- Tau Epsilon Phi
Tau Epsilon Phi (TEΦ, commonly pronounced TEP) is an American fraternity with approximately 25 active chapters, chiefly located at universities and colleges on the
East Coast of the United States . The national headquarters is currently located in Voorhees,New Jersey and the official colors of the organization are lavender andwhite (although most chapters usepurple instead of lavender).TEP attracts and accepts brothers of all religions and ethnicities who agree to be bound by the fraternity's ideals: friendship, chivalry, and service.
History
The organization was founded on
October 10 ,1910 , by tenJew ish men atColumbia University , as a response to the existence of similar organizations who would not admit Jewish members.cite book |last=Suntag |first=Sid |title=The history of Tau Epsilon Phi: 75 years of friendship, 1910-1985 |origyear=1986 |accessdate=2007-05-08 |publisher=TEP Foundation |id=ASIN|B0006EW86Y]The first pledge, Maximillian Nemser, was initiated in 1911, and in 1912, the first new chapter was founded at
New York University . Continued expansion led to the adoption of a national constitution in 1916.In 1920, the opening of a chapter at
McGill University inMontreal ,Quebec made TEΦ an international fraternity. The McGill chapter has since been disbanded. The oldest remaining chapter today is the Delta chapter atCornell University .Beginning in 1923, the organization has published a nationally distributed magazine, "The Plume". TEΦ was initially exclusively Jewish, but began admitting non-Jewish members (predominantly
Catholics ) in the 1950s.President
Dwight D. Eisenhower was inducted as an honorary member during his administration.In 1986, Sidney Suntag, who served as Executive Secretary from 1946-1979, published the book " The History of Tau Epsilon Phi: 75 Years of Friendship 1910-1985" recounting the national history of the fraternity.
In the 1990s, TEΦ National was looking to reduce their nationwide presence, and as a result of this unpopular decision, policies were implemented that caused a great many chapters to become dormant and/or have their charters revoked.Fact|date=October 2008
Ideals
The organization's creed asserts its governing ideals as "friendship, chivalry, and service." Chapters uphold these ideals through participation in various social, academic, and athletic, and charity events.
Notable alumni
*
Jeff Altman
*Red Auerbach
*Omar Bradley (accepted honorary membership)
*Bryan Clark
*Larry David
*David Duchovny
*Dwight D. Eisenhower (accepted honorary membership)
*Benny Goodman
*Vincent C. Gray , Chairman, Washington, DC Council
*JudgeIrving R. Kaufman
*Larry King
*Raymond Kurzweil
*Samuel J. LeFrak
*Gov.Marvin Mandel , (D-Md)
*State DelegateKirill Reznik , (D-Md)
*Dr.Jonas Salk
*SenatorRick Santorum , (R-PA)
*Bernard Siegel
*James Spector
*Jerry Springer
*Lt. Gov.Michael S. Steele , (R-Md)
*George Stephanopoulos
*Lawrence Wagner, a.k.a.Love 22
*Judge Joseph Albert WapnerExternal links
* [http://www.tep.org/ Official website]
References
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