On November 1, 1901, 12 young men at Richmond College, Virginia banded together, bound in friendship and guided by a common vision, established Sigma Phi Epsilon. Through their hard work and dedication, they nurtured and molded what has become this nation’s greatest fraternity. They are all long-dead and buried now, but their dream still lives on.

Eighty-three years later, at Old Dominion University, 13 young men, merely freshmen, shared in that dream.

Late in the spring semester of 1984, Alan Peterson, a SigEp graduate of JMU, sought to establish a chapter of Sigma Phi Epsilon here at ODU. At the recommendation of ODU Student Affairs, he contacted a group of young men living in the dorm (Mid-rise aka Whitehurst). Like all freshmen living on the same floor in a dorm, they had become fast friends. After being approached by Alan, they spent days discussing and debating it amongst themselves. One week later, they pledged SigEp.

As it turned out, they were in for more than they bargained for. As a "Sigma Epsilon" colony, they had to start from scratch, with no brothers to guide them, and no concept of what "fraternity" really meant. Colonization of ODU occurred the day before Greek-Week, and an informal discussion in a dorm room quickly evolved into a full fledged meeting, our first. It was decided that due to our age (one day), our participation in Greek-Week would be non-competitive. In this way, 13 guys who previously had nothing to do with fraternities were accepted into Greek life, not as adversaries, but as friends. We would wait until the fall before we showed the world our METTLE.

In our first retreat, before the fall semester, we exchanged summer stories and exaggerations, excited about what lay ahead. At the retreat, we were introduced to the business side of the fraternity by Sigma Phi Epsilon’s Expansion Director, Kelly Mankin. In that retreat we established the beginnings of our chapter’s operations and goals. One goal was to receive our charter before the end of April, quicker than any chapter had ever done before. Since the norm was 2-3 years, Kelly Mankin promised us that if we were chartered before May, he would provide, free of charge, a complete wet-bar for our house whenever we should get it. With that in mind, we proceeded to show him the party side of the fraternity.

That year, with no previous experience, and the lure of established fraternities working against us, we still managed to pledge over 40 new members, mostly freshmen, into our ranks. As a colony, Nationals had no obligation to give us a charter and Old Dominion University had no obligation to allow us on campus. In 2 semesters we had to invent and construct our chapter, and prove ourselves not only to the school, but to its Greek system, and to our National Fraternity.

Our "House" was apartment II-6 in Powhatan Apartments. It was more than a legend in its own time. It became our colony retreat wherein we evolved from friend into brothers; and where, set to the music of Steve Miller and the Cars, we learned the true meaning of "fraternity".

For all of those involved, that year was probably the most intense we had ever experienced or will ever experience in our lifetimes. We threw the largest, best rated parties ODU had seen in years. We participated in Sigma Phi Epsilon’s Regional Conference, impressing Nationals with our intensity and drive;’ and we road-tripped to most every school we could. We did this and more, all the while still maintaining our grades in school.

The year fast forwarded and soon it was spring, and it was time to petition national for a charter. To clarify, a petition is not a list of signatures; it is a three inch thick book which describes your colony’s By-Laws, history, finances, and its goals. It is what is used by Nationals to determine if a colony is ready to be a chapter.

For 2 months we sweated it out, wondering if all our hopes and hard work had paid off. The word came down, days away from our scheduled Chartering Banquet. We had done it. On April 21, 1985 we were initiated into the brotherhood of Sigma Phi Epsilon, and that evening our Sigma-Epsilon colony became the Virginia Xi Chapter of Sigma Phi Epsilon, setting the national record by getting chartered quicker than any other colony ever had, thus securing a wet-bar for our House, when we get it.

In those years that followed, we were introduced to new challenges and hurdles. This chapter evolved from its infancy to emerge a strong, diverse fraternity that still harbors that original spirit of brotherhood that built it; that same spirit of brotherhood that was felt and used by the original founders almost a century ago. That spirit may lie dormant at times, but it can never be lost and it can never be destroyed. It is Sigma Phi Epsilon.

Brian Wechman, ODU '88
Founding Father, VA Xi