-April 8th, 2008

It is difficult to comprehend the monumental significance behind celebrating a 70th anniversary. Seventy years is much longer than a vast majority of us have lived and is certainly longer than the average marriage lasts. Much can change within seventy years, but those things that do not change, those that remain constant and strong, can be proud and honored to celebrate a 70th anniversary. This past week, Sigma Phi Epsilon Massachusetts Beta achieved this admirable accomplishment.
The Sigma Phi Epsilon chapter on campus, more commonly referred to as SigEp, hosted a reception at the house they have owned and operated from during the past 66 years to celebrate the recent renovation of the chapter house as well as commemorate the chapter’s 70th anniversary. The event took place on April 5 at 2 pm and was open to all SigEp brothers, alumni, Interfraternity Council Execs, Fraternity and Sorority Chapter Presidents, and other members of the WPI community, such as Emily Perlow, the Assistant Director of Student Activities and Greek Life Programs.
The occasion not only served to recognize SigEp for their achievements, but was also created with the purpose of building and fostering chapter relations, reaching out and thanking alumni, and bringing the WPI Greek Community together to share in a truly special occasion as a whole.
Events such as these are rare, although they prove to be essential in creating unity between Greek chapters at WPI. Jonathan Shoemaker, who more commonly goes by the name JD, is the current president of the WPI Massachusetts Beta Chapter of SigEp. JD was kind enough to sit down with me this past week to reflect upon his chapter’ history, development, and future, but more importantly verbalize the importance of SigEp in his life, and the bond it has created between himself and all of his brothers.
SigEp’s roots nationally began with the formation of the Saturday Night Club at Richmond College, Virginia in the fall of 1901 by a man named Carter Ashton Jenkens. The first membership roster, published on November 1, 1901, consisted of 12 founders that established a secret motto and adopted Sigma Phi as their official name.
After much opposition from the college as a result of the large number of fraternities on campus relative to student body size, the number of graduating members in the fraternity, and the fact that a national organization already existed with the Sigma Phi name, the founders addressed these three problems and eventually adopted the current name of the fraternity, Sigma Phi Epsilon.
Since its founding over a century ago, SigEp has grown to become one of the most impressive national fraternities in the United States today and was instrumental in influencing the shape, structure, and ideals found in many modern fraternities. A vast percentage of national fraternities have adopted, altered, and integrated various practices or ideas that SigEp had previously developed, whether it be membership development, fiscal structure, or organization and function.
SigEp is currently the largest college fraternity with over 14,000 undergraduates at 260 chapters. They were the first fraternity to charter a chapter in all 50 states, provide graduate scholarship funds, establish a National Housing Corporation, issue a bid of membership to an African-American, and most impressively, became the first national fraternity to have a national grade point average surpassing 3.0.
SigEp paved the way for future fraternity life as a result of their novel ideas and strategies which initiated change and were validated by success. Our local WPI chapter is no less impressive, and has been recognized by national headquarters as a member of Phi Beta Kappa’s Wheelhouse, an acknowledgment given to chapters with a cumulative GPA of 3.15 or higher.
SigEp’s presence at WPI began with the establishment of Delta Tau, a local fraternity formed in 1906. Membership grew, and the local chapter changed their name to Theta Upsilon Omega in 1924, another local fraternity with 9 chapters in the immediate New England Area. Finally, in 1938, Theta Upsilon Omega at WPI joined the ranks of Sigma Phi Epsilon.
1938 served as a monumental year for the Massachusetts Beta Chapter of Sigma Phi Epsilon. They were recognized nationally as one of the top ten SigEp chapters in addition to having the highest GPA out of all SigEp chapters. That year, the brothers of SigEp served as the backbone of the undefeated WPI football team, were key players in both the WPI basketball and baseball teams, and were active on campus in organizations such as Tech News.
Three brothers of SigEp in 1938 were also chosen to be members of Skull, the WPI senior honorary society which selects between five and twenty of the most distinguished and accomplished Juniors yearly. SigEp served as a model for campus involvement and academic accomplishment in 1938, creating a strong foundation for a fraternity whose values and ideals are still being practiced and improved upon to this day.
The WPI chapter of SigEp purchased a quaint gray house located on 11 Boynton Street in 1942. This house has remained the location of the chapter to the present day. Notable brothers of SigEp include Rear Admiral Ralph Earle, WPI’s sixth president (also where Earle Bridge gets its name) and AJ Knight, after which AJ Knight Field was named.
After a brief overview of SigEp’s national and local history, JD Shoemaker was happy to answer all of my questions on the current state of SigEp and how it relates to the past and future.
To this day, SigEp contains some of the most involved undergraduate students on campus. They are one of few organizations that require 100% of their chapter to be involved in at least one recognized organization on campus as enforced by their bylaws.
Within the past year, JD and his fraternity have tackled obstacles such as addressing national problems dealing with financial systems, revising their bylaws to both create and enforce change for the better, and revamping their alumni board to “encourage more participation and formally recognize our alumni as the best resource for our chapter, not just as an overseeing committee.” SigEp is in the process of creating and implementing a new membership development plan and has shown their commitment to activism on campus by winning Greek Week as recently as two years ago.
JD has served as an instrumental part of continuing SigEp’s model of excellence in the WPI chapter. Several chapter presidents, IFC executives, and WPI students have verbalized how much they have been impressed with JD as far as the initiatives he is taking to continue SigEp’s history of distinction by positioning SigEp as one of the leading fraternities on campus.
When asked about the goals he has accomplished in chapter, JD, like a true leader, remains modest and attributes all the credit to his fellow brothers. JD states, “The brothers of SigEp are always striving for something more. We have seniors that are very involved during Greek Week, and we have sophomores that are active on the executive board.” For example, JD gave complete credit to Vincent Milanno for doing an “excellent job in redesigning SigEp’s financial system by creating both a budget system and means for producing house bills that save SigEp money and help to appropriate it correctly.”
Other members of the Greek Community have recognized SigEp’s recent accomplishments as well. Nicholas Pelletier, president of Phi Kappa Theta, states, “JD and the rest of the leadership within the Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity do not give themselves the credit they deserve. The chapter is celebrating their 70th year with much to be proud of, and recent changes have laid a strong foundation for the chapter to continue to thrive for many more anniversaries.”
Many fraternities on campus are overshadowed by a stereotype made by the community. As a member of a Greek organization, I realize that these stereotypes, whether positive or negative, are a touchy subject amongst Greek men and women. In my experience, they usually are not a welcomed topic of discussion between chapters on campus, because fraternities and sororities are much more than just a stereotype, containing much more depth and significance binding the members together, and wish to be seen by the public in that light as opposed to just a group of people bound by a different shared interest.
It came to my surprise, therefore, when JD asked if I would like to talk about the fact that SigEp on campus is sometimes more colloquially referred to as the football fraternity. He was very honest and open about the subject. In retrospect, I realized that there was no valid reason to avoid talking about the stereotype. JD, unlike many others, embraces the stereotype as opposed to shunning it, and by the end of the conversation he had convinced me that stereotypes were not a problem for his fraternity, but rather a strength.
 SigEp has about 32 brothers on the WPI football team in addition to many more on other WPI varsity and club sports teams. SigEp consistently registers intramural teams and promotes friendly competition. They have always held a strong presence in athletics and fitness on campus and continue that tradition today.
This is a major way that SigEp contributes towards the WPI community: by building friendships between men that strive for athletic success. This organization promotes motivation of brothers to thrive in their sport by means of a common interest and shared brotherhood. However, the brotherhood is not dependent on playing football. Instead of having pride in their capacity for athletic ability, JD states, “the bond, friendship, and brotherly love are the things that SigEp prides itself on.”
JD solidified his point by stating that SigEp is “more than just the football house. If we weren’t, we wouldn’t wear letters.” This short statement speaks more truth than any stereotype ever could.
When asked what he is most proud of about SigEp, JD immediately quoted the well known SigEp motto, “loved or hated, but never ignored.” JD stated, “I have a strong pride for the house in general. You will never see one guy standing alone. There will always be another SigEp close by. There is a strong sense of unity within the house, and I believe that we are one of the closest houses on campus.”
“SigEps know how to stand up for themselves. They know where to stand on important issues. As a chapter, we are extremely open about what we do,” commented JD.
When I asked JD about why he decided to rush SigEp, out of the 13 possible fraternities to join on campus, he replied decisively. “For me, it was SigEp or nowhere. SigEp made me feel more welcome than any other chapter I visited, and I knew that I wanted to be there.”
Although I have only visited SigEp on a couple of occasions, this was not the first I have heard of SigEp’s ability to make visitors feel like they are at home.” They are the most welcoming house on campus,” states Adam Wilbur, the 2005 SGA President and brother of Phi Kappa Theta. Therefore, it comes as no surprise that SigEp decided to invite alumni, staff, and Greek men and women spanning all chapters on campus, to celebrate their 70th anniversary, when they just as well could have celebrated alone as a chapter. The way SigEp fosters chapter relations is a very real example of how chapters should interact with each other on the WPI campus.
The 70th Anniversary and house renovation celebration hosted at the SigEp Massachusetts Beta chapter this past Saturday was a great success, with many alumni and other Greek chapter representatives in attendance.
Scott Guzman, the House Manager of SigEp, made a few comments that really touched base with what JD emphasized SigEp was founded on, continuous chapter improvement and involvement. “I just want to make sure that you guys realize that we didn't just want to pick the house up because someone told us to,” Scott states to the alumni. “We did it to show that we are really trying to cause some positive change for the future and make Massachusetts Beta a presence not only on campus, but nationally as well.”
One of many specific goals JD had for this event was to increase the connection and bond that alumni felt to the chapter. By reorganizing the alumni board and holding this event in addition to the Pig Roast hosted during homecoming, he appeared to genuinely want to help the alumni feel the connection to the chapter they once had as students.
During the reception, JD stated, “To all the alumni, if you ever make it back to Worcester, there is a small gray house sitting on the corner: a fraternity, a brotherhood that you will always be a part of.” I do not think that the alumni have ever felt more welcome and connected to the chapter since they were undergraduates than in that moment.

SigEp has continued to improve upon a strong foundation built over 70 years ago by constructing an even more impressive house in the spirit of the traditions and values that SigEp holds cardinal. SigEp continues to lead the way in chapter improvement, hospitality, and drive for success. I have no doubt that the foundation and house of Sigma Phi Epsilon Massachusetts Beta will continue to stand for many years to come.

 

By Chad Mondor
Newsstaff