The local fraternity at George Mason College before becoming part of Tau Kappa Epsilon (TKE) was known simply as, “The Symposium.” The origin of the original name is not known, but one could look at the definition of the word to understand what these men were doing, and what their intent for organizing was exactly. When you google the word, you get the following:
Sym-po-si-um: “A conference or meeting to discuss a particular subject. A collection of essays or papers on a particular subject by a number of contributors. A drinking party or convivial discussion, especially as held in ancient Greece after a banquet (and notable as the title of a work by Plato).” It seems even before being introduced to TKE, our charter members understood the importance of fellowship in a social setting but also, as important, with a purpose.
On February 20, 1970, a collection of 43 men pledged their bond to each other, and to the men who came before and after in TKE and in the Mu-Omega Chapter of Tau Kappa Epsilon. We honor these men here, as they in essence are the founding fathers, for nearly 1,000 men who also took that same bond over the last 50+ years.
Several of these men are now in Chapter Eternal, including Robert Fillmore, Jr. (Scroll #1), Ronald Schmied (Scroll#4), John R. Strohl (Scroll #5), Stephen Kuleguski (Scroll #24), Robert Prohaska (Scroll #41), Harry Schmied (Scroll #43), and Alvin Alexander (Scroll #43).
May each Frater’s memory be enshrined in the minds and hearts of those with whom he had lived.