In terms of age, we here at St. John's University are relatively young. We were founded officially on March 10, 1990, but were first getting recognized on campus around 1987. Most of the greek system at St. John's was dominated by local chapters. It wasn't a large system, consisting of approximately 8 fraternities and 6 sororities, but it was a system nonetheless. In a school of about 12,000 students, there was plenty of room for growth.
In 1987, a young Sig Ep named Juan Manny Piņera transferred over to St. John's from Marist College. He envisioned creating a chapter on the St. John's campus to replace the brothers he so longed for at Marist. This was much like Carter Ashton Jenkens, when he found our fraternity as a replacement for his Sigma Phi brothers at Richmond. In that regard, Manny was much like a prophet sent to us by Brother Jenkens so that we too could experience his Philosophy of Love.
Manny joined an organization called OLAS (Organization of Latin American Students) because at first he didn't know how to go about starting a chapter at St. John's. But, after a short time, he knew nothing could replace his brotherhood, so he sought out to look for the answers. He contacted Headquarters, and with 12 other members he recruited from OLAS, he set off on the road to brotherhood. With help from New York Gamma, New Jersey Gamma and New Jersey Alpha, he set up his pledge program and became recognized by the school. There was a lot of opposition from other fraternities because of the perceived threat of another national fraternity on campus, and the fact that, at the time, the chapter consisted primarily of brothers of Hispanic descent. Manny and the rest of the brothers overcame this and with the help of Alpha Phi Delta, started on their way to greatness.
Throughout the years we have grown to what we are today. We have adopted the Balanced Man Development Program and the Balanced Man Scholarship Program to help us fine tune our membership. We always have the largest new member classes of any fraternity on campus. We are second in grades and tied for first overall in athletics this year. We have won the community service award for the fourth straight year, and most importantly, we are a family. At times this love for our brothers may cause some problems in the chapter. We love our brothers too much to turn our backs on them when they run into problems and can't pay their dues.
We always remember that we are a family first and we do all we can to aid a brother in need. We are the most diverse group of fraternity members of any chapter and any fraternity throughout the nation. Our brothers are Dominican, Irish, Puerto Rican, Haitian, Italian, Greek, Israeli, African, Cuban, Ecuadorians, Indian, American Indian and many others. We represent the epitome of the Jenkens lesson:
"The philosophy of love is the only philosophy in which the world can truly be at peace."
....................................Sigma Phi Epsilon....................................... |
