Alpha Sigma Chapter (Founded 4 November 1991; Reactivated 20 April 1998) is located at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, Virginia. The chapter was refounded by Alpha Kappa Chapter alumnus Rebecca "Becky" Halloran and is a member of the Dominion Region.

The Alpha Sigma Brotherhood as of Spring 2010

Chapter History

Founding

In the spring of 1997, Alpha Kappa Chapter alumna, Rebecca Halloran, moved to Richmond and was informed that the Alpha Sigma Chapter at Virginia Commonwealth University had been inactive since 1993. Wanting to bring the spirit of Phi Sigma Pi back to VCU, Halloran began the process of re-activating the chapter.

Re-Activation

The process the Alpha Sigma Chapter re-activated was much more involved than Halloran had expected. Since she was not affiliated with VCU as a student or employee, getting lists of potential brothers proved to be difficult. Even with a comprehensive list of all students maintaining a 3.0 GPA; all graduate students, first semester-freshman and second semester seniors had to be weeded out of consideration.

On March 23, 1998, the first of several organizational meetings was held in the University Commons Theatre. On March 30, 1998, the first group of officers for the reactivated Alpha Sigma was elected. The elections were like pulling teeth since many were unsure of what they were getting into with the fraternity, much less jumping right into a leadership position.

Finally on April 20, the Charter class of the reactivated Alpha Sigma was inducted after taking the membership exam. The induction ceremony was the first official ceremony for the new Alpha Sigma. Rebecca and several visiting brothers from Alpha Kappa performed the induction ceremony for the Charter class of 33 new Brothers and welcomed them to the Phi Sigma Pi circle of Brotherhood with the fraternity grip, greeting, and song.

The Active Chapter

The Chapter currently has 65 Brothers, all of whom are active in Phi Sigma Pi and other campus organizations from athletics to honor societies to service groups.

Siggy the Frog

Chapter Symbols

The Chapter colors are purple, gold, and white.

The Chapter mascot is Siggy the frog.

Chapter Chant

At the beginning of meetings the entire Chapter stands to sing "Brothers Are We" and yell...

A-S that's us,
We leave the rest back in the dust!
A-S that's why we dominate Phi Sigma Pi,
A-S it's true, we lead the pack at VCU,
And if you can't respect that-
You can kiss our A-S-S, Biatch!

Executive Board

Alpha Sigma currently has a ten position executive board which meets every week before regular business and initiate meetings. Officers are elected each spring to serve the fraternity during the following academic year, with the exception of the Initiate Advisor, who has been elected on a semester to semester basis since 2008. In 2006, due to the dwindling size of the Chapter and need to re-energize the recruitment process the Chapter split the Recruitment Advisor office into a co-chair position. In 2008, this action was modified to create two separate positions: Recruitment Advisor and Public Relations Advisor, to boost the chapters presence on campus. In 2009, the number of members on the executive board became ten, when the of Brother-at-Large was added to help open lines of communication between Brothers, a position inspired by similar officers at other chapters in the region.

2008 - 2009 Executive Board

2017-2018 Alpha Sigma Executive Board

President - Erin Crane
Vice President - Victoria Platea
Parliamentarian - Mikaela Reinard
Secretary - Morgan Barnes
Treasurer - Riley Harris
Historian - Emily Parr
Recruitment Advisor- Maddy Olsen
Public Relations Advisor-Hayleigh Wilson
Initiate Advisor - Alyssa Scrubb
Brother-at-Large - Aine Waller

Past Chapter Presidents

Brianna Upton (2016-2017)
Darien Wiliams (2015-2016)
David Trinh (2014-2015)
Mia Bradley (2013-2014)
Katie Blankenbaker (2012-2013)
Billy Eggleston (2010-2011)
Kayla Newberg (2009-2010)
Jet Aiken (2008-2009)
Kristen A. Fox (2007-2008)
Rose L. Durbin (2006-2007)
Raphaella Teschner (2005-2006)
Rose L. Durbin (2004-2005)

Initiate Classes

Main Article: List of Alpha Sigma Chapter Initiate Classes

Chapter Events & Activities

Founder's Weekend

Alpha Sigma celebrates the National Fraternity's founding with a Brotherhood Dinner and the Chapter's re-activation with a Formal Dance, service event and fellowship festivities with Brothers, Alumni and other Chapters.

Fundraising For Fun

The Alpha Sigma Chapter has recently begun developing a relationship with the campus sport/concert venue the Alltel Pavilion at the Stuart C. Siegel Center. Every semester the Brothers work a concession stand inside the stadium and serve customers hot dogs and popcorn, while showing their Phi Sigma Pi pride and being Rowdy Rams cheering on the VCU teams.

The Brothers also frequently work at Diversity Thrift, a local thrift shop that supports the Richmond Gay Community Foundation- an organization dedicated to improving the lives of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgendered people through funding and education. Brothers work for a fraction of the cost of part-time employees, thereby conducting a service for the store and making a little profit while we're at it!

Semesters of Service

Alpha Sigma's most recent service chair has set up a system of themed service events for the semester, to give the Chapter a service focus and direction. The Fall 2007 semester hosted events focusing on the impacts of poverty with events like:

Teach For America Coin Drive
Volunteering at the Central Virginia Food Bank
Habitat for Humanity Volunteer Orientation
Feeding the Freedom House Respite Shelter

The biggest event thus far has been a Stockings For Soldiers drive to gifts overseas and adopt a stateside family with a parent deployed for Christmas. In 2007,The Chapter chose to adopt a family in Reaford, NC, with four children from ages 7 to 15 and a father currently serving in Afghanistan. The Brothers graciously donated to a Family Gift Fund to buy the children one big present- a Nintendo Wii! When advertised on campus, students, alumni, and faculty donated everything from Chapstick and sunscreen to Kool-Aid and magazines to send in the holiday carepackages to Iraq. Due to the immense positve response of the Brotherhood and the campus community, the Chapter is considering making this an annual service event.

Cultural Enrichment Through Scholarship

Alpha Sigma takes extreme pride in their urban location and the immense cultural diversity on campus. The Chapter celebrates this demographic with a variety of Scholarship field trips to events, including:

VCU Symphony Orchestra
Virginia Holocaust Museum
Arabic Film Festival
Virginia Museum of Fine Arts
VCU French Film Festival

Social Cures for Stress

The Alpha Sigma Chapter recognizes the importance of all three foundations for the tripod including socializing! The Chapter works to host events throughout the semester to give Brothers an excuse to take a step away from the books and bring friends to hang out with the Brotherhood for a good old dose of fun. This semester the Chapter has focused on stress relieving events like late night milkshake runs, movie dates, stress management nights and dancing (gotta love those endorphins)!

Notable Alumni

Christy Marie Borbidge (Charter Class)
Jason Walters (Alpha Class)
Bernita Eddings (Alpha Class)

Author of the Chapter Chant

Lauren Bradshaw (Omicron Class)

Vice President (2005-2007)

Rose Durbin (Lambda Class)

Vice President (2005-2007)

2010 Recipient of the Outstanding Chapter Advisor Award (Shared with Dr. William Eggleston)

Mary Jeannette Aiken

2008 Todd Tripod Scholarship Recipient

Phillip Vaughan (Upsilon Class)

2010-2011 Region Consultant

Chapter Honors and Awards

National Awards

University Awards

None to date

Other Awards

Richard Cecil Todd and Clauda Pennock Todd Tripod Scholarship Recipient (Jeannette "Jet" Aiken - 2008)

Further Resources

In the News

Article Name

Alpha Sigma Chapter
Founded November 4, 1991 • Virginia Commonwealth University
Presidents	unknown pre-2004 • Rose L. Durbin • Raphaella Teschner • Rose L. Durbin • Kristen A. Fox • Jet Aiken • Kayla Newberg • Billy Eggleston • Katie Blankenbaker
History	List of Alpha Sigma Chapter Initiate Classes • List of Alpha Sigma Family Lines
Chapter Service Keys	Rebecca Halloran • Rose Durbin • Chris Durbin
National Council Members	none
Torchias	none

Collegiate Chapters
Alpha • Beta • Gamma • Delta • Epsilon • Zeta • Eta • Theta • Iota • Kappa • Lambda • Mu • Nu • Xi • Omicron • Pi • Rho • Sigma • Tau • Upsilon • Phi • Omega • Alpha Alpha • Alpha Beta • Alpha Gamma • Alpha Delta • Alpha Epsilon • Alpha Zeta • Alpha Eta • Alpha Theta • Alpha Iota • Alpha Kappa • Alpha Lambda • Alpha Mu • Alpha Nu • Alpha Xi • Alpha Omicron • Alpha Pi • Alpha Rho • Alpha Sigma • Alpha Tau • Alpha Upsilon • Alpha Phi • Alpha Chi • Alpha Psi • Alpha Omega • Beta Alpha • Beta Beta • Beta Gamma • Beta Delta • Beta Epsilon • Beta Zeta • Beta Eta • Beta Theta • Beta Iota • Beta Kappa • Beta Lambda • Beta Mu • Beta Nu • Beta Xi • Beta Omicron • Beta Pi • Beta Rho • Beta Sigma • Beta Tau • Beta Upsilon • Beta Phi • Beta Chi • Beta Psi • Beta Omega • Gamma Alpha • Gamma Beta • Gamma Gamma • Gamma Delta • Gamma Epsilon • Gamma Zeta • Gamma Eta • Gamma Theta • Gamma Iota • Gamma Kappa • Gamma Lambda • Gamma Mu • Gamma Nu • Gamma Xi • Gamma Omicron • Gamma Pi • Gamma Rho • Gamma Sigma • Gamma Tau • Gamma Upsilon • Gamma Phi • Gamma Chi • Gamma Psi • Gamma Omega • Delta Alpha • Delta Beta • Delta Gamma • Delta Delta • Delta Epsilon • Delta Zeta • Delta Eta • Delta Theta • Delta Iota • Delta Kappa • Delta Lambda • Delta Mu • Delta Nu • Delta Xi • Delta Omicron • Delta Pi • Delta Rho • Delta Sigma • Delta Tau • Delta Upsilon • Delta Phi • Delta Chi • Delta Psi • Delta Omega • Epsilon Alpha • Epsilon Beta • Epsilon Gamma • Epsilon Delta • Epsilon Epsilon • Epsilon Zeta • Epsilon Eta • Epsilon Theta • Epsilon Iota • Epsilon Kappa • Epsilon Lambda • Epsilon Mu • Epsilon Nu • Epsilon Xi • Epsilon Omicron • Epsilon Pi • Epsilon Rho • Epsilon Sigma • Epsilon Tau • Epsilon Upsilon • Epsilon Phi • Epsilon Chi • Epsilon Psi • Epsilon Omega • Zeta Alpha • Zeta Beta • Zeta Gamma • Zeta Delta • Zeta Epsilon • Zeta Zeta • Zeta Eta • Zeta Theta • Zeta Iota • Zeta Kappa • Zeta Lambda • Zeta Mu • Zeta Nu • Zeta Xi • Zeta Omicron • Zeta Pi • Zeta Rho • Zeta Sigma • Zeta Tau • Zeta Upsilon • Zeta Phi • Zeta Chi • Zeta Psi • Zeta Omega • Eta Alpha • Eta Beta • Eta Gamma • Eta Delta • Eta Epsilon • Eta Zeta • Eta Theta • Eta Iota • Eta Kappa • Eta Mu • Eta Lambda • Eta Mu • Eta Nu • Eta Xi • Eta Omicron • Eta Pi • Eta Rho • Eta Sigma

Alpha Sigma Chapter

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