|
|
National History
Richmond College, a small
school located in Virginia, was attended by only 200 students, more than a third of which
were in fraternities. Richmond College was a Baptist college that was founded in
1830, and many of its graduates became Baptist ministers.
As the history shows, most of the fraternities were founded because
they were needed. Brotherhood was a part of the young men. Sigma Phi Epsilon
was founded because twelve young gentlemen wanted campus fellowship on the ideals of
Judeo/Christian. Sigma Phi Epsilon was needed, and so Sigma Phi Epsilon was
founded.....
| Carter Ashton Jenkens, an 18-year-old student
at Rutgers University, New Jersey, was a part of Chi Phi Fraternity. He left Rutgers
and went on to Richmond College in the fall of 1900. He missed the companionship of
his Chi Phi brothers, so he went and found five men who had already been bonded through
fellowship. He urged them to join him in applying for a charter of Chi Phi at
Richmond College. They applied for a charter, but were refused because Chi Phi felt
Richmond was too small of a school to establish a Chi Phi chapter. |
|
So the six men, Jenkens,
Benjamin Gaw, William Carter, William Wallace, Thomas Wright, and William Phillips,
decided to form their own local fraternity. Of the six men, Jenkens was the only one
who had been involved with a fraternity, so it was on his back to draw up the plans and
get things started. Jenkens was in search of a philosophy on which a new college
fraternity could be built....
While still making plans, the six original
members found six others who were also searching for the fellowship that original members
were looking for. The twelve of them finally met one day in October, 1901, in Gaw
and Wallace's room on the third floor of Ryland Hall to discuss the organization of the
Fraternity they would call "Sigma Phi." The roster was printed up on
November 1, 1901, in which Jenkens was the first listed.
|
|
Ryland Hall, 1901, the birthplace of Sigma Phi Epsilon. Members
met in the tower room located in the the center of Ryland Hall. |
A committee was set up to
discuss plans for recognition with the administration of the college. They presented
a case explaining three different reasons why this new fraternity should be formed.
Some of their answers included, "This fraternity will be different, it will be based
on the love of God and the principle of peace through brotherhood. We will change
the name to Sigma Phi Epsilon." The faculty committee agreed and permission was
granted for the fraternity to proceed.
From there, the members continued to have meetings in Ryland Hall.
By March 4, 102, the number of SigEp's had risen to 21. Seven of these
graduated in June 1902, and six others did not return to Richmond College the next
session. After recruiting many students, only one new man joined in the fall and
another in the spring. The small college enrollment of 223 students, no hope for a
large increase in enrollment, and increasing competition for new members from the chapters
of five national fraternities on the campus made the members of SigEp realize the position
of their local fraternity.
The members discussed options and a momentous
decision was reached to convert Sigma Phi Epsilon to a national fraternity. An
application for a state charter was written by then attorney, and founder Lucian B. Cox,
and signed by all eight members and filed in the Circuit Court of Richmond City on October
20.
Growing, Growing, Growing.....
Sigma Phi Epsilon ended its fifth year of
operation with 14 chapters in nine states. Nineteen chapters had been chartered,
despite the little money that the group had to work with. Chapters spread west to
Colorado, north to Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, and New York, and south to North and South
Carolina. The next five years brought forth 17 new chapters and representation in a
total of eighteen states.
Today Sigma Phi Epsilon stands as America's largest fraternity, with over 14,000
Undergraduates, 260 Chapters, 240,000 alumni
and only growing stronger.
|
