The Theta Nu Epsilon Society.

The History of the Alpha Chapter at Wesleyan.

Overview.

We will here consider the foundation and continuation of the Alpha Chapter at Wesleyan. Of course, the history of the founding of the Alpha Chapter is the founding of the whole society. In 1872, with the founding of the second chapter at Syracuse University, the two stories diverge, and a separate article covers the development of affairs for the various national organizations. This is the history of the Alpha Chapter at Wesleyan, and brings that history current to the present day.

1870.

Theta Nu Epsilon was founded at The Wesleyan University in December, 1870, by Olin L. Livesey, then a Sophomore, and eleven other members of the class of 1873. The Society was founded as a Sophomore Society; that is, a society which one joined in the Sophomore year. Typically, the officers are Sophomores, and in their junior and senior years the members attend and enjoy the meetings, but do not bother themselves with the administration of the chapter. As a Class Society, the Alpha Chapter followed the pattern set by the Yale societies; and in fact, was established at Wesleyan as the second chapter of Skull & Bones, a Yale senior society. (Today, we might call it a ‘pro-chapter’ or ‘colonization’). The Alpha Chapter of Theta Nu Epsilon is proud to be descended from Skull & Bones; however, Theta Nu Epsilon has been wholly independent of Skull & Bones for all but the first two years of its existence.

The Wesleyan Campus in the late 1860’s.

The point of the society, as a practical matter, has always been to be able to have the positive enjoyments of a fraternity without all the burdens of running a chapter house and the like. After the Civil War, fraternities were turning into the institutions we know them to be today, and it was thought, (and still is), that one could get much of their advantages and still avoid their burdens. Another practical point was that Theta Nu Epsilon’s membership was selected from across fraternity, curricular, and social lines, and allowed people to come together who otherwise may not even had a chance to meet in the rush of campus activities. In the early years of the Alpha Chapter’s existence, the society sponsored an annual banquet at one of the grand hotels on Long Island Sound, and all-campus smokers.

There have been a number of stories of the founding of Theta Nu Epsilon, most of these follow the all but traditional  pattern of being founded in the sole founder’s dormitory room. This has been repeated without foundation about Theta Nu Epsilon. It can be conclusively established in the written recollections of founding members that Theta Nu Epsilon was founded on December 11, 1870, in old Room Seven of Wesleyan’s South College.

The fullest known account is that offered by Herbert Coston, a founder of Theta Nu Epsilon and a member of Alpha Delta Phi. He later was an attorney in Scranton, Pennsylvania, and most of his career was the Court Reporter of Lackawana County. He addressed The Alumni Club of Theta Nu Epsilon in 1912 at the Hof-Brau House in Manhattan:

“I can remember when I was about prepared and ready to enter college and had determined upon Wesleyan, being asked where I was going and I replied, “To Wesleyan University down in Connecticut.” I was met with the inquiry, “What! Are you going to be a preacher?” So you see, the idea was somewhat, if not generally, prevalent, that when one went to Wesleyan he was going to a preacher factory, where only those fit to wear the cloth had any place. When the Class of ’73 entered, somehow the boys made up their mind that they were going to try to disabuse the community of that idea, and let the people understand that while there was a Theological Seminary in Middletown,” Berkeley Divinity School, now relocated as a part of Yale, “yet Wesleyan was something else, a real college, where a young fellow could get the real thing, a college training and a college education...”

“Looking back over the years since that time and trying to analyze the character and disposition of the boys of ’73, I have come to the conclusion that they were a lot of fellows of exceptional merit, and I think I am safe in drawing that conclusion from the fact that for a good many years years after ’73 had gone out into the world and was but a memory, its name was a sort of synonym for all that was best both in college work and in college athletics, and was held up to incoming classes as the beau ideal of what a college class should be. ...”

“I am only...illustrating how naturally it came to about that among the fellows of that Class there were a number who found each other and were drawn together more closely by something other than the ties of class fellowship. So it was that this spirit of legitimate, wholesome, innocent and inoffensive, (and I use the term ‘inoffensive’ advisedly), fun and close companionship that tended to unite Cousens, Furber, Gerst, Kirby, Livesey, Shonk, Toy, Hoagland, and Coston, into a sort of brotherhood by themselves that had its full consummation in the creation of Theta Nu Epsilon.” (These were the core members, eventually, by the end of the year, the complement was brought up to fifteen, the traditional number of a Class Society, the tradition set by Yale.)

“I can’t remember many the details connected with the conception and birth of Theta Nu Epsilon, but I know that among these particular boys in a short time there developed a feeling of real love and a desire for a closer union and friendship than usually resulted from the daily meetings of one another in the college classrooms, and with this feeling soon came the notion of having a place where we could gather and be entirely by ourselves. So we put our hands in our pockets, and hired an obscure attic in a three story building, making out entrance and exit from the third story by a ladder hand over hand through a trap door, and there met weekly. At these meetings we entered into what seemed at the time a sort of devilish hilarity, going so far as to have a feed at midnight, winding up the festivities of the evening with a game of seven-up, whatever that might be, and perhaps a few games of whist.”

“To complete the union and bond between us, and to be able to identify ourselves one with the other, the grip and signs with which you are all familiar were adopted and the nucleus of what has become a widespread and somewhat noted college society was created. The principles that were then embodied as the basis of Theta Nu Epsilon became ties that have bound the living together to the very present time, and they have kept green the memory of those who have passed to the great beyond.”

“The lapse of time dims our recollection of college days and is apt to cause us to forget our fraternity relations and duties. I want to congratulate you New York Theta Nu Epsilons that you have a lot of fellows here who are going to keep alive the memories of the olden days and are going to keep in touch with the traditions of Theta Nu Epsilon. One of the best means of accomplishing this is to do just what you are starting to do, associating yourselves together in a club in this city.

“I want to assure you that Mr. Rymer and myself, and I may with confidence speak for others in our city, are interested in its success and will cheerfully respond to calls that you may make upon us to insure its prosperity.”

It should be noted that in the above, there was no mention of the formal process by which the society was formed, or about the development of the initiation. It is conceivable that some ceremony was staged in the room. However, given the nature of the initiation, it is far more likely that the initiation from the start was an outdoor affair. It is also equally clear that any formal actions were incidental to the bond of fellowship that was formed in that nameless room, (probably on Main Street), where the group, first and foremost, came together.

Main Street, Middletown, in the 1870’s, (the South Church spire is recognizable at the end of the street).

Coston’s reminiscences were shared by Benjamin Gerst, another founder, who wrote, “We aimed at congenial companionship and a desire to keep within the college walls those who might find temptation in saloons down town. Chess, checkers, authors, and other games engaged part of our time while the most highly-prized moments were given to friendly chat...”

The motto of the society originally had the initials of Theta Nu, and by the end of the year became Theta Nu Epsilon, as attested by Herbert Costen elsewhere.

1872.

The relationship between the Alpha Chapter at Wesleyan and the Skull & Bones Society at Yale came to an end in 1872. The undergraduates at both colleges may have gotten ahead of themselves when they began in 1870. The Alpha Chapter initially planned to develop into a Senior Society and as a chapter of Skull & Bones. Wesleyan’s first Senior Society, Skull & Serpent, had been on campus for five years, and was established enough to defend its position. Wesleyan’s second Senior Society, the Owl & Wand, had only come into existence the year before, and made highly controversial claims for itself, antagonizing the Wesleyan community. It seems that Livesey and his associates were willing to tough out any problems to achieve success for their Senior Society plans, but it also seems that there was some hesitation on the Yale end.

Wesleyan was on the verge of creating a class-society system like that of its neighbor to the south. The three junior societies of Yale: Alpha Delta Phi, Psi Upsilon, and Delta Kappa Epsilon, all had chapters at Wesleyan, (though at Wesleyan they were four-year societies). The cooperation of these societies, with a fourth, the legendary Eclectic Society, had made possible the Skull & Serpent Senior Society;—but that was merely a local imitation of the then already well-known Skull & Bones at Yale. However, taking advantage of the Alpha Delt, Psi U., and D.K.E. links between the two institutions, it would now be possible to create at Wesleyan a chapter of the ‘real thing’—a chapter of Skull & Bones itself. Had this plan been successful, the other fraternities at Wesleyan would have been forced from the four-year fraternity system into the class-society system, and Wesleyan would eventually have had replicated the whole Yale plan. This contention between two different systems kept society affairs at a standoff for some time.

Until 1872, in fact, matters were not certain how this drama among the class societies would play out. Theta Nu Epsilon could have easily ended up as either Skull & Bones, (a chapter of the Yale Senior Society), or as Skull & Keys, (independent and a class year society). Ultimately, Theta Nu Epsilon became a Sophomore class society, and independent of any other institutions. The Class of 1873 members of Theta Nu Epsilon, as seniors, took elections in both Senior societies, the Skull & Serpent and the Owl & Wand.

And Wesleyan, poised for a year or two on the precipice of having four-year societies (today’s typical fraternities and sororities) or having class year societies, ended up with both.

With the settlement of Theta Nu Epsilon as a Sophomore class society, it was then possible,—even necessary,—to complete a full chain of four societies, one in each class year. The simplest step, the creation of a Junior society, was easily achieved, and a new society, Corpse & Coffin, was formed. Corpse & Coffin was a relatively stable society, and it later created chapters as well.

The more crucial step was the creation of a Freshman society, which was also relatively easily done. Theta Nu Epsilon had already since its inception had been ‘pre-selecting’ a group of Freshmen each year. Forming them into a society was not difficult. The result was Kappa Gamma, or the dreaded ‘Kai Gar’, one of the most colorful college societies ever created. As a group, Kai Gar was prone to being excessively loud and prone to stupid behavior; the society encouraged a certain vacant mindlessness. Yet, somehow, Kai Gar, remained loveable to all its devotees. One motto of Kappa Gamma was “Kai Gar rules the world, and rules it well” —which can still be found scrawled on obscure campus surfaces.

The importance of having a Freshman society is that this gave Theta Nu Epsilon a guaranteed set of men to draw from each year for initiates. After a year of active membership, the more die-hard members would be passed along to the upperclassmen societies.

This left Wesleyan with a fairly complete class-society system, and the road open for Theta Nu Epsilon to pursue its future as a national, although it did cost the relationship to Skull & Bones. The Yale society did not forget its progeny in future years however, as attested by the actions of several prominent Bonesmen, and Theta Nu Epsilon found a way to always memorialize its venerable parent.

The new independent footing of Theta Nu Epsilon was marked with a new constitution, which served all of Theta Nu Epsilon until the national constitution of 1907.

1875 - 1877.

As early as 1874 there were attempts at having a second Freshman society to contend against Kai Gar. Kappa Sigma was organized one year and failed, and Sigma Pi Epsilon, a noble effort, also only lived one year. There was no lasting success until the establishment of Lambda Rho in 1877, which we shall discuss below.

Whatever the early miscarries, the idea of a second series of societies had been planted. If there could be two competing Senior societies, and two Freshman societies, then naturally there could be a whole ‘second series’ of four class year societies to compete with the four already established. This was a natural progression of events, and decades earlier, Yale had developed two, and then three, series of four societies, each running through all four college years.

Five years after Theta Nu Epsilon was founded it did get a direct competitor at Wesleyan. At first, there was a false start, when in 1875, some Sophomores organized a new society for themselves, Omicron Kappa. Omicron Kappa was not a well-thought out project, although it did have the interesting shorthand name of “O.K.” The society collapsed in a year.

A year later in 1877, a new ‘second’ Sophomore society was finally organized on a firm basis, Zeta Phi, also known as Skull & Spades. Zeta Phi was a fine and capable organization, and over the next thirty years was a honorable competitor of the Alpha Chapter of Theta Nu Epsilon. Zeta Phi was ‘number two’ and as number two, they tried harder.

The creation of Lambda Rho in the Freshman class in 1877, and Zeta Phi among the Sophomores the same year was a coup in Wesleyan college society affairs, and Zeta Phi effectively cut out the Alpha Chapter from class society elections. Theta Nu Epsilon could have died at Wesleyan this year, but the next year, cooler heads prevailed, and a system of two class societies in the Freshman, Sophomore, and Senior years, (through not yet Junior), was established and functioned regularly for years after. It is very likely that it was only because the Alpha Chapter had started chapters at other colleges that it was seen as necessary to save it.

The eighth and last piece in the puzzle was a second Junior class society;—this would have completed two series of four class year societies. Naturally, since it was the last piece, it was the hardest to fit. There were six attempts in 24 years to create the rival Junior society.

The Alpha Chapter in the 1880’s.

In overall terms, however, the pattern was complete by the late 1870’s, and it would endure in different forms for the next fifty years. Wesleyan had college fraternities like the rest of college campuses, and class societies like Yale. The two systems were not only NOT in conflict, but they even reinforced each other. The fraternities had stability, endowments, and provided real services, such as room and board. The class societies were more recreational,—the underclass societies tended to reflect the exhuberant spirits of their members and the upperclass societies tended toward more sedate social activities and a more serious commitment to the college.

The affairs of these societies can be seen in how they reacted to each other and how they were affected by the fraternities. Class society elections tended to show influences of both kinds of pressure.

We know, for example, that from 1873 to the first decades of the 20^th century, honors were shared by Alpha Delta Phi and Psi Upsilon at about 25% of the membership. Another 20% of memberships were held by Delta Kappa Epsilon and Phi Nu Theta. The remaining positions were held by Chi Psi, Beta Theta Pi, other societies, and non-fraternity memberships.

[Phi Nu Theta, (always ‘Eclectic’), Psi Upsilon, Alpha Delta Phi, Chi Psi, Delta Kappa Epsilon, (always ‘Deke’), have been the leading fraternities at Wesleyan since the Civil War. Many fraternities came later, and most of those have since expired.]

1883.

In a series of moves that later became typical, in 1882 Chi Psi’s began to become interested in the Alpha Chapter for reasons of their own. In 1883, Chi Psi was even more determined to control the Alpha, and appears to have entered into a combination with Deke to increase Chi Psi’s membership in Theta Nu Epsilon by driving out Eclectic. This was done. No doubt but that Eclectic was offended. The next year, 1884, Alpha Delta Phi and Psi Upsilon, signalling their disdain for this ungallant act, (and no doubt having heard Eclectic’s protests), refused to have their members become Theta Nu Epsilon members. With Chi Psi reprimanded, this left Deke a free hand to elect its members to Theta Nu Epsilon, and it took about three-fourths of the memberships.

Did the members of Theta Nu Epsilon elect their successors or did the fraternities elect their members to Theta Nu Epsilon? Except for obvious instances, such as the regular scattering of non-fraternity elections in this period, it seems that this question is really moot. An Alpha Delt member of Theta Nu Epsilon would not have voted for anyone to Theta Nu Epsilon without discussing it in some fashion, informally or otherwise, with other members of Alpha Delta Phi. In a campus of some 300 students, everyone was probably well aware of everyone else’s business.

In 1885, an equilibrium was restored that lasted several years, and the business of the Alpha Chapter was conducted advantageously for all. At this time, the ‘Original Conventions’ began meeting, usually among one of the upstate New York chapters, and these conventions began regular consideration of new chapter petitions, which were then ratified by the Alpha Chapter at Wesleyan. A member of the Class of ’92 recalled later having taken several trips in the 1889-90 academic year to install new chapters across the Northeast.

1890’s.

In 1891, the newly organized Wesleyan fraternity chapter, Beta Theta Pi, supplanted Chi Psi in Theta Nu Epsilon membership for more than a decade. In later years, Chi Psi’s would reappear, and in those years, Beta Theta Pi’s would be scarce. One seldom sees both among the actives of the Alpha Chapter at any given time. Later, in most of the twentieth century, Chi Psi’s would seem to effectively keep Betas out of the Alpha Chapter.

The next year, Beta Theta Pi drove Alpha Delta Phi out of Theta Nu Epsilon at Wesleyan. The year following that, in defense of Alpha Delta Phi, the Eclectic Society refused to have its members participate. This was a similar situation to what happened in 1883, but the repercussions were far more extensive. The problem seems to have been how to accomodate a new fraternity, Beta Theta Pi, with a particularly aggressive leadership, into the old fraternity-class society system.

Also in 1891, the arrival of the Betas caused so much strife it forced the collapse of Lambda Rho, and for a year there was only one Freshman class society. The following year Pi Kappa Tau was organized to replace Lambda Rho. Although this ‘solved’ the problem, the Alpha Chapter did experience lean times until both the difficulties between Beta and Alpha Delta Phi were resolved and a successor Freshman class society for Lambda Rho was founded.

Eventually the situation stabilized, although for the next two decades, Chi Psi’s participation was limited and Beta Theta Pi took over Chi Psi’s rôle in Theta Nu Epsilon. The class society system continued as well, but Pi Kappa Tau was always a comparatively lackluster society compared to the vigorous and vital Lambda Rho.

For reasons that still remain unclear, (and probably not worth ascertaining), in 1895 and 1904 Delta Kappa Epsilon was frozen out of the annual chapter election. This was a temporary situation each time. Harder to understand is the limited Phi Nu Theta (Eclectic), participation in the early 1890’s. The Alpha Chapter was also smaller in numbers through this whole period, though this did not noticeably affect its prosperity.

1910.

Of course, the centerpiece of the initiation into all class societies is the banquet. There is no way to properly initiate any member without a proper banquet, and in many cases the meal itself was a prime incentive for undertaking all the initiatory preparations. In this way, the college societies followed the venerable example of Freemasonry, and for all the same obvious reasons.

The afternoon of the banquet, Theta Nu Epsilon chapters typically conducted parades in their respective downtowns. The Alpha Chapter did, too. The parades became as much an annual event for the town as for the chapter. We have one account of a parade by an outside observer perserved in the records of the Lambda Chapter at R.P.I. The parades concluding in the early evening, there was time to travel by steamer to dinner.

1890 - The Sophomore Class aboard a steamer at the Middletown wharf, heading to their banquet.

The banquets were usually held downriver, in one of the old hotels in Essex, Lyme, Saybrook, or elsewhere on the shore. It is true that instead some forays were made to the environs of Hartford, or even Meriden and New Britain. However, whether upriver or down, the society did not take roads, but steamers on the river itself. Quoting one alumnus, “Two passenger and freight steamers plied nightly between Hartford and New York, one each way. We took the one down to East Haddam, in the early evening and returned the next morning on the one from New York.” (By East Haddam, we assume he means Goodspeed’s Landing.) After the initiation, spirits still being high, there was usually some mischief afoot. “In the early morning while waiting at the dock in East Haddam for a boat (it was then dark), someone with his cane knocked off someone’s silk hat. That started a fracas. The result was that no one came back with a whole hat, and not many with whole canes.”

The 1886 and 1888 Banquets for Theta Nu Epsilon were held at The Winthrop Hotel in Meriden. The menu was extensive and complete. The 1888 menu consisted of :

They were Sophomores, but they could eat.

Throughout the banquet there were appropriate toasts, delivered on a variety of topics, and all of which served to instill the proper spirit of enthusiasm among the incoming members.

The toasts that have survived to this day show that the short addresses were the primary means for instructing the members in the role of the society, its place in affairs, and the sum of the knowledge that the new members would need to be effective exemplars of Theta Nu Epsilon.

The class society banquets were the main event of the year for each of the class societies. As can be seen from the menus, the members took seriously having the best meal possible, and a lot of planning went into selecting the best location. Among the locations were Habenstein’s in Hartford, Champion House, East Hartford, Avery’s Cafe, Hartford, and Russwin House, New Britain. In 1888 alone, Skull & Serpent had its banquet at Chaffee’s; Knot and Key, McDonough House; Corpse & Coffin, Kilbourn House; Zeta Phi, Park Central Hotel, Hartford; Theta Nu Epsilon, The Winthrop, and Kappa Gamma at the Kilbourn as well.

Theta Nu Epsilon’s most notable banquet was in 1910, at the Coulter House, Old Saybrook. The same night, the competition, Zeta Phi, banquetted at the Old Lyme Inn, Lyme. Both societies, following their usual manners in the circumstances, became rambunctious. One of the societies seems to have taken casually the quiet regard usually given cemetaries. Zeta Phi seems to have developed an aquisitive turn, and carried off a road marker for the Chester Ferry. They also seem to have done $60 worth of damage to a church and various street lights. Theta Nu Epsilon seems to have first violated the ordinances of Old Saybrook by bringing beer, (in a barrel), into town. They then broke into a small chapel, and appropriated a chair for the banquet. On being reproached, one member, (most ungallantly), replied, “What is it to you? What if we did?” Members of Theta Nu Epsilon are not supposed to ever be rude, and clearly this was inexcusable.

The rest of the activity in the downriver towns, however, was not atypical. Similar events happened most years, and usually the downriver towns would send repair bills to the College, which would pay the bills, and then recoup the funds directly from the students.

Returning to Middletown, flights of fancy reached new heights. The steamer had gotten them to town, “too late to go to bed and too early for breakfast,” so they amused themselves with the town’s public monuments. The Chester Ferry sign made its reappearance, pointing now to the campus. A blockade was constructed at the South Green, out of the fence of the Baptist Church and several Civil War cannon captured from Georgia 40 years before. This was designed to block off the Middletown Trolley, and the next morning it “gave the motorman and conductors some healthful morning exercises to help settle their early, hurried breakfast.” They also seem to have found sundry uses for a cigar store Indian from the Dutting store. The ‘Indian’ appears to have become a bowling pin, and the stacks of cannon balls in front of Russell Library made effective bowling balls, Court Street itself becoming a bowling alley. And at last, some older members raided a delicatessen, and ‘shampooed’ several new members with Limburger cheese.

Yet even all this was not atypical. The correspondent of the Middletown Penny Press, already quoted above, summed up the night’s activities by saying, “Of course it was all done in a good natured manner and was merely the exhuberance of spirits on the part of the boys, and there hardly seems to be any occasion for a number of citizens to get peevish about it, as some of them have done. They fail to see the joke, which of course will be surprising to the students at Wesleyan University.”

The next day the sheriff of Middlesex County arrived, and took back the Chester Ferry sign. It is not known if he availed himself of the opportunity to try to collect from the college.

Although the treatment in the local papers was moderate, this was a high point in American yellow journalism, and the press treatment in New York City papers was, at least, excessive. The New York Herald led the way :

Students Destroy Tombs, Rob Church Wesleyan Sophomores Descend on Saybrook and Practically De- molish the Place. Saybrook, Conn., Friday.—Say “Sophomore” to a Saybrook man to-day and he runs like a rabbit. Nothing that ever happened hereabouts has affected this town as has the descent upon it of the Wesleyan sophomores from Middletown. They came last night and left early this morning and there was nothing that could be thought of that wasn’t done, from tearing up the tombstones in the local graveyard to robbing a church. It was the annual outing of Theta Nu Epsilon, which, translated, means, according to Saybrook, “Commit everything but homicide and don’t shy at that.” Only sixty-five sophomores descended upon Saybrook, according to actual count, but the town will not be convinced that the visible amount of damage could have been done by fewer than a thousand men. ...

Of the ‘thousand men’ that ‘practically demolished’ Old Saybrook, it is worth bearing in mind that the total bill for damages came to ten dollars, which, even in 1910 dollars, didn’t cover much in the way of destruction. Nor is it likely that Old Saybrook residents were ever given to running like rabbits.

This was the time when the telegraph was becoming a common tool of newspapers, and it was now possible for New York papers to carry current events from Connecticut. Matters which would have been small town gossip in the decades before were now being covered sensationally as far away as New York, (where alumni could read it). There was a seperate article in the Middletown Penny Press where the President of Wesleyan made clear that it was the exaggerated reporting that was the real problem. — Theta Nu Epsilon had become hot copy, and the controversy had much more to do with perceptions among Twelve College alumni in New York and Boston than anything else.

In the next few days, the President of Wesleyan took a tour of Lyme and Saybrook, and made apologies. Wesleyan’s President at this time was Shanklin, a prim man from Iowa who never seemed to have appreciated the nature of Wesleyan. Still, he knew that these were really minor disturbances. In his official statement he said, “The recent disorders connected with the banquet of the Theta Nu Epsilon Society of Wesleyan University, so widely reported through the press, prove to have been greatly exaggerated, and most of the details in these sensational reports were false. There was no wilful desecration of a church or cemetary. There was, however, some drinking and disorder.” In the end, a number of students were censured, and a small number suspended.

It is worth noting that in this episode, Zeta Phi’s activities as the raiders of Old Lyme were forgotten, and even the President of Wesleyan only mentions Theta Nu Epsilon.

A few days afterward, the Alpha Chapter’s members took the rash step of voting to dissolve itself, as did Zeta Phi, but the resolution was never acted upon, and the vote was reversed by the next alumni meeting. In a few weeks, the Alpha Chapter recovered its composure, and continued to attend the national conventions of Theta Nu Epsilon, where it was welcomed with open arms. The Alpha Chapter clearly continued to exist through to the 1930’s, when it began to operate publicly and appear again in the yearbooks.

Two years later, with Shanklin still presiding over the faculty, Wesleyan’s administration did vote to eliminate the Sophomore class societies, but that regulation seems to have lasted the duration of Caesar’s reign, for when there was a new Caesar, new rules applied. As for the fate of Shanklin, the reader is referred to Potts’ history of Wesleyan.

1912 - 1920’s.

The Alpha Chapter reorganized itself a few years later in 1913. Although there are no contemporary records to confirm this, the public accounts decades later, (produced by non-members), confirm that the 1910 year was only brought a brief pause in affairs. A university publication noted that “No records were kept during the period 1913 - 1922, but apparently T.N.E. activities had been brought to the attention of the faculty in 1922... ” Clearly the chapter did not die, (as often claimed by detractors), in 1910 or 1912.

The continued existence of the Alpha Chapter is also clear in the archives of the successive nationals, where there is ongoing (though sporadic) attendence of Wesleyan delegates at the conventions of this period, and correspondence regularly mentions Wesleyan.

The founder, Olin Livesey, during his Senior year, 1872-73.

In the history of the nationals, it was in 1912 that a range of old chapters that tenaciously held to the Sophomore Society origins of Theta Nu Epsilon, and the traditional rôle of the Society, were all driven out of the national organization. These were all the oldest chapters of the society, and at the most well-known and established schools. The Alpha Chapter itself was at the head of this group, and, in essence, was thrown out of its own national. Many of these chapters maintained ties amongst themselves, but for the most part, from this point for the next seventy years, the Alpha Chapter operated as an independent entity, with only casual fraternal ties to some other nearby chapters.

As mentioned above, though, in the first few years of this period, the members of the Alpha Chapter did keep up ties with the national, and in the twenties occasionally crossed paths with the various new nationals of that era.

In 1922, the faculty acted to abolish the Junior Class societies, and also pronounced a disapprobation of the continued existence of Sophomore class societies, (i.e., Theta Nu Epsilon).

It seems that there was another lull in Chapter affairs in 1930, due to the straitened economic conditions, for it was necessary to revive the Society the next year. Accordingly, in 1931, “in a solemn conclave in Harriman Hall,” “five men met secretly and decided to bring T.N.E. to life once more. Through the aid of the alumni they managed to obtain the ancient documents and the original constitution of the society.” For another five years, the chapter meet quietly and minded its own affairs, and so things remained until 1936.

1930’s.

The Wesleyan Argus, the college newspaper, has a wandering eye and a short attention span. This is as true a century ago as it is today, and one can see this in its attentions toward Theta Nu Epsilon;—every so often the topic comes to the fore, is discussed fervently, and then disappears. In the 1936-’37 academic year, the Alpha Chapter enjoyed another brief spell of noteriety. On October 8, 1936, Elliott S. Wingert, ’37, the editor of the paper, came out against Theta Nu Epsilon, solely on the grounds that the Chapter had “not yet found any logical reason for their existence.” (For some reason, the student body at Wesleyan was very concerned—all but obsessively concerned—that all organizations and activities contribute in a systematic way to an overarching mission for the college.)

Two months later, R. Kenyon Kilbon, ’38, who wrote an anonymous column as ‘The Gadfly,’ wrote that he, too was opposed to Theta Nu Epsilon because it influenced Senior Society elections, (thereby cheapening the honor), and because it influenced the elections for team captains and managers. He also dramatically declared that he, himself, (still writing anonymously), would uncover the membership of the members if they did not disband at their meeting the next week. The Alpha Chapter upped the ante itself a week later when it wrote a public letter to the Argus, stating that they had been operating for a number of years without incident, were simply a Sophomore honorary society, and were not connected to any other organization. They closed the letter by having all Seniors and Juniors sign.

This move by the Alpha Chapter had immediate effects. President McConaughy said that he would follow student sentiment on the matter, and on January 7, 1937, The Wesleyan Argus flipped its editorial stance completely. “At the time, we believed that abolishment of the society was the only measure that could be adopted since it seemed obvious that the organization was going to remain secret. Theta Nu Epsilon’s recent action, however, gives rise to a new slant on the whole matter. We can see that a sophomore society, officially recognized as such and whose members are known to all, can be a definite asset to the college. ... We judged T. N. E. as a secret society and found much to condemn; in judging the newly disclosed group we find that its aims make it worthy of college recognition as long as it stays out of secrecy.” The Argus continued, “We need only point out the validity of the Chapter’s arguments. Special stress should be laid on the point that the society is a factor in breaking down fraternity boundaries and in building up class spirit. Any instrument which can be used to strengthen the bonds between the fraternities on the campus has much in its favor.”

It is unclear whether or not the faculty actually ever took up the matter, but the crisis seems to have passed. A few weeks later, on January 22, the Argus happily reported that the Alpha Chapter members had arrived at Sunday morning’s college chapel wearing red carnations, and the new Sophomore delegation wearing white ones. And thus, Theta Nu Epsilon was re-integrated into campus life at Wesleyan.

In the interwar-years, the membership seems to have been well-regulated among Alpha Delta Phi, Psi Upsilon, Delta Kappa Epsilon, Phi Nu Theta (Eclectic), and Chi Psi, with a number of other fraternites and non-fraternity members, including newer fraternities, Alpha Chi Rho, Delta Tau Delta and the John Wesley Club, (a college-sponsored non-fraternity organization). The five old fraternities represented about three-quarters of the total membership on a consistent basis.

This stability does not reflect Wesleyan as a whole. Wesleyan was growing slowly but steadily, and there were many newer fraternities on campus. Many of them were locals, and many of the locals had became chapters of nationals. None of this change is reflected in the Theta Nu Epsilon membership, (although it is true that Alpha Chi Rho and Delta Tau Delta were readily accepted without the attendant crises of Beta Theta Pi). This growing difference between Alpha Chapter progress and Wesleyan’s will become more pronounced by the 1960’s.

It would be easy to say that the older fraternities represented the more affluent students from older families, and that the Alpha Chapter failed to adapt to a changing school. However, that is not necessarily the case. Other factors could well apply. The students who were most interested in ‘the old college experience’ would have been attracted to the older fraternities as well. Certainly Theta Nu Epsilon membership would have been exactly a match for this kind of student. Students with a more casual or disinterested view of college life as a thing in itself may have more readily joined some of the less intense fraternities, and never would have even thought of joining Theta Nu Epsilon.

1944 - 1940’s.

During the last two years of World War II the chapter was dormant. This was largely true of Wesleyan itself. Wesleyan did have some students throughout the war, but in ’44 and ’45, most of the campus was taken over by a Navy officer training (V-12) program.

Chi Psi members were actually dominant in Alpha Chapter membership in the first decade after the war, and there were also many Psi Upsilon, Delta Kappa Epsilon and Phi Nu Theta members. It was almost as if Chi Psi had taken on the patron rôle that had been played by Alpha Delta Phi, (which, conversely, was absent from chapter affairs for six years).

After the war, there was another article published on the Alpha Chapter, this time appearing in the alumni quarterly, The Wesleyan Cardinal in April, 1946. The author was often erroneous in details, evidently having interviewed some people without checking the details. He does, however cover the period from 1910 to 1936, and does make clear that the Alpha Chapter was alive through this era.

He also reports that, the Alpha Chapter had announced, that to meet the demands of critics, (like the Argus editor of 1936), that there was no express purpose to the society, the Chapter would 1.) enforce athletic training rules, and 2.) “devote itself to maintaining the traditions of the college”, (which is always the real purpose of Theta Nu Epsilon). However, the fact that Theta Nu Epsilon, a society given to banqueting, smokers, staying out late, and yes, even occasionally toasting the health of one’s fellow members, would be placed in charge of maintaining the ’Varsity training rules, is indeed ironic. One hopes the public appreciated the sense of humor it took to develop the plan.

There was probably a more concrete reason for this professed interest in athleticism. At Wesleyan in these decades, it was common for recent graduates who had not found a position in the business world to take a short-term position with the university’s Athletic Department. This meant that the gymnasium was always populated with a number of young men who still had close ties to the student body and yet were technically in the college administration, and this group appears to have had a natural influence between the two groups. (It seems that one man, who later moved on to be a coach, was likely the unofficial patron of both Theta Nu Epsilon and one of the two Senior Societies.) In a small college, before our modern amusements, the gymnasium was the only student-dominated space, and this cadre of older hangers-on likely dominated social life there.

A second patron of the Chapter was, (by all accounts), Edgar Fauver, universally known as ‘Doc’ Fauver, the College Physician. (Fauver was at Columbia University from 1904 to 1911, and it was there he became a member.) In a situation that paralleled the University of Rochester, Edgar Fauver, as the college doctor, was placed in a position of confidence among the students, and he perpetuated the Chapter among Sophomores he had come to know well. Naturally, the college doctor also worked closely with the Athletic Department, (his office seems to have been in the gym), and among this circle of close ties, the Alpha Chapter was able to thrive quite nicely.

There was also a continually increasing number of members from other fraternities, such as Sigma Chi and Alpha Chi Rho. This reflected the changes on the Wesleyan campus the population of the college body was growing steadily, and as the numbers grew, new fraternities were added to the campus to accomodate them.

Given the successes of these years, this was one of the most prosperous periods in the affairs of the Alpha Chapter.

1951 - 1954.

In 1951, there was a small correction in the course of the Alpha Chapter. The total number of membership had risen to 66, and had been in the 60’s for a number of years. The elections for the class of 1954 were deliberately cut back. The effect of this was that the membership of the lesser fraternities dropped.

Three years later, the membership again rose, this time to 29 members in one class-year, the most in the Alpha Chapter’s history. Elections were sharply curtailed the next year to try to bring some order out of an increasingly unweildy chapter.

The next few years saw an even more widely distributed membership, evenly spread among Alpha Delta Phi, (again participating), Psi Upsilon, Delta Kappa Epsilon, Eclectic, and Chi Psi, with a wide array of other societies participating, including Delta Sigma. (Combining Delta Sigma with it’s other incarnations, Delta Upsilon, and Kappa Alpha, Omega Phi’s were well-represented overall.)

This period also saw significant interest in the Alpha Chapter by members of E. Q. V., a local fraternity that was distinguished for the creativity, intelligence, and commitment of its members.

1961 - 1967.

In 1961, the first wave of a coming crisis hit, and there were no elections. There is no specific reason given for this, though it could be seen as a precursor to events at the end of the decade.

In this period, the same fraternities continued as the mainstay of the Alpha Chapter, Alpha Delta Phi, Psi Upsilon, Deke, Eclectic and Chi Psi; whose members still constituted about three fourths of the membership, and a variety of members of other chapters participated as well.

The chapter continued to be represented until the 1967 yearbook, and with a membership roll that continued through to the Class of 1970. It is not known what happened to the Alpha Chapter in this period, and yearbooks and the college newspaper become less than useful in following events, (the yearbook, for example, adopted a photo montage format). It is clear that the Alpha Chapter did not thrive in subsequent years.

1981 - 1993.

There have been times when the Alpha Chapter was dormant. It seems that in this period, the chapter was at best sporadic in its operations.

The records over the next two decades are vague, but it appears that the Alpha Chapter continued at least intermittantly until 1981 when it began a more regularized operation. It does seem that the Chapter operated through a period of years almost wholly within Eclectic, and that its records were for a time kept in the Eclectic safe. Its members were almost all Eclectic members. At some point in this period, the Alpha Chapter admitted female members. A position never regretted since, yet sadly not documented.

1982 - Alpha Chapter, Initiation weekend.

Starting in 1986 the Alpha Chapter began making real strides in its programs. Some members with a historical interest began a fuller exploration of the history of the chapter and the whole society. Motivated by this work, the Alpha Chapter, under the capable leadership of Karl Oberteuffer and his second, Indiana Reay, and with Dylan Kreuzer and Christopher Kylin, instituted a committee within the Alpha Chapter called the National Organization. That committee has since looked to the interests of Theta Nu Epsilon across the country. The National Organization was created for the purposes of contacting independent chapters, re-establishing old ones, starting new ones, and organizing a proper Theta Nu Epsilon. That organization’s work was substantially delayed by the untimely death of Mr. Oberteuffer. However, now the work of the National Organization of the Alpha Chapter is now proceeding apace.

The fruit of these efforts so far was re-establishment of ties to the old recognized national of Theta Nu Epsilon, (the Powell National). The Alpha Chapter at Wesleyan re-affirmed its fraternal bonds with alumni who had been at the helm of the old national. After a few years of communication, a full union was established, and Henry Kelly, the former National President was restored to that capacity in a honorary capacity.

This reunited the Alpha Chapter with the national originally spawned by it eight decades before.

The Alpha Chapter also began offering an annual all-campus event, the Martini Soireé, in the third-floor room of Eclectic, the memory of which can still warm the hearts of older alumni.

1986 - Martini Soireé, held in 1986 in the Butterfield Colleges.

Eclectic members continued to dominate the society, but by 1993, the chapter had begun initiating both Alpha Delta Phi and Delta Kappa Epsilon members, (including one memorable initiation in the attic of the Alpha Delta Phi house). A number of members also came from the Mystical 7 society.

Also, at this time, a much larger proportion of members were not fraternity members. This makes sense, insofar as Wesleyan in 1900 had almost 95% undergraduate fraternity membership, and by 1990 this had shrunk to less than 20%. They now constitute the great majority of Alpha Chapter members. There was also an increase of non-Wesleyan members of the Alpha Chapter as a result of expansion plans to other campuses.

1990’s.

The Alpha Chapter began to be a influence in campus affairs. The following rambunctious letter appeared in the Wesleyan Argus in 1992 :

To the Editors :
Hearken unto us, o ye of Wesleyana!

The Society of the Skull and Keys wishes to make its shadowy, ancient presence on this campus known once again. We have a history more mysterious, more varied, and definitely more interesting than that of Wesleyan itself...

Take heed! The Demons of the society have been loosed upon the earth and nothing—not the deans, not Public Safety, not the trustees, and most certainly not our esteemed Willy Chace—NOTHING can return us to our broken cages. We are back, we are co-educated, and we are wrought with fury at all of you boring, wall-eyed sheep who have forgotten the true joys of a college education: a loaded banquet table, a packed pipe, and a full flagon of frosty ale.

Chris Bierwagen ’92
on behalf of the Demons of the Theta Nu Epsilon.

Starting about 1988, an individual who represented himself as the Grand Nux of all Theta Nu Epsilon first contacted the Alpha Chapter. This individual we shall here call Mr. X—no, wait, we’ll call him Mr. L—or, better yet, we will call him Mr. XL. Mr. XL was researching the history of Theta Nu Epsilon, and he was also very interested in subsuming the A lpha Chapter into his organization. Discussions between Mr. XL for his organization on one hand and Messrs. Oberteuffer and Kylin for the Alpha Chapter continued for some time. It turned out that Mr. XL had little knowledge of Theta Nu Epsilon, and what he did know was wrong, (such as the motto, the initiation, et c.). He also was given to making extraordinary claims about the power and influence he bore in world affairs. On the other hand, the Alpha Chapter did not reject his overtures out of hand, thinking of some possible accommodation. He even once made an offer of a vice-presidency of his organization, with an annual salary of $30,000 a year, which was politely declined.

By 1991(?), he asked to attend an initiation, and the Alpha Chapter granted permission in token of good faith. However, it became apparent that the initiation was scheduled for the same day as West College’s annual “excursion.” (Modesty forbids a clearer characterization, but all people from Wesleyan will well understand the meaning... ) The idea of having a guest present, in the woods, at night, with scores of undergraduates of such a disposition, undertaking the dark and forbidding rites of initiation into our most ancient and venerable order, presented, to any sane person, a truly frightening prospect. Panic set in among the membership when the day began to approach. To add to the problem, Karl Oberteuffer and Alex Neidell, the president and initiation-leader of the Chapter respectively, were both missing, having not returned from a short road trip to South Carolina. It turned out that the two had had a minor car accident on the New Jersey Turnpike, and were stranded somewhere among the blasted wastelands of Princeton. However, their absence proved fortuitous, furnishing the Chapter with good reason for post-poning the initiation and canceling the visit of Mr. XL.

1988 - Karl Oberteuffer, chapter President, (photo taken while he was being arrested in an anti-apartheid sit-in at North College—the arresting officer is behind him).

Later Mr. XL was told that we would consider chartering him, but in no way would the Alpha Chapter take a charter from him. From that point on, the relationship, (if such it was), degenerated, and soon after, when he had a website, he took to impugning the reputation of Alpha Chapter members, (not to mention threatening their welfare). He also took the position that the Alpha Chapter was absolutely and utterly abolished in 1910, and that its obvious and public existence at Wesleyan in the decades since was proof that Baird’s Manual of the N.I.C. was factually mendacious. He was a man whose ideas were supported more by vehemence than any evidence of reality.

However, his exploits still continued to entertain the Society for the rest of the decade. He appeared at the doorstep of several major universities and introduced himself as the leader of a secret and powerful society. Later, when they passed on his demands, he would threaten lawsuits. The Alpha Chapter followed his exploits second-hand, frequently calling the same college officers and letting them know that, as far as we knew, Mr. XL didn’t have an organization, or at least not one with any appreciable power.

Mr. XL was also an active user of e‑Bay, and threatened lawsuits for every auction seller who offered any Theta Nu Epsilon memorabilia. It seems that many auctions were cancelled, and the name ‘Theta Nu Epsilon’ became synonymous with ‘headache’ for e‑Bay’s proprietors. The Alpha Chapter takes this opportunity to apologize to all in the public who were affected : please sell what you want, we don’t care.

The Alpha Chapter did, however, amuse itself at Mr. XL’s expense. He would refuse to see any Theta Nu Epsilon pin on e‑Bay purchased by a non-member. A second-hand Theta Nu Epsilon pin would ordinarily be worth about $20. Mr. XL, however, would go to 40, 60, 80 and even $120. There were plenty of legitimate members across the country who would bid up these pins and see to it that, in fact, Mr. XL would have to pay as much as he could afford. Mr. XL bought probably close to a dozen pins at around $80, causing a spike in the pin market. We like to think that, by the Alpha Chapter doing this, it kept him out of trouble and added to his sense of accomplishment.

Mr. XL passed to a happier world shortly after the beginning of the new millennium. The Alpha Chapter was left without its favorite comedian.

1998.

Another initiation mistake also negatively affected the prosperity of the Alpha Chapter. In 1998, part of the initiation was conducted in a venerable basement room under one of the oldest college buildings. The candidates had been gathered at a nearby terrace behind the main library. There they had been told to write on the pavement with chalk. The initial instruction from the Chapter President pro tempore was to ‘write something risqué.’ The member who carried this message across campus passed on the command as ‘write something offensive.’ The person who was actually responsible for wrangling the Candidates said ‘write the most offensive thing you can think of.’ Which the Candidates did.

Never try to fathom what goes on in the mind of a Wesleyan Sophomore.

Campus security arrived and were appalled. The next day The Wesleyan Argus carried the story and the whole campus was appalled. Proceedings were instituted against the entire body of some 35 candidates. There was little to be done in defense of such conduct, and the response to the charges was something along the lines of, ‘We are very, very sorry. We’re dumb, and we may have been just a little drunk.’ This seemed to answer to the needs of the day, and none were punished beyond that. However, these proceedings were a serious blow to the life of the chapter, and seriously undermined its affairs.

The individual who was responsible for this catastrophe was later, for this and other ample reasons, separated from the Society.

The repercussions of this debacle lasted through the subsequent year. The president of the Alpha Chapter, Shannon Mahaffy reported later that “the members of the society thought it best to keep a low profile for the rest of the year.” She also noted that there were some good prospects on campus since “I know a few people that would maybe sell us their soul.”

The recent years have seen a very gratifying resurgence in Alpha Chapter affairs and establishment of a regularized functioning society here, including the initiation of 24 members in a festive initiation in the Fall of 2006, which was a huge increase over the numbers in previous years. The members are quite active and enthusiastic, and their ambitious plans are made more credible by their substantial achievements.

The plans for the National Organization that were formulated in the latter 80’s suffered from several drawbacks. The first was the very untimely passing of Karl Oberteuffer, one of the leading lights of the scheme. Added to this was the needless waste of time caused by the adventures of the rambunctious Mr. XL, who seemed as if he was dedicated to ruining the name of the Society. The 1998 initiation fiasco also cut into the dedication of the undergraduates, and over the years other alumni working on the project dispersed across the world, (as alumni will tend to do).

However, given all this, there are also some very dedicated members, both at Wesleyan and at other colleges, who have continued on to face the new challenges, to continue the great work, and, knowing that the grand old legend must live on, keep on working for a better and stronger Theta Nu Epsilon.

The National Organization of the Alpha Chapter of Theta Nu Epsilon 1999 - 2006 ©  All rights reserved.