House History
Introduction
The Delta Xi chapter of Sigma Tau Gamma has a long and rich history, dating back to 1921. We try to preserve and remember this history, to serve as a reminder of where we've been, and a guide to help get us where we're trying to go. Contained below is a full account of our history, from our origins to the present day. The history is divided into segments, based on the letters our chapter carried in its successive stages:
Gamma Nu (ΓΝ)
Tau Delta Phi (ΤΔΦ)
Zeta Beta Tau (ΖΒΤ)
Sigma Tau Gamma (ΣΤΓ)
Gamma Nu (ΓΝ) (1921 - 1929)
In 1921, a group of students at Carnegie Tech decided to form a Fraternity. So, with Harry Lefcowitz, a prominent Pittsburgh architect, and Dr. Max Schoen, a professor in and head of the Department of Education and Psychology acting as advisors, they formed a local fraternity in a house at 3431 Dawson Street in Oakland. They called themselves Gamma Nu (GN), which stood for "Going National." The founders were Max Applebaum, Sidney Aronsen, Leon Barbrow, Steve Brodie, Morris "Doc" Fisher, Abe Grodner, Dave Moskovits, Lou Sachs, Fich Silverman, Ben Supowitz, Ben Weldon, and Havina Zinder. For the next few years they progressed, except that they felt alienated from the rest of the campus. This was because being a local fraternity meant that they were not officially recognized on campus and therefore they could not compete in any campus activities as a fraternity. For many years they petitioned the Interfraternal Council for recognition, but they were always turned down.
Tau Delta Phi (ΤΔΦ) (1929 - 1974)
In May of 1929 the members of Gamma Nu petitioned the national fraternity Tau Delta Phi to start a local chapter house. This petition was accepted, and on November 17, 1929, at Webster Hall, two national officers, Max Blink and Herbert A. Baskin, officially chartered the fraternity as the Omega chapter of Tau Delta Phi (W chapter of TDF). Later, it was rechartered as the Psi chapter (Y chapter of TDF). The first officers were: Consul, S. Bluestone; Vice Consul, A. C. Frank; Scribe, Lewis I. Shusset; and Quaster, S. Winkoff. A few years later the fraternity moved to a new house in Oakland at 5554 Darlington Road.
In the years that followed, the house began to grow in size and stature on campus. There were few years that we didn't rank first in scholastic rating. We were also very competitive in intramurals and Greek Sing. Because of our growing size, we moved again in 1940 to a new house on Walnut Street in East Liberty. No sooner did we settle into our new house, though, than World War II broke out. Many of our brothers served in the war, and we lost three brothers in air battles over the Solomon Islands. They were: Captain Frank Mandell '39, Sergeant Jerome Miller '41, and Private Henry J. Hample '41.
With the end of World War II and the return of our brothers, the house began to grow again. One famous alumnus to come out of this period was Alan "Bud" Yorkin, who years later went on to become a television producer and whose most famous effort was "All in the Family."
In 1948, because of our growing size and a desire to be closer to campus, we moved again to a house on Forbes Avenue near where the parking lot for Morewood Gardens is now. The years immediately following would be the best days for Tau Delta Phi.
In the late 1950's the school began to build new houses for all the fraternities on campus. This action stemmed from a large fire that gutted the Sigma Nu house. On October 22, 1961, the house at 1071 Morewood Avenue was formally dedicated. The first few years in the house would be the last good ones for Tau Delta Phi. With the coming of the 60's, the popularity of fraternities began to wane, and the size of the house began to shrink. Not only was our local chapter in trouble, but the national was even worse.
Zeta Beta Tau (ΖΒΤ) (1974 - 1983)
In 1974, our fraternity split from Tau Delta Phi along with a few other chapters across the country. We then petitioned Zeta Beta Tau fraternity to accept us as a chapter. We were accepted and on September 14, 1974 we became the Delta Tau chapter of Zeta Beta Tau (DT chapter of ZBT).
In 1981, Zeta Beta Tau held the highest Q.P.A. of any house on the quadrangle. This was a high point for ZBT. The following year we had a record-setting pledge class of 32 (of which 24 were initiated), and we were the largest and strongest house on campus, winning many honors in Greek Sing, Carnival, and intramural sports.
In 1983, troubles began. ZBT was placed on probation after a freshman member nearly died from alcohol poisoning. The fraternity was barred from all participation in the Greek System. After a year of hard work, just about the time we would have returned to good standing with the university, another unfortunate incident occurred. Several members of Delta Tau Chapter were involved in a fight with another student organization and the administration expelled Zeta Beta Tau from the CMU campus.
Tau Delta Phi (ΤΔΦ local) (1983 - 1986)
Following this incident, we reorganized and adopted our old Tau Delta Phi letters once again, reforming as a local fraternity which set out in an attempt to secure a return to full recognition and the enormous strength within the Greek system we had recently enjoyed. During this brief period, the remaining members of the house sought to find a new national fraternity. They would find one in the spring 1986, and it would yield the letters our chapter bears today.
Sigma Tau Gamma (ΣΤΓ) (1986 - Present)
After petitioning several national fraternities on the subject of becoming a colony and gaining a charter, Sigma Tau Gamma Fraternity, an outstanding member of the National Interfraternity Conference, was chosen based, in part, upon the strong support it provides to its local chapters. On March 11, 1986, we became a colony of Sigma Tau Gamma. The CMU Interfraternity Council recognized us a fraternity and a colony of Sigma Tau Gamma. The University decided to allow us a chance to gain their confidence by placing us in a residential dormitory (A-Tower of Doherty Apartments, located on Forbes Avenue) until such time as the success or failure of our organization could be determined.
On March 14 of our productive and impressive '86-'87 academic year we received our charter from Sigma Tau Gamma National, becoming the Delta Xi Chapter (DX chapter of STG) thereby gaining full recognition from the university. The year included a first place win in intramural basketball and playoff berths for football, soccer, and softball. We also competed successfully in both Greek Sing and Booth.
The late eighties and early nineties were a time of prosperity for Delta Xi, seeing continued excellence in IM, Booth, and Greek Sing, as well as the building and rolling of our first buggy in the spring of 1990. That same semester our chapter was awarded the Chapter of the Year Award by Sigma Tau Gamma National and in the summer Frater David Sitar was a finalist for the Dent Man of the Year, the highest honor which can be bestowed upon a Sig Tau brother.
This time period was not as kind to the rest of the Carnegie Mellon Greek Community, however. In 1991 the Chi Omega Sorority lost their national charter and in the spring of 1993, the University revoked housing privileges for Alpha Tau Omega, who resided at 1091 Morewood Avenue. Delta Xi petitioned to move into the vacant house at 1091, but was denied.
During the fall of 1993 Sigma Tau Gamma, having lost the bid for this house, moved from Doherty Apartments to Margaret Morrison Apartments, buildings 102 and 134. Building 102, formerly occupied by Chi Omega, became our chapter house. Given a two year renewable lease, 102 offered the chapter more room, common areas, privacy and a sense of stability. This was another step towards our move back onto the quad. During the end of the Fall semester of 1994, Pi Lambda Phi fraternity lost their housing privileges. In the spring of 1995 we submitted a proposal to take the house at 1057 Morewood Avenue. After review by a committee composed of representatives from IFC, Pan-Hellenic Council, Greek Council, Student Affairs, Residence Life, and Carnegie Mellon Housing, we were granted rights to the house.
Our first years on the quad were good, but in 1998 we began to feel the pressures of having to fill a large house. Several recent rushes had resulted in either small numbers of new brothers, or new brothers whose personalities did not fit in with the rest of the house. The result was that we no longer had enough brothers to fill the house, and this problem was exacerbated by tensions within the brotherhood. This set the state for two significant events in our house's history, both of which occurred during the Spring of 1999.
Recognizing that we had to get a strong pledge class to keep our spot on the quad, the house joined together and got a pledge class of seven. Their progress and enthusiasm during the pledge program gave many hope that the house might be back on solid footing. However, while they were being initiated, despite being informed that Delta Xi did not haze its members, the pledge class was hazed. The entire class threatened to leave the house unless the hazing was stopped. Faced with losing a pledge class, the house had no choice but to completely abolish its initiation hazing practices. However, some brothers did so very reluctantly, as they felt the initiation ceremony was an important tradition, and this contributed to the internal conflict in the brotherhood.
During the same semester, it became clear that even with the new pledge class, the house could not be filled the following fall. Options ranging from renting rooms to non-brothers, to moving off campus, to increasing everyone's rent proportionally were explored. Ultimately, however, it was decided that the best option was to move back into campus housing, distributing members among Roselawn, Woodlawn, Doherty, and Margaret Morrison Apartments. Again, this decision was highly contentious, as many brothers felt like being on the quad was a necessary part of what our house was.
As a result of these two events, a number of brothers chose to leave Sigma Tau Gamma, agreeing to do so without any arguments under the condition that when they graduated they would be considered as Alumni. This arrangement allowed the house to unite itself around some common ideals, but with only 15 members returning for the Fall of 1999, there was a difficult road ahead.
In the first years of the 2000s we experienced steadily declining membership until our 1 member pledge class in 2005. The difficulty that we experienced caused some turbulence between members of the house, and we continued to spiral downward, as we struggled with identity and purpose. Finally we started to implement the new "Path of Principles" program implemented by Nationals and immediately pulled it around. In the fall of 2006, we pulled in 2 pledge classes of 6 and 5, and then an additional spring pledge class of 7, raising our house from a group of 17 to 35 - more than doubling our membership. We have since created many new programs and started doing many more exciting things (such as Greek Feud, and Greek Sing). We look forward to continuing to enjoy this success.