History
Gamma Theta Upsilon (GTU) is an international geography honor society. Colgate is home to the Epsilon Psi chapter, founded May 3, 1977.
GTU was founded May 15, 1928, in Normal, Ill. It had formerly been known as the Geography Club of Illinois State Normal University.
GTU emerged as a national organization, with four chapters, in 1931, and was incorporated as a fraternity in 1936.
In January 1949, GTU became an International Geographic Honor Society.
Current Members
2009 -- Janney Jones, Meredith Rosenberg, Erin Sinnott, Sam Torrey, Sarah Hesler,
2010 -- Kathryn-Louise Meng, Shae Frydenlund, Erin Hatch, Becky Kahn, Emily Oliver, Becky Plesser, Kathlin Ramsdell, Ali Stokes, Allison Taylor, Sarah Titcomb, Sam Zuhlke.
The Badge
The GTU badge is a key that symbolizes achievement of quality in the field of geography. The base or body of the key is a seven-sided shield, with each bevel bearing the initial of one of earth's great landmasses.
Spread across the base of the key are five wavy blue lines representing the five great oceans that have carried voyagers to all the lands of the Earth: the Atlantic, the Indian, the Pacific, the Arctic, and the Antarctic. A white star above the waves symbolizes Polaris, the great guide to early travelers over the northern hemisphere's uncharted vastness.
At the key's top are the letters Gamma, Theta, Upsilon, the initials of the Greek words Ge (Earth), Thalassa (Sea), and Hypaithrois (Atmosphere), a reminder of the three environmental domains of concern to geographers.
The colors of GTU symbolize these three geographic domains: brown for the earth, light blue for the sea, and gold for the sunlight or sky.