If You Can't Go Greek, Go Teke
"If you can’t go Greek, go Teke." Many Fraters hear other fraternities say this today and interpret the comment as negative in nature. But in fact, this phrase is an envious statement and a badge of honor for each member. The Declaration of Principles, authored by National Founder William Wilson a century ago, defined membership in Tau Kappa Epsilon based on personal worth and character. Wilson asked that his fellow Fraters look past race, religion and national origin and see the values in each man wanting to join TKE.
In the early 20th century, this concept was revolutionary.
While other organizations wrestled with the decision to allow minorities through their doors during the 60s and 70s, TKE was already doing so. In 1964, the Civil Rights Act was signed into law ending discrimination against persons of different race, religion or national origin. Within the document was a clause dealing with fraternal societies’ membership practices. Many higher education institutions felt great pressure from both donors and lawyers' interpretation of this law to regulate organizations on their campus. Several institutions kicked off or dis-affiliated recognition of all fraternities and sororities on their campus for fostering discrimination... EXCEPT for TKE. During the next twenty years, all Greek organizations had to re-open their sacred documents to create a clause doing away with discriminatory practices... all EXCEPT for TKE.
In the closing paragraph of the DOP (seen below), Frater Wilson wrote what sets this Fraternity apart from every other Greek organization in the world. He had the foresight to define membership standards as values instead of things.
We consider no man from the standpoint of those qualities and advantages he has not attained by personal effort. We stand for men whose manhood has withstood the test of trying conditions. We deem sterling character and staunch uprightness to be necessary qualifications to membership in this fraternity. All else, though desirable, is secondary to these.
The document we celebrate today, which has remained unchanged in its century of existence, was created by a group of men who decided Tekes were more than just the typical fraternity man.
Looking forward through lenses of the past
Late in 1907, several undergraduate members of the local Illinois Wesleyan University fraternity Tau Kappa Epsilon were preparing a fourth chartering petition to be presented to the Phi Delta Theta Board of Directors at their national convention in 1908. After three resounding rejections, however, the wisdom of petitioning was questioned with increasing frequency. National Founder L.W. Tuesberg recalls the discontent in his Reminisces of Tau Kappa Epsilon.
William Wilson and Wallace McCauley had been meeting together for some weeks to discuss fraternity affairs, and had persuaded themselves that it was undignified to further follow the Phi Delt will-o'-the-wisp, and felt TKE should heed the story of the man who, three times unceremoniously kicked out of a dance hall, picked himself up for the third time and remarked to an uninterested by-stander, 'I know what’s the matter with those people, they don’t want me in there.'
To increase enthusiasm for the next petition, a banquet was held on October 19, 1907, at which speeches were made both advocating and questioning the proposal. One of the most notable and influential speeches given was a blistering address by Wallace G. McCauley (written with Frater Wilson on the Alton-Chicago train), titled "Opportunity Out of Defeat," in which he advocated the abandonment of the petitioning process and the substitution of a campaign for TKE to become its own national fraternity.
McCauley's sharp words cut through the crowd.
I believe this in spite of the fact that no one labored more zealously to that end during the first two campaigns than myself. And, too, no one felt the defeats at the time more bitterly than myself; but now, after an absence of a year or so, I am brought to the conviction that Tau Kappa Epsilon was indeed fortunate in her defeats, because thereby there was reserved for us a large opportunity... Interwoven about the sentiments of our name and our pin, and engrained in the fiber of every member is the Teke spirit - a spirit typical of our fraternity - a spirit that does not shrink from sacrifice, that knows no defeat, a spirit indomitable. A spirit which if breathed into a national Tau Kappa Epsilon would spread our organization throughout the schools of our country...
Although arousing bitter opposition at the time, this speech ultimately reduced the fourth petition to a mere formality, and became a significant turning point in the history of the Fraternity.
Wilson then, during the winter months of 1907-1908, wrote the most impactful document in TKE History, the Declaration of Principles. After moving from Chicago to Pontiac, Illinois, to practice law with National Founder L.W. Tuesberg, Frater Wilson spent many weeks preparing this document, which has never been modified in its 100-year existence, for presentation to the Fraternity.
The Declaration of Principles explains the basic beliefs of TKE, beliefs of integrity and inclusion, which laid the foundation for TKE to become the largest fraternity in the world. The ninth paragraph is often referred to as the definition of a Teke.
We believe that the essential elements of true brotherhood are love, charity, and esteem; love, that binds our hearts with the sturdy chords of fraternal affection; charity, that is impulsive to see virtues in a brother and slow to reprove his faults; esteem, that is respectful to the honest convictions of others and that refrains from treading upon that which is sacred to spirit and conscience; these are the triple obligations of every brother in the bond.
The Declaration of Principles is one of the most revolutionary documents of its time. Fraters Wilson, McCauley, Tuesberg and the rest of the membership in 1907 approved this document without hesitation. Rather than more closely defining membership requirements, as did other large fraternities of the time such as Sigma Chi or Phi Delta Theta, these men held to their beliefs, and in doing so, created the greatest fraternity in the world. Live the DOP’s message of integrity and acceptance in your daily lives, and help carry TKE proudly through another century.
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