89:1 (Fall 1965), p. 22-23.56 The Rainbow 91:1 (Fall 1967), p. 13; The Beta Upsilon Booster January 2001, p. 3.57 The Rainbow 90:2 (Fall 1967), p. 13.58 The Rainbow 92:1 (Fall 1968), p. 45; 92:3 (Spring 1969); 93:3 (Spring 1970), p. 16.

Delts in 1970’s

Delt rush circa 1977



16

prevailing sentiment throughout the Greek system that the growing use of alcohol was supplanting experimentationwith illegal drugs, and thus tolerated alcohol on that basis.60

As partying became more of the focus of the chapter, relations with their neighbors became strained. Theyfrequently complained about excessive noise at all hours of the night from the fraternity, not just loud music andconversation, but also the explosion of fireworks, and, in one notable case, the “willful demolition of a Red Volkswagen”in the fraternity’s parking lot. Greg Foster ’74 notes that one of the difficulties the chapter had was that activities whichmight not have attracted any attention when Beta Upsilon was surrounded by fraternities and sororities were magnifiedwhen the chapter was surrounded by residences instead. While this was certainly the case, the problems persisted to thepoint that Vice Chancellor for Campus Affairs Hugh Satterlee contemplated seeking revocation of the chapter’s status asregistered student housing. In a 1977 memo noted “I felt that 75% of their difficulties came about because of thatreason. Obviously, however, there is no way in which they have funds of the ability to move from that location to one inthe middle of a fraternity area.” The problems were particularly vexing to national officials and those members of BetaUpsilon who attempted to better relations with their neighbors; the chapter had instituted a new disciplinary policyprecisely to deal with these complaints just a few weeks before a September 1977 incident.61 At least some members ofthe chapter attempted to continue its positive involvement in campus events. For example, it inaugurated a new activityin 1969, a chapter-sponsored flag football tournament, and held a “Delt Open Golf Classic” annually beginning in1972. Beta Upsilon held these every year during the 1970s, and the Delt Football Tournament survived thereorganization of the house. But in any case, the problems the chapter had overwhelmed its positive activities, which theinfamous 1980 exchange with Alpha Phi proved.

From “Death” to the Journey Back to John St., 1980-2000

From 1980-2000 the chapter went full circle, from nearly dying out and becoming a nationally infamous chapter, to aresurgence, and, eventually, to relocation on John St. But certainly in the wake of a disastrous 1980 exchange with theAlpha Phi sorority few could have foreseen the reopening of a new Delta Shelter on John St. in the fall of 2000.

There would be little value in describing in detail the eventsof the evening of November 13, 1980. There was little questionamong the principals about the actions of certain Delt members.The exchange began well but ended poorly. Several Delts in variousstages of undress were accused of violently harassing Alpha Phisorority members. Soon after the exchange the sorority filed acomplaint with the campus Interfraternity Council (IFC) JudicialBoard. What followed was a rather bizarre attempt by several partiesto come to grips with what happened, an attempt made much moredifficult by the context in which the events occurred.

The Alpha Phis complained about specific incidents that occurred to them, but did not address the overall tenor of the Delt chapter. Clearly what they were upset about was not that the Delts put on a rowdy party centered aroundalcohol, loud music, and behavior that is best termed unconventional; the Alpha Phis were upset that within that

59 Interview with Greg Foster, 11/28/2000; Mrs. Sherald E. Griffith, “Claim Your Brick,” The Rainbow 88:5 (Summer 1965), p. 35; Interview with Jerry O’Neill andJack Kamerer, December 5, 2000; The Rainbow, 93:3-100:2 (Spring 1970-Winter 1977); Champaign-Urbana News-Gazette, May 5, 1974, May 14, 1974.

60 The Rainbow 100:2 (Winter 1977), 101:4 (Summer 1978); Interview with Greg Kazarian, 3/2/2000.61 Urbana Police report March 5, 1977; Hugh M. Satterlee memo, September 19, 1977; both items in “Delta Tau Delta” folder, Box 7, Dean of Men Administrative

Subject File, 1909-1988, University Archives Record Series 41/2/31.

713 West Ohio, Urbana



17

atmosphere they had been assaulted. The Delts seemed to think that the atmosphere of the party excused even actswhich, to some Delts, obviously were beyond the pale. In several of the incidents that the Alpha Phis related, some Deltsstepped forward to stop activities they obviously felt were out of hand. In any event, the chapter’s response to the eventsuggested that they believed the Alpha Phis had presented themselves as angels. The notes made by then-chapterpresident Daniel Gonzalez for the IFC Judicial Board proceeding, while stating that they “agree it should never havehappened,” also imply that the assaults were the result of Alpha Phis taunting members and engaging in voluntaryintimacy.62 This particular debate raged on within the pages of the Daily Illini for several months after the event,especially in the wake of the explusion of two-thirds of the fraternity members. One letter writer, a woman, wrote “Ifthe…Alpha Phis were ‘afraid for their lives,’…what were they doing there that late in the first place?”63 Another womanresponded by asking “Is she inferring that women who stay late at parties, even when there are six of them, are asking fortrouble and deserve what they get?”64

Since Alpha Phis felt slighted by their treatment in the press, and were blamed for the expulsions, the sorority’schapter president co-wrote a Daily Illini article setting out their role in the affair. The article emphasized that althoughthe violations were serious, the Alpha Phis allowed the IFC Judicial Board to handle the matter, and that it was the IFCJudicial Board which communicated the incident to the Delts’ national headquarters.

What happened next also became the subject of much debate.. While the Judicial Board found the Delts guilty of,according to Assistant Dean of Men for Fraternity Affairs Russ Snyder, “two or more” types of offenses which could leadto the suspension of the fraternity, the Judicial Board did not suspend the fraternity. Instead, they sentenced it to oneyear of “disciplinary probation,” and also directed the chapter to provide three weeks of rides to the campus Women’sWheels program. Women’s Wheels was an unfortunate choice; the program provided women alone on campus at nightwith free rides home, ostensibly to prevent their being attacked. The campus Women Students’ Union (WSU) criticizedthe IFC Judicial Board’s decision in a letter to the Daily Illini, stating that they “question the wisdom of allowing thesemen (who removed their clothes and jumped on women) to work in a rape prevention program.” The WSU letter alsoargued that the relatively light punishment the IFC handed down “trivialized” the incident.65

While this may have been true, the IFC may have intended more severe actions to be taken. However, in this theyrelied on the national instead of taking on the task themselves. As part of their decision, the Judicial Board agreed to“communicate with the national organization to see that steps were being taken internally to deter future incidents ofthis kind, ” and after the disciplinary hearing, the Board forwarded their file on the case to the national.66 That thenational had already taken severe actions against three other Delt chapters suggests that the IFC might have believed theycould rely on Delta Tau Delta to do what they failed to do. But the distinction is important, as both groups had differentfunctional interests. The IFC Judicial Board was created to provide an extra-legal means to punish fraternities andsororities for the actions of their members, trusting collective responsibility to ensure, in the case of violations, that theywould not happen again. Delta Tau Delta, on the other hand, was clearly interested in ensuring that the chapter wouldcontinue at Illinois, and that its reputation would be rebuilt so as to reflect well on the national. To be clear, they didpunish the chapter for its behavior. But given its primary task, the national was ill-equipped to get to the bottom of theincidents at the exchange, and punish the guilty parties.

In any event, none of these actions came to light until after the national “killed” the chapter. Delta Tau Delta’snational executive bodies, the Arch Chapter and Undergraduate Council, voted at their January 1981 meeting tosuspend all members of Beta Upsilon until an “Alumni Supervisory Committee” could be formed, with the intent of

62 Karen L. Troester, Alpha Phi President, to Russ Snyder, Assistant Dean of Students, 11/25/1980; Anonymous complaint letters (names blacked out) to IFC, undated;Form letter, from Daniel Gonzalez, Beta Upsilon President, to unnamed sororities, undated; Presentation notes for IFC Judicial Board Hearing, undated. All materialcurrently in unprocessed Beta Upsilon of Delta Tau Delta records, University of Illinois Archives, Record Series 41/71/34.

63 Daily Illini 2/7/1981.64 Daily Illini 2/12/1981.



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interviewing each member “to ascertain who really is interested in building a chapter with positive goals.” The nationalhad taken similar steps with the Beta Pi (Northwestern) and Beta Epsilon (Emory) chapters.67 The committee, chaired byalumnus Alan Nudo, interviewed the members on February 1, 1981, and announced the next day that twenty-six of thehouse’s thirty-seven members would have to vacate the house by 10pm that evening. Four of the remaining eleven alsoleft the house in protest of the decision.

Confusion over the real purpose of the committee was rampant. Many people believed that its intent was toprovide the punishment to the guilty members that the IFC had not done. Among the many complaints of the expelledDelts was precisely this—that in the end, the committee allowed some members who had participated in the assaults toremain in the house, while expelling others who did not participate. As a pair of Delt parents pointed out later in a DailyIllini letter, depriving students of housing after tuition had been paid and the semester started, and giving them roughly15 hours to find new housing, certainly was a form of punishment. However, as the stated intention of the Committeewas not to punish the guilty and vindicate the innocent, but instead to begin the process of rebuilding the house, whatactually occurred was to some extent inevitable.68 After the dust settled, the remaining Delts began to rebuild the chapter,with the support of the alumni and, perhaps surprisingly, many of the sororities on campus.

It was the alumni who initially answered the call, both for funds but also for direction and hope for the house. A dinner was held in Chicago in April 1981 to raise money in the event of a chapter shortfall. John Gleeson ‘68, DeanWessel ’42, and Jeff Atkins ’71 served as the officers on a special committee organized for that purpose. The committee,as well as house corporation President Gerry O’Neill ’58 held a weekend seminar with the chapter to re-educate them onhow to run a successful fraternity.69 O’Neill and Jack Kamerer ’64 provided an element of continuity to the process, asthey served as president and treasurer of the house corporation from 1970-1995. Greg Kazarian ’84, who would later beone of the prime movers in the “Journey Back to John Street,” remembered that the direction the alumni provided wascrucial. Gleeson helped the actives and pledges formulate a five-year plan to rebuild the chapter, and “we executed thatplan,” Kazarian said.70 After the initial planning sessions, the alumni continued to make visible their support for therebuilding process. In 1982, for example, the chapter reported they had their biggest Homecoming crowd ever.71

The actives realized, though, that the chapter would either succeed or fail on their efforts. They proceeded to puttogether an enormous effort to bring the chapter back to its previous esteem on campus. Beta Upsilon proved both ableto use their position to their advantage as well as hustle to change their appearance on campus. For example, Kazariannoted, they put a great deal of effort into an event other fraternities overlooked with long-term goals in mind: the annualDelta Gamma Anchor Splash, an interfraternity swim meet. The swim was the Delta Gamma sororities’ philanthropy,and in addition to placing highly in the event the chapter ensured that all actives and pledges attended. The result was,Kazarian noted, that “we look like…somebody you want to be with” for events like Football Block, which the DG’selected to spend with the Delts in the fall of 1983. Once events like this brought positive attention to the house, thenthe chapter was able to use the formal rush system to their advantage.

At the time the IFC divided fraternities into two categories, “Blue” fraternities had more than 50 members, and“Orange” had fewer than 50. Because the tendency was for rushees to ignore “Orange” houses, the IFC required allrushees spend at least 3 of their 12 allowed visits with “Orange” houses. “Now formal rush starts to work for us,”Kazarian said, because of the Delts’ established name and history, they routinely netted well over 100 rushees due to their“Orange” status. The chapter also became involved in new philanthropic efforts. A new interfraternity group, called the“Order of Omega” was conceived by Kazarian as a way to get the Greeks involved in philanthropies without alcohol.

65 Daily Illini, 2/12/1981.66 Daily Illini, 2/10/1981.67 The Rainbow 108:3 (Spring 1981), p. 3.



19

Their major activity was a citywide cleanup of public parks, held every year.72 The effort paid off for the chapter. The chapter boasted 100 members between 1986 and 1990, and elected two Homecoming kings in that period.

The chapter went to great lengths to re-establish good relationships with sororities and with their residentialneighbors. Matt Wilson ’89 notes, as an example, that after the reorganization, serenades were reinstituted, and Rainbowreports reflect the chapter’s extensive participation in sorority philanthropies. The Delta Gamma Anchor Splash, forexample, became an annual event for the house after they first participated in 1983. At the same time as the chapterexpanded its social schedule, they took pains to minimize the impact on their neighbors. Wilson notes that the chapterwould give movie passes to nearby families when the chapter had parties. They also put more emphasis on family andalumni-oriented events. Beta Upsilon routinely celebrated Mom’s Day, Dad’s Day, Homecoming, and Founders’ Day,and even instituted a new Founder’s Day Tradition, a 3-on-3 basketball tournament for actives and alumni. The chapteralso continued to run the Delt Football Tournament.73

The rebuilding process extended far outside the chapter as well. Beta Upsilon won the Northern Division’s “MostImproved Chapter” award at the 1983 conference. The repaired relations with the National went much further. Afterserving as a traveling consultant for the national and as Beta Upsilon chapter advisor in the late 1980s, Kazarian waselected Northern Division President in 1991. This marked the beginning of a kind of recognition the chapter had neverreceived in its history. The chapter won five consecutive High Shield Awards from 1988 to 1992, given annually to thetop 10 chapters; was voted in the “Court of Honor,” a second-tier chapter award, in 1996; won a Division ProgramAward for their Illinois Delt Scholars Program in 1993; and hosted the Northern Division conference in 1994.74

The chapter celebrated its 125th anniversary with a banquet at the Champaign Country Club in 1997, and theevent served as a measure of how far the chapter had come since 1981. In many respects the “re-founding” of the chapterdrastically changed the actives’ focus. Kazarian notes that many alumni who visit ask if the actives are “still having fun.”That the Delts in recent years have been a scholastic power among fraternities is in itself a sign of the change; they wereranked 7th among men’s fraternities on campus in 1997-98 and 3rd in 1998-99. Routinely in the 1990s they were recognizedby the northern division as having a grade point average above both the Illinois all-men’s and all-fraternities’ averages.75

However, the chapter’s long-term financial situation was eroding. During O’Neill’s and Kamerer’s tenure, the corporationneeded to take out just one bank loan. But by 1995, the chapter house at 713 W. Ohio was beginning to deteriorate.Wilson and Kazarian note in their interviews that they came to the conclusion that either a major rebuilding project, or the acquisition of a new property would be the only way the chapter would be able to survive.76

Journey Back to John Street

What became known as the “Journey Back to John Street” began initially as a plan to renovate the chapter’s existinghome at 713 W. Ohio St. in Urbana. However, once the house corporation realized in 1998 that the old Phi GammaDelta (Fijis) house, at 402 E. John St., Champaign was available, they pushed to examine that option instead. It involvedconsiderably more work and risk. The corporation initially attempted to negotiate with the Fijis, but negotiations brokedown, and the University of Illinois acquired the property. What followed was a long negotiation process. TheUniversity, Kazarian states, was initially reluctant to consider the Delts’ bid for the property, and claimed that legal issuesstood in the way of the transaction. As it turned out, the actual barriers were skepticism that the chapter would be able

68 “Delt chapter rebuilds after expulsion of 26 members,” Illinois Alumni News, March 1981, photocopy in archives. In that article, Nudo states (but is not directlyquoted as saying) that “the alumni were looking for men who could start a house from scratch.” The parents letter is in Daily Illini, 2/14/81. In one of the manyreferences to the movie “Animal House” during the process, the parents said the eviction suggested the Delts had been on “double-secret probation.”

69 “Comeback at Illinois,” The Rainbow 106:1 (Fall 1981), p. 40. 70 Interview with Greg Kazarian, 3/2/2001.71 The Rainbow 107:2 (Winter 1983), p. 30.



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to make the transaction work, and the University’s desire to turn the building into offices. WhenKazarian and Wilson made their first proposal to the University, it was rejected. However, theyhad succeeded in convincing some University officials, including the Director of the UniversityOffice of Real Estate Planning and Services, Eugene Pitcher, that their plan could work. Thoseinside sources, and quite a bit of persistence, enabled Kazarian to get a face-to-face meeting withthe University decision-makers. With the help of Delta Tau Delta National President TomHuddleston, Dean of Students Bill Riley, and an enthusiastic pitch, the University agreed tomake the deal. Kazarian notes, though, they required some prodding. One of the arguments theDelts offered in the meeting was that selling the property to the chapter would show that theUniversity was committed to the long-term survival of the Greek system; while turning the

house into another office building would show otherwise.77

Now the work had just begun, and Kazarian, Wilson, and other concerned alumni were well aware of the hugefinancial risk the chapter was taking. The total price of the John St. project, including acquisition of the property, wasestimated at over $1.5 million, well in excess of the amount needed to renovate the existing house. The housecorporation decided to proceed with the project and announced at the 1999 Homecoming that the corporation was innegotiations with the University to purchase the house. Now the corporation was faced with yet another hurdle. Thechapter would have to come up with financing for the purchase of the new house, and almost immediately beginrenovating John St. and selling 713 W. Ohio. However, a feasibility study conducted by the Delta Tau Delta educationalfoundation clearly indicated the project had one major advantage: alumni were positively thrilled about moving thechapter back to John Street. A group of active alumni provided a lion’s share of the project’s funding to get it underway.Bob Ferris ’49, John Gleeson, and a handful of others contributed nearly $400,000 at the start of the “Journey Back toJohn Street.” What followed was an extensive campaign on the part of both the alumni and the active chapter to raise

the remaining funds necessary to complete the project. Over the next yearmore major donors were secured and the project got underway. More thana dozen alumni each donated over $10,000 to the project. Jason Stone,2000 chapter president, noted in the Booster that it was the undergraduatemembers who initially needed some convincing. “The members had a lotof questions and concerns at first, but after they took the time to explainthe details and benefits of the move…the undergraduates just wanted toknow how to make it a reality.”78

The project ended by achieving its central goals: to reconnect BetaUpsilon with its long history on campus, and to reconnect the currentchapter with the alumni. The feasibility study for the project noted “anoticeable break” between alumni who lived at 302 E. John and those whojoined after the fire destroyed that house. “Although still proud of their

membership in Delta Tau Delta these alumni have never truly accepted the Ohio street shelter as their permanent home.This has no doubt affected their participation in chapter events as well as participation in university events.”79 But it hasalso positioned Delta Tau Delta among a group of fraternities eager to remain competitive with increasingly popularunaffiliated housing. The new house boasts a high speed internet connection to the University network, increasingly

72 Interview with Greg Kazarian, 3/2/2001.73 The Rainbow 116:2 (Winter 1992), p. 34; 116:4 (Summer 1992), p. 32; 117:3 (Spring 1993), p. 38; 117:4

(Summer 1994), p. 27; 118:4 (Summer 1994), p. 26; 119:4 (Summer 1995), p. 49.74 The Rainbow 107:3 (Spring 1983), p. 29; 115:3 (Spring 1991), p. 40; 116:3 (Spring 1992), p. 20; 120:4

(Summer 1996), p. 30; 116:4 (Summer 1994), p. 26; 117:2 (Winter 1993).75 The Rainbow 122:4 (Summer 1998), p. 6, 36; 123:2 (Winter 1999), p. 40; 116:3 (Spring 1992), p. 20; 119:3 (Spring 1995), p. 9; 120:2 (Winter 1996), p. 36.

Bob Ferris

Bob Ferris and John Gleeson cut the ribbon in September 2000



21

important as the Internet and campus computing have assumed a central role in many academic disciplines. Moreover,the chapter agreed to limit hosting social functions with alcohol within the chapter house, to convince the University itintended to maintain the property.

Conclusion

Delta Tau Delta history at Illinois now spans over the 19th, 20th and 21stcenturies, and illustrates well the pitfalls which have closed fraternitychapters all across the country. What happened to the chapter after the1967 fire suggests, in part, the crucial role that a sense of tradition plays inthe vital factors which keep chapters alive: the continuous and activeinvolvement of alumni, the sense of connectedness between actives andalumni, and a belief that the chapter has a mission to guide it. All theseinterconnected parts of the chapter were undermined both by the broadercurrents of society in general, but also sharply in the Delts’ case because ofthe fire. That alumni who had been gone for twenty years were visiblyexcited about the “Journey Back to John Street” indicates what a vital role

continuity plays in the continuing success of a chapter. It is also striking the way in which the Delts’ revitalization in thewake of the 1981 reorganization changed the tenor of the chapter. Paradoxically, it illustrates the degree to whichchapters must occasionally change to survive. Despite all the changes, however, today’s actives would certainly wantalumni to know they are still having fun.

Thank you to the following brothers for funding the publication of this history:

Scott Casey ’90

Ed Hulina ’91

Greg Kazarian ’84

Matt Wilson ’89

76 Interview with Gerry O’Neill and Jack Kamerer, 12/5/2000; Interview with Matt Wilson, 2/26/2001; Interview with Greg Kazarian 3/2/2001.77 Interview with Matt Wilson, 2/26/2001; Interview with Greg Kazarian, 3/2/2001.78 The Beta Upsilon Booster January 2001, p. 1.79 Delta Tau Delta Educational Foundation, “Beta Upsilon of Delta Tau Delta House Corporation Fundraising Feasibility Study,” p. 10,

copy in unprocessed Beta Upsilon of Delta Tau Delta records, University of Illinois Archives, Record Series 41/71/34.

401 E. John St., Champaign



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Note on Sources and Bibliography:

This history was based in large part on the University Archives holdings of The Beta Upsilon Booster and the Deltnational publication The Rainbow. At the time I began research the Archives had little in addition to these sources. Dueto the efforts of Beta Upsilon chapter advisor Matt Wilson, we received approximately .3 cubic feet of records on thechapter, additional Boosters, and through Wilson’s contacts arranged several interviews with local Delt alumni. Includedin those records is a large file on the 1980 Alpha Phi exchange, including the original complaint letters sent by sororitymembers, drafts of the chapters’ responses, and a great many newspaper clippings on the event. Those records andtypewritten notes of the interviews I conducted will be processed into University Archives Record Series 41/71/34, DeltaTau Delta Records.

Primary Sources:

The Beta Upsilon Booster (until 1908 The Beta Upsilon), 1906-43, 1966, 2000. University Archives Record Series41/71/834.

The Rainbow 1904-2000. Part of Stewart Howe Collection, University Archives Record Series 26/20/30

Delta Tau Delta (Beta Upsilon) Records, University Archives Record Series 41/71/34, unprocessed.

Secondary Sources:

Solberg, Winton. The University of Illinois 1867-1894: an Intellectual and Cultural History. Urbana: University of IllinoisPress, 1968.


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