Tau Kappa Epsilon
Tau Kappa Epsilon (ΤΚΕ), commonly known as ΤΚΕ or Teke, is a social college fraternity founded on January 10, 1899, at Illinois Wesleyan University. The organization has chapters throughout the United States and Canada, making the Fraternity an international organization. Since its founding in 1899, Tau Kappa Epsilon Fraternity has never had an exclusionary or discriminatory clause to prevent individuals from joining and has instead admitted members based on their "personal worth and character".[2] As of fall 2023, there are 221 active ΤΚΕ chapters and colonies with over 298,000-lifetime members.[1]
Tau Kappa Epsilon
January 10, 1899
Illinois Wesleyan University
Bloomington, IL
Social
NIC (former)
Active
International
Better Men for a Better World
Primary:
Crimson Lake Cherry
Pure Silver Gray
Supplementary:
Black
White
Red Carnation
The Teke
221 active[1]
ΤΚΕ, Teke
7439 Woodland Drive, Suite #100[1]
Indianapolis, IN 46278
United States
While Tau Kappa Epsilon is primarily mentioned as a collegiate fraternity, the organization emphasizes that it is a "Fraternity for Life".[3] Many chapters have active alumni associations that support philanthropic causes, mentor collegiate members, and host social events.[4] Famous Teke alumni that continued their involvement with the Fraternity include NFL quarterback Terry Bradshaw, country music singer Willie Nelson, and U.S. President Ronald Reagan.[5][6][7]
Symbols and traditions[edit]
Local chapter or member misconduct[edit]
Chapters or members occasionally make news for harmful choices, with situations ranging from full-on tragedies to more benign rule-breaking. Where these occur the range of outcomes can include individual and chapter suspension, lawsuits, and possibly even closure. With a combination of risk management techniques, education, and mentor focus, ΤΚΕ nationally has banned and renounced hazing as inconsistent with fraternity values.[30][31] Regular member education is used to raise awareness and redirect behaviors away from prohibited conduct. The Fraternity similarly promotes awareness of the dangers and harm caused by violence and sexual abuse.[32] Likewise its national rules require that chapters and members adhere to local legislation regarding alcohol and substance abuse.[33] Nevertheless, the following events have been cited as impacting chapters and their communities:
2020
The Central Michigan University chapter was placed on suspension due to alcohol and hazing pledges violations.[34]
2019
The University of Georgia chapter was suspended after a video of four of its members showing them using racial slurs and mocking slavery surfaced on the internet. This incident also resulted in the expulsion of the aforementioned members from the organization[35]
The Oregon State University chapter was suspended following an investigation of several reported hazing incidents. While the fraternity house was left vacant, the Corvallis police arrested two homeless people found in the house on charges of first-degree burglary, theft of services, second-degree criminal mischief, and unlawful possession of methamphetamine.[36]
The Sonoma State University chapter was banned from campus for five years following a hazing investigation.[37]
The California Polytechnic State University chapter was banned from campus after a hazing investigation revealed pledges were forced to drink alcohol and do push-ups.[38]
2018
A member of the Indiana University chapter was arrested for selling illegal drugs in the fraternity house and off-campus.[39]
The University of Nevada-Reno chapter was suspended for one year following information of its membership songs that promote violence toward women and other fraternity men on campus.
The Ohio State University chapter was suspended for three years after a thorough investigation found the chapter guilty of hazing, endangering behavior, and improper use of alcohol.[40]
2017
The Florida International University chapter was suspended for two years after a thorough investigation found the chapter of Tau Kappa Epsilon had violated the university's student code of conduct, following the release of screenshots depicting "inappropriate content" in the group's ΤΚΕ private chat, where the fraternity's group chat revealed photos of nude women, which had been shared without their consent, and offensive statements including Holocaust memes, jokes about rape and pedophilia and conversations about drug sales. The fraternity also got in trouble for hosting a tailgate party where a minor was served alcohol. As a result, Florida International University enacted a month-long suspension of all fraternities and sororities on campus, while the administration reformed the policies concerning Greek Life.[41]
2016
The Towson University chapter was suspended after WBAL News Radio reported that a student was "forced to eat cat food and a liquid he was told was vinegar and pickle juice by members of Tau Kappa Epsilon fraternity" and that "the student started vomiting blood hours later and was taken to a nearby hospital later that day".[42][43]
The Florida State University chapter was suspended for hazing and misconduct violations. The pledges were forced to participate in a hazing activity called "Old South" where pledges acted like slaves in blackface while serving drinks to members. Also, the pledges were twice blindfolded and dropped off hours away from campus without their wallets and cellphones and then told to find their way back to campus.[44][45]
The University of Maryland chapter was kicked off campus due to the distribution of a video showing disturbing hazing rituals.[46]
2015
The Northwest Missouri State University chapter had a member arrested and charged with first-degree rape of a female student at the fraternity house on campus. The chapter was placed on suspension for the incident.[47]
The California State University, Northridge chapter was kicked off campus until July 2018 due to hazing and sexual misconduct.[48]
The Quinnipiac University chapter was kicked off campus due to "serious" allegations of hazing.[49]
2014
The Arizona State University chapter was expelled by the university after photos surfaced of a racially-themed "MLK Black Party" on Martin Luther King Jr. Day holiday weekend, although it later surfaced that the event was not planned by members of the fraternity. The party included guests wearing basketball jerseys, flashing gang signs, and drinking from watermelon cups.[50] The school's decision to ban the chapter was also because the ΤΚΕ chapter had recently been placed on probation after two members of the fraternity pleaded guilty to the aggravated assault of a student from another fraternity.[51] The national fraternity issued an apology and condemned the event but insisted that the party was "without malice or forethought", that there were fewer than 30 men and women at the event which didn't meet Arizona State IFC guidelines for an official fraternity function, and that the ASU chapter was one of the most "multi-cultural social fraternities" at the university.[52]
The Rowan University chapter had two men suspended for an illicit sex tape recorded in the fraternity house that was leaked to the public.[53]
The California State University San Marcos chapter was suspended after several different complaints of sexual assault and date rape were made against the fraternity.[54]
The University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee chapter was suspended after several women falsely accused the fraternity of drugging and raping them at the fraternity house. One fraternity member was arrested for possession of marijuana.[55]
The Johnson & Wales University chapter had a former pledge sue the fraternity after a brutal hazing ritual that left him hospitalized for over a month. He was branded, urinated on by members, paddled, deprived of sleep, forced to exercise, forced to swim in his vomit, and asked to participate in a host of many other demeaning activities. He was the only remaining pledge after the rest of his pledge class dropped due to abuse and harassment perpetrated by members of the fraternity.[56]
2013
The American University chapter was disciplined for forcing pledges to binge drink, smoke marijuana, and perform various humiliating tasks.[56]
The Arizona State University chapter was placed on probation after 20 ΤΚΕ members attacked three members of the Delta Kappa Epsilon (DKE) fraternity. One DKE member was beaten so badly that he had to be transferred to an emergency room with a concussion and broken jaw.[57]
2012
The Butler University chapter was shut down and placed on probation for an undisclosed period. School administrators at the time did not release a reason for the chapter's closure.[58][59]
2011
The Radford University chapter made national headlines after a pledge died partaking in a drinking hazing ritual. Six members of the fraternity were arrested and charged with his death.[60]
The Whitman College chapter was publicly accused of abusing and mistreating pledges by a former pledge. The former pledge stated that misconduct by the fraternity was the reason why many members of his pledge class quit the fraternity.[61]
pre-2011
In 2000, the San Diego State University chapter was expelled for four years after a drinking hazing ritual hospitalized a pledge with alcohol poisoning.[62]
In 1996, the La Salle University chapter was suspended after a group from the chapter assaulted members of the Phi Kappa Theta fraternity. The ΤΚΕ chapter's charter was subsequently revoked.
Publications[edit]
The Teke[edit]
The Teke is the award-winning[63] official quarterly publication for undergraduate and alumni brothers of Tau Kappa Epsilon. The magazine features in-depth articles related to topics of interest for ΤΚΕ members, including chapter news, alumni news, service and foundation annual reports, and articles relating to leadership, professional development, chapter operations, and general interest to the fraternal world. On October 19, 1907, Wallace G. McCauley delivered his "Opportunity out of Defeat" speech at the annual initiation banquet of the fraternity, and not only did this speech mark the decision to become a national fraternity, but it also marked the beginning of the official magazine of ΤΚΕ. In the speech, McCauley stated, "Then let us issue a magazine, quarterly as first, name it The Teke, make it attractive and artistic in form." The Teke magazine first appeared in January 1908. The first edition was a 20-page booklet of 7 by 10 inches bound with a gray cover and the title The Teke within a red triangle. Illustrations and photos were first used in Volume II, No. 2 of The Teke. The magazine expanded to the 8.5 by 11.5-inch size in 1935. The Teke was suspended in the 1990s amid financial difficulties for the fraternity, but it was re-established in 1999.[64][65]
The Teke Guide[edit]
The pledge manual of Tau Kappa Epsilon is known as The Teke Guide. Development of the manual began in 1927, and The Teke Guide was first published in 1935. The book was developed to acquaint pledges of ΤΚΕ with the history, government, organization, idealism, functions, aspirations, and traditions of Tau Kappa Epsilon. The Teke Guide was the first fraternity pledge manual to use a two-color printing process. The original book was designed, compiled, and edited by Grand Histor Leland F. Leland. Through the 1950s, The Teke Guide was a spiral-bound book of nearly 150 pages. The book was rich with illustrations, including photos of all ΤΚΕ chapter houses. In 1966, a new hardcover version of The Teke Guide debuted; however, the new version contained significantly reduced content and very few photos. By the 1980s, The Teke Guide had been reduced to a soft cover magazine-like format. The hardcover format returned by the 1990s, and over the next few years, an effort was made to restore the in-depth historical content and photographs that had been stripped from previous versions to make the book more of a permanent ΤΚΕ reference manual for the life of each member. In 2007, the first edition to be printed in full color was issued.[64][66]
Philanthropy[edit]
Tau Kappa Epsilon provides support for numerous philanthropies and charitable services, most notably St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, which was founded by Danny Thomas, a member of the Gamma-Nu Chapter at the University of Toledo.[67] In 2019, Tau Kappa Epsilon increased its commitment towards St. Jude Children's Research Hospital with pledging to raise $10 million within the next 10 years.[68] As of July 2022, ΤΚΕ has raised $3.3 million towards this commitment.[69]