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History of the
Lambda Chapter at Columbia University
Located in the archives of the Delta Chapter of New York University,
there is a petition letter, dated May 12, 1842, which reads:
est. June 20, MDCCCXLII At a meeting held at Columbia College, we the undersigned desirous of organizing ourselves as a chapter of the Psi Upsilon Society, respectfully offer ourselves a members of the same and solicit from the Chapter of said Society connected with the N.Y. University information as to the necessary introductory steps - Signed,A week later, the Delta Chapter appointed a commison to attend the Columbia petition, whose members were William Taylor, Theta '38 Clarkson N. Potter, Theta '42, William H. Willcox, Delta '43, George H. Moore, Delta '42, and Cornelius Earle, Delta '45. Of these brothers, Taylor and Earle were the most active and we credit these two as the the founders of the Lambda Chapter.T.C.T. Buckley At the next chapter meeting the Delta, which was held on June 20, 1842, the Columbia petioners met with the commision to be initiated into Psi Upsilon. After the initiation, William Clift, Delta '41, address the new brothers: Select such men as you will be proud to acknowledge as your personal friends in any company, under any circumstances. Never yield yourselves up to the delusive idea that there is strength in numbers. It is a fatal weakness in select societies and nothing will sooner bring ruin upon your Chapter than hasty and numerous elections.... If your elections are numerous the society will soon become a common thing and membership therein will be undesirable.Hence, the men who wrote our petition became our chapter's charter members and established the second fraternity at Columbia.. Fortunately, their "scholastic superiority" amongst their fellow students meant that they found favor with the college quite easily. During this period of Columbia's history, the college did not offer housing for students. Most were native New Yorkers who lived at home and most attended to become Episcopal ministers. Consequently, during the first phases of our chapter, meetings were held infrequently and at different place every time. The first meeting took place on June 21, 1842, in the "School Room" at No. 163 Greene St. Subsequent meetings took place in various locations such as the Mercer House, Constitution Hall, occasionally the Delta house. The first Lambda house, established May 2, 1846, was located at No. 417 Houston St. The yearly rent (which most likely included house dues) was $120. Many alums from the the early years of the Lambda went on to great things for Alma Mater, New York, and country. Some went on to become powerful lawyers, some, prominent clergy men. Horace W. Carpentier '48, William Henry Draper '51, Frederic René Coudert '50, Lennox Smith '65; John B. Pine '77 (if only to name a few) began a long tradition of Lambdas becoming trustees of Columbia. The second phase of the Lambda began during the seventies when Columbia College increased its wealth and provided dormitories for a changing student body which included more men from outside of the city. It is during this period that Nicholas Murray Butler '82, was initiated into the Lambda. He became the president of Columbia in 1902 and won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1931. The third phase of the Lambda began in 1897 when Columbia moved to its permanent location in Morningside Heights. In 1901, the chapter moved to a nearby brownstone at 627 w. 115th st. The changing enviroment of Columbia promoted the founding of other fraternity chapters. During this phase, the Lambda had a rivalry with Delta Kappa Epsilon. DKE no longer exists. Financial difficulties during the postwar period forced the Lambda to sell its brownstone and move into a Columbia brownstone. Today, our chapter resides at 542 w. 114th st. There have been five conventions held at the Lambda - 1849, 1859, 1874, 1892, and 1912. |
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