Delta Upsilon - Fraternity Insignia - Motto and Four Founding Principles

Motto and Four Founding Principles

The Fraternity's motto is "Dikaia Upotheke" in Greek - "Δικαια Υποθηκη" - which means "Justice, Our Foundation." The motto was adopted in 1858. Until this time, the motto of the Williams Chapter, "Ouden Adelon" - meaning "Nothing Secret," was used.

The Fraternity's Four Founding Principles originated in the Preamble to the early Constitution of the Anti-Secret Confederation. They remained unchanged until the 1891 Convention undertook a complete revision of the Constitution, article-by-article. In the new revision, the old Preamble was completely stricken and the following text was added to Article 1, Section 2: "The objects of this Fraternity shall include the promotion of friendship, the exertion of moral influence, the diffusion of liberal culture, and the advancement of equity in college affairs. It shall be non-secret." This version remained with minor changes until around 1923, when the first printed example of the current version was published in that year's edition of the Manual of Delta Upsilon.

The current text of the Four Founding Principles is:

• The Promotion of Friendship
• The Development of Character
• The Diffusion of Liberal Culture
• The Advancement of Justice