A Brief History of Our Chapter

The beginnings of Tau Kappa Epsilon’s long presence at the University of California, Berkeley, can be traced back to November 17, 1913, when a group of Cal students organized the Sequoyah Club “to promote such educational and social activities as are synonymous with the best that a University education should afford.” Gentlemen’s clubs were popular at the time, and following a brief period when its members served in World War I, the Sequoyah Club grew to a large and prosperous organization. In the spring of 1919 its members, led by the legendary Sophus C. Goth, decided to petition a National Fraternity for a charter. Because Tau Kappa Epsilon appeared the hardest to get, the members decided it was the one they should go for. At the time, all twelve TKE chapters were located in the Midwest, and Sequoyah’s first two petitions were rejected on grounds that it was simply too far away to be governed properly by National. But the California men persisted and were rewarded with victory on their third try. On October 4, 1919, their club became Nu chapter of Tau Kappa Epsilon, the first on the West Coast.

The Early Days

By this time, membership had grown to a point where the old rented house on Ridge Road could no longer accommodate everyone, and in August 1920 a new home was purchased, located at 2437 LeConte Avenue. All was well until the fateful day of November 17, 1923, which has gone down in Berkeley history as the day of the Great Fire. More than 600 homes, including the TKE house, were lost. Plans were immediately underway to build a new Chapter House, which opened on March 1, 1925 at the corner of Euclid and LeConte; TKE had been the first fraternity to rebuild after the fire. With over 30 members, the chapter enjoyed some very good years indeed. But the Great Depression, which swept through the country in the early 1930s, proved too much to bear. Tekes could no longer finance the new home and membership dropped. By the spring term of 1934, despite valiant efforts to save it, the chapter went off campus, along with another twenty fraternity houses at Cal.
Hope never died that Nu chapter might one day be restarted. Following the end of World War II, in which many Tekes served honorably, and amidst increased enrollment at Cal, a group of students declared their interest in just such a mission. Talks were held in the Lodge of Berkeley’s Masonic Club starting in the fall of 1946, and a petition to National soon followed. The group was temporarily granted the status of TKE Colony, and an official re-activation ceremony took place on November 7, 1947. Nu chapter was back, and would remain on campus for an uninterrupted stretch of nearly fifty years.
Before anything else, the problem of housing had to be taken care of. A few members gathered at a home on Piedmont Avenue, while others lived scattered in dormitories and apartments. More than a central meeting place was needed: what the new generation of Tekes wanted most was a home. The opportunity of a lifetime struck once upon a time on a party in the winter of 1948. A TKE brother named Ed Dermott overheard that the Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority house on Channing Way was for sale. Not hesitating for a bit, he called the Nu alumni in charge of searching for a house, led by the ever-dedicated Sophus C. Goth, and by the time spring term rolled around, Tekes had a new home on 2725 Channing Way. It is still our home today.

Good Times, Bad Times

Through the years, TKE flourished on Channing Way, becoming well-recognized on campus as the “musical house,” winner of many Songfest competitions, and for the most famous resident of all: the perennial St. Bernard, Brutus Epsilonis. Tekes kept a busy social calendar, with parties, dances, luaus, and formals held throughout the year. Scholarship remained the highest priority, and members participated in various campus activities and athletics. But by the late 1960s, this tranquil atmosphere was profoundly shaken by the social upheaval underway at Cal. The university became the focus of the counter-culture movement, protesting the Vietnam War and fighting for civil rights. This revolutionary spirit did not sit well with the fraternity system, bound as it was in tradition and the ideal of stability. TKE faced a membership crisis by the end of the decade, but adapted to the new conditions and regained its strength, as many other fraternities were forced to do. TKE’s reputation for openness, acceptance, and diversity only grew.
The 1980s were the wild years, and the house became most known on campus for the massive Decline of Western Civilization party, a costume extravaganza of unprecedented proportions. But when hard times hit again, in the early 1990s, poor financial management and dwindling recruitment threatened the house once more. Numbers were simply not there, and it was a sad day when the house on Channing Way closed its door at last, sometime in 1994. For nearly ten years after, TKE at Cal was literally in the wilderness: an abandoned home, its former greatness a mere memory.

A New Beginning

Then, in 2003, two expansion leaders named Erik Glenn and Erik Wilhelm bravely ventured onto a campus that was fervently indifferent, if not hostile, to Greek organizations and set out to revitalize the long dormant Nu Chapter of TKE at Cal. They needed not only a few good men, but a few good leaders to help them as well. To that end, they approached campus organizations at the Haas School of Business, local political clubs, and other leadership from all around the school for possible new Tekes. The Alpha class answered that call. Boasting members from the Haas Business School Association, The Cal Berkeley Democrats, the Bowles Hall Association, and other groups, the Alpha class was a team from the from their first auspicious meeting on the second floor of Greg’s Pizzeria. With friends bringing in friends, their numbers quickly swelled to 26 members, rivaling any other fraternity at Berkeley. Through mutual commitment, a San Francisco retreat, and guidance from the Eriks, these 25 Founding Fathers officially became the Nu Colony’s Alpha class on September 7th, 2003. Granted Colony status by the National Fraternity, these first Fraters sought to expand their brotherhood and rush their first pledge class.
The Betas were a true test of the Nu Colony, for not only did they have to rush a class without a functioning House to aid them, but they had to rediscover the traditional rush process used by Nu Tekes for decades before them as well. Meanwhile, Tekes took the Berkeley campus by storm, claiming victories in Cal Greek Week and Greek Olympics alike. They participated in joint philanthropic events with other Greek houses, and even have a regular cleanup of the campus Strawberry Creek. They threw many pre-game tailgate parties for friends and alumni alike, held invitationals in San Francisco, and exchanges with many sororities. But the greatest achievement of all was obtaining a new charter, making the return of Nu Chapter complete at last. In the fall of 2004 renovations at 2725 Channing Way were completed, and the Tekes were home once again.
Many pledge classes have since passed since Alpha and Beta paved the way. Last semester, four years on, TKE initiated its largest ever, Kappa class with 20 incoming members. Our chapter was also recognized by the National organization as a “Top Teke” chapter, one of the best among over 270 nationwide, excelling in all categories. A young house is finding its bearings at last. Tekes are here to stay, and the goal, though ambitious, is now within our reach: to be the best fraternity at Cal.