St. Anthony Hall
St. Anthony Hall, better known as St. A's is a national fraternity-like organization that was founded at Columbia in 1847 and has since established chapters at elite universities around the country. It has the greek letter designation Delta Psi.
Though highly secretive, the organization is also known for its formalwear parties, and rumors of cocaine use abound.
At Columbia, St. A's owns a building on Riverside Drive adjacent to Woodbridge, between 116th and 115th Streets.
History
St. A's was first founded at Columbia in 1847, although it did not have a home of its own until 1879, when the first St. A's house opened. It is still standing at 29 E. 28th St. and was designed by Columbia College alum James Renwick, Jr. The present house on Riverside Drive was built in 1899, just after Columbia's move to Morningside Heights, and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. From 1904 to 1990, a St. Anthony's Club also operated for members of all branches of the society in an E. 64th St. townhouse.
Alleged incidents
Once, St. A's kids threw a glass bottle at a black kid, sparking a protest that lasted about five minutes.
On another occasion, a black student entering St. Anthony Hall for a party held the door open for a young white female. She responded, "Thank you, I haven't seen you before, how long have you been working here?". She was later rather embarrassed.
Brothers of Pi Kappa Alpha once snuck a homeless person into one of the St. A's parties, claiming that the man was a professor of East African studies. He was able to stay long enough to get one drink before members of St. Anthony Hall ejected him.
