Brother "C" William Clayton Marshall

Brother Willliam Clayton Marshall - April 13th 1919, to February24th 2004

Brother "C" — Mr. William Clayton Marshall
A true friend, mentor, instructor, counselor, and chapter advisor. To most of us legacy brothers of Sigma Theta, he was more than all of those—he was like a father.

Brother “C” guided us through our pledging journey and prepared us for the future of Omega Psi Phi. His impact is immeasurable. While we may never know the full number of lives he touched, we know this: the Voorhees University family and the city of Denmark, SC knew him well, respected him deeply, and will remember him always.

Sigma Theta - History 1969 - 1970 The First Year

In the late 1960's civil unrest resigned at colleges and universities throughout America. During the turbulent time, three member of the Voorhees College faculty who were also brothers in Mu Upsilon Chapter of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity Inc. A graduate chapter located in Denmark, SC, expressed a desire to gauge the interest of the young men on campus in joining the organization. On November 14th, 1969, Brother William Clayton Mashall, a business professor; Orlando White business manager; and Sherill Aiken, men's basketball coach, held a Smoker at Old Voorhees High School Gymnasium. The interest meeting went well and many of the young men submitted letters of interest.

On November 22nd, 1969, Brother Marshall, who served as the Keeper of Records & Seals of Mu Upsilon Chapter, prepared a letter to be sent to 75 young men to inform them of their selection process for membership into the Lampados Club on the campus of Voorhees College.

Brother Marshall's letter provided the interested young men with all the information that they would need to begin their journey as members of the Lampados Club including guidance for proper attire and pledge fees. The letter also informed those selected the they would become charter members of the fraternity undergraduate chapter at Voorhees College, should they successfully complete the requirements of pledgeship and specifically stated that the letter should be DESTROYED once the prospective Lampados Club member had completed reading it.

Thus, in the winter of 1969 the brothers of Mu Upsilon chapter began guiding the Lampados Club members through the first pledge period of what would become Sigma Theta Chapter. However, due to the unrest on campus. Voorhees college was forced to close for a short period of time and the pledge period was postponed. When the college reopened in the spring of 1970, a large number of the original 75 members of the Lampados Club did not return. Some no longer attended, some went into the military, despite the loss of so many members of the Lampados Club the pledge period resumed with 21 returning members. Soon after, the pledges elected Noel Mcfadden President of the first Lampados Club.