|
|
|
Tuesday, 26 May 2009 10:33 |
|
In the 1950’s, Fraternity life at Drexel University was much different than it is today. It was very cliquey, and membership involved massive hazing, beatings, and other harmful acts. This behavior resulted in a big nosedive in Greek Life popularity throughout the next decade. A majority of students were fearful to come into a fraternity because of past acts of indiscretion. Luckily, by the mid 60’s Drexel was going through a growth period that led to a renewed interest in fraternity life. Believe it or not, the tuition in 1965 was only $1000 a year. At that time, buildings like Matheson, Korman, Disque, and Nesbitt were some of the many buildings not yet built. Sigma Alpha Epsilon at Drexel was not always SAE as we know it today. Our chapter actually started as a local fraternity called Sigma Alpha Theta (SAT). SAT was founded on November 22, 1966 by freshmen that lived on the 9th and 10th floors of the YMCA along with some University-housed freshmen that saw first hand how other fraternities treated pledges. The six founding fathers of Sigma Alpha Theta were Ian Ferris, Clarence Hoop, Bill Huber, Jim Jacobsen, Lloyd Knoll, and Dave McBride. However, in the 1960’s it was against Drexel policy to start you own fraternity, so Sigma Alpha Theta got off to a rocky start. They were put on a one-year probationary status from February 1967 to February 1968. This meant that they had to follow all school rules with no violations, no alcohol, and all functions were to be chaperoned by faculty or other University approved individuals. SAT made it through this tough period, and in the fall of 1967, they decided to move out of the YMCA and moved into TKE’s House. This lasted for just a short time, and by February of 1968, they moved out of TKE’s house and into their own house at 3601 Baring Street along with their first pledge class. The winter and spring of ‘68 brought their second and third pledge classes. In 1971, the founders wanted a living fraternity. Their intentions were to become a part of a national fraternity organization, leaving them with the difficult decision of which one to choose. They looked at several national fraternities before selecting Sigma Alpha Epsilon on September 18, 1971. This was largely thanks to the work and efforts of Russell Heuer. In February of 1976, the Sigma Alpha Epsilon house at 3601 Baring Street caught on fire. The brothers tried calling from a payphone that was in the house but could not get in contact with anyone. Finally, a passing police car called in the fire. The fire department then got to the scene only to find out they did not have the adapter that connected to the hydrant near the house. Unfortunately, this led to the second and third floors completely burning, leaving the house in unlivable condition. After the fire, SAE moved to 206 North 34th Street. Soon afterwards, we also bought a house at 3512 baring street. For several years, the brothers productively worked out of both houses. However, in 1985 city-zoning ordinances forced us to sell 3512 Baring street house or face immense fines. We decided to sell the house and live exclusively at the 206 N. 34th Street property. Sigma Alpha Epsilon continued as one of the strongest fraternities on campus for much of the next two decades. However, in 1997 we were forced to close down our chapter due to irresponsible behavior by brothers concerning their treatment of pledges. Drexel removed us from campus, and took our house. The 206 N. 34th Street property was then renovated and split into what is now the 204 and 206 N. 34th Street Fraternity Housing. In January 2007, 13 brothers had a goal to bring back the Pennsylvania Epsilon Chapter back to Drexel University. They created an interest group that became a Colony on March 11, 2007. After a couple months of recruitment, the Colony grew to 16 brothers. In the Fall of 2007, SAE moved into the fraternity house left vacant by Lambda Chi Alpha at 3401 Powelton Avenue. On October 4, 2008, the Pennsylvania Epsilon Colony was officially re-chartered as the Pennsylvania Epsilon Chapter of Sigma Alpha Epsilon.
|
|