Cover Story

Oregon State Charters on Original 75th Anniversary!

By Shad Andrews, R.J. Sohler, and Jeff Peterson

As the ink of the signature of the “CC” dried on the chartering proclamation, applause, cheers and a sense of accomplishment fi lled the Corvallis Country Club on April 22, 2006.

Nearly one hundred fifty people packed the banquet hall to celebrate, as the Oregon State Colony became the Oregon State Chapter of Delta Chi. After three long and busy years, the founding members, including their five new Eta class brothers, were finally able to watch their hard work pay off, as they received their chartering proclamation.

Featured speakers at the banquet included Bob Kerr, Director of Greek Life at Oregon State, who delivered some encouraging words State, who delivered some encouraging words about Delta Chi’s past and future at OSU; about Delta Chi’s past and future at OSU; Ron Thiesen, International Vice President of Ron Thiesen, International Vice President of Sigma Alpha Epsilon Fraternity, who spoke about how the Greek community at Oregon State was proud of the Chapter for successfully chartering, a feat that is impressive and shows the dedication of the members; and “CC” Tom Horowitz, who presented the chartering proclamation. House Mom Nikki Olson served as emcee for the banquet.

Olson recounted her memories of being a single working “mother” to over thirty “kids” and the various funny moments during her time as the House Mom.

Kerr, having watched the Chapter grow from its inception, also spoke about the importance of avoiding the common post-chartering “slump” that happens to many newly chartered chapters. He gave the Chapter important tips on how to avoid the slump and how to continue succeeding.

Horowitz presented a plaque to the Colony in recognition of the 75th anniversary of its original chartering in 1931 and read a letter from Executive Director Ray Galbreth congratulating the Colony on its anniversary and its new charter.

“It was great to see everybody’s hard work finally pay off, ” said founding “A” Matt Reid. “I don’t think people understand how difficult and complicated it is to build a fraternity from and complicated it is to build a fraternity from the ground up, but over the course of a few short years, Delta Chi has reemerged and begun once again to motivate young men into becoming better citizens.”

Several awards were presented at the banquet. Kerry Nussbaumer was awarded the Alumnus of the Year by the Chapter for his help with the Colony. Richard Sohler received the Senior of the Year Award for his contributions as a former “A”. The Chapter presented the E.B. Lemmon Top Academic Scholar Award to Matt Chin for top academic performance during the previous school year. And Andrew Merfeld earned the Ray Wyatt Academic Improvement Award for his dedication to studies. A slide show was also presented at the banquet, showing photographs from our three-year journey from Colony to Chapter. It provided many funny and important memories for the audience.

The Chapter’s White Carnation Formal, also at the Corvallis Country Club, followed the Chartering banquet. By the end of the night, the brothers and their guests were exhausted by the busy past few days, relieved that the long process of chartering was over, but eager to continue a future as a Chapter that is just beginning.

AUSPICIOUS BEGINNINGS

Delta Chi was originally chartered at Oregon Delta Chi was originally chartered at Oregon State on June 7, 1931, when two local fraternities, Theta Delta Nu and Delta Kappa, merged together to petition to join the international organization. It was the forty-fourth chapter of Delta Chi and is the twenty-fourth oldest chapter still active.

The Chapter remained active on campus between 1931 and 2000, with the exception of the World War II years, when every chapter

at Oregon State closed. For many years in the 1970s and 1980s, the Chapter was one of the largest, if not the largest, fraternity on campus. It is known for its large scholarship fund for members, established in memory of Charles and Edward Rosenkrans, two members of the original Theta Delta Nu Fraternity, who died in 1926. The Rosenkrans Scholarship still distributes tens of thousands of dollars to help members pay for college each year and is one of the largest scholarship funds in the country.

The chapter closed in March 2000, and for three years the house, originally built in 1925, remained empty. In the winter of 2003, Leadership Consultants Marquez Brown, Reed Davis, Jon Moore and Jonathan Stovall traveled to Corvallis to re-establish the Chapter. On April 5, 2003, members of the Chico Chapter came to Corvallis to help initiate eighteen men as founding fathers of the reborn Oregon State Colony. born Oregon State Colony.

MAKING A HOUSE A HOME

The House Corporation, which kept watch over the house for three years, totally remodeled the house over the summer of 2003 with a $170,000 loan from the Housing Fund. The house was in bad condition, and three years of neglect made it much worse. The entire roof had to be replaced, and almost every wall in the house had to be rebuilt. In September of 2003, the members of the Colony moved in and put their own hard work into the house to make it fit for the home of a fraternity. Members had to spend their own money, with help from alumni, to remodeleachindividualstudy room. A lot of re-modeling had to be performed on the kitchen, the basement, the hallways, and every other room in the building before it was ready.

Along with the physical work on the house, the colony members also focused on establishing a new fraternity with new traditions and procedures. Members had to learn how to work as a chapter and to to learn how to work as a chapter and to choose what kind of fraternity they wanted to be. They had to decide what being a Delta Chi would mean.

During its fi rst three years, the members of the Colony struggled through some tough times. With luck and perseverance, they were able to meet those challenges, and fi nally, within the last year, chartering was in sight. Chartering Committee Chair Stephen Young directed the efforts of every member of the Colony in petitioning the Fraternity and then organizing the banquet after the petition was approved.

“It meant a lot that we had so many people at the banquet to celebrate with us, ” said Matt Lewis, current “A” . “We put in a lot of hard work over the last three years, and this was a chance to show it off to everyone. I’ve never been more proud to be a Delta Chi than after the banquet, when all of the current members circled up to sing The Bond Song with the alumni. It was really special for all of us.

The Oregon State T h e O r e g o n S t a t e Chapter is just one of many chapters that have made the recent transition from colony to chapter. Within the past year the following chapters chartered: Coastal Carolina, Colorado, LSU, Southern Illinois, Texas Tech, and William & Mary. Like Oregon State, these chapters have all worked very hard and should be commended. These chapters are a good example and an inspiration for current colonies that are starting their own journeys.

“CC” Tom Horowitz and Chapter “A” Matt Lewis with the chartering proclamation Lewis with the chartering proclamation