A Brief History of Delta Sig

As the door closed on the final moments of the nineteenth century, a handful of undergraduate men began meeting between classes at City College of New York. Some had known one another before they graduated from the New York public school system, and they had wanted to continue their friendships at City College. The obvious solution was to join a fraternity, but there was just one problem: This was no ordinary group of undergraduates. They were an affiliation of Jews and Christians; and, at the time, entry to all-Jewish and all-Christian fraternities was barred to individuals and groups that mixed religions.

Given that their close association challenged the conventional behavior of the day, perhaps it was only natural that the undergraduates took an even bolder step by founding their own Fraternity on December 10, 1899. Symbolized by the Greek letters Delta, Sigma, and Phi, the Fraternity was based on the principle of the universal brotherhood of man.

Delta Sigma Phi was incorporated in New York City on December 2, 1902. Five members of the City College chapter signed the incorporation papers, with the stated objectives of dissemination “the principles of friendship and brotherhood among college men, without respect to race or creed.” The early organizers also drafted Delta Sigma Phi’s laws, requiring open membership to all college men of quality. The purpose of the Fraternity, written the same year, was “to fulfill the desire of serious young college men for a fellowship and brotherhood, as near a practical working ideal as possible not fettered with too many traditional prejudices and artificial standards of membership, and accompanied by a clean, pure, and honorable chapter home life.”

About Alpha Gamma Chapter

Our Alpha Gamma Chapter of Delta Sigma Phi was established at Georgia Tech on January 10, 1920, when it brought to campus a truly unique fraternity experience. After a three-year hiatus, the Alpha Gamma chapter of Delta Sigma Phi was reinstated in 2000, and received its charter on April 20, 2002. Although our chapter is relatively young, we have already shown that Delta Sigs are capable of becoming Mr. Georgia Tech finalists, of attaining the highest fraternity G.P.A., of strengthening the community through service, and of truly coming together as a family. Still, we are not content to rest upon these achievements. Instead, we eagerly look to the future for the addition of new brothers to add new depths and strengths to an already solid brotherhood.