The group's request for a charter, however, was met with refusal as the national fraternity felt that Richmond College was too small to host a Chi Phi chapter. Jenkens had convinced the others that their chapter could be different from the other fraternities on campus and assured them that Chi Phi's principles were in line with their own. These men were reportedly spurned by the existing fraternities on campus for their sense of morality (seven of the twelve were studying for the ordained ministry) and for their rural, middle-class backgrounds. By early October, 1901, Jenkens had persuaded the group, which had grown to twelve men, to try to establish a chapter of Chi Phi at Richmond. At Richmond, which did not have a chapter of Chi Phi, Jenkens was part of group of friends who were meeting regularly under the unofficial name the 'Saturday Night Club'. At Rutgers Jenkens had been initiated into the Chi Phi fraternity. In the fall of 1900 18-year-old divinity student Carter Ashton Jenkens, the son of a Baptist minister, transferred from Rutgers College in New Brunswick, New Jersey to Richmond College, a Baptist institution in Richmond, Virginia. military personnel display the Sigma Phi Epsilon flag in Iraq in May 2009 Founding History The Sigma Phi Epsilon house at Ohio University in Athens, Ohio U.S. Sigma Phi Epsilon is one of the largest social fraternities in the United States in terms of current undergraduate membership. It was founded on three principles: Virtue, Diligence, and Brotherly Love (often abbreviated as 'VDBL'). It was founded on November 1, 1901, at Richmond College, which is now the University of Richmond, and its national headquarters remains in Richmond, Virginia. Sigma Phi Epsilon ( ΣΦΕ), commonly known as SigEp, is a social college fraternity for male college students in the United States. Richmond College ( Richmond, Virginia, U.S.) For the Illinois College local literary society, see Sigma Phi Epsilon Literary Society. This article is about the social fraternity.

Alpha sigma phi ritual