History
of Delta Sigma Phi
1 - FOUNDING CHAPTERS IN NEW YORK CITY
When
the fall semester of 1899 began at the College of the City of New
your, several students who had graduated together from the city high
school system found themselves renewing their friendships as college
freshmen. They gathered daily between classes in a building at CCNY.
They wanted a means to continue their special ties of camaraderie
during college and throughout life, and they soon settled on fraternity
as the solution. They realized, however, that none of the several
fraternities on campus would accept them as members because the group
included both Jewish and Christian students during a time in which
groups of mixed religions were not socially acceptable either to the
all-Jewish or the all-Christian fraternities, or for that matter,
to other segments of a stratified society. Yet these young men had
already demonstrated to their complete satisfaction that there was
no reason for religious prejudice or other discrimination among men
of quality.
To preserve
their friendship and to establish that fundamental truth of life,
these enlightened young men organized their own fraternity by December
10, 1899. Thus, a new fraternity named Delta Sigma Phi was founded
I the new hope of the dawning of the twentieth century, based upon
the highest ideals of mankind. The Fraternity has since grown in importance
and reputation beyond even the most soaring imaginations of the founders.
In 1901, a second chapter was established at Columbia University,
only a short distance uptown. To distinguish between the two chapters
and to proclaim the uniqueness of the organization, the Mother Chapter
was called Insula, signifying its location on Manhattan Island. The
second chapter was called Morningside for its location in Morningside
Heights. Later these chapters were renamed as Alpha and Beta.
The
Fraternity incorporated in New York State on December 15, 1902.
At that time Delta Sigma Phi wrote into its laws the requirement
of open membership to all college men of quality regardless of
religion, race, or creed. The purpose of the Fraternity which
was articulated in the 1902 Articles of Incorporation was ".
. . to fulfill the desire of serious young college men for a
fellowship and brotherhood, as near a practical working ideal
as possible not fettered with too many traditional prejudices
and artificial standards of membership, and accompanied by a
clean, pure, and honorable chapter home life."
A third
chapter further uptown was organized at New York University in 1903.
It was called University Chapter, and was later renamed Gamma. It
is from these three founding chapters in New York City, working together,
that Delta Sigma Phi has grown in size and strength to become one
of the most important of collegiate fraternities.
2 -
EARLY YEARS OF STRUGGLE
The early
years were times of extreme difficulty for the three fledgling chapters
and their members. Most students shunned them because of their union
of religions. The founding chapters found it difficult to recruit
enough members for strong chapters and to establish lasting chapters
outside of new York City, which despite its prejudices, was the most
tolerant city in the United States at the time.
Among
the organizers, two students proved over time to be the founders who
kept alight the Delta Sigma Phi flame of idealism despite the heavy
winds which buffeted the first chapters. One of them, Meyer Boskey,
who was Jewish, was one of the original CCNY group from 1899. He became
the stabilizing influence at Insula, and through it, a leading force
in the New York City chapters. Boskey's steadiness and good sense
was matched by the charisma and brilliance of Charles A. Tonsor, Jr.,
a Christian, of University Chapter. They first met when Boskey initiated
the original University members. Tonsor was the president of the colony.
The colony's initiation took place in December of 1903, and a charter
was granted a few days later in 1904. Thereafter, for many years these
two formed the major leadership of the new national fraternity.
A constitutional
convention was held in August of 1905 at Insula's apartment. Charles
Tonsor, then a 19-year-old junior at NYU, was elected temporary president.
Meyer Boskey, then a first year student at Brooklyn Law School, was
elected temporary secretary. The Convention adopted a constitution
which created national offices and a council to govern between Conventions.
New chapters which had been organized at the Massachusetts Institute
of Technology in 1904, called Technology (later Delta), and the Keystone
Chapter (later Epsilon) at Pennsylvania State College, organized in
1905, were formally received into the Fraternity during the Convention.
In the
fall of 1905, Tonsor and Boskey worked out the theme of the initiation
ritual. They incorporated the sphinx as a major symbol of the Fraternity
because it had been previously adopted as such by the members.
On December
28, 1905, the first of a long series of annual holiday Conventions
was held in New York City. Tonsor was re-elected president and Boskey
was re-elected secretary. This first regular Convention at a luxurious
hotel resulted in a staggering financial loss, compelling Tonsor and
other members of University to engage in months of fund-raising projects
to pay the debt. The resulting ill will against those who neither
paid nor worked caused many members to resign, but by 1906, Tonsor,
Boskey and others had healed the wounds and reunited the chapters.
In
1906 Tonsor and Boskey chartered the Washington & Lee Chapter
as Stonewall, later named Zeta. That same year, the first alumni
group was chartered as the New York Alumni Chapter. The 1906
Convention changed the manner of naming chapters to the present
Greek alphabet designations. Eta Chapter was installed in 1907
at the University of Texas, as was Theta at Cornell.
In April
1907, Boskey, having conceived the idea of a national magazine to
bind the chapters together, published the first issue of the Carnation
with his own funds. Thereafter, he produced the magazine at irregular
intervals as a small pamphlet of only a few pages until the Convention
of 1915 authorized its regular publication as the official magazine
of the Fraternity. Upon the opening of his law firm in Manhattan in
1907, and until 1913, Boskey used his office, without compensation,
as the communication center of the national organization, and he was
annually re-elected secretary of the Fraternity.
3 -
PHILOSOPHICAL DIFFERENCES
Starting
in 1906, disagreements arose between members and between chapters
over the mixing of religions within the close bonds of fraternity.
As a result of these differences, the entire Epsilon chapter withdrew
in 1907, as did Delta in 1908 and Theta in 1909. Many of the members
of Beta resigned in 1909, and it became dormant a few years later.
Tonsor
and Boskey, determined to keep the idealism of the Fraternity alive
despite the desertion and defections, installed iota at the University
of Pennsylvania in 1908. At the 1908 convention, they and others sought
to bridge the gap between the two disputing sides by a preamble to
the constitution that expressed the philosophy of tolerance to opposing
viewpoints. In 1909 Tonsor and Boskey attended the meeting of fraternities
at the University Club in New York City at which the National Interfraternity
Conference was formed. Delta Sigma Phi is a founding member of the
NIC.
Despite
the critical loss of important chapters in the early years, several
new ones almost simultaneously sprang up in the South and in the Midwest,
ultimately assuring the continuity of the Fraternity. Kappa Chapters
was installed at Alabama Polytechnic Institute at Auburn, in 1908.
It was followed by the installation of Lambda chapter at Trinity University
in Texas in 1909 (transferred to Southern Methodist University in
1915); Mu, at the University of Chicago, in 1910; Nu, at Waynesburg
College, in 1910; and Omicron at Cumberland University, in 1912 (becoming
dormant in 1918, this chapter was transferred to the University of
Tennessee in 1931). The first alumni chapter outside of the East was
founded in Chicago in 1912. Zeta Chapter became dormant in 1909 as
a result of a typhoid fever epidemic.
It became
apparent that the 1907 compromise had not resolved the problem when
Kappa Chapter withdrew in 1910. The addition of new chapters came
to a halt while a lasting solution was sought, once again under the
leadership of Tonsor with the assistance of Boskey. Finally at the
1914 Convention in Philadelphia, the constitution was amended to restrict
membership to members of the Christian fail. For an interim, therefore,
Delta Sigma Phi, like other fraternities of the time, restricted its
membership. This unfortunate decision was overturned in later years,
and for many years Delta Sigma Phi has sought members from all religions,
races, and creeds in full honor of the pioneering philosophy upon
which it was created.
4 -
YEARS OF ESTABLISHMENT
The 1914
Convention took other steps to assure the growth of the Fraternity,
including significant financial contributions by the national leaders.
The Convention created the position of general secretary and appointed
A. W. (Dutch) Defenderfer, Omicron, to this part-time professional
staff position. Brother Defenderfer managed Fraternity business out
of his insurance office in Washington, D.C., until his retirement
in 1939. Following the 1914 Convention, there was a period of continuous
expansion. Thereafter, the Carnation was published on a regular basis,
and in 1915, six new chapters were installed in 1915, four more chapters
were installed, and a district deputy system was instituted to provide
additional assistance to the chapters.
5 -
WORLD WAR I
The years
1917 and 1918 were times of trial and worries for both chapter and
national organization in all fraternities as World War I embroiled
the United States in its fiery morass. As members were drawn into
military service, several chapters had to suspend operations entirely
for lack of members, and the remaining chapters were greatly weakened.
Many of our Brothers passed into the Bond Eternal as a result of the
Great War.
After
World War I, the returning veterans and alumni joined to rebuild the
chapters. The time of Convention meetings was changed to every second
year. The 1919 convention centered around plans for internal chapter
development and cooperative work between districts. Three geographical
provinces were established. Only one new chapter was installed in
1919, but nine new chapters were added and Epsilon was revived in
1920.
6 -
THE TWENTIES: YEARS OF EXPANSION
During
the twenties growth was rapid, so much so that the Administrative
Council denied petitions from several locals to form chapters. The
Fraternity's government was improved by a new Constitution, adopted
at the 1921 Convention. The present coat-of-arms also was endorsed.
At the
1923 Convention in Dallas, the Fraternity was recovering strongly
from the ravages of World War I. The Convention adopted a ceremony
for the dedication of new chapter houses and instituted the Pilgrim
Degree, a special ritual for those making the pilgrimage to a National
Convention. the convention also authorized the publication of The
Sphinx, which has been issued since 1924 to convey confidential information
to members.
In 1923,
the first and only honorary member of the Fraternity was initiated.
He was the Hon. James J. Davis, Secretary of Labor in the Harding,
Coolidge, and Hoover Cabinets. Initiated at the request of Omega Chapter,
Brother Davis became an enthusiastic and loyal member.
Expansion
continued during 1925, as the Fraternity issued the first edition
of the Pledge Manual, one of the earliest publications of its kind
in the fraternity world. In 1926, Alpha Chi Chapter originated the
Sailors Ball, which has become traditional throughout the Fraternity.
that year also saw the adoption of an official Fraternity flag by
the Board of Governors.
In 1928,
the Fraternity issued the first edition of the Fraternity Manual,
one of the most complete publications of its kind ever produced by
any fraternity. In 1929 the Fraternity was reincorporated in the District
of Columbia where the offices of General Secretary Defenderfer were
located.
Although
the 1929 was held shortly after the stock market crash that signaled
the beginning of the Depression of the Thirties, the meetings were
conducted in an atmosphere of optimism and with few forebodings of
the difficulties which lay ahead. The delegates voted to employ a
traveling secretary, the Fraternity's first such paid employee.
7 -
THE DEPRESSION YEARS
In the
Depression years, financial worries weighed down not only the shoulders
of student members, but of alumni control boards and national officers
as well. Numerous chapters went under, and many others lost their
equities in handsome chapter properties. Among the chapters dealt
a death blow by the Depression were the two remaining of the original
triad, Alpha and Gamma.
In spite
of great difficulties, there were notable developments in the early
thirties. A new chapter was added in both 1930 and 1931. In 1931,
the Harvey Hebert Award for distinguished service to the Fraternity
was first awarded. Tow new chapters were added in 1932, and one in
1933, during the deepest depths of the Great Depression. The economic
circumstances were so dire that no convention could be held in 1933,
but one was held again in 1935. In the spring of 1936, the Fraternity's
first district training school for officers was conducted in Chicago.
Another new chapter, the first since 1933, was installed in 1938.
Early
in 1938, the Board of Governors banned Hell Week practices throughout
the Fraternity.
8 -
WORLD WAR II
By the
later years of the thirties, several of the Depression-dormant chapters
had been revived, but now the Fraternity was threatened by a new catastrophe
- - the gathering clouds of World War II. Several of the chapters
were weakened by loss of men to military service. Only 22 chapters
were represented at the 1940 Convention, though some 43 were active
at the time. Several major changes grew out of the resignation of
A. W. Defenderfer, Omicron, who had served the Fraternity as general
secretary since the historic days of 1914. The national headquarters
was shifted from Washington, D.C. to Sprinfield, Ohio, the home city
of the new national treasurer, Arthur H. Sprague, Beta Iota. Marcus
E. Sharpe, Tau, was appointed general secretary.
A national
Convention scheduled for 1942 was canceled at the request of the government.
In the same year, General Secretary Sharpe resigned to enter F. B.
I service, and Arthur H. Sprague assumed duties as acting general
secretary for the duration of the war. National officers directed
the chapters to organize a committee of five men on each campus to
preserve chapter records and effects and to make plans to resume operations
after the war. By the end of 1943, 24 chapters had been closed for
the duration, and more were closed by early 1944. Only a handful remained
active throughout the war years, and those operated under adverse
conditions. In mid-1944 the Board of Governors gave chapter alumni
unusual authority to initiate undergraduates and carry on chapter
functions.
After
the war, however, the Fraternity demonstrated its underlying vitality
by a rapid recovery, and its revival activity soon blossomed into
one of the greatest expansions periods of its history. By June, 1946,
30 chapters out of 40 were again active. Harold Balback, Alpha Pi
was appointed general secretary, and plans were made for a Convention
to be held the following January.
9 -
GOLDEN ANNIVERSARY YEARS
The
Convention, held in Chicago, developed an expansionist sentiment
in marked contrast to that of some 20 years earlier. A slogan, "50 Chapters for our Golden
Anniversary Convention in 1949," was adopted. A compulsory life membership
plan for all initiates was adopted and a liberalized method for the
acceptance of charter petitions by the Board of Governors was accepted.
Francis
"Pete" Wacker of Epsilon became general secretary in 1947, and the
first new chapter after World War II was installed in that year.
The year 1948 witnessed the largest number of chapters ever installed
in the history of the Fraternity -- 12 -- plus two revivals.
The golden
anniversary Convention was held in 1949. The goal of 50 chapters had
been more than fulfilled. There were 63, and all were represented
at the Convention. The delegates took momentous action. They adopted
a new constitution that provided for major changes in the national
government of the Fraternity, expanding the Board of Governors to
18 members representing 18 regions, and leaving the interim affairs
of the Fraternity in the hands of an executive committee.
10 -
THE KOREAN WAR
The Korean
War broke out in the summer of 1950. While campus dislocations were
by no means as severe as those of World War II, nevertheless the effects
of the military draft were adverse, especially on smaller chapters.
Also affected was the Fraternity's expansion program. Only one charter
was granted in 1951.
Several
notable steps were taken by the new board of Governors, meeting for
the first time in a non-Convention year, 1950, in Chicago. The board
voted to adopt a new Fraternity flag and to move the national headquarters
to Denver, Colorado.
11 -
YEARS OF DEVELOPMENT
The 1951
Convention voted to create the Delta Sigma Phi Foundation, a non-profit
educational foundation. The final step in universal life membership
was taken, with a resolution authorizing such membership of every
initiate at the time of initiation, the practice followed today. The
loss of college men into military service lessened, and during the
rest of the 1950's, the Fraternity's expansion continued strongly.
In 1961,
the Fraternity adopted Engineered Leadership(TM) as its four-step
method for chapter planning. This unique concept is based upon a successful
chapter restructuring conducted by members of Beta Iota Chapter. Chapter
expansion continued rapidly.
In recognition
of the unwieldy nature of an 18-man governing body, a new constitution
was submitted to the chapters in 1967 and passed by an overwhelming
vote. The revised national government, under which our fraternity
operates today, provides for a Grand Council of seven and a consulting
body of district governors and deputy district governors. The Mr.
Delta Sig award, the highest honor the Fraternity can bestow, was
first conferred in 1969.
12 -
YEARS OF DIFFICULTY
Delta
Sigma Phi experienced a difficult period from the late 1960's through
1977 as protests against the Vietnam War produced turmoil and unrest
on college campuses across the country. The membership of many chapters
declined and several weak chapters became dormant. Finally, wiht the
end of the armed conflict, college students gradually returned to
traditional ideals of brotherhood and group interaction.
13 -
RELOCATION AND GROWING SUCCESS
Under
the directlion of Executive Director E. Allen James, Rho, who replaced
Francis Wacker upon his retirement in 1978, the Fraternity made rapid
improvements. Over several years, the professional staff was increased
in size to provide more services to chapters. The national headquarters
was relocated from Denver to Indianapolis, Indiana in 1981. This move
was accomplished in order to place the headquarters in a more central
location for a majority of our chapters, and to take advantage of
certain favorable tax laws. In 1984, the national offices were moved
into the Taggart Mansion, which had been restored to its original
gradeur to serve as the Fraternity's permanent seat of operations.
It was formally dedicated at the 1985 convention which was held in
Indianapolis.
Throughout
the 1980's chapter quality and average size has increased dramatically
as undergraduate members realized the potential of their own greatness.
Several dormant chapters have been revived, and many new chapters
have been added as Delta Sigma Phi has grown increasingly important
in the fraternity movement.
For almost
a century we have stood strong in the fraternity world. Our reputation
has been thatof a group of committed brothers who believe in our principles
and who care about our newly initiated members. We eagerly accept
the challenge of the future.
