Bronze Tablet, Phi Beta Kappa, Phi Kappa Phi, Ma-Wan-Da, and the Rhodes Scholarship – these are a sampling of the honors earned by our Omicron brothers over the years. The list below is based on research conducted in the Fall of 2006 – if you have any additions or corrections, please email alumni secretary, Dave…
Category: Static
Family Connections
As our song "Welcome Brothers" proudly annouces, Psi U is made up of "all who wear the emblem of the chosen few." Well for the Omicron chapter, this "chosen few" include many brothers who are in fact, brothers…and fathers, sons, cousins, and so forth. The list below is based on research conducted in the Fall…
Agriculture
Ted Funk '27 Industry leader in agriculture and livestock Brother Ted Funk graduated from the College of Agriculture in 1927 but his roots in central Illinois come from one of its most prominent families. According to the ACES website at the University of Illinois, in 1824 young Isaac Funk built his first home on a…
Sacred Garden
Times change…and so do places. What since the early 1990s has been the basketball court and barbeque area was once known as the Sacred Garden. Early drawings of the chapter house show this area sans court, back when stately elms dotted the property before Dutch Elm felled them across the Champaign-Urbana landscape. The current basketball…
Little Sister Room
On January 23, 2004, our chapter bid farewell to the legendary Charles M. Fish '28. A loyal supporter of Psi Upsilon and our chapter for many years, Brother Fish graciously provided for a $5,000 bequest in his will for the benefit of our Omicron chapter. The funds were used towards sorely needed remodeling of the…
Halfway House
So named for its position "halfway" up the stairs to the second floor lies the Halfway House. Originally, its use was intended for a butler as it had its own bathroom and closet, but over the years it doubled as a cloak room for the ladies at fraternity functions, and as a guest bedroom as…
Penthouse
Who says the Omicron only has three floors? The Penthouse, situated across from what was once the dormitory, has an elevated design which features a sitting room like no other place in the house. Many of the more senior members of chapter roll have elected to call this beautiful room "home" during their time in…
Solarium
The Solarium has served as a sitting room, television area, foosball arena, and now pocket billiards parlor, but its significance relates to something far more serious, for on its north wall is the chapter's "Gold Star" plaque. This bronze honors our brothers who gave their lives in the service of the nation during World War…
The ’28 Room
Named for our famed pledge class of 1928, the ’28 room houses the chapter library, awards, and artifacts – including the badge of John Parker ’28, momentos from our silver anniversary, our IM and “Atius” trophies, various Illios and bound volumes of The Diamond. The ’28 room has played host to many a game of…
The Famous “Red Room”
Perhaps most famous of all the chapter's elements is the Red Room. The location of the Red Room has moved through time and many brothers have helped maintain it, most recently a team led by Brother Dan Hower '08. In the 2005 edition of the Arrow, Brother Gene McCarthy '49 recounted its history: Around 1946…