• Source: Upsilon Sigma Phi

The Upsilon Sigma Phi (ΥΣΦ) is the oldest Greek-letter organization and fraternity in Asia. Founded in 1918, it is also the oldest student organization in continuous existence in the University of the Philippines. It has two chapters—a single chapter for the UP Diliman and the UP Manila campuses, and another for the UP Los Baños. Membership remains exclusive to UP students, and is by invitation only.




History






= Early years

=

The Upsilon Sigma Phi was founded in 1918 by twelve students and two professors from the University of the Philippines Manila.
It was formally organized on November 19, 1920, in a meeting held at the Metropolitan Restaurant in Intramuros, Manila where the fraternity elected its first officers (among which include Agapito del Rosario, one of the founders of the Socialist Party of the Philippines and later on Mayor of Angeles, Pampanga). Four months later, on March 24, 1921, the Greek letters "ΥΣΦ", standing for the initials of the name "University Students Fraternity" were formally adopted. The fraternity also adopted its themes, rites, and motto "We Gather Light to Scatter".
During its early years, invitations for membership were given out only to individuals who served in leadership positions, or individuals which the fraternity deemed in possession of leadership potential or regarded as excellent in their respective fields.
From 1930 to 1949, thirteen of its members chaired the UP Student Council (including Jose Laurel Jr., and Sotero Laurel, sons of Jose P. Laurel, himself an Upsilonian). Its members were prominent contributors in campus publications, a number of whom served as editors-in-chief of the Philippine Collegian (such as Arturo Tolentino and Armando Malay) and the now defunct annual publication, The Philippinensian. During this time, then UP Student Council President Wenceslao Vinzons, together with members of the fraternity, led demonstrations before the Philippine Congress to protest the insertion of a provision in the appropriations act that gave lawmakers a salary increase.

The UP administration relocated to the Diliman campus In the aftermath of the Battle of Manila. Prominent landmarks in the Diliman campus such as Palma Hall, Melchor Hall, Quezon Hall, and the Church of the Risen Lord were designed and constructed by university architect and Upsilonian Cesar Concio. Through the efforts of the UP Alumni Association headed by Upsilonian Hermenegildo Reyes, the fraternity helped raise funds for the construction of the bell tower called the "Carillon" which still stands today as another prominent landmark. Meanwhile, a chapter in UP Los Baños was established; the first Greek-letter organization in the campus.
During the same period, the fraternity hosted the Cavalcades, a series of stage plays and musicals that began on campus and eventually toured nationwide. Profits from "Aloyan" (the first full-length English play written by a Filipino) and "Hanako" plays were used to help finance the construction and furnishing of the Church of the Holy Sacrifice. One of the fraternity's productions, Linda, cast the then 17-year-old Pilita Corrales.




= Recent years

=

In 2013, the fraternity was named as a finalist in the Ten Accomplished Youth Organizations (TAYO) Awards, the country’s premier institution that recognizes and supports the outstanding contributions of youth organizations to the country.

On July 25, 2018, the Malacañang Palace issued Proclamation Order No. 539 recognizing the fraternity for its "significant contributions to numerous civic and humanitarian causes, as well as the dedication and commitment of its members to public service and nation-building." The year 2018 was also declared as the "Year for the Celebration of the Centennial Anniversary of the Upsilon Sigma Phi."
In the same year, the fraternity inaugurated in the Diliman campus the UP Promenade, a 120-meter walkway equipped with internet and Wi-Fi capable facilities available for public use. In the Los Baños campus, the fraternity also unveiled another flagship centennial project, The Kapit-Kapit Monument, which depicts 14 individuals with their arms locked in solidarity.
In 2022, on the occasion of the fraternity's 104th anniversary, the National Historical Commission of the Philippines unveiled the "Upsilon Sigma Phi" historical marker which was installed in the Diliman campus.




Symbols


Members of the Upsilon Sigma Phi are called Fellows or Upsilonians. Its flower is the pink rose. Its colors are cardinal red, honorable blue, and gold.
Its Greek letters ΥΣΦ are the initials of the name "University Students Fraternity". The fraternity's motto is "We Gather Light to Scatter".




Membership



Membership is by invitation only and is exclusive to male individuals in the University of the Philippines Diliman, Manila and Los Baños campuses. Selection is based on an individual's leadership positions and potential success and prominence in their respective fields (both on- and off-campus).




Notable members



Among its alumni are two Philippine presidents, a vice president, fifteen senators, fourteen supreme court justices (including three chief justices), three house speakers, a chairman of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights, three executive secretaries, four solicitors-general, twenty-six ambassadors, an AFP chief of staff, a NEDA director-general, a Central Bank governor, twenty-four honorees of The Outstanding Young Men, four national scientists, three national artists, a recipient of the Ramon Magsaysay Award, and five UP presidents.
Following are a few notaoble members.

Johnny Alegre – Jazz guitarist
José P. Laurel – 3rd Philippine President; Senator; Justice of the Supreme Court
Salvador Laurell – 8th Philippine Vice President; 5th Prime Minister; Senator; founder, United Nationalist Democratic Organization (UNIDO)
Querube Makalintal – 11th Chief Justice of the Supreme Court; 14th Speaker of the House of Representatives; Solicitor General
Ferdinand Marcos – 10th Philippine President; 3rd Prime Minister; 11th Senate President
Alfredo Pascual –Secretary of Trade and Industry and President of the University of the Philippines
Gil Puyat – 13th Senate President; founder, Manila Banking Corporation (now China Bank Savings))
Martin Romualdez – Speaker, House of Representatives; House Majority Leader; National President, Lakas–CMD
José Abad Santos – Acting Philippine President; 5th Chief Justice of the Supreme Court; Secretary of Justice
Kidlat Tahimik – National Artist for Film




Controversies






= Hazing incidents

=
On July 18, 1954, a UP student recruit, Gonzalo Mariano Albert, died in the wake of the fraternity's initiation proceedings. After experiencing abdominal pain, the student was rushed to a hospital where he was diagnosed to undergo emergency appendectomy, but succumbed on the operating table. Philippine President Ramon Magsaysay assigned an ad hoc medico-legal committee, that failed to indicate that hazing "contributed to Albert's death" in their findings; albeit which jeopardized his physical condition prior to the patient's appendectomy. The committee further recommended the expulsion of four officers of the fraternity, implicated residents and neophytes being suspended, and a censure of several UP deans, directors, and faculty members for their collective remiss to discharge proactive duties. Albert's death was the first recorded fatality attributed to hazing in the Philippines, and the only known demise of an Upsilon Sigma Phi neophyte.
On July 4, 2014, the fraternity was once again implicated in the hazing of a 17-year-old neophyte who sustained physical injuries during fraternity initiation.




= Inter-fraternity brawl and group chat leaks

=
On September 20, 1969, an Upsilonian was fatally pummeled by members of the rival Beta Sigma fraternity. It was the first publicly documented fatality of a fraternity "rumble" (brawl) in the University of the Philippines, that prompted UP president Salvador P. Lopez, himself an Upsilonian, to issue stringent regulations effecting university organizations, and suspended both the Upsilon Sigma Phi and Beta Sigma fraternities.
On June 18, 2015, Quezon City police arrested five Upsilonians after allegedly mauling three rival fraternity persons and leading police in a brief car chase while fleeing. The five felons were released on June 24, 2015, upon posting bail of ₱200,000 each on frustrated homicide charges, and ₱80,000 each for illegal possession of ammunition.
On November 14, 2018, rival frats Upsilon Sigma Phi and Alpha Phi Beta were recorded on campus CCTV in a brawl. The incident prompted campus authorities to tighten security within the UP system and a statement of condemnation from Diliman chancellor Tan and UP president Concepcion. The same month, a Facebook Messenger chat by alleged Upsilon members was penetrated by a rival frat to reveal misogynous banter censured by UP President Danilo Concepcion, himself an Upsilonian, as "reprehensible and totally unacceptable" language by its fellows.




See also


List of fraternities and sororities in the Philippines




References

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