IFC | Sigma Chi will return to campus
By: Paul Stanley/ The Daily Orange asst. news editor Lauren Bertolini contributed reporting to this story
Date Published: 2/19/08
The Psi Psi chapter of the Sigma Chi fraternity has been reinstated, a decade after being kicked off the Syracuse University campus. And they have a home, too -the house at 737 Comstock Ave., the former residence of Sigma Alpha Mu.
At a ceremony on Sunday at the Genesee Grand Hotel, 50 brothers were initiated into the fraternity, and Grand Consul Robert H.W. Jones III, the international president of Sigma Chi, presented the charter to the Psi Psi Chapter.
"It was a great event and really exciting," said Sigma Chi President Max Dorsch.
The fraternity lost its recognition on the SU campus in 1998 as a result of fights and other incidents. The chapter remained underground and off-campus as Psi Psi for the last decade. In 2006, Psi Psi members were interviewed by members of the international fraternity and declared an official colony of Sigma Chi later that fall, Dorsch said.
"In 2003 it looked like things were going to go under, and a couple guys decided they weren't going to let that happen," Dorsch said. "They contacted Sigma Chi who said that they were very interested in bringing back a chapter to the SU campus."
In 2005, Dr. Roy Baker, former director of fraternity and sorority affairs, helped the fraternity gain the support of both the university and former alumni.
"He was very instrumental in the process," Dorsch said. "He helped to get Psi Psi recognized as a fraternity by the IFC, and he was also able to convince the alumni that they might want to come back and see the new group of guys."
Dorsch said the fraternity has come a long way in the past year. This year, their membership has doubled. They now have 52 members, he said.
"We have made a huge point to make our members accountable for their actions because that's how the last group of guys got kicked off and screwed everything up," Dorsch said. "They got comfortable with what they were, and they had taken everything for granted."
Next fall, the brothers will move into the house on Comstock Avenue. The brothers in Sigma Alpha Mu moved out last semester and now live next door in the Zeta Psi house. Zeta Psi had its charter removed following the spring 2007 semester.
"That house was owned by Sigma Chi from 1960 on," Dorsch said. "When they got kicked off in 1998 they lost the ownership of the house."
The house has been vacated this semester, but alumni from the Psi Psi chapter have put together a lot of money, almost a million dollars, to renovate the house, he said.
Dorsch said once the chapter moves in, they'll be there to stay for good.
"The Psi Psi chapter was taken away two times, the first in the mid 1950s and the second time obviously in 1998," said Dorsch. "This is the last time that this will happen. This is the last go-around."
Matt Abiditar, president of the Interfraternity Council, acknowledged the hard work of the Sigma Chi members and added that a lot of their return to campus has to do with timing and the availability of housing.
"A real problem for fraternities is housing," Abiditar said. "The university likes to buy up our property."
He said Sigma Chi is fortunate it already owned the house, and it worked out well that a house had recently become available.
"It could've happened at any time," he said.
Dorsch said the keys to getting things together were the alumni who have been active and involved and the brothers who began the re-chartering process.
"There were so many guys who have a dream and wanted this to happen and got the ball rolling knowing that they wouldn't be able to reap the benefits in the end," Dorsch said. "They made a huge sacrifice for us."
Reaction
It is exciting to hear about a Chapter being reinstated. The first thing that caught my eye is how the alumni raised money for a house, and how the alumni are still active in their Chapter. That is one thing that definitely stood out for me at Sigma Chi. It definitely was great seeing alumni, and hearing stories of how Sigma Chi changed their lives. The reason why their Chapter got kicked off in the first place, isn’t that great. It is great to see alumni trying to give back to the Sigma Chi Chapter that gave so much to them. This article helps me realize what a Fraternity can mean to one, if they are willing to care so deep about it after they graduate. Also as acknowledged by the Inter-Fraternity Council President, Matt Abiditar, he said that Sigma Chi Member put in a lot of hard work. This reminds me of Jordan Standard point: With Ambitious Purposes. Everyone put time and money to make this Chapter reappear at Syracuse. It is great to see that the members of Sigma Chi will try to be responsible for their own actions and everything they do, hopefully the Chapter will be there for a long, long time and standing out for good deeds, not bad.
Posted by: Sagar Agrawal
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