Theta-Upsilon Chapter History: Parts III & IV

III. Theta-Upsilon Chapter is founded April 1, 1967.

Three months later, on the evening of March 31, 1967, 34 members of the Star and Crescent Fraternity, a Kappa Sigma Colony were initiated into the bonds of Brotherhood of Kappa Sigma. The initiation took place in Harrison Hall by initiation teams from Epsilon-Rho chapter (Kent State, Ohio), Theta-Xi Chapter (Tri-State College, Indiana) and Theta-Omicron Chapter (Muskingum). Assisting were the District Grand Master, Dr. Charles Anderson (Ohio-Wesleyan College, Ohio); Assistant District Grand Master, William R. Wickham (Dennison University, Ohio); Alumnus Advisor of the Colony, Richard Wespieser (Arizona University, Arizona).

Those initiated were: Brian J. Armitage; Ronald R. Bash; Brian J. Bell; J. Robert Cermak Jr; Robert R. Chandler; Michael Connerton, Steven E. Conn; Robert A. Coons; George F. Duffield; Kenneth G Guilfoyle; William T. Heath Jr (Grand Treasurer); Alan H. Herod; Charles A. Hess; Alan M. Higgins (Grand Procurator); Glenn E. Holzhauser; Timothy S. Johnson; John W. Kensinger; James A. Kessler; James E. Kessler, Thomas C. Kuntz; Mark R. Kushner; David Lewis; Donald C. Martin; Joseph L. McNeil; Stephen A. Middleton (Grand Master); Gary L. Moyer; John K. Oster, Jr;  Howard B. Peterson III; William C. Robinson; Richard W. Schaefer; C. Mark Snyder; Donald H. Turner; Martin L. Walker; Thomas F. Wenning; Robert L. Wrobel (Grand Scribe).

The explanatory lecture was given the following morning by International Ritualist, E. Bradford Holbrock Sigma Chapter (Tulane University, New Orleans). It was at this time that the Theta-Upsilon Chapter was officially installed as the 177th chapter of Kappa Sigma. Later that evening a banquet celebrating the events was held in the Towers Room of the University Center. Tim Murphy from Theta-Tau Chapter (Los Angeles State University, California) presented the chapter with the traditional baby bottle as Kappa Sigma’s newest chapter, a tradition that began with an exchange between Tri-State and Muskingum in November 1966. 

IV. Chapter Creates a New Home at 111 East Spring Street and Survives a Split
 

Kappa Sigma surprises the campus in the Greek Week Puddle
Pull event taking first place.

The first challenge that the chapter’s second Grand Master, Thomas Wenning ‘67 faced was finding temporary housing for the chapter members in the fall of 1968 while the chapter worked on rehabbing a new chapter house purchased by Alumnus Advisor, Richard Wespieser. The four-apartment building located at 111 East Spring Street needed to be gutted and rebuilt to house the members. The members worked every Saturday that fall to rebuild stairwells, bedrooms and bathrooms with exception of Greek Week when the new Kappa Sigma chapter scored a major victory as a small fraternity by winning the tug-a-war.  East Spring Street would serve as the chapter’s home for the next 14 years and would then be used by many fraternities in the years that followed.
 

111 East Spring Street was the Kappa Sigma Chapter's home until 1982.
It has been home to other fraternities ever since.

In the years that followed differences in views about US politics, the Vietnam War as well as the emergence of a drug culture were creating problems on campuses all over the country including Miami, Kent State and Ohio State.  These new stresses threatened to tear chapters apart.  Brothers at Theta-Upsilon worked to overcome these problems but the failure of some members to contribute to the chapter including paying dues or rent threatened to existence of the chapter. The issues came to a head in 1972 and a number of members were disassociated from Kappa Sigma and others were suspended.

The remaining members though much fewer, were no longer burdened with internal discord and freeloaders and with new energy banded together to continue their efforts to make Kappa Sigma a well respected fraternity at Miami. To cover costs, every member lived in the house even as seniors. They focused on increasing visible participation in Greek Week and the Greek Music events and concentrated on improving the House GPA. They also leveraged the Kappa Sig “Little Sis” Star Dusters chapter (a popular fraternity auxiliary group for women in the 1960s-1970s that typically served as hostesses for parties and helped with service projects). This helped with recruiting.  (Note: Kappa Sigma no longer permits auxiliary groups of this type.)
 
It was during this decade that the Theta-Upsilon Chapter initiated its first African-American member, and several Jewish members which ruffled feathers among some older leaders in the National organization that still held outdated “southern” views. The contributions of these members to Theta-Upsilon’s continued growth and success at Miami were an early harbinger of changes that would be later made by Kappa Sigma’s National Leadership as they embraced diverse membership in the decades that followed.