Delta Sigma Phi was the first fraternity to be founded on the basis of religious and ethnic acceptance. But that’s not the only time Delta Sigma Phi has paved the way for men and women across the nation.
Delta Sigma Phi’s motto of Better Men. Better Lives. encourages all members to live up to standards of excellence and work to make their own lives, and the lives of all those around them better. As a Fraternity of Firsts, we live up to that motto every day. Our aim is to develop better men and a better fraternal experience.
Here are some of the ways Delta Sig has blazed a new, better path.
In 1925, Delta Sigma Phi published our first new member manual, The Gordian Knot—one of the first of its kind in the fraternity/sorority world. This showcased Delta Sig’s dedication to Building Better Men from day one of membership.
The Fraternity continued our dedication to our newest members when in 1938, we became one of the first fraternities to banish “Hell Week” practices. To this day, the Fraternity remains committed to hazing prevention and maintaining a positive, safe environment. Hazing has no place in Delta Sigma Phi, and we continue to develop policies and resources to combat it.
We were also the first fraternity to include in our governing documents statements on the respect for human dignity and a policy regarding acceptance of members with HIV/AIDS.
As we did at our founding, in 1984, Delta Sig once again opened our doors others when we started a chapter at California State University, Northridge, making us the first to provide a fraternity experience to deaf students. The university, home to the National Center on Deafness, is among the highest in granting degrees to underrepresented, minority students.
In 1984, Delta Sig was the first fraternity to ban Little Sister organizations, recognizing the importance of women’s equality and the value of women’s groups as stand-alone organizations.
In 2014, we became the first North-American Interfraternity Conference member organization to have 100 percent of its staff donate to its foundation, demonstrating our commitment to hiring people passionate about Delta Sig educational opportunities.
Delta Sig joined nine other fraternities and sororities in April 2015 to develop groundbreaking programming on sexual assault prevention. Together, with Aaron Boe, the founder of Prevention Culture, the program will equip collegians with the tools necessary to create safe and supportive chapter cultures. It covers topics including healthy standards for personal relationships, misconceptions about non-stranger sexual assault, intervention techniques for complicated social situations and ways to support a victim/survivor.
Most recently, in July 2015, we became the first fraternity to launch a comprehensive transition experience for graduating members and alumni, highlighting our dedication to lifelong membership and personal growth.