| Home Page | Brothers | Alumni | Rush | Derby Days | Social Events | Pictures | Contacts |
The
Founding of Sigma Chi
In
the fall of 1854 a disagreement arose in Kappa chapter of Delta Kappa Epsilon at
Miami University, Oxford, Ohio. This chapter consisted of 12 men. Six of them,
led by Whitelaw Reid, supported one of the members for Poet in the Erodelphi an
Literary Society. Four of the other six members, James Parks Caldwell,
Isaac M. Jordan, Benjamin Piatt Runkle and Franklin Howard Scobey, refused to
vote for the brother because they knew him to lack poetic abilities. They
favored a man for that office who was not a Deke. Thomas Cowan Bell
and Daniel Willaim Cooper
were not members of Erodelphian, but their relation to the disagreement was
unqualified endorsement of the four. Thus, they became six . The chapter of 12
was evenly divided in a difference of opinion that ordinarily would have been
decided one way or the other and immediately forgotten. But both sides
considered it a matter of principle, and could not reach a compromise. During
the ensuing months the groups disagreed so much that their friendship grew
distant. Chapter meetings, or attempted chapter meetings, occurred for months
with the breach constantly widening. A dramatic dinner meeting at a restaurant
in Oxford in February 1855 involving the dissenting groups set the stage for
Sigma Chi’s founding. Bell, Caldwell, Cooper, Jordan, Runkle and Scobey hosted
the event, hoping to mend ways with the other six. They were on hand early,
awaiting developments with anticipation. Of the meeting, Founder Benjamin Piatt
Runkle recalled: With the kindest of intentions, we determined to give a dinner
in their honor. I remember that the feast was prepared at the village
restaurant, the guests invited, and on the appointed night we gathered and
waited for the guests. They did not come for a long time, and then only Mr. Reid
and with a stranger. He took into his confidence Minor Millikin (an alumnus of
the fraternity from nearby Hamilton, Ohio) and the two decided on strenuous
proceedings.”
Millikin lost no time:
"My name is Minor Millikin; I live in Hamilton. I am a man of few words."
He then passed judgment on all of the matters in dispute. Since he had heard
only one side of the story, his verdict was against Runkle, Scobey, and the
others who had originally opposed election of the Deke as the Poet in the
literary society. Millikin found them guilty.
Next, Millikin unfolded a plan he and Reid had concocted by which 'justice'
could be satisfied with the formal expulsion of the leaders in the rebellion (Runkle and Scobey), after which the others, having been properly
chastised, could remain in the chapter.
At this dramatic moment Runkle stepped forward, pulled off his Deke pin, tossed
it upon the table and said, "I didn’t join this fraternity to be
anyone’s tool . And that, sir," addressing Millikin, "is my answer!"
Runkle stalked out of the room, and his five colleagues followed. The final
meeting of the 12 active members of Delta Kappa Epsilon was held in Reid’s
room in the Old Southeast building several days later. After a strenuous effort,
led by Reid, for the expulsion of the six, with six against six on all vital
issues, the meeting broke up in considerable disorder. A rather prolonged
correspondence ensued with the parent chapter of Delta Kappa Epsilon at Yale,
resulting in “The Bull of Excommunication” in April 1855, expelling Bell,
Caldwell, Cooper, Jordan, Runkle and Scobey. It was at this time they began
making plans to found their own fraternity.
One of the best moves these six ever made was to associate with themselves
William Lewis Lockwood. He had entered Miami
early in 1855 but had not joined a fraternity. He was the “businessman” of
the group and possessed a remarkable organizing ability. More than any other
Founder, he was responsible for setting up the general plan of the Fraternity,
much of which endures to this day.
During the latter months of the 1854-1855 college year, Runkle and Caldwell
lived in a second floor back room of a building at the southeast corner of the
public square on the north side of High Street in what is known as the
birthplace of Sigma Chi (or Sigma Phi , as it was originally called ). In this
room were held many of the earlier organizational meetings of Sigma Chi , and it
was there that Runkle and Lockwood designed the badge. The White Cross was
designed exactly as we know it today except for the letters SF in the black center
which were changed to SC.
Having been members of Delta Kappa Epsilon, six of the Founders were familiar
with the general outline of fraternity constitution and ritual content. They
were considerably influenced by Lockwood, who had known little of Delta Kappa
Epsilon or its differences. With all of their plans formally completed, the
seven Founders of the new Fraternity announced its establishment by wearing
their badges for the first time in public on Commencement Day at Miami
University, June 28, 1855 . The lessons of the founding of Sigma Chi are
revealed in three important pieces of the Founders’ legacy. The Spirit of
Sigma Chi expresses the chief reason for their confrontation with Delta Kappa
Epsilon, and it establishes a guide for our friendships and brotherhood in Sigma
Chi . The Jordan Standard embodies the criteria by which men are found worthy of
membership. Above all, the White Cross symbolizes the virtues and high ideals
upon which the Founders based Sigma Chi and for which all initiated members
constantly strive. [Compliments
of the St. Louis University Chapter of Sigma Chi]
The Founding of Theta Mu Chapter
The Theta Mu Chapter of the Sigma Chi Fraternity was founded on May 12, 1984 at Spring Hill College. The Founders started as a colonized fraternity bearing the name Sigma Chi Omega because they were unhappy with the current fraternity scene on campus. After three years, Sigma Chi Headquarters granted their petition to become an official Chapter of the Fraternity. Consequently, the Omega was dropped and we officially became Sigma Chi's. After our founding, we won three consecutive Peterson Awards, which is the highest honor a Sigma Chi Chapter can be bestowed from Headquarters (1985, 1986, 1987). Over the past twenty years, we have initiated over three hundred brothers into the Theta Mu Chapter. Furthermore, we are confident that we will attract and continue to initiate only the best men at Spring Hill College.