Clarkson University

Lambda Iota Chapter of Delta Upsilon at 100 years

Reflecting on 100 years of tradition:

100 Years ago, 30 young men gathered with Professor Royale to start the third Fraternity at Clarkson College of Technology, Lambda Iota. Not long after its founding the fraternity would find a home within a large Victorian house like no other. That house would become known by generations of brothers and locals alike, as "The Big White House on Elm Street.

The nature of how this house was purchased would set the tone for the next 100 years of the fraternity's presence at Clarkson College, now Clarkson University. Bill Johnson, a Clarkson student in 1922, was told by a Potsdam lawyer's daughter that the house at 30 Elm, formerly owned by a local bootlegger, needed to be sold. Bill offered $10,000 to the bank without a down payment on the premise that the property needed a good deal of work. This offer was refused, and Bill had to inform his brothers at the first house meeting that fall that he was not successful in purchasing the property. It just so happened that one of the members of the fraternity by the name of Burbank, cut and cared for the president of the bank's lawn that summer. A few weeks later, the bank president reached out to Burbank, requesting to speak with Bill Johnson. The president informed Bill that the bank would accept his $10,000 offer, without a down payment.

A college kid had just managed to purchase a huge Victorian house for an organization just a few years old, through networking!

From that moment on, generations of young men would find themselves involved in situations and responsibilities because of their involvement in Lambda Iota, and later, Delta Upsilon. Those experiences and the bonds they made with one another would shape who they would become and be attributed to many as primary drivers of their lifelong successes.

We find ourselves today looking back on the proud traditions of our past as we celebrate those successes of the last 100 years, and ahead to the future, with plans to continue the rich legacy of the "Sons of Greek LI" through the thriving Clarkson Chapter of Delta Upsilon.

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