DELTA RHO HISTORY

CREATION, COLONIZATION, and OUR FIRST HOUSE

The history of Sigma Tau Gamma at Miami University has been one marked with many ups and downs, yet because of the strong dedication of its members, Sigma Tau Gamma has become one of the finest Greek organizations here at Miami.  For the men who have striven to make Sig Tau what it is today, a sense of pride will be carried with them for the rest of their lives.  As founding president, I have seen this colony in its worst of times and best of times, and most importantly I have seen the men of this colony come out on top of each and every situation.

 Our colonies history began in the fall of 1984 when Mike Johnston visited a friend of his involved with the recolonization of the Beta Theta Chapter at Purdue.  Because of the enthusiasm involved with the recolonization of Purdue’s Sig Tau Chapter, Mike returned to Miami with the desire to begin his own chapter of Sigma Tau Gamma.  In the following months his efforts to start the fraternity were great, yet the interest on campus was not.  Mike, however, was persistent, and in the following year, the fall semester of 1985, he came into contact with a group of young and enthusiastic freshmen.  As naïve as we were, we had a focus, and that focus was to be the best in everything we participated in.  The tight bond of friendship between the men of our residence hall formed the foundation on which this colony was built.  With little guidance and even fewer resources, a social gathering engineered to promote a general awareness of our organization.  Soon after, we attended our first regional meeting at the University of Southern Indiana, Gamma Psi Chapter, in February of 1986.  At this meeting we had the opportunity to meet some of the officers of our national fraternity.  This meeting gave us new insight and direction in our struggle to be recognized on Miami’s campus.

In the spring of the same year (April 16, 1986) we attended the White Rose Formal / Chartering Ball of the Beta Theta Chapter at Purdue University and once again were inspired by the enthusiasm of the Sigma Tau Gamma experience.  We brought this enthusiasm back to Miami and made our first formal attempt to become recognized as an organization by IFC.  Although we had strong national support, marked by the attendance of David G. Cox, we were rejected by a vote of 14 opposed, 11 for and 2 abstentions.  This came as a blow as the academic year came to a close.  As our members left school for the summer break we were unsure as to the future of our organization.

The next academic year began with the unfortunate loss of our founder, Mike Johnson due to academic reasons.  It was at this point that new leadership was instilled and the brotherhood became inspired once again.  On September 9, 1986, we repetitioned interfraternal campus with undisputable evidence that we were strong enough to survive on Miami’s campus.  We were accepted by unanimous vote.  At this point new organization and restructuring of the group was drastically needed.  We set up a system of goals: colonization, acquisition of new members, housing and eventual chartering.

On October 11, 1986 we received our colony status from Sigma Tau Gamma National Fraternity at Gamma Psi Chapter at Illinois State University.  We were accompanied by our newly acquired chapter advisor Scott Hauser.  Scott became a key figure in the realization of many of our goals.  With national recognition behind us, we began to establish our place within the community and university.  Besides active involvement with Bacchus, we established a community service program with the Hamilton Boys Club, which involved weekly interaction between the members of our colony and the under privileged youth of the boys club.

The second of our primary goals was to establish membership, which was accomplished in November of 1986 when we took the first half of the Alpha Pledge Class in our very first upperclassmen rush.  In January of 1987 during formal rush, we completed the Alpha Pledge Class taking 12 new pledges, making a total of 16 new members.

While the fraternity was growing, there were no officially activated members.  On February 27, 1987, ten of the founding fathers were initiated at the first Great Lakes Conclave held by the Beta Theta Chapter at Purdue University.  Upon our return to Miami we proceeded to initiate the rest of the founding fathers.  That fruitful year for our Sigma Tau Gamma Colony was concluded with our first annual White Rose Formal.  With this event being a great success we ended out another academic year proving that Sigma Tau Gamma at Miami University was on its way to success.

The following year a few key members recognized a need for reorganization within the colony if it was to progress in a positive way.  To some this could have been looked upon as being potentially negative, but instead we capitalized upon the positive aspects of our decision.  At this time 19 members, 15 still being pledges, were asked to leave the fraternity, leaving the colony 27 members strong.  It was shortly after this incident that the fraternity with a revitalized brotherhood entered its first Greek Week competition and finished a strong thirteenth out of 28 fraternities.  We had proven to ourselves that even under adversity we were still capable of doing great things.  Our brotherhood was becoming stronger and as a result our image and presence on campus was improving rapidly.

With our dedication to the future of the organization we realized the need for new membership within the fraternity.  In January of 1988 we took our Beta Pledge Class consisting of five very dedicated and quality members.  Although the pledge class was small in comparison to some of the other Greek organizations on campus, we were adamant to never let what had happened the previous fall occur again.  It was necessary for our colony to grow in a controlled manner in order that we could stabilize our organization and nurture its growth to its fullest potential. 

The third of our primary goals still had not met at this point and was of major concern.  To fully exist on Miami’s Campus as an active and competitive fraternity, it was necessary for us to have a house.  With several false hopes, we finally stumbled upon an opportunity in the spring of 1988 to lease a house from a fraternity that had just lost its charter because of lack of enrollment.  We officially moved into our first residence, proudly displaying the name Sigma Tau Gamma, in August of 1988.  With the addition of the house, new life was brought back to the fraternity; a brotherhood, like never experienced before, could be felt through all of its members.  With this enthusiasm, during upperclassmen rush, we took our Gamma Pledge Class in October in 1988, consisting of five quality members.

We have come far from the immature, naïve group of 1984-85.  We have striven to be the best that Sigma Tau Gamma Fraternity has seen and have dedicated ourselves to the high ideals upon which the fraternity stands.

Peter Coffin, Founding President, 1989

There is currently no written history after moving into 115 East Church St. or into 450 E. Vine St., and finally to 32 W. Church St.  If you were around during any of these important transitions and are interested in writing up a history for the website, please send an email to swoffoma@muohio.edu