|
On
November 4, 1834, members of the three junior classes
at Williams College met in the Freshman Recitation
Room in West College Hall for the purposes of forming
a new society. At this time, the Williamstown, Mass
college had already taken on chapters of Kappa Alpha
and Sigma Phi. This new society was to be called The
Social Fraternity, and was a protest of the abuses of
the secret societies already on the Williams campus.
They felt that the secret societies "calculated
to destroy the harmony of the college, to create
distinctions not founded on merit". From these
early beginnings, Delta Upsilon became the sixth
oldest fraternity in North America and the only
non-secret international fraternity.
Acknowledging
only the superiority of merit, its founders at
Williams College chose in 1834 those who best
characterized integrity and honour as members. Our
founders selected four guiding precepts as they
established a fraternity upon the ideal of
"Justice, our Foundation".
The
second anti-secret society, the Equitable Union,
sprang forth at Union College in 1838. It suggested
confederation with Williams in 1840, but no action was
taken until the need for confederation became more
apparent in 1847, by which time two more anti-secret
societies had developed, at Hamilton and Amherst
colleges. The Anti-Secret Confederation was officially
born on November 10, 1847 and convened every year
thereafter. Three more societies were introduced in
1852 and the convention that year designated each
society as a chapter, established procedures for
admitting new chapters and laid ground rules for the
election of officers. The fraternal accord of those
seven chapters brought such vigour to the fraternity
that they became known as the "Seven Stars"
of Delta Upsilon.
The fraternity expanded and prospered. The
Confederation's success exerted a powerful influence
on the secret societies. They began to return to their
worthy principles and to discontinue the misuse of
secrecy. By 1870, the secret societies became secret
in name only, differing from Delta Upsilon in but two
ways: holding their meetings behind closed doors, and
guarding secrets of their rituals. Indeed, by 1879 our
constitution had been revised, permitting each chapter
to practice either "anti-secrecy" or simply
"non-secrecy". Abolishing one in favour of
the other did not alter the fundamental aims of Delta
Upsilon and its openness continued to make valuable
contribution to the fraternity movement.
|
|
Previously,
DU, because of its youth, had been mainly an
organization for undergraduates. However, as
graduates, their enthusiasm continued,
enabling the fraternity to rely on their
experience and guidance. Thus, at the close of
its first fifty years, Delta Upsilon was a
working organization with a central
government, officers, income and an official
publication. |
A
new spirit signaled the beginning of the fraternity's
third quarter century. Abandoning rented meeting
rooms, chapters began purchasing or building their own
houses. The responsibility of managing property and
the general growth of campus life caused fraternities
to expand beyond the literary, social and cultural
aspects of the previous generation. Although
scholastic honours remained important, athletics began
to play a role in the social development of the
brothers.
Twenty one chapters were installed during this period,
including one at McGill, bringing the total to
fifty-nine chapters. By 1934, chapters existed in 25
states and 3 provinces. The depression of the 1930's
and World War II were followed by a college population
explosion and, until the 1970's, college enrolments
continued to expand at an unprecedented rate. During
this period, the fraternity enjoyed continued
expansion, with one of the best records of any of the
old-line fraternities.
Today,
the fraternity boasts having graduated some 70,000
members and continues to thrive with almost 100
chapters across North America
Back
to the Top |
About DU 
