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Wichita State University | Kansas Gamma Chapter
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SAE History
Sigma Alpha Epsilon was founded March 9, 1856 at the University of Alabama at Tuscaloosa. Its eight founders included five seniors. Noble Leslie DeVotie, John Barratt Rudulph, Nathan Elams Cockrell, John Webb Kerr, and Wade Harris Foster, and three juniors, Samuel Marion Dennis, Abner Edwin Patton and Thomas Chappell Cook. Their leader was DeVotie who had written the ritual, devised the grip and chosen the name. The badge was designed by Rudulph. Of all existing fraternities today, Sigma Alpha Epsilon is the only one founded in the ante-bellum South. Founded in a time of growing and intense sectional feeling, Sigma Alpha Epsilon, although it determined at the outset to extend to other colleges, confined its growth to the southern states. Extension was vigorous, however, and by the end of 1857 the Fraternity counted seven chapters. Its first national convention met in the summer of 1858 at Murfreesboro, Tennessee, with four of its eight chapters in attendance. By the time of the outbreak of the Civil War in 1861, fifteen chapters had been established. The Fraternity had fewer than four hundred members when the Civil War began. Of those, 369 went to war for the Confederacy and seven fought with the Union forces. Every member of the chapters at Hampden-Sydney, Georgia Military Institute, Kentucky Military Institute an d Oglethorpe University fought for the gray. Members from the Columbian College, William and Mary and Bethel (KY) were in both armies. Seventy members of the Fraternity lost their lives in the War, including Noble Leslie DeVotie, who is officially recorded in the annals of the War as the first man on either side to give his life. The miracle in the history of Sigma Alpha Epsilon is that it survived that great sectional conflict. when the smoke of the battle had cleared, only one chapter, at tiny Columbian College in Washington, D.C., survived, and it died soon thereafter. When a few of the young veterans returned to the Georgia Military Institute and found their little college burned to the ground, they decided to go to Athens, Georgia, to enter the state university there. It vas the founding of the University of Georgia chapter at the end of 1865 that led to the Fraternity's revival. Soon other chapters came back to life, and in 1867 the first post-war convention was held at Nashville, Tennessee, where a half dozen revived chapters planned the Fraternity's future growth. The Reconstruction years were cruel to the South, and southern colleges and their fraternities shared in the general malaise of the region. In the 1870s and early 1880s more than a score of new chapters were formed, some of them in exceedingly frail institutions. Older chapters died as fast as new ones were established. By 1886 the Fraternity had charted 49 chapters, but scarcely a dozen could be called active. Two of the 49 were in the North. After much discussion and not a little dissent, the first northern chapter had been established at Pennsylvania College, now Gettysburg College, in 1883, and a second was placed at Mt. Union College in Ohio two years later. It was in 1886 that things took a turn for the better. That autumn a 16-year-old youngster by the name of Harry Bunting entered Southwestern Presbyterian University in Clarksville, Tennessee, and was initiated by the young Tennessee Zeta chapter there that had previously initiated two of his brothers. When Sigma Alpha Epsilon took in Harry Bunting, it caught a comet by the tail. In just eight years, under the enthusiastic guidance of Harry Bunting and his younger brother, George, Sigma Alpha Epsilon experienced a renaissance. Together they prodded Sigma Alpha Epsilon chapters to enlarge their membership; they wrote encouraging articles in the Fraternity's quarterly journal, The Record, promoting better chapter standards; and above all they undertook an almost incredible program of expansion of the Fraternity, resurrecting old chapters in the South (including the mother chapter at Alabama) and founding new ones in the North and West. In an explosion of growth, the Buntings single-handedly were responsible for nearly fifty chapters of Sigma Alpha Epsilon. When Harry Bunting founded the Northwestern University chapter in 1894, he initiated as a charter member William Collin Levere, a remarkable young man whose enthusiasm for the Fraternity matched Bunting's. To Levere Bunting passed the torch of leadership, and for the next three decades it was the spirit of "Billy" Levere that dominated Sigma Alpha Epsilon and brought the Fraternity to maturity. "Billy" did everything. He was twice elected national president, served as the Fraternity's first full-time executive secretary and chapter visitation officer (1912-27), edited its quarterly magazine and several editions of the catalog and directory of membership and published a monumental three volume history of the Fraternity in 1911. It is small wonder than when Levere died February 22, 1927, the Fraternity's Supreme Council decided to name their new national headquarters building the Levere Memorial Temple. Construction of the Temple, an immense Gothic structure located a stone's throw from Lake Michigan and across from the Northwestern University campus, was started in 1929, and the building was dedicated at Christmastime 1930. When the Supreme Council met regularly in the early 1930s at the Temple, educator John O. Moseley, the Fraternity's national president, lamented that "we have in the Temple a magnificent school-house. Why can we not have a school?" Accordingly, the economic depression notwithstanding, in the summer of 1935 the Fraternity's first leadership school was held under the direction of Dr. Moseley. The first such workshop in the Fraternity world, it was immensely successful, and today nearly every Fraternity holds such a school. The leadership is unquestionably the best service Sigma Alpha Epsilon provides to its undergraduates who come to Evanston in regimental numbers each year. It was probably John Moseley more than any other whose leadership carried Sigma Alpha Epsilon forward during the next twenty years until his untimely death in 1955. The last years of his life he served the Fraternity as its executive secretary, capping a distinguished academic career that had included two college presidencies. Since the Second World War the Fraternity has grown much larger, and it has changed in a number of ways, some quite obvious and others quite subtle Its growth in chapters and membership has been quite spectacular, and its total number of initiates continues to be the higher in the Fraternity world. More than a hundred chapter charters have been granted in 45 years. A few chapters have died or have been suspended, but a number of older ones have been revived, including two pre-Civil War chapters (Baylor and Oglethorpe) The number of undergraduate members in each chapter has remained remarkably steady, averaging approximately seventy men each. Qualitative changes in recent decades have been profound. Alongside their colleges chapters have democratized. Membership today is for more heterogeneous than it was a generation ago as chapters have welcomed increasing numbers of men from religious, ethnic and racial minorities, enriching chapters with an unprecedented cultural diversity. One has but to peruse the roster of the 600 or so delegates at the annual Leadership School to confirm the dimensions of change. The Fraternity enjoyed the "happy days" of the 1950s, endured to survive the campus revolt of the 1960s and early 1970s, and it tried to steer an even coarse in the turbulence that marked the late 1970s and the 198Os. Together with its fellow collegiate Greek-letter societies it wrestles today with problems attendant upon risk management, the war against hazing, alcohol abuse and sexual misconduct rife on our campuses. Never before have the challenges been so great or the opportunities so rich. Accordingly the Fraternity has undertaken a thorough program of reform and rejuvenation, seeking to assist its undergraduate members to make a reaffirmation of faith in their best, most wholesome traditions while seeking to adapt creatively to a new and invigorating college climate. Sigma Alpha Epsilon looks to a future full of promise.
Our Chapter
On the campus of Wichita State University in 1965, Capt. John Ellison was an instructor in the ROTC department. Ellison attended college in Washington State, where the Washington Beta chapter of Sigma Alpha Epsilon initiated him. In early September, one of Ellisons students wore a jacket to class a jacket bearing the Greek letters SAE. This being a cool September day, the student, Mark Anderson, had borrowed a jacket from his friend, T.R. Lindsey. Lindsey had pledged the Fraternity at SAEs chapter in Beloit, Wisconsin, but had transferred to Wichita State before he could be initiated. Ellison took the time to discuss the Fraternity and its ideals with Anderson, and shared his desire of starting a local Fraternity chapter. Their first step would be to recruit men of the highest character into a local Fraternity, with the eventual goal being membership in Sigma Alpha Epsilon. Interest began to grow. Together, Ellison and Anderson found a few other SAEs attending Wichita State. They held a meeting on October 9, 1965, calling the group the Phi Alpha local fraternity. The local organization continued for two years, building membership and recognition on the Wichita State campus. In May 1967, the group formally petitioned Sigma Alpha Epsilon, requesting a charter to operate a Wichita State chapter, dubbed, Kansas Gamma. At the Fraternitys National Convention (June 1967), the vote passed to grant a charter to the Wichita State group the National President of the Fraternity (Eminent Supreme Archon), Roy Miller, officially welcomed Wichita State into the Realm of Sigma Alpha Epsilon on October 7, 1967.
Contact Us:
1714 N. Fairmount
Wichita, KS 67208
316.686.7707
True Gentleman
The True Gentleman is the man whose conduct proceeds from good will and an acute sense of propriety, and whose self-control is equal to all emergencies; who does not make the poor man conscious of his poverty, the obscure man of his obscurity, or any man of his inferiority or deformity; who is himself humbled if necessity compels him to humble another; who does not flatter wealth, cringe before power, or boast of his own possessions or achievements; who speaks with frankness but always with sincerity and sympathy; whose deed follows his word; who thinks of the rights and feelings of others, rather than his own; and who appears well in any company, a man with whom honor is sacred and virtue safe. - John Walter Wayland - "The True Gentleman"... For almost three-quarters of a century, our Brothers have been guided by these simple but powerful words. They have inspired us in times of discouragement, guided us in times of confusion, humbled us at our moments of great achievement, and bonded us across all distance and time. In many ways the words penned by John Walter Wayland are Sigma Alpha Epsilon, to members and non-members alike. No other piece of writing captures so completely our intentions and standards; no other works sums up so concisely what we stand for, aspire to, and work toward in everything we do.
Brothers
Active Brother BiosActiive Brother List:Eminent Archon:Tate BlantonEminent Deputy Archon:Jacques BlasiBrothers:Mason ColeyJacob BowlingBen RuhlCole MillardAlex FosterBrian CusterBrent WilsonDavid ShaubCody LawrenceDevin TullisHenry HansImmanual ScottJefferson AdamsJeremy SendallJosh HardyJeff FisherRichard KennedySamuel ScottTemmuz CoskunTommy StaabTyler SelvesTyler NepoteZach Martinez
Recruitment
SAE Recruitment Video 2011 Wichita State
Pledgeship Pledgeship begins after a Formal Pledging ritual. This is a ritual that is open to the public, especially family and friends. During this process, pledges state that they will only pledge Sigma Alpha Epsilon, that they will achieve the highest scholastic level to their abilities, and that they will do everything within their ability to uphold the creed of The True Gentleman. The next step is an eight week long Pledge Education process. During this period, pledges will learn about the national history of Sigma Alpha Epsilon, the history of the Kansas Gamma chapter at Wichita State University, and the history of other Greek organizations found on our campus. Upon completion of these classes, and with a minimum GPA of 2.5, pledges graduate to a Neophyte status. Early into the following semester, Neophytes, along with the initiated members, spend a week establishing brotherhood with each other. After this week of brotherhood building, the Neophytes are then initiated into the fraternityHousing The SAE chapter has capacity for sixteen gentlemen to live in the fraternity house. Unlike to other fraternity houses, Sigma Alpha Epsilon Fraternitys house has 9 different apartments. Each apartment has a living area, dinning area, kitchenette, bathroom, and one or two bedrooms. All utilities are paid except for electricity and each apartment is wired with broadband internet and basic cable. Seven apartments are doubles, consisting of a small bedroom and large bedroom, for $115 and $195, respectively, and two of the apartments are singles, for $255.Social We are, indeed, a social fraternity. Thus speaking, every semester we have several social functions to help build brotherhood, establish relations with sororities, and of course, practice the values of the true gentleman in social environments. Some of our social events include: Date Parties are a social gathering between brothers of the fraternity and their dates. These date parties are usually began with dinner at a nice restaurant, then follow with socializing at either the fraternity house, or another location Formals are, as indicated, a formal occasion to celebrate the culmination of a semester. These formals are usually held at a reception hall with a catered meal, dancing, and sometimes a banquette to honor specific brothers, alumni, and/or people who helped us through the semester. Intramurals are a time to compete against other fraternity in various sports. There are also coed teams comprised of both fraternity and sorority members. The sports played include Badminton, Basketball, Bowling, Flag Football, Free Throw Contest, Racquetball, Soccer, Swim Meet, Table Tennis, and Volleyball. Shocktoberfest is the annual fall spirit week at Wichita State. Each year we are an active participants in the events on campus which include: a banner competition, mud volleyball and mud tug-o-war, dodgeball tournament, billiards tournament, bowling tournament, video competition, and much much more! Hippodrome is the longest running tradition at Wichita State, starting in 1928. It's a week long event is full of programs designed to promote WSU pride and to showcase talent. The week is capped with an all day show featuring original performances from student organizations across campus. Every year a fraternity and sorority team up to write, produce, and star in a twenty five minute performance at the CAC Theater. We just recently secured first place with the ladies of Alpha Phi, Hippodrome 2007!
Events
Dance MarathonDance Marathon is brought to you by The True Gentleman of Sigma Alpha Epsilon and the ladies of Alpha Phi. This event will help to benefit local kids in Kansas that are involved with Children's Miracle Network. CMN helps all kids no matter their condition and are currently helping of 18 million kids nation wide. Wichita State University Dance MarathonTrike Races Wichita State Universitys second oldest tradition is the annual Trike Races, in which all proceeds are donated to Big Brother and Big Sisters of Sedgwick County. Women from around campus come together to form teams of four, then relay race around the courtyard in the center of campus on large tricycles. True Gentleman Day of Service The TG Day of Service is a day where every chapter of Sigma Alpha Epsilon around the nation volunteers their time to help their respective communities. Other Greek Philanthropy Events Other Greek organizations around campus hold events similar to Trike Races. Sigma Alpha Epsilon participates in events such as Anchor Splash, hosted by the ladies of Delta Gamma Fraternity, and Spike-Takular, hosted by the men of Kappa Sigma Fraternity
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"Friends"
(c) Sigma Alpha Epsilon | KS Gamma 2011
Friends 1.mp3
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