Upsilon Chapter History

The Upsilon Chapter of Delta Gamma is the oldest women's fraternity on the Stanford Campus.

Perhaps the best way to explain the birth of Upsilon is to quote from a letter written by Winifred H. Taylor, one of Upsilon's charter members, to Delta Gamma's official magazine, the Anchora, in April of 1897:

"Three years ago only two of the girls were here, and before the year was over, two of their friends and one of their roommates became part of the little circle. But it was not until the close of last year, when we numbered eight, that we began to realize how many we were and how we had grown. We were known throughout Roble Hall as the 'Family,' and some unthinking individuals still apply the old name to us.
"After Florence Whittier, who was a member of Delta Chapter, came to Stanford, it began to be whispered about that we were going to be a Fraternity. Indeed, I think it was the talk of outsiders that first put it into our heads. The idea began to materialize towards the end of last year, but litttle could be accomplished until the beginning of the present college year. Since then, matters have been steadily progressing and every time we have been together in an evening, people have eyed us curiously the next morning, expecting to see the tell-tale pin. But we had our initiation at a time when there was a lull in the expectation and so came out almost as a complete surprise ...."

Delta Chapter's Adella Tucker first endorsed these women's petition for a charter and sent it to the Delta Gamma Grand Council in 1895. At that time, four-year-old Stanford University was in serious financial trouble, so the Grand Council set the petition aside for a year. By 1896, the Grand Council was convinced of Stanford's permanence and the petition was approved.

Upsilon Chapter of Delta Gamma received its official charter on March 6, 1897. The ten original charter members rented a house in downtown Palo Alto until 1900, when the women moved into their newly built house on the Stanford campus at 544 Lasuen Court.

In 1944, the situation for women at Stanford was quite different. By that time, the Board of Trustees had revoked Jane Stanford's edict limiting female enrollment. However, the University administration would not allow sororities to increase their membership proportionately. This imbalance caused a great deal of antagonism towards sororities, and so, on July 1, 1944, the Board of Trustees asked all sororities to withdraw their charters from the University. At that time, the Delta Gamma house became Storey House, in honor of Parnie Hamilton Storey, one of Upsilon's charter members.

The Board of Trustees reversed its 1944 ruling on December 13, 1977, citing the Title IX of the 1977 Higher Education Amendments as the reason. Title IX states that no one shall be subjected to discrimination on the basis of sex "under any educational program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance." At that time, sororities were allowed to regroup, but the University would not allow them to use Stanford facilities or to call themselves Stanford chapters. Upsilon held its first rush in the fall of 1978 and was officially reinstalled on February 24, 1979. Finally, on January 5, 1981, the Stanford administration formally recognized Upsilon Chapter of Delta Gamma; this was the first such privilege to a sorority at Stanford in 37 years.

Upsilon Today

Last year Upsilon celebrated its 100th birthday. Delta Gamma Fraternity proclaimed 1997 "The Year of Upsilon" in celebration of the centennial and gave us $1000 to donate to a local charity. Our chapter is highly involved on the Stanford Campus through our community service on Campus, as well as a multitude of other activites. We are a diverse group of individuals, bound by friendship, and striving for excellence.