The Beginnings of Sigma Pi
On January 26, 1897,
Miss Charlotte N. Malotte, the professor of Latin and French, spoke to a student
group at the chapel hour. She spoke on the subject of “College Fraternities”
which sparked the interest of several students. Then, on the afternoon of
February 26, a new fraternity had its first meeting. When, after a long session,
the meeting adjourned, a literary society had been born, though it was yet
unnamed.
The founders of the
Fraternity, all cadets at Vincennes University, were William Raper Kennedy,
James Thompson Kingsbury, George Martin Patterson, and Rolin Rosco James. The
first three were seniors; James was a freshman.
   
Samuel and Maurice
Bayard were the first initiates. They were made members of the Fraternity before
a name was selected or a constitution adopted. Many of the first meetings of the
Fraternity were held at the old Bayard home. At the Bayard house, the
constitution was written and the first ritual was developed and used in the loft
of the family’s carriage house.
It would be appropriate
to say Tau Phi Delta was hardly a fraternity chapter, as that term is now
understood. Rather, it was a combination of the fraternity idea and the old
style literary society, the like of which flourished in almost every college in
the United States in the 19th century. However, in all its outward aspects, Tau
Phi Delta possessed the characteristics of a fraternity chapter. It was strictly
secret and possessed a password and a grip and included an initiation ritual.
Its badge was a simple black shield, with a border of gold, upon which were
displayed the Greek letters TFD. The colors were black and gold, and the red
clover was the official flower.
In the winter of 1903-04
the Fraternity ceased to meet in the college building and rented a small cottage
at 110 South Third Street in Vincennes. This building was occupied until the end
of the college year and is considered the first chapter house occupied by the
Fraternity.
Tau Phi Delta first
began to show signs of expansion in about 1904-05. The beginning of the college
year found three members of the Fraternity attending the University of Illinois
and seven at Indiana University. In May, 1905, the members at Indiana effected
an organization and petitioned the Vincennes chapter for authority to establish
a second chapter there. The petition was denied. The members felt the proposed
chapter would be unable to compete with the fraternities on the state university
campus. During that year also, the organization first began to officially call
itself a fraternity, and steps were taken toward incorporation under the laws of
Indiana. A proposal of one of the members to expand the Fraternity into a
national organization with chapters in junior colleges was also considered.
Suitable material was not found, and the project was abandoned without formal
action.
 Becoming
Sigma Pi Fraternity
February 11, 1907, is a
significant date in the Fraternity’s history. It was then the members last
assembled as Tau Phi Delta and first assumed the name of Sigma Pi Fraternity of
the United States. Tau Phi Delta had had limited ambitions for expansion. Soon
after the name change, Sigma Pi embarked on a program of establishing chapters
on other campuses.
In 1984, the Fraternity
again changed its name. At the 37th Biennial Convocation, Sigma Pi became an
international fraternity by accepting its first Canadian chapter. This
international status required the Fraternity to become Sigma Pi Fraternity,
International. Today, Sigma Pi is comprised of 113 active chapters, 11 colonies,
over 82,000 alumni.
Sigma Pi at UB
Epsilon Omicron Chapter
of Sigma Pi Fraternity, International was founded December 1st, 1979
at the State University of Buffalo at New York. The first chapter house was
located in Governors Residence Hall on UB North Campus. The chapter was founded
by 34 young men, eager to make Sigma Pi the greatest fraternity on campus. In
2004, Epsilon Omicron chapter celebrated its 25th anniversary at the University
of Buffalo and it is currently the longest running on-campus fraternity to this
day.
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