Transcript Section III

Section III
Responsibility for a Lifetime
Click Once
The Beginning – Yale in 1845
Yale in 1845 was far different from today’s college. It was hard going for any
student. Discipline was swift and strict, handed out by both student and faculty
alike. There was mandatory attendance at chapel every day, and there was little
to occupy a student’s attention aside from his academic work.
Click Once
Yale was unlike most other American colleges in that it had been patterned
after Cambridge University in England where class loyalties and traditions
were extremely important. There were a number of results from this system.
One was a college where hazing and bullying by upperclassmen towards their
younger classmates was common. The second result of the class stratification
was a fraternity system that was strongly focused around class ties.
Click Once
Our Fraternity founded a hundred years ago, needs no memorial.
It is a living organization. So, its Founders and the many who
have followed them, faithfully serving the Brotherhood, live on in
the spirit of Alpha Sigma Phi. That spirit is at the same time
indefinable, yet the Society’s greatest asset.
- author unknown
Click Once
As a man entered Yale as a freshman, he was encouraged to join one of the
freshmen societies, Kappa Sigma Epsilon, Delta Kappa, or Sigma Delta.
Freshmen would be met at the New Haven train station by sophomores, and
invited to join one of the fraternities. Once the new members were secured,
initiations would take place. Conducted by the out-going sophomore class, the
initiations into these societies were mainly to test the nerves of the freshman,
and thus were quite vigorous. Once the night’s festivities concluded, the upperclassmen would hand over the society to the freshman and leave. The new
members would then elect their officers and perfect the organization of the
society for the upcoming year.
Click Once
Membership in a secret society in each successive class became more
important socially and in campus politics in each successive year. The
freshman fraternities were nearly all encompassing. In the sophomore class
there were two fraternities at most, and at times only one. The sophomore
fraternities admitted between twenty and thriy men from each class, and vied
to admit only the most promising men based on their freshman records.
Click Once
The junior class fraternities, Alpha Delta Phi, Psi Upsilon, and Delta Kappa
Epsilon, pledged men secretly during the students first two years, and initiated
them at the end of their sophomore year. In the 1850s, Psi Upsilon and Delta
Kappa Epsilon eclipsed the older fraternity Alpha Delta Phi, and battled
unrelentingly for the most promising pledges.
Click Once
The senior societies were local organizations and were the most prestigious.
The senior societies each pledged fifteen members from each class. There
were usually three senior societies, with two competing heavily for the
leading men of the class, and the third society failing and being replaced at
intervals.
Click Once
None of the freshman fraternities established chapters outside Yale College,
and Alpha Sigma Phi is the only surviving sophomore society. Each of the
junior fraternities was a chapter of national organizations. The senior societies,
Skull and Bones, Scroll and Key, and Wolf’s Head, continue to exist locally at
Yale, their affairs still shrouded in an aura of mystery.
Click Once
The Founding of Alpha Sigma Phi
Louis Manigault, Alpha Sigma Phi’s principal Founder, and Stephen Ormsby
Rhea, one of the co-founders, first met at St. Paul’s College, a preparatory
school for boys in Flushing Meadows, NY. There, they joined the Phi Theta
Kappa Society.
Click Once
Arriving at Yale in 1845, neither of the men chose to join a freshman society.
Yet Manigault had visions as a freshman of starting a sophomore fraternity. He
did not hide his disdain of Kappa Sigma Theta, the lone society in the
sophomore class. He would later write of that society:
Click Once
Standing alone in the Sophomore Class, guarded by her
Patron Saint Minerva, the Kappa Sigma Theta seemed not
only to scorn but to behold with contempt all outside
members as hardly worthy of being their classmates.
Click Once
Manigault and Rhea spent much time walking and riding though the woods around
New Haven and it was during these private journeys that Manigault told Rhea his
plans for starting a sophomore society. At first, Rhea was hesitant; believing it was
too hard a task to undertake. In time, Manigault convinced his friend that hey could
accomplish the task. As they perfected their vision, Rhea introduced Manigualt to
Horace Spangler Weiser, who was brought into the plan, and thus the triumvirate was
completed.
Click Once
On Saturday evening, December 6, 1845, the three met in Manigault’s room at 59
Chapel Street. Manigault lived in a college boarding house that sat at the
intersection of Temple and Chapel Street, overlooking the green and college
buildings on the other side. The boarding house had given Manigault the privacy
and freedom to concentrate on creating Alpha Sigma Phi. During the meeting
Louis outlined to Rhea and Weiser his plans for the society. Though Manigault
names Weiser and Rhea as co-founders, it was he who designed the Badge, the
Ritual, and insignia after the initial meeting.
Click Once
In his writings, Louis Manigault refers to Wednesday, June 24, 1846, as the
founding date of Alpha Sigma Phi. It was on this day that the Society
announced its first class – 14 men – thus securing its hallowed place among
Yale’s Fraternities. Yet, it was on December 6, 1845, that the plans were set in
stone, thus it truly is the founding date of the Fraternity.
Click Once
An Intense Rivalry Begins
The new society was welcomed by the junior class societies because it gave
them a greater field of selection for heir membership. The potential
members of the sophomore class also cordially received it. But it aroused
anxiety and fear among the members of Kappa Sigma Theta.
Click Once
Manigault had founded Fraternity to rival Kappa Sigma Theta, and it did just
that. In 1849, one of our Brother’s wrote: “…while Kappa Sigma Theta
slumbered, the flower of the class of ’52 became members of Alpha Sigma
Phi.”
Click Once
The Yale Tomahawk is Born
The rivalry spilled over into print, as Kappa Sigma Theta attacked the new
society in The Yale Banger. The name “banger” came from the device that
sophomores used to torment freshmen. When sophomores would go out,
usually en mass, these gangers, or clubs, would be dragged along the ground
as a warning to any freshman in the neighborhood.
Click Once
Theoretically, The Yale Banger had been the paper of the sophomore
class, but in actuality, it was the voice of Kappa Sigma Theta. In
response, Alpha Sigma Phi began publishing The Yale Tomahawk in
November 1847.
Click Once
The paper was twelve by eighteen inches, and cost six cents per copy. In
the text, the paper attacks Kappa Sigma Theta and the Banger, calling the
latter:
A most shameful outrage upon good breeding, prudence and
common sense. Such abominable bawdiness, such groveling
sentiment, such mawkish nonsense, we never saw before among
the writing of civilized and educated.
Click Once
Aside from attacking its rival, The Yale Tomahawk always included
editorials, articles about Yale life, fraternity announcements, poems, and
others writings of literary value. An Alpha alumnus, writing an article
for The Tomahawk about the early editions of the magazine, marveled at
the literary quality of the early editions of the paper, noting that “College
editors of those days appear to have been more highly gifted in the art of
versification (poetry) than their college literary descendants of the
present generation.”
Click Once
In May 1852, The Yale Tomahawk appeared for the last time until 1909,
after it was published against faculty orders. In the end, eight members of
the Fraternity were expelled. Two years later the faculty rescinded the
decision, and offered to allow the students back to finish their studies.
Click Once
Alpha Sigma Phi Expands from Yale
Alpha Sigma Phi was but two years old when an opportunity appeared to
present itself to expand to another college. An initiate of Alpha Chapter
transferred to Amherst College in Massachusetts and indicated an interest
in establishing a chapter of Alpha Sigma Phi there. Alpha Chapter
authorized the effort, but the faculty of Amherst College forbade the
organization, and the effort failed.
Click Once
Beta Chapter was chartered at Harvard University on June 15, 1850, yet
no records from the early years of the chapter exist. While it has been
proven from inter-fraternity and Alpha records that Beta was chartered; it
is unknown for how long the chapter existed.
Click Once
Amherst College was successfully chartered on June 10, 1854, and was
designated Gamma. It existed until 1860 or thereabouts, and initiated
200 Brothers.
Click Once
In 1856 a petition was received by Alpha Chapter from Kenyon College in
Marietta, Ohio, but was refused. The first charter granted outside of New
England was Delta Chapter at Marietta College, in Marietta Ohio. It was
chartered on June 30, 1860, and existed at Marietta until 1993, when it was
closed for disciplinary reasons. It was one of the most important and
influential chapters outside of Alpha Chapter.
Click Once
The last charter to be granted by Alpha Chapter was at Ohio Wesleyan
University (then Delaware College) on June 6, 1863, but it only lasted one
year. Low membership caused by the Civil War caused the chapter to
discuss merging with Sigma Chi. The original plan was for both the Alpha
Sigma Phi chapter and the Sigma Chi chapter to surrender their respective
charters, and petition Delta Kappa Epsilon as one group. The plan failed
when a strong Sigma Chi alumni group intervened and opposed the plan.
The Alpha Sigma Phi chapter was much weaker than the Sigma Chi group
and was left with no choice but to surrender its charter and join Sigma Chi.
Click Once
The Death of Kappa Sigma Theta
At Yale in the 1850s, Alpha Sigma Phi continued its dominance of the
sophomore class until 1858, when Kappa Sigma Theta finally succumbed
to internal dissension and was dissolved. Wayne Musgrave notes in his
history of Alpha Sigma Phi that Kappa Sigma Theta:
Click Once
…was a vigorous competitor and a worthy foe of Alpha
Sigma Phi and there was genuine sympathy among
members of [Alpha Sigma Phi] for the illustrious alumni
of the former who were thus left without a society…”
Click Once
The society was founded in 1838, and ruled supreme in the
sophomore class until Alpha Sigma Phi was founded.
Click Once
From Alpha Sigma Phi to Delta Beta Xi
With Kappa Sigma Theta gone, the balance of power among the junior
societies became delicate. During the 1863 – 1864 academic year, the
Alpha Sigs were fairly well split among two of the three junior societies.
Psi Upsilon had nineteen, Delta Kappa Epsilon had ten and Alpha Delta
Phi had two. When elections were announced in the Spring of 1864 , it
turned out that Delta Kappa Epsilon had secured thirty-four Alpha Sigs,
while Psi Upsilon and Alpha Delta Phi each had two.
Click Once
Chaos ensued, and Delta Kappa Epsilon seized the records of Alpha
Sigma Phi. Sometime before the schism, Alpha Chapter gave Delta
Chapter the authority to govern Epsilon Chapter.
Click Once
Meanwhile at Yale, the commotion, along with the faculties dislike of
the conduct of the latter society in general, caused them to disband the
society in March of 1864.
Click Once
This turn of events left a gap in the fraternity system at Yale, and caused
much disconcertion for all groups involved. After a series of discussions by
the junior societies, a plan was devised where both Delta Kappa Epsilon and
Psi Upsilon would have their own sophomore society upon which to draw
their respective memberships.
Click Once
Thus in 1864, Phi Theta Psi and Delta Beta Xi were established, and each
claimed to be the legitimate successor to Alpha Sigma Phi. It was Delta
Beta Xi who was the true successor. To non-members, it seemed to be a
different society. However, the Ritual was not changed, and every
member took an oath to Alpha Sigma Phi. Moreover, Delta Beta Xi
named Louis Manigault as its Founder, and communications between the
two reinforce this fact.
Click Once
The two groups existed at Yale until June 2, 1875, when both were
suppressed at faculty direction. During that period, Delta Beta Xi had no
contact with Delta Chapter, and thus acted strictly as a local group.
Click Once
Delta Chapter
The early years of Delta, until the reestablishment of Alpha Chapter, were filled
with uncertainty. Yet the Delta Chapter of this era is marked by a Brotherhood
that was loyal, and respected the Oath long after they had graduated.
Click Once
Of the nine men who were Founding Fathers of the Delta Chapter, eight
went and fought in the Civil War. Only Lyman Strong remained a civilian.
After graduating from Marietta College in 1861, he helped found the Epsilon
Chapter at Ohio Wesleyan University, in 1863. A number of years later, in
1882, as a lawyer in Cincinnati, he helped to keep the chapter from
accepting offers to join other national fraternities.
Click Once
All eight other Brothers went and served in the Union Army during the war.
Four of them did not survive their service. In total, twenty-one Brothers
from Delta Chapter served in the military during the Civil War. Five died
and eleven were awarded commissions. Furthermore, two veterans of the
war were initiated into Delta Chapter after returning to Marietta.
Click Once
One Delta Brother who died during the war deserves special recognition for
dedication to Alpha Sigma Phi. Brother William Beale Whittlesey grew up in
Marietta and was boyhood friends with George Butler Turner, another Delta
Brother who was killed in action. As a Second Lieutenant in the 92nd Ohio
Volunteer Infantry, Whittlesey was commended for bravery during the Battle of
Chickamauga, September 17th and 18th, 1863. As an Alpha Sig, he always wore his
membership badge on his uniform. After the battle, he was promoted to Captain.
Click Once
He died just two months later, on November 15, 1863, during the Battle of
Missionary Ridge. The bullet that killed him just missed his Alpha Sigma
Phi Badge. Brother Turner, his boyhood friend and Brother, was mortally
wounded later during the battle, after taking over command. In his last letter
home, Turner wrote, “If I never return, think not the sacrifice too great.”
Click Once
Upon news of the deaths, the Delta Chapter held a special meeting on November 16,
1863, and chose to wear the badge of mourning for thirty days. The bodies of the
two fallen students were brought to Marietta where a public funeral was held on
campus. It was the first and last funeral held on the campus of Marietta College.
Click Once
Before the Battle of Missionary Ridge, Whittlesey made out his will, as he knew
that death could be eminent. In his will, he bequeathed both his cavalry sword
and $100.00 to the Delta Chapter. In 1865, when the Delta Chapter had acquired
a new chapter hall, it was dedicated Whittlesey Hall, in remembrance of the
valiant Alpha Sigma Phi Brother.
Click Once
Delta Carries The Flame
With the disbanding of Alpha Chapater at Yale, and the end of operations at
Epsilon at Ohio Wesleyan, Delta Chapter of Alpha Sigma Phi found itself the
lone surviving chapter of the Fraternity.
Click Once
At the conclusion of the War, Delta had a roster of 58 members, 53 of whom
were living. Initially, the chapter made approaches seeking to combine with the
junior class fraternities at Yale which had received most Alpha Chapter
members a year following their entry into Alpha Sigma Phi. However, neither
Delta Kappa Epsilon nor Psi Upsilon found the war end circumstances and
prospects of Delta Chapter warranted granting it a charter. Delta Chapter then
settled into a role as the sole surviving chapter of Alpha Sigma Phi Fraternity.
Click Once
In fact, for several years Alpha Sigma Phi at Marietta College thrived. During
the first twenty years of her existence, a majority of the valedictorians of
Marietta’s graduating classes were Alpha Sigs. The Fraternity was able to
extend membership to a number of the most distinguished men of the
community. While there is no evidence of regular communication between
Delta Chapter and Delta Beta Xi at Yale, the organizations were aware of each
other and of Delta Beta Xi’s claim to be the successor of Alpha Sigma Phi.
Delta Beta Xi also initiated an Alpha Sigma Phi initiate from Marietta who
continued his studies at Yale.
Click Once
Meetings at Delta Chapter were likely to include recitations, parodies, and
other programs as well as the conduct of business of the chapter. Since
there were no photocopy machines, the constitution, bylaws, and Rituals
were apt to be in hand written single copies, while party programs and
documents for widespread distribution were generally printed. As the
handwritten documents became worn and pages mislaid, change was
inevitable.
Click Once
For many years at Delta, the Ritual was disorganized. In 1875, Mr.
Dennis Patterson Adams, an honorary member of the chapter, helped
revise the Rituals for presentation to a distinguished honorary initiate.
The occasion allowed the committee an opportunity to modernize the
Yale Ritual devised by Manigault. While retaining the core of the older
Ritual, the revised Ritual was nearly doubled in length and remained in
use with minor changes for 125 years.
Click Once
At Marietta in the post-Civil War era, the location of a fraternity’s meeting room
and the times and dates of meetings were closely guarded secrets. Alpha Sigma
Phi and her rivals were closely guarded secrets. Alpha Sigma Phi and her rivals
would seek opportunities to raid rival’s halls and carry off records, rituals, and
other trophies.
Click Once
The American economy in the post –Civil War era was one of general growth
punctuated by relatively brief but severe depressions. One such depression was
severe enough to cause the failure of colleges, such as the first University of
Chicago. While Alpha Sigma Phi at Marietta College twice-acquired building
lots for a chapter facility, it could not muster the strength to build a house or the
strength to retain the building lot through the depressions.
Click Once
After 1876, when Delta Beta Xi was suppressed at Yale, Alpha Sigma Phi, with
16 years existence and ties to the old national fraternity, had come to be regarded
as a potential valuable acquisition by a number of national fraternities seeking to
establish chapters at Marietta College. At first, Delta Chapter quickly and easily
rejected the proposals that it affiliate with another national fraternity. Around
1880 however, a number of persuasive offers were received in succession, and the
chapter did not quickly dismiss them. The Alpha Sigma Phi alumni became Click Once
alarmed that the chapter might decide to accept a charter from another fraternity
and end the existence of the Fraternity.
The First Sig Bust
In response to those concerns, a group of alumni from the Marietta, Yale, and
Amherst chapters in the Cincinnati area organized a “Sig Bust” for the twenty-one
members of the Delta Chapter. At that time, Cincinnati was the largest city in the
region served by Marietta College. The alumni were able to obtain from Marietta
College President Andrews a week’s leave of absence for the Delta undergraduates
to travel by riverboat from Marietta to Cincinnati to attend the event.
Click Once
At the Sig Bust, the group was met by a Brother clad in armor who escorted
them into the room where the Alumni welcomed them with a song. At the
Bust, the Delta Chapter presented the Alumni with an official charter for their
Alumni Association. The Bust was filled with speeches and singing and the
formality of the event left a strong impression on the chapter, and convinced
them that they should not accept any petitions from any other organizations.
Click Once
The Lost Charter Is Found
For some years the charter granted in 1860 to Delta Chapter by Alpha Chapter
at Yale was lost. The subject came up at commencement one year when
several alumni were back. “Well, let’s see about this,” said one member back
for his tenth reunion. He and a couple of undergraduate members went to the
chimney in a campus building, a wooden panel was pulled out, and behind the
panel, dry and in excellent shape, was the Delta Chapter charter!
Delta Nearly Fails
Click Once
As the nineteenth century drew to a close, the vitality and appeal of Alpha Sigma
Phi at Marietta waned. Fewer bids were extended, and those that were more
often than not were refused. Meetings became irregular and records of the
business and programs of the Frternity became sketchy. In the fall of 1899, only
three members returned to Marietta, no recruitment was conducted, and no
record of any meetings was kept. By the end of spring term 1900, only one
Alpha Sigma Phi undergraduate was enrolled at Marietta College. As had
happened in 1880, the alumni stepped into the fray. The alumni recruited a
pledge class in the fall of 1900, and these men were initiated in 1901. This
sparked a new life for Alpha Sigma Phi for several years, but the Fraternity’sClick Once
vitality was ebbing again in 1907 when word arrived that a group of students at
Yale University sought Dleta’s approval to revive the Alpha Chapter.
The alumni were consulted and a two-pronged plan to evaluate the request was put into
operation. First contact was made with an alumnus in Cincinnati with means to
investigate the character and reputation of the petitioners in New Haven. Secondly, a
shroud of secrecy was placed around Delta Chapter to assure, if possible, that her
present frail state of seven undergraduate members not be made known to the students
at Yale. Several younger Alumni living in and around Marietta became involved in the
operations of the chapter and its preparations to initiate the New Haven group.
Click Once
The Second Founding
In 1906, the Masonic Club was established at Yale for students who were
Masons. It had no ritual, and its meetings were not secret. The club was,
for all intents and purposes, purely social in nature. While the club played
no part in the reactivation of Alpha Chapter, a group of men who made
their acquaintances with each other though the club were instrumental in
bringing Alpha Sigma Phi back to Yale.
Click Once
One Saturday afternoon in December 1906, four friends who were all members of
the club were playing cards in a student rooming house on Whalley Avenue. The
room was shared by Robert L. Ervin and Benjamin F. Crenshaw. Visiting them
were Arthur E. Ely and Edwin M. Waterbury. During their card playing,
conversations turned to the Yale fraternity system. Junior and senior societies
were the only ones left in existence. Members did not live in houses, but met in
“tombs”, which were large windowless lodges that had an air of mystery and
secrecy surrounding them.
Click Once
As they discussed the system, they came to the conclusion that the system put
too much emphasis on class and college (department) loyalty at the expense of
the development of a strong university spirit.
Click Once
Edwin Waterbury was the first to suggest that maybe the group should
form a new fraternity at Yale, or start a chapter of an existing national
fraternity. This one would be different in that it would draw from all
classes. He explained that he had chanced upon records of a society that
used to exist at Yale. Alpha Sigma Phi, he told the men, had been one of
the most interesting and successful societies, and still had a chapter at
Marietta College. He posed the idea of having the group contact Delta
Chapter about restarting the Alpha Chapter.
Click Once
Committing to the idea, the group went about securing more men
before writing the letter. Two more men from the Masonic Club joined
the movement: Frederick H. Waldron, Jr., and Wayne Montgomery
Musgrave. Musgrave would later serve as President of the Masonic
Club.
Click Once
Ervin, who knew some of the Alumni members of the chapter, wrote the first
letter to Delta. As they awaited a reply, they sought to bolster their
membership, recruiting men who were not members of the Masonic Club,
and sent a list of the men onto Delta.
Click Once
While this was occurring, the Reverend Mr. Spencer E. Evans, an alumnus
member of Delta who was then filling a pastorate in Connecticut, came to
Yale and made inquiries about the group. He subsequently would give his
recommendation to Delta that the group be initiated into the Mystic Circle.
Click Once
Upon receiving the news that their petition had been accepted, the Yale men
made arrangements to send a delegation to Marietta to be initiated and
receive their Charter. The men sent were Ely, Crenshaw, Musgrave,
Waldron, and Waterbury. Ervin had planned to go, but a last minute
situation prevented him from accompanying the others. On March 27, 1907,
the group boarded a train to Marietta.
Click Once
The Delegation arrived midday on March 28th in Marietta, where
members of the Delta Chapter met them. The Delta Brothers showed
them around the city, and then gave them instructions regarding their
impending initiation.
Click Once
As the last rays of that day’s sun shone on Marietta, the Yale men began their
journey into the Mystical Circle. As the final rites were performed within the
chapter hall on Font Street, the Alpha Chapter was formally resurrected, with
its re-chartering date officially being March 28, 1907.
Click Once
The next two days were spent learning the Ritual and other information
needed to have an organized chapter. Returning to New Haven, the group’s
first order of business was to initiate Ervin. Though they were lacking much
of the proper equipment, the Ritual took place on April 9, in Musgrave’s
room at 152 Temple Street, where elections followed. Ervin was elected
H.S.P., Musgrave J.J.P., Crenshaw H.S., Waldron H.E., Ely H.C.S., and
Waterbury H.M.
Click Once
The first chapter hall was located at 6 York Square, and was known as
Little York Hall. The men acquired all the necessary Ritual equipment and
commenced with a series of initiations, beginning April 11, and lasting
until June 3. As the academic year came to a close, the Alpha Chapter
numbered twenty-two, the same number it had at the end of its first year of
Click Once
existence.
On March 27, 1908, the Alpha Chapter revived the Black Lantern Processional.
Each Brother was fully gowned and cowled, and carried a small colonial
lantern as they processed around the Yale campus in silence. It was Waterbury
who is credited with resurrecting this old Alpha Sigma Phi tradition.
Click Once
Alpha Acquires the Tomb
As news of the reactivation of Alpha Reached alumni, many wrote to
congratulate their new Brothers. Scores of Alumni came back to visit the
chapter and participate in chapter events. In 1910, Alpha bought its first chapter
hall, the former Berzelius Tomb.
Click Once
The Tomb was a windowless, two-story building that was used for chapter
meetings and functions. No non-member was allowed to enter, and no member
could speak of the interior to others. Brothers were even expected to maintain
silence when passing by the building. Members, wearing dark suits, would line
up in a column of twos elsewhere on campus. In silence the group would march
to the Tomb. The leaders would unlock a small aperture in the bronze
Click Once
ornaments on the right side of the great door through which a lath was released,
opening the main door just enough to admit the members who filed in silently
and in darkness.
The Second Founders
Edwin M. Waterbury
Edwin Morey Waterbury did much more than rediscover and help to rekindle
the spark of Alpha Sigma Phi. He played a major role in creating the
fraternity organization that was to become a major force in the American
Greek-system.
Click Once
In 1907, the first Convention was held at Marietta. Waterbury became
Grand Secretary and the Grand Corresponding Secretary from 1907 to
1913. In the spring of 1909, he revived The Tomahawk, which he
continued to edit until 1913. his newspaper firm printed and produced each
issue of the magazine for the next 30 years.
Click Once
Waterbury was secretary-treasurer of The Palladium Times, Oswego,
NY. He served as president of the New York State Associated Dailies
and also of the New York State Publishers Association. He was active in
the civic life of his city in addition to his continued work with the
Fraternity. He died in December of 1952, soon after writing:
Click Once
I am afraid that I will have to be disappointed once more
in my cherished desire to attend at least one more
National Convention before I shuffle off this mortal coil.
Click Once
Wayne Montgomery Musgrave
As an honors graduate of New York University, Yale, and Harvard,
Musgrave provided the organizational spark that fanned Alpha Sigma Phi
into national prominence. He was twice HSP of Alpha and went on to reestablish Beta at Harvard.
Click Once
When Waterbury revived The Tomahawk, it was Musgrave who served until
1919 as business manager, finding the funds to publish the magazine. He served
as Grand Junior President of the Fraternity from 1907 until 19023. in those
years the GJP was the real operating head of the Fraternity. Musgrave felt that
the Grand Senior President should be a man of national prominence-to bolster
the image of the growing Fraternity-so he declined the office.
Click Once
Known as “Muzzy” and also as “The Czar of Chamber Street” where his
New York City law offices were located, Musgrave borrowed the money to
pay for the Fraternity’s first stationery. He paid postage and other bills out of
his own pocket. From 1907 until 1909 the “National Headquarters” of the
Fraternity were his room at the New Haven YMCA. It would later move to
this offices in New York City. He also authored the Fraternity’s principles of
conduct.
Click Once
Becoming GJP put him in charge of Delta with 16 members, and Alpha with
22. the need was great for new chapter to be established. So Musgrave put
together the Fraternity’s expansion policy, which said in part that the
petitioners should have scholarship above the average at their institutions. He
put together forms for petitions and headed the efforts to expand the
Fraternity. Twenty chapters were added to the Fraternity while he was Grand
Junior President. He guided the Fraternity during World War I, and under his
leadership, the Fraternity employed its first full-time Executive Secretary,
Charles Hall, of the Columbia University chapter. Musgrave served the
National Interfraternity Conference as treasurer from 1918 to 1922.
Click Once
In 1923, Musgrave was elected Grand Junior President, Emeritus. He
continued his interest in Alpha Sigma Phi, even writing a major history of
the Fraternity. This lawyer whose great passion was Alpha Sigma Phi died
on July 22, 1941. among the floral tributes was a shield of red roses with
the Coat of Arms of the Fraternity traced in white. His headstone is marked
with letters ASP.
Click Once
Renaissance of the Old Gal
The reactivation of Alpha began the growth of the Old Gal into a true
national fraternity. The first National Convention took place at Marietta in
1907. at the Convention, attended by Alpha and Delta, a confederation was
established, whereby each chapter gave up complete autonomy. Under the
new system a national organization was created wherein each chapter had an
equal voice.
Click Once
The Grand Prudential Committee (GPC) was established to deal with the
national administrative affairs of the Fraternity. It was composed of one
representative from each chapter. Along with the GPC were the national
officers. The Grand Junior President and Grand Secretary were the two
officers responsible for overseeing the administrative affairs of the
Fraternity, while the offices of Grand Senior President, Grand
Corresponding Secretary, Grand Treasurer, and Grand Marshal were
primarily of an honorary nature.
Click Once
By structuring the organization of the National Fraternity in a way that left the
actual power of government in the hands of the Grand Prudential Committee and
Grand Junior President, Musgrave was able to obtain the services of prominent
alumni to serve as Grand Senior President. The first Grand Senior President was
U.S. Congressman, Alfred D. Follett, Marietta 1872. Follett left an immortal
legacy in his speech setting forth his vision for Alpha Sigma Phi. Another Delta
alumnus, Albert B. White, Marietta 1874, Governor of West Virginia, succeeded
him. The news of Alpha Sigma Phi’s resurrection drew the interest and support
of members of the old Alpha Chapter. The next four Grand Senior Presidents of
Alpha Sigma Phi were alumni of Alpha Chapter. These were: Homer B. Sprauge,
1849, President of Mills College of California, and later, President of the
University of North Dakota; Cyrus W. Northup, 1854, President of the University
of Minnesota; and, Simeon E. Baldwin, 1858, Dean of the Yale University Law
School, Governor of Connecticut, and Chief Justice of the Connecticut Supreme
Court.
Click Once
The Old Gal Grows
Wayne Musgrave recognized that the lasting character of the Fraternity
would depend upon its growth. Initially, groups of recent formation but with
great promise were chartered in major mid-western universities. Zeta at Ohio
State, Eta at University of Illinois, and Theta at University of Michigan were
chartered in 1908. from this foundation, extension branched eastward to Iota
at Cornell University in 1909, and to both Kappa at University of Wisconsin
and Lambda at Columbia University, the fourth Ivy League chapter, in 1910.
in 1911, Alpha Sigma Phi revived its Beta Chapter at Harvard University.
Click Once
The Old Gal reached Coast to Coast in 1912 when it granted a charter to Mu
Chapter at the University of Washington. With this exceptional track record,
Alpha Sigma Phi drew the interest of several well-established local
fraternities. Nu Chapter at University of California at Berkly was chartered
from a local fraternity organized in 1904, and in the same month, Gamma at
the University of Massachusetts was chartered from a local fraternity founded
in 1979. Musgrave notes in his history of Alpha Sigma Phi that this chapter
designation was an error. The original Gamma Chapter was at Amherst
Click Once
College. The chapter at University of Massachusetts should have been
designated Xi, or at least Gamma Deuteron, to recognize the discrepancy.
In 1913, Xi Chapter at the University of Nebraska was established, and Epsilon
Chapter at Ohio Wesleyan was revived. At the 1915 Convention in San
Francisco, the Grand Prudential Committee structure was changed. Instead of
having a representative of each chapter, it was reduced to three members, elected
at-large.
Click Once
Chapters at Universities of Pennsylvania, Colorado, and Minnesota, and
Stanford University were added in the next four years from local fraternities of
relatively brief longevity. The lattermost, Tau Chapter at Stanford, was
chartered during the height of World War I. Upsilon at Penn State was
chartered near the end of the war. A local fraternity from the University of
Chicago, which had been seeking affiliation with Alpha Sigma Phi for eight
years, became Chi Chapter in 1920.
Click Once
Phi and Psi Chapters were chartered at Iowa State and Oregon State
Universities in 1920. And, in 1920, all members of Delta Beta Xi Fraternity
that had existed at Yale from 1864 to 1876 were officially recognized as
members of Alpha Sigma Phi Fraternity.
Click Once
Early Problems
The early 1920s were marked by a lull in new chapter charters, but a number
of chapters built improved chapter houses as their permanent homes. This
period was also marked by struggles between Wayne Musgrave and
Executive Secretary Charles Hall, and by another conflict between the
chapters, alumni and fraternity officers in the Northeast and the chapters and
alumni of the mid-West and West. The former dispute hampered the smooth
administration of the Fraternity, while the latter threatened for a time to tear
the organization apart. Finally, both problems were resolved by admitting
Westerners into the governance of the Fraternity. Charles Mitchell of Xi
Chapter at Nebraska became the second Executive Secretary in 1923, and
Benjamin Clarke, of Theta Chapter, succeeded Musgrave as Grand Junior
President. The 1919 Convention had made the Chairman of the Grand
Prudential Committee the Executive President of Alpha Sigma Phi.
Click Once
The Grand Senior Presidents of the Fraternity continued to be leaders of
prominence. Examples of this included John Snodgrass, Marietta 1886,
Minster to Germany and Russia; Charles B. Elliot, Marietta 1904, Secretary
of Commerce of the Philippines and Justice of the Minnesota Supreme Court;Click Once
and John J. Roemer, Marietta 1883, President of the West Virginia State
Normal School.
Having settled its internal dissentions, Alpha Sigma Phi resumed expansion in
1923. seven chapters were added over the next four years at Oklahoma
University, University of Iowa, Carnegie Institute of Technology, Middlebury
College, Syracuse University, Dartmouth College and the University of
California at Los Angeles. In the mid-1920s Alpha Sigma Phi had active
chapters at a majority of the Ivy League schools, and was the only fraternity
with active chapters at both Yale and Harvard. It had active chapters at seven
Big Ten schools.
Click Once
During this period most of the Fraternity’s alumni were under forty years
old, and the leaders were busy balancing family life and career advancement
with Fraternity involvement. Alpha Sigma Phi also claimed a number of
leading football stars of the era, as well as at least three Olympic medalists.
Alpha Sigma Phi also claimed many of the leading scholars of the day, with
Epsilon boasting at least one member in each Phi Beta Kappa class for over
a dozen years.
Click Once
The Great Depression
Alumni rode the crest of unprecedented growth and prosperity in the 1920s.
Most of the chapters built or had built permanent chapter houses, and
undergraduate membership was strong. For the Fraternity, as for society at
large, the tide turned in October 1929. the stock market crash of 1929 was
followed by a severe and prolonged economic depression. Jobs and capital
disappeared, banks failed, farm produce and manufactured products went
unsold for lack of buyers. The misery of the Great Depression was
compounded in the southern plains states by a drought that, combined with
poor soil conservation practices, produced widespread dust storms.
Click Once
During the depression, many formerly affluent parents no longer ha the means
to support their children during college, but the college student could also not
have continued on to graduate school, but who qualified for stipends, stayed in
school. In the midst of the widespread hardship, some colleges received
bequests or used endowment funds to build residential facilities for
undergraduates. Harvard, Yale, and the University of Chicago adopted college
plans patterned after English universities, and required lower division students
to reside and take meals in college residence facilities. Fraternity fees and
dues fell beyond the reach of many students during the depression and the
house rent to cover the debt on the construction of the 1920s placed the cost ofClick Once
living in a chapter house well beyond the means of students who could more
easily work for bed and board in a local home.
In 1932, Alpha Sigma Phi suffered her first chapter loss in over half a century
when Beta Chapter at Harvard University surrendered her charter. Local clubs
had long overshadowed national college fraternities at Harvard. In 1924, an
effort had been mounted by part of the Beta Chapter membership to convert the
Alpha Sigma Phi chapter to such a club. Through the efforts of the chapter
HSP that movement was defeated. In 1932, financial losses limited rush
prospects, and the appearance of improving campus image by becoming local
caused the undergraduate members of Beta to cease operations, return their
charter and ritual equipment and reorganize as a local club. The same year,
Alpha Sigma Phi took its first steps to limit the then growing practice of
hazing. The practice of paddling pledges was outlawed by the Convention.
Click Once
In 1935, the chapters at Minnesota, Chicago, and West Virginia ceased
operations. At Minnesota this was attributed to limited means of incoming
student sand the completion of new campus buildings at a great distance from
the older campus and fraternity house. At Chicago, the growth of the graduate
school and diminishing number of undergraduates rushing were noted. The
West Virginia chapter, which had been chartered in 1931, never attained a
sound footing and the university had completed new dormitory facilities. It
was also noted that, at West Virginia, college enrollment had fallen and over Click Once
half the fraternities had suspended operations.
Alpha Gamma Chapter at Carnegie Tech ceased operations due to low
membership in 1936. the Alpha Eta Chapter at Dartmouth College suffered a
serious blow the same year when the chapter house burned down. While plans
were being made to secure another house, the Interfraternity Committee on Social
Life at Dartmouth recommended that fraternities drop their national affiliations.
Alpha Eta’s undergraduates agreed, and in fall rush, with neither a house nor a
national organization, they drew no pledges and ceased to operate.
Click Once
Due to limited income the Fraternity suspended the Convention that was to
have taken place in the mid-1930s. Undergraduate dues in Alpha Sigma Phi
were reduced by over two-thirds, from $7.00 per year to $2.00 per year. The
Fraternity was able, however, to curtail expenses and remain on sound
financial ground. Eta Chapter at the University of Illinois pledged and
initiated members of a fraternity that had become defunct. Since their prior
organization had ceased to operate, but had not released them from
membership in the National Interfraternity Conference.
Click Once
Alpha Sigma Phi Begins Another Rebirth
Into this bleak picture of failed and failing chapters, suspended convention,
and suspension from membership in the NIC stepped a man who would
shape Alpha Sigma Phi’s destiny and lead her for the next forty years. Ralph
F. Burns joined Epsilon Chapter in 1932, he had served as HSP of his
chapter, and applied for the position of Executive Secretary which had been
vacant for about a year.
Click Once
The Fraternity called a National Conference in New York City December
29-31, 1936. no expenses were reimbursed, but 22 of 27 active chapters,
and seven alumni councils were represented. The Conference recommended
a complete overhaul of the Constitution and Bylaws. It called for annual
visitation of each chapter by the Executive Secretary, the preparation of a
recruitment manual and a of a pledge manual, and recommended a more
liberal plan for expansion. The Constitution drafted following the National
Conference abolished the Grand Prudential Committee and transferred interconvention executive power to the Grand Council.
Click Once
The Fraternity recognized that continued involvement and support of alumni was
essential to its strength and continuity. Alumni councils had been afforded a vote
in conventions in 1932. in 1938, Grand Secretary Frank F. Hargear proposed and
the Fraternity adopted the Delta Beta Xi Award as an honor for alumni who had
provided extraordinary service to the Fraternity. Hargear was one of a number of
alumni for whom Alpha Sigma Phi was a lifelong avocation.
Click Once
Frank Hargear served on the Grand Council from 1937 to 1940, and from 1950
through 1958. during his time on Grand Council, he served as Grand Marshal four
times. In the 1920s and up until 1936 Brother Hargear was responsible for
collecting reports from the West coast chapters. During this period he created an
award that was given to chapters that met pledging and initiation goals.
Click Once
His dedication and love for the Fraternity was such that an award was named in
his honor. The Frank F. Hargear award was made an official award during the
1977 convention. It was given to the undergraduate Brother who had made the
most contribution to the Fraternity during his college years. Grand Historian
Robert W. Kutz, California, ’67, was instrumental in the creation of this award.
Click Once
Ralph Burns set about expansion in a unique fashion, bringing the Old Gal two
mergers that would change the character of the Fraternity markedly from the
vision of Wayne Musgrave.
Click Once
Merger with Phi Pi Phi
Phi Pi Phi was founded in 1915 at Northwestern as a graduate fraternity. In
1923 it became an undergraduate organization and grew to 21 chapter by
1930. the market crash of October 1929 and the Great Depression hit the
fraternity hard. By 1930, there were only about seven active chapters and no
proper national staff to maintain the fraternity.
Click Once
As problems for the fraternity increased, other national fraternities proposed
mergers. In 1937, one national fraternity published an article in its national
magazine claiming it was merging with Phi Pi Phi; a statement that was
denied by Phi Pi Phi and ended any discussions the two fraternities might have
had on the idea.
Click Once
Discussions took place between Phi Pi Phi and Alpha Sigma Phi during 1937
and into 1938. one area that impressed Phi Pi Phi was the fact that Alpha
Sigma Phi was willing to take in all initiates, not just the undergraduate
members of active chapters.
Click Once
The announcement of the merger was made in 1938, and special initiations
took place up until 1944 for Phi Pi Phi alumni. Even after 1944, alumni
from the merging fraternity would come forward and ask to be initiated,
even though they were already recognized alumni of the Old Gal.
Click Once
World War II & Consolidation with Alpha Kappa Pi
After the Spring of 1942, college student populations were depleted by the
draft. Many chapter had to close for lack or members. Even Alpha Chapter,
which had sparked the rebirth of Alpha Sigma Phi only thirty-six years prior,
closed in 1943. older alumni became guardians of chapter archives and
assets, while houses were rented to universities as dorms, or used as civilian
and military housing. Executive Secretary Ralph Burns even had to take a
day-job and run the Fraternity on nights and weekends.
Click Once
By the end of the war there were only 17 chapters had the ability to resume
standard operations. The Fraternity was faced with the problem of
rebuilding, a task that would require extra staff members and alumni support.
Costs had risen since the war had begun, and there was little income into the
national organization. There was definitely not enough income to support an
office in New York City.
Click Once
Alpha Kappa Pi was facing an even worse predicament. It was founded
when two local fraternities joined to become a national fraternity. Phi Delta
Zeta, the local at Newark College of Engineering (now NJIT) was founded
on January 1, 1921. by the mid-1920s it began looking for national
affiliation. With the help of Rev. Albert H. Wilson, a former Sigma Nu
Regent, it joined with Alpha Kappa Pi (local) at Wagner College on May
22, 1926, to form Alpha Kappa Pi national fraternity. The Newark chapter
became the Alpha Chapter of the new national fraternity.
Click Once
Between 1926 and 1941, Rev. Wilson served as the administrative
officer of the fraternity, operating out of his church offices. At the end
of the war, Rev. Wilson retired from the ministry, and advised the
fraternity that a proper national staff and headquarters would be needed
for the organization to continue.
Click Once
The merger was announced at the Alpha Sigma Phi Centennial Convention
in Marietta, Ohio and the Silver Anniversary Convention of Alpha Kappa Pi
in Ocean City, New Jersey on September 6, 1946. At this time Alpha Kappa
Pi only had 17 chapters that could resume operations. The terms of the
merger were unprecedented. All Alpha Kappa Pi chapters would be added to
the roll of Alpha Sigma Phi, except where there were duplications. The only
two schools with duplication were the University of Illinois and Penn State
University. After the merger at Penn State, there existed two Alpha Sigma
Phi chapters for the 1946-47 academic year, each with its own house and set
of officers. The following year the Alpha Sigs moved into the Alpha Kappa
Pi house, where the chapter still resides.
Click Once
The merger brought changes to the Ritual and insignia of Alpha Sigma Phi.
Aspects of the Alpha Kappa Pi initiation ceremony were incorporated into the
Alpha Sigma Phi Pledge ceremony, and the active badge of Alpha Kappa Pi
became the Pledge Pin of Alpha Sigma Phi.
Click Once
The other major change to the Ritual was the insertion of formal racial and
religious restriction for eligibility of membership. This was during the Jim
Crow Laws in the South, and was done to accommodate Alpha Kappa Pi
chapters in the South. The restrictions, bad as they were, only lasted for six
years, and were removed at the convention in 1952.
Click Once
The merger gave the Old Gal 34 active chapters in the fall of 1946. with
those numbers Alpha Sigma Phi had the ability to maintain a national
headquarters and staff. In that year the headquarters moved to Delaware,
Ohio, and rented an office until the Grand Council purchased a one-story
building on West Williams Street.
Click Once
Merger with Alpha Gamma Upsilon
Four students founded Alpha Gamma Upsilon at Anthony Wayne Institute,
Fort Wayne, Indiana, in the Spring of 1922. At the time of the merger with
Alpha Sigma Phi in 1965, it was a junior member of the Fraternity Executives
Association.
Click Once
The merger was a quiet affair. Dr Otto Sonder, an alumnus of the Beta Chi
Chapter at American University, was the faculty advisor for the Alpha Gamma
Upsilon chapter at Lycoming College, and was involved in the discussion of
the merger. In 1965, the chapter was installed as Gamma Rho Chapter of
Alpha Sigma Phi.
Click Once
Other Alpha Gamma Upsilon chapters followed suit, but the merger was not
completed until Lawrence Institute of Technology was reaccredited and its
Alpha Gamma Upsilon chartered in 1968. The Old Gal gained five chapters
from the merger. Unlike the merger with Phi Pi Phi, or the consolidation with
Alpha Kappa Pi, there was no blanket invitation to Alpha Gamma Upsilon
alumni to initiate, though some of the more prominent leaders of the fraternity
Click Once
did so.
The Second Century
The post World War II era was one of increased undergraduate enrollment in
American colleges and universities, and conditions were usually favorable for
establishing and improving fraternity chapters. Alpha Sigma Phi had granted a
charter to a long established local fraternity at Missouri Valley College in 1945,
and added an average of one new chapter per year from 1949 through 1956. in
addition, revival of chapters that had become inactive during the depression and
world war continued at a rate of at least one chapter per year through 1955.
between 1956 and 1966, seven new chapters were chartered, while Korean War
mobilization and changing conditions resulted in a few chapter losses.
Click Once
During the 1960s, a number o fchapters from Beta Epsilon at Lehigh to Psi at
Oregon State built and occupied new chapter houses. The first National
Educational Conference was held in 1963, and became a biennial event in nonconvention years, growing eventually into the National Leadership Conference.
During this time period, the Fraternity pledged over 1,000 men a year, and in two
years, 1966 and 1967, had initiated over 1,000 men per year. In 1968, Alpha
Sigma Phi had 68 active chapters and colonies. Aside from the former chapters of
Alpha Gamma Upsilon, Alpha Sigma Phi made eight charter grants between 1967
Click Once
and 1972. But the late 1960s brought unique challenges to college fraternities.
A New Challenge
The military draft, which had all but disappeared in the early 1960s, grew to
consume non-college men, and those who allowed their “2-s” status to lapse. The
combination of enlistments and the draft required men to staff the armed forces for
the Vietnam War. As the fighting consumed more men and resources, wellorchestrated opposition grew at home, particularly around college campuses. In
addition, drug use including marijuana, LSD, opiates and cocaine spread through
campus communities in unprecedented volume. All “establishment” institutions
including fraternities were vilified by the “tune in, turn on, drop out” generation.
Fraternities no longer seemed relevant or capable of responding to contemporary
issues.
Click Once
The individual and collective responsibility of fraternity membership was
incompatible with drug use, draft avoidance, and other popular movements of
the time. By 1970, recruitment on college campuses dropped to less than 25%
of 1965 levels. Fraternity membership took a 40% nosedive, and Alpha Sigma
Phi suffered a net loss of twelve chapters from 1968 to 1975.
Click Once
In 1970, in an attempt to appease undergraduate members, undergraduate
representatives were appointed to serve on the Grand Council. The convention
also marked the 125th anniversary of Alpha Sigma Phi. In attendance at the
convention was the Rev. Emmet Gribben, Jr., the great grandson of Louis
Manigault. He presented the Fraternity with Manigault’s Badge, travel diary, a
collection of letters to Ormsby Rhea, and a painting of the Fraternity’s principal
founder, done by a Chinese artist.
Click Once
With the loss of chapters, hard economic times engulfed the Fraternity once again.
The initial reaction of the Fraternity was to limit expenses to available income.
The Tomahawk cut issues; chapter consultant positions were cut, and from 1972 to
1976 no new chapters were chartered. In 1976 the Grand Council and Convention
determined to end the downward spiral of membership recruitment, active chapter
role, and chapter services. The acute pressures of the military draft had ended and
use of illicit drugs had plateaued, through at a level far higher than any prior to
1965. there were regions of the country with potential for growth of fraternity
systems. Alpha Sigma Phi launched an expansion effort in the Mid-Atlantic States,
adding two new chapters and a revival in North Carolina, and two new chapters in
Virginia by 1982. (Other chapters were added or re-chartered during this time.Click Once
University of Missouri, Tulane University, University of Miami, and Marshall
University, among others.
The Fraternity Celebrates 150 years
In 1995 Alpha Sigma Phi celebrated its 150th anniversary in Charleston, South
Carolina, the hometown of Louis Manigault. In August, generations of Alpha
Sigma Phi Brothers and guests came together in Charleston to share Ritual,
renew old friendships, and to create the collective memories upon which the
future of our Brotherhood would be built.
Click Once
Brothers Leonard Hultquist, Alabama ’60 and Ed Lenane, SUNY-Plattsburg ’88,
played invaluable roles as co-chairmen at the Sesquicentennial celebration. Brother
Hultquist, had served as the Keynote Speaker at the 1992 National Leadership
Conference. He added to the historic significance of the Sesquicentennial
Celebration by single-handedly researching, funding, and publishing a book on the
life and times of Alpha Sigma Phi Founder, Louis Manigault, A Gentleman From
South Carolina.
Click Once
Brother Lenane served as Senior Chapter Leadership Consultant until 1994
when he returned to graduate school at the University of South Carolina.
Juggling other commitments such as a full time job as a Resident Director at
the College of Charleston and being a full time graduate student, Brother
Lenane invested countless hours of time finalizing the Sesquicentennial
Celebration.
Click Once
Alpha Sigma Phi Enters Its Third Century
In 1997 the Ralph F. Burns New Member program was started. Named in
honor of Ralph Burns, who had passed on to the Omega Chapter in 1993, the
program was created to give every undergraduate an opportunity to have a
national experience, and gain the most from their membership in Alpha
Sigma Phi. Once fully implemented, every new Brother in Alpha Sigma Phi
will participate in the program at some level.
Click Once
In 1998, at the Convention in Norfolk, VA, undergraduate delegates realized
the importance of revitalizing the expansion policy of the Fraternity. By the
end of 1999, the Fraternity was at the largest it had been in twenty years,
with 56 active chapters and six colonies, with many more groups waiting in
the wings.
Click Once
It also saw the return of Alpha Sigma Phi to Yale. An expansion effort took
place in the Fall of 1999, and on December 6, a colonization ceremony took
place in which twenty-six young men pledged themselves to the “Old Gal.”
Click Once
The Triumph of Brotherhood
Louis Manigault once wrote the following about our great Society:
To think that all our college labor in the arduous task of founding a
Society has not proved vain but on the contrary, that Alpha Sigma Phi
still stands with her glorious and mystical insignia untarnished. I pray
that she may yet survive to transmit to future generations her renown.
Click Once
It was a simple dream that Louis Manigault had in 1845 when he posed the
idea of founding a fraternity. It was a joyful surprise to him when he learned
in 1866 that the society was still in existence under the guise of Delta Beta Xi.
Delta Chapter kept that dream alive through the late 1800s, refusing to give up
even when it looked as if the chapter could no longer survive alone. Countless
Brothers through the years have seen the inherent potential of the Society and
dedicated their lives to serving Alpha Sigma Phi. Neither wars nor changes in
our national fabric have stopped the Fraternity from succeeding. The new
century brings with it many challenges for the Fraternity, yet our history
teaches us that they, too, can be overcome. The flames surrounding the
funeral pyre have settled, and the Phoenix is spreading its wings, preparing to
once again take flight. The spirit of Alpha Sigma Phi still reigns, the dream is
alive, and the history of our storied Society continues.
Click Once
Alpha Sigma Phi Philippines
Alpha Sigma Phi Philippines was first started at Graneta University Foundation
at Calooncan City (Manila) by a group of students who called themselves,
Agricultural Students of the Philippines and used the Greek letters ASP to
designate their organization. In 1959, a group that had no connection with the
original group at Graneta formed another organization at Central Mindanao Click Once
University and they also called themselves Agricultural Students of the
Philippines and also used the Greek letters ASP.
In 1965, at Silliman University at Dumaguete City, a technical school, a
group of engineering students organized and founded a fraternity. They
picked the name Alpha Sigma Phi out of an encyclopedia of fraternities in
the United States that happened to be in their school library. They did not
know of the existence of the group at Central Mindanao University.
Click Once
During a school break, students form the two schools ran into each other
at home, found out that they belonged to groups with the same name, and
decided to form a national fraternity in the Philippines. In the seven-year
period from 1965-72, they founded an additional 68 chapters, which
brought the total number of chapters in the ASP Philippines to 70.
Click Once
In September 1972, marshal law was declared in the Philippines and the
government banned all student organizations. Many of the newly founded
chapters disappeared, but most chapters did keep in touch with each other as
underground organizations.
Click Once
By 1977, the government had relaxed its rules on student organizations. ASP
Philippines held its second national convention in that year while some of its
members started corresponding with the Headquarters of Alpha Sigma Phi in the
United States.
Click Once
ASP Philippines is a co-ed organization with most chapters being approximately 50
percent men and 50 percent women. It also has non-discriminatory rules towards
religion. ASP Philippines was founded on beliefs very similar to our Fraternity
with brotherhood, scholarship and loyalty to school and country being particularly
important. They now use a ritual very similar to ours. Brother Rob Sheehan
developed the ritual for them while he was Executive Director of our Fraternity.
Click Once
In April 1982, as part of a vacation trip, our Grand Senior President, Richard
Gibbs, Oklahoma ’51, attended the fourth national convention of ASP
Philippines at which the members voted to do away with all forms of hazing.
Subsequent to Brother Gibbs’ trip, the Grand Council and ASP Philippines
signed an agreement pledging to share information and resources with each
other and to recognize the members of each fraternity should they be visiting in
each other’s country.
Click Once