Photoessay #1092 - TEP Cornell

My father belonged to the Delta Chapter of Tau Epsilon Phi fraternity at Cornell University. The longest running chapter (currently 25) founded in 1913.

Founded at Columbia in 1910 by combining two student groups who wanted to join a fraternity at the Pharmacy School the group provided a place for Jewish students who were barred from the two existing fraternities. I saw some verbiage saying that TEP did not discriminate on religion or national origin. However it started as initially exclusively Jewish. Don't know about now. Likely in 1946 (the date of these pictures from the Cornell yearbook), most members were Jewish. Likely my father would have denied this. Likely he would have refused to talk with me about it at all. I think he might have gotten a fraternity magazine; I think my sister still has his fraternity pin. As customary at the time, my mother wore his fraternity pin (pinned) before being officially engaged.

Her's some pictures, the 1946 membership for the Cornell Delta chapter 1946. My father in the front row third from right. As he occasionally joked (and likely true), he probably still had the tie he wore. He was definitely like that. The house. They still have a house; assume it's the same one but not sure.

My father's picture as a college senior and the short verbiage about him.

I think he did enjoy it but I never remember him talking about any of his friends from the fraternity.