TKE Celebrates 100th Anniversary Opportunity Out of Defeat

On October 19th in Tau Kappa Epsilon lore, a great decision was made that changed the history of this organization. Frater Wallace G. McCauley (left) and Frater William Wilson sat on train bound for Chicago discussing what should be talked about at the petitioning banquet a few hours later. The festivities that night, October 19, 1907, were scheduled to drum up support for a fourth petition to Phi Delta Theta. The organizers of TKE desired to affiliate with that fraternity because of a large alumni base wanting to make a return on the Illinois Wesleyan University campus. But after three resounding No's!, McCauley and Wilson had other ideas.

After some affirmation speeches and then a short speech from Frater Wilson that stirred the crowd and created an uncomfortable silence in the banquet hall, Frater McCauley saw his opening. Titled Opportunity Out of Defeat, McCauley advocated the abandonment of the petitioning process and the substitution of a campaign for TKE to become its own national fraternity.

Although arousing bitter opposition at the time, this speech ultimately reduced the fourth petition to a bare formality and became one of the significant turning points in the history of the Fraternity. One of the measures advocated by McCauley in his address was the publication of a quarterly magazine called The TEKE. This proposal met with immediate approval and the first issue was published in January 1908.

This speech laid the framework for TKE to become the largest fraternity in the world. Be proud of your heritage and celebrate today the Great Decision to become a national (and later international) fraternity.

Read more about the Opportunity Out of Defeat and the creation of the Declaration of Principles in the Fall 2007 issue of The TEKE Magazine set to hit your doorstep early November.

You can find the transcript of the Opportunity Out of Defeat speech by clicking here.

If you would like to see your chapter news here, contact Communications Coordinator Tom McAninch.