2 minute read
The Man Who Changed Everything
A Look at How It All Went Down, from His Perspective
by The Emerald Staff
When it comes to understanding the history of Sigma Pi Fraternity, it's important to know the improbable journey of Robert George Patterson, a student at the Ohio State University with a passion for America’s first nationally-known populist politician. As detailed in what the Fraternity has published for decades in “The Patterson Episode,” Patterson is single-handedly responsible for influencing the members of Tau Phi Delta, a local fraternity at Vincennes University, to change their name to Sigma Pi Fraternity. It all started in 1896 when, at 11 years of age, Patterson heard William Jennings Bryan make a speech during what turned out to be his first of three unsuccessful presidential campaigns. Thrilled by Bryan’s eloquence, Patterson was convinced he had seen and heard the greatest American of his time.
Soon after the 1896 presidential election, Patterson’s father purchased
William Jennings Bryan (center) visited Gamma Chapter on September 27, 1908. Robert George Patterson stands fifth from the left.
a best-seller titled The First Battle, written by Bryan. There, in a brief biographical sketch, Patterson read: “Upon entering the academy (prep department of Illinois College), he joined Sigma Pi Society, and was an active member for six years..." This passage fueled his desire to become a member of Sigma Pi. Though his collegiate journey and his foray into fraternal affairs had many twists and turns, Patterson was ultimately unsuccessful in convincing Sigma Pi Society at Illinois College to expand into a national organization. Undeterred, he made the decision to create his own Sigma Pi; one with a falsified history and a nonexistent charter granted by the King of England. That is where Tau Phi Delta enters the story. Patterson suggested that he conducted research on college fraternal organizations on campuses around the country. In a chance encounter with a local librarian, he learned there was a local fraternity at Vincennes University that he did not discover in his prior research. Without even knowing the organization’s name, he sent a letter addressed to “The President of the Men’s Greek Letter Fraternity” at Vincennes University. Two months later, Tau Phi Delta became Alpha Chapter of Sigma Pi. Alpha Chapter’s chartering fee to join Sigma Pi Fraternity was $10. The chronology behind Patterson’s role in forming the Fraternity, Tau Phi Delta’s role in shaping the early years of Sigma Pi, and the many personalities involved in supporting this young organization has many more intricacies. To date, however, Sigma Pi has only told the story from the perspective of the men who expelled Patterson. Now, we can read a new perspective on this history - one provided by Robert George Patterson himself.
Sigma Pi is proud to publish Concerning Sigma Pi, a manuscript written by Robert George Patterson immediately after he was expelled from the organization that he, in his own words, created. Thanks to the transcription provided by Grand Sage Joe Palazzolo (Monmouth '00), those interested in Patterson’s side of the story can begin reading the first 200+ pages of the document for free. To learn more about this and to begin reading the manuscript, please visit:
