Delta Kappa Epsilon
Encyclopedia
Delta Kappa Epsilon is a fraternity
founded at Yale College
in 1844 by 15 men of the sophomore class who had not been invited to join the two existing societies (Alpha Delta Phi
and Psi Upsilon
). They therefore formed their own fraternity to establish a fellowship "where the candidate most favored was he who combined in the most equal proportions the gentleman
, the scholar, and the jolly good fellow."
. At this meeting, the Fraternity's secret and open Greek mottos were devised, as were the pin and secret handshake. The open motto is "Kerothen Philoi Aei" ("Friends from the Heart, Forever").
The sixteen founders were: William Woodruff Atwater, Dr. Edward Griffin Bartlett, Frederic Peter Bellinger, Jr., Henry Case, Colonel George Foote Chester, John Butler Conyngham, Thomas Isaac Franklin, William Walter Horton, The Honorable William Boyd Jacobs, Professor Edward Van Schoonhoven Kingsley, Chester Newell Righter, Dr. Elisha Bacon Shapleigh, Thomas Du Bois Sherwood, Albert Everett Stetson, and Orson William Stow. This first Chapter was denoted Phi chapter.
The Objects of Delta Kappa Epsilon are:
Delta Kappa Epsilon administers a charitable organization called the Rampant Lion Foundation. DKE also has championed an organization call Restore Our Associational Rights
("ROAR") which campaigns for the freedom of fraternities and Greek organizations in general to operate without interference and discrimination from university administrations or others.
The pin of Delta Kappa Epsilon shows the Greek letters ΔΚΕ on a white scroll upon a black diamond with gold rope trim and a star in each corner. DKE's heraldic colours are azure (blue), or (gold), and gules (crimson). Its flag is a triband of those colours with a left-facing rampant lion in the middle.
, Princeton University
, Colby College
, and Amherst College
. DKE has grown to over 51 chapters and has initiated over 85,000 members across North America.
Traditionally an Eastern Seaboard fraternity, DKE's Yale chapter had an early reputation as a Southerner's fraternity. Two of the original founders were from the South and 13 out of 38 members of 1845 and 1846 were from the South. DKE's first chapter in the South was Gamma chapter founded in 1847 (Vanderbilt University
) followed by Psi chapter at the University of Alabama
in the same year.
Delta Kappa Epsilon's first West Coast chapter was founded at the University of California, Berkeley
on Halloween
night, 1876. The DKE chapter at Colgate University
(Hamilton, NY) is one of the only DKE chapters having a Temple building, one which only can be entered by Mu DKE members. The Lambda Chapter at Kenyon College in 1854 built the first fraternity lodge in America. The DKE Club of New York was founded in 1885 and is currently in residence at the Yale Club of New York City
. Delta Kappa Epsilon became an international fraternity with the addition of the Alpha Phi chapter in 1898 at the University of Toronto
, Canada.
: Rutherford B. Hayes
, Theodore Roosevelt
, Gerald Ford
, George H. W. Bush
, and George W. Bush
. Theodore Roosevelt
was a member of the Alpha Chapter of DKE at Harvard; however, the chapter was de-recognized by DKE International due to the chapter's stance on dual membership with other fraternities.
In the election of 1876
, the Republican Party
chose between two DKE members, nominating Hayes rather than rival and fellow DKE James G. Blaine
. Blaine also ran unsuccessfully for President.
Many American and Canadian politicians, businessmen, sports figures, and artists have been members, including Herb Kelleher
, J.P. Morgan, Jr., William Randolph Hearst
, Cole Porter
, Henry Cabot Lodge
, Dick Clark
, Tom Landry
, and George Steinbrenner
. DKE flags were carried to the North Pole
by its discoverer, Admiral Robert Peary
and to the Moon
by astronaut Alan Bean
.
During the Civil War
, the first Union
officer killed in battle was DKE member Theodore Winthrop of Phi. During the Spanish-American War
, the first American officer to be killed was a DKE member, Surgeon John B. Gibbs (Rutgers). DKE member J. Frank Aldritch (DePauw University
) died when the USS Maine
was sunk.
One of Delta Kappa Epsilon's focuses within each Chapter is on community service
in addition to the social aspect that goes along with most social Greek fraternities.
Each Chapter competes for a number of awards that includes leadership
, chapter improvements, and community service
.. Each of these areas is used in awarding the overall award called the Lions Trophy.
The 2011 Lions Trophy Win was the Delta Kappa Epsilon chapter at the University of Alabama
. This chapter (Psi
) won this award in the wake of doing a food drive to help give relief to the Tuscaloosa
community affected by a Tornado..
to make a "D" shaped scar on new fraternity members. The fraternity's then president George W. Bush
stated that they were "only cigarette burns."
In 1989 Colgate University
banned all DKE activities after the officials found members guilty of hazing
, blackballing and other violations of university regulations. In 2005 Colgate University barred DKE from campus for refusing to sell its house to the school and join a new student-residence initiative. DKE filed a lawsuit charging that the school violated its right to free association as well as antitrust laws by monopolizing the student housing market. In 2006 the Supreme Court of Madison County found that the fraternity had failed to state a cause of action and that its claim was "time-barred."
In 2007 a black student accused members of the DKE fraternity at the University of Mississippi
of making racial slurs. The school suspended the chapter for hosting an unauthorized party, assault and disorderly conduct.
In 2010 the University of Minnesota
's Interfraternity Council banned DKE from homecoming and other Greek-related events for four years based on a report of sexual misconduct by a party-goer.
In January of 2011, the DKE chapter at the University of Alberta
had its student group status suspended for five years due to hazing activity. http://thegatewayonline.ca/articles/news/2011/01/27/university-suspends-dke-fraternity-5-years
In October 2010, Yale's DKE chapter came under fire after its members shouted inflammatory and misogynistic chants, including 'no means yes; yes means anal', at an Old Campus pledge ritual. The chapter's president apologized for the fraternity's conduct, but Yale's feminist magazine "Broad Recognition" called for administrative action against the leadership of DKE. As of October 24, 2010, Dean Mary Miller of Yale College has strongly recommended to the DKE National Executive Director, Dr. Douglas Lanpher, that the chapter at Yale be put on probation indefinitely. On May 17, 2011, the chapter was put on suspension for five years. The order bars DKE from conducting any activities on the Yale campus during that time.
Fraternities and sororities
Fraternities and sororities are fraternal social organizations for undergraduate students. In Latin, the term refers mainly to such organizations at colleges and universities in the United States, although it is also applied to analogous European groups also known as corporations...
founded at Yale College
Yale College
Yale College was the official name of Yale University from 1718 to 1887. The name now refers to the undergraduate part of the university. Each undergraduate student is assigned to one of 12 residential colleges.-Residential colleges:...
in 1844 by 15 men of the sophomore class who had not been invited to join the two existing societies (Alpha Delta Phi
Alpha Delta Phi
Alpha Delta Phi is a Greek-letter social college fraternity and the fourth-oldest continuous Greek-letter fraternity in the United States and Canada. Alpha Delta Phi was founded on October 29, 1832 by Samuel Eells at Hamilton College and includes former U.S. Presidents, Chief Justices of the U.S....
and Psi Upsilon
Psi Upsilon
Psi Upsilon is the fifth oldest college fraternity in the United States, founded at Union College in 1833. It has chapters at colleges and universities throughout North America. For most of its history, Psi Upsilon, like most social fraternities, limited its membership to men only...
). They therefore formed their own fraternity to establish a fellowship "where the candidate most favored was he who combined in the most equal proportions the gentleman
Gentleman
The term gentleman , in its original and strict signification, denoted a well-educated man of good family and distinction, analogous to the Latin generosus...
, the scholar, and the jolly good fellow."
Founding
The fraternity was founded June 22, 1844, in room number 12 Old South Hall, Yale College, New Haven, ConnecticutConnecticut
Connecticut is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, and the state of New York to the west and the south .Connecticut is named for the Connecticut River, the major U.S. river that approximately...
. At this meeting, the Fraternity's secret and open Greek mottos were devised, as were the pin and secret handshake. The open motto is "Kerothen Philoi Aei" ("Friends from the Heart, Forever").
The sixteen founders were: William Woodruff Atwater, Dr. Edward Griffin Bartlett, Frederic Peter Bellinger, Jr., Henry Case, Colonel George Foote Chester, John Butler Conyngham, Thomas Isaac Franklin, William Walter Horton, The Honorable William Boyd Jacobs, Professor Edward Van Schoonhoven Kingsley, Chester Newell Righter, Dr. Elisha Bacon Shapleigh, Thomas Du Bois Sherwood, Albert Everett Stetson, and Orson William Stow. This first Chapter was denoted Phi chapter.
The Objects of Delta Kappa Epsilon are:
- The Cultivation of General Literature and Social Culture, the Advancement and Encouragement of Intellectual Excellence, the Promotion of Honorable Friendship and Useful Citizenship, the Development of a Spirit of Tolerance and Respect for the Rights and Views of Others, the Maintenance of Gentlemanly Dignity, Self-Respect, and Morality in All Circumstances, and the Union of Stout Hearts and Kindred Interests to Secure to Merit its Due Reward.
Delta Kappa Epsilon administers a charitable organization called the Rampant Lion Foundation. DKE also has championed an organization call Restore Our Associational Rights
Roar
Roar may refer to :*Roar , a sound produced by certain animals such as lions and tigers* Roar, the King's College London student newspaper*Brisbane Roar FC, an Australian football club...
("ROAR") which campaigns for the freedom of fraternities and Greek organizations in general to operate without interference and discrimination from university administrations or others.
The pin of Delta Kappa Epsilon shows the Greek letters ΔΚΕ on a white scroll upon a black diamond with gold rope trim and a star in each corner. DKE's heraldic colours are azure (blue), or (gold), and gules (crimson). Its flag is a triband of those colours with a left-facing rampant lion in the middle.
Chapters
Within three years of the founding at Yale, chapters were founded at BowdoinBowdoin College
Bowdoin College , founded in 1794, is an elite private liberal arts college located in the coastal Maine town of Brunswick, Maine. As of 2011, U.S. News and World Report ranks Bowdoin 6th among liberal arts colleges in the United States. At times, it was ranked as high as 4th in the country. It is...
, Princeton University
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
, Colby College
Colby College
Colby College is a private liberal arts college located on Mayflower Hill in Waterville, Maine. Founded in 1813, it is the 12th-oldest independent liberal arts college in the United States...
, and Amherst College
Amherst College
Amherst College is a private liberal arts college located in Amherst, Massachusetts, United States. Amherst is an exclusively undergraduate four-year institution and enrolled 1,744 students in the fall of 2009...
. DKE has grown to over 51 chapters and has initiated over 85,000 members across North America.
Traditionally an Eastern Seaboard fraternity, DKE's Yale chapter had an early reputation as a Southerner's fraternity. Two of the original founders were from the South and 13 out of 38 members of 1845 and 1846 were from the South. DKE's first chapter in the South was Gamma chapter founded in 1847 (Vanderbilt University
Vanderbilt University
Vanderbilt University is a private research university located in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. Founded in 1873, the university is named for shipping and rail magnate "Commodore" Cornelius Vanderbilt, who provided Vanderbilt its initial $1 million endowment despite having never been to the...
) followed by Psi chapter at the University of Alabama
University of Alabama
The University of Alabama is a public coeducational university located in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, United States....
in the same year.
Delta Kappa Epsilon's first West Coast chapter was founded at the University of California, Berkeley
University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley , is a teaching and research university established in 1868 and located in Berkeley, California, USA...
on Halloween
Halloween
Hallowe'en , also known as Halloween or All Hallows' Eve, is a yearly holiday observed around the world on October 31, the night before All Saints' Day...
night, 1876. The DKE chapter at Colgate University
Colgate University
Colgate University is a private liberal arts college in Hamilton, New York, USA. The school was founded in 1819 as a Baptist seminary and later became non-denominational. It is named for the Colgate family who greatly contributed to the university's endowment in the 19th century.Colgate has 52...
(Hamilton, NY) is one of the only DKE chapters having a Temple building, one which only can be entered by Mu DKE members. The Lambda Chapter at Kenyon College in 1854 built the first fraternity lodge in America. The DKE Club of New York was founded in 1885 and is currently in residence at the Yale Club of New York City
Yale Club of New York City
The Yale Club of New York City, commonly called the Yale Club, is a private club in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA Its membership is restricted almost entirely to alumni and faculty of Yale University, University of Virginia and Dartmouth College...
. Delta Kappa Epsilon became an international fraternity with the addition of the Alpha Phi chapter in 1898 at the University of Toronto
University of Toronto
The University of Toronto is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, situated on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution of higher learning in Upper Canada...
, Canada.
Notable members
DKE members have included five of forty-four Presidents of the United StatesPresident of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
: Rutherford B. Hayes
Rutherford B. Hayes
Rutherford Birchard Hayes was the 19th President of the United States . As president, he oversaw the end of Reconstruction and the United States' entry into the Second Industrial Revolution...
, Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore "Teddy" Roosevelt was the 26th President of the United States . He is noted for his exuberant personality, range of interests and achievements, and his leadership of the Progressive Movement, as well as his "cowboy" persona and robust masculinity...
, Gerald Ford
Gerald Ford
Gerald Rudolph "Jerry" Ford, Jr. was the 38th President of the United States, serving from 1974 to 1977, and the 40th Vice President of the United States serving from 1973 to 1974...
, George H. W. Bush
George H. W. Bush
George Herbert Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 41st President of the United States . He had previously served as the 43rd Vice President of the United States , a congressman, an ambassador, and Director of Central Intelligence.Bush was born in Milton, Massachusetts, to...
, and George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
. Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore "Teddy" Roosevelt was the 26th President of the United States . He is noted for his exuberant personality, range of interests and achievements, and his leadership of the Progressive Movement, as well as his "cowboy" persona and robust masculinity...
was a member of the Alpha Chapter of DKE at Harvard; however, the chapter was de-recognized by DKE International due to the chapter's stance on dual membership with other fraternities.
In the election of 1876
United States presidential election, 1876
The United States presidential election of 1876 was one of the most disputed and controversial presidential elections in American history. Samuel J. Tilden of New York outpolled Ohio's Rutherford B. Hayes in the popular vote, and had 184 electoral votes to Hayes's 165, with 20 votes uncounted...
, the Republican Party
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
chose between two DKE members, nominating Hayes rather than rival and fellow DKE James G. Blaine
James G. Blaine
James Gillespie Blaine was a U.S. Representative, Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, U.S. Senator from Maine, two-time Secretary of State...
. Blaine also ran unsuccessfully for President.
Many American and Canadian politicians, businessmen, sports figures, and artists have been members, including Herb Kelleher
Herb Kelleher
Herbert D. Kelleher is the co-founder, Chairman Emeritus, and former CEO of Southwest Airlines .-Life and career:...
, J.P. Morgan, Jr., William Randolph Hearst
William Randolph Hearst
William Randolph Hearst was an American business magnate and leading newspaper publisher. Hearst entered the publishing business in 1887, after taking control of The San Francisco Examiner from his father...
, Cole Porter
Cole Porter
Cole Albert Porter was an American composer and songwriter. Born to a wealthy family in Indiana, he defied the wishes of his domineering grandfather and took up music as a profession. Classically trained, he was drawn towards musical theatre...
, Henry Cabot Lodge
Henry Cabot Lodge
Henry Cabot "Slim" Lodge was an American Republican Senator and historian from Massachusetts. He had the role of Senate Majority leader. He is best known for his positions on Meek policy, especially his battle with President Woodrow Wilson in 1919 over the Treaty of Versailles...
, Dick Clark
Dick Clark (entertainer)
Richard Wagstaff "Dick" Clark is an American businessman; game-show host; and radio and television personality. He served as chairman and chief executive officer of Dick Clark Productions, which he has sold part of in recent years...
, Tom Landry
Tom Landry
Thomas Wade "Tom" Landry was an American football player and coach. He is ranked as one of the greatest and most innovative coaches in National Football League history, creating many new formations and methods...
, and George Steinbrenner
George Steinbrenner
George Michael Steinbrenner III was an American businessman who was the principal owner and managing partner of Major League Baseball's New York Yankees. During Steinbrenner's 37-year ownership from 1973 to his death in July 2010, the longest in club history, the Yankees earned seven World Series...
. DKE flags were carried to the North Pole
North Pole
The North Pole, also known as the Geographic North Pole or Terrestrial North Pole, is, subject to the caveats explained below, defined as the point in the northern hemisphere where the Earth's axis of rotation meets its surface...
by its discoverer, Admiral Robert Peary
Robert Peary
Robert Edwin Peary, Sr. was an American explorer who claimed to have been the first person, on April 6, 1909, to reach the geographic North Pole...
and to the Moon
Moon
The Moon is Earth's only known natural satellite,There are a number of near-Earth asteroids including 3753 Cruithne that are co-orbital with Earth: their orbits bring them close to Earth for periods of time but then alter in the long term . These are quasi-satellites and not true moons. For more...
by astronaut Alan Bean
Alan Bean
Alan LaVern Bean is a former NASA astronaut, engineer, and painter. Bean was selected to become an astronaut by NASA in 1963 as part of Astronaut Group 3. He made his first flight into space aboard Apollo 12, the second manned mission to land on the Moon, at the age of thirty-seven years in...
.
During the Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
, the first Union
Union (American Civil War)
During the American Civil War, the Union was a name used to refer to the federal government of the United States, which was supported by the twenty free states and five border slave states. It was opposed by 11 southern slave states that had declared a secession to join together to form the...
officer killed in battle was DKE member Theodore Winthrop of Phi. During the Spanish-American War
Spanish-American War
The Spanish–American War was a conflict in 1898 between Spain and the United States, effectively the result of American intervention in the ongoing Cuban War of Independence...
, the first American officer to be killed was a DKE member, Surgeon John B. Gibbs (Rutgers). DKE member J. Frank Aldritch (DePauw University
DePauw University
DePauw University in Greencastle, Indiana, USA, is a private, national liberal arts college with an enrollment of approximately 2,400 students. The school has a Methodist heritage and was originally known as Indiana Asbury University. DePauw is a member of both the Great Lakes Colleges Association...
) died when the USS Maine
USS Maine (ACR-1)
USS Maine was the United States Navy's second commissioned pre-dreadnought battleship, although she was originally classified as an armored cruiser. She is best known for her catastrophic loss in Havana harbor. Maine had been sent to Havana, Cuba to protect U.S. interests during the Cuban revolt...
was sunk.
Purpose of Chapters
One of Delta Kappa Epsilon's focuses within each Chapter is on community service
Community service
Community service is donated service or activity that is performed by someone or a group of people for the benefit of the public or its institutions....
in addition to the social aspect that goes along with most social Greek fraternities.
Each Chapter competes for a number of awards that includes leadership
Leadership
Leadership has been described as the “process of social influence in which one person can enlist the aid and support of others in the accomplishment of a common task". Other in-depth definitions of leadership have also emerged.-Theories:...
, chapter improvements, and community service
Community service
Community service is donated service or activity that is performed by someone or a group of people for the benefit of the public or its institutions....
.. Each of these areas is used in awarding the overall award called the Lions Trophy.
The 2011 Lions Trophy Win was the Delta Kappa Epsilon chapter at the University of Alabama
University of Alabama
The University of Alabama is a public coeducational university located in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, United States....
. This chapter (Psi
Psi
-Alphabetic letters:* Psi 23rd letter of the Greek alphabet* Psi , a letter of the early Cyrillic alphabet, adopted from Greek-Mathematics:* Tangential angle of a curve*Chebyshev function*Dedekind psi function*Digamma function...
) won this award in the wake of doing a food drive to help give relief to the Tuscaloosa
Tuscaloosa
Tuscaloosa is the name of two places in the United States of America:*Tuscaloosa, Alabama*Tuscaloosa County, AlabamaThere is also:*USS Tuscaloosa , U.S. Navy New Orleans-class heavy cruiser*USS Tuscaloosa , U.S...
community affected by a Tornado..
Controversy
In 1967 the New York Times reported on "frat-branding" - the alleged use of a hot branding ironBranding iron
A branding iron is a tool which uses the process of pressing a heated metal shape against an object or livestock with the intention of leaving a mark....
to make a "D" shaped scar on new fraternity members. The fraternity's then president George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
stated that they were "only cigarette burns."
In 1989 Colgate University
Colgate University
Colgate University is a private liberal arts college in Hamilton, New York, USA. The school was founded in 1819 as a Baptist seminary and later became non-denominational. It is named for the Colgate family who greatly contributed to the university's endowment in the 19th century.Colgate has 52...
banned all DKE activities after the officials found members guilty of hazing
Hazing
Hazing is a term used to describe various ritual and other activities involving harassment, abuse or humiliation used as a way of initiating a person into a group....
, blackballing and other violations of university regulations. In 2005 Colgate University barred DKE from campus for refusing to sell its house to the school and join a new student-residence initiative. DKE filed a lawsuit charging that the school violated its right to free association as well as antitrust laws by monopolizing the student housing market. In 2006 the Supreme Court of Madison County found that the fraternity had failed to state a cause of action and that its claim was "time-barred."
In 2007 a black student accused members of the DKE fraternity at the University of Mississippi
University of Mississippi
The University of Mississippi, also known as Ole Miss, is a public, coeducational research university located in Oxford, Mississippi. Founded in 1844, the school is composed of the main campus in Oxford, four branch campuses located in Booneville, Grenada, Tupelo, and Southaven as well as the...
of making racial slurs. The school suspended the chapter for hosting an unauthorized party, assault and disorderly conduct.
In 2010 the University of Minnesota
University of Minnesota
The University of Minnesota, Twin Cities is a public research university located in Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota, United States. It is the oldest and largest part of the University of Minnesota system and has the fourth-largest main campus student body in the United States, with 52,557...
's Interfraternity Council banned DKE from homecoming and other Greek-related events for four years based on a report of sexual misconduct by a party-goer.
In January of 2011, the DKE chapter at the University of Alberta
University of Alberta
The University of Alberta is a public research university located in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Founded in 1908 by Alexander Cameron Rutherford, the first premier of Alberta and Henry Marshall Tory, its first president, it is widely recognized as one of the best universities in Canada...
had its student group status suspended for five years due to hazing activity. http://thegatewayonline.ca/articles/news/2011/01/27/university-suspends-dke-fraternity-5-years
In October 2010, Yale's DKE chapter came under fire after its members shouted inflammatory and misogynistic chants, including 'no means yes; yes means anal', at an Old Campus pledge ritual. The chapter's president apologized for the fraternity's conduct, but Yale's feminist magazine "Broad Recognition" called for administrative action against the leadership of DKE. As of October 24, 2010, Dean Mary Miller of Yale College has strongly recommended to the DKE National Executive Director, Dr. Douglas Lanpher, that the chapter at Yale be put on probation indefinitely. On May 17, 2011, the chapter was put on suspension for five years. The order bars DKE from conducting any activities on the Yale campus during that time.