Sigma Alpha Epsilon - University of Illinois

THE LION TATTLER O n January 28, 1899, SAE's 83rd chapter and the ninth fraternity at the University of Illinois became a reality. The initiates were members of a social club, the Red Ribbon Society, which had been organized two years earlier for camaraderie and social interaction. Much of the credit for this momentous occasion should be given to George B. Worthen of Keokuk, Iowa. He had learned of SAE while a student at the University of the South and, in the summer of 1897, found two friends who were members of Ohio Epsilon at the University of Cincinnati. Together, they planned the Red Ribbon Society, and when he returned to Champaign in 1897, he began the selection of friends who would be the petitioners to the national office of Sigma Alpha Epsilon. Only a few years earlier, the University of Illinois trustees condemned fraternities and decreed that no student could receive a class card unless he signed a pledge not to join a fraternity. The eighteen men initiated that cold, snowy day in January 1899, saw the purple and gold unfurled at Champaign-Urbana. ΣΑΕ joined six fraternities and two sororities on campus: Sigma Chi, Delta Tau Delta, Kappa Sigma, Phi Delta Theta, Alpha Tau Omega, Phi Gamma Delta, Pi Beta Phi, and Kappa Alpha Theta. Under the guidance of Eminent Archon William C. Levere of Illinois Psi-Omega (whose name was later given to the newly constructed national home in Evanston in 1930—the Levere Memorial Temple at 1856 Sheridan Road), the new men were initiated into Sigma Alpha Epsilon. Each member of the Red Ribbon Society has been recognized with a memorial brick as part of the ILBE Brick Paver Project. The hisTory of The red ribbon socieTy And the Brothers Behind It All Eminent Archon Ty Seifert '25 Philadelphia, Pa. t21seifert@gmail.com Eminent Deputy Archon Matt Conlon '26 Springfield, Ill. Eminent Recorder Henry Engelmann '25 South Elgin, Ill. Head Recruitment Chairman Brandon Storm '25 Palatine, Ill. brandon.storm29@gmail.com Member Educator Ethan Kaiman '25 Naperville, Ill. Health and Safety Officer Liam Kennedy '25 Northbrook, Ill. Social Chairman Peter Benedict '25 Glenview, Ill. Eminent Treasurer Drew Maytum '25 Glenview, Ill. Eminent Warden Josh Millman '25 Livingston, Ill. Eminent Chronicler Joe Thein '25 Glenview, Ill. Eminent Herald Greg Harmon '25 Palatine, Ill. House Manager Nick Schlosser '25 Springfield, Ill. Service and Philanthropy Chairman Henry Engelmann '25 South Elgin, Ill. Alumni Relations Chairman Drew Maytum '25 Glenview, Ill. drew.maytum@gmail.com Scholarship Chairman Graeme Paul '25 Wilmette, Ill. Chapter Officers Carl Edmunds Sheldon, 1899, Sterling George Bedell Worthen, 1898, Keokuk, Iowa Archibald Dixon Shamel, 1898, Taylorville Bruce Alexander Campbell, 1900, Albion Thomas Lewis Phillips, 1900, Urbana William Wilberforce Wright, 1902, Saint Louis, Missouri Albert Fred Kaesar, 1898, Highland Charles Howard Kable, 1902, Virden James Franklin Kable, 1899, Virden Oscar Adolph Leutwiler, 1899, Highland Frederick Leavitt McCune, 1901, Sterling John King Hoagland, 1899, Herborn Clarence Wilson Fiske, 1903, Sterling Clarence Edgar Bocock, 1899, Bradford Harry Arthur Chuse, 1899, Mattoon Charles Augustus Smith, 1899, Mattoon Cicero Justice Polk, 1898, Champaign Harry Wells Belknap, 1902, South Bridge, Massachusetts The firsT iniTiaTes A photo of the SAE house in 1904. Fifteen of the eighteen men in the Red Ribbon Society.

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