Gamma Chapter
Phi Sigma Kappa was founded on March 15, 1873, at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst, formerly known as Massachusetts Agricultural College. The Gamma Chapter was founded at Cornell in 1889, but was without its own house until 1902, when it moved into 702 University Avenue, across the street from West Campus housing and the Hot Truck.
The Cardinal Principles of "Phi Sig" are Brotherhood, Scholarship, and Character. These beliefs are very close to the Fraternity and its Brothers. The "Triple T's," the symbol of the Fraternity that can be found all over the Chapter House and the University, is a secret symbol whose meaning is known only by the Brothers.
On campus, the 60 active Brothers of Phi Sigma Kappa are involved in an array of activities, from varsity sports to pre-professional groups to TAs, and have an array of majors in every college on campus. The Brothers also participate in many community-based activities, including an annual trip to the Arts Quad to paint the footsteps symbolizing the famous fable that if a virgin crosses the quad at midnight, the statues will rise and shake hands in the center.
Fast Facts
Founded:
March 15, 1873 at Massachusetts Agricultural College in Amherst (now UMass)
Founders:
Jabez William Clay
Frederick George Campbell Joseph Franklin Barrett Xenos Young Clark,
William Penn Brooks
Henry Hague
Colors:
Silver and Red
Flowers:
Red Carnation and White Tea Rose
Chapter Designation: Gamma
Chapter Founded:
February 6, 1889
Chapter Location:
702 University Avenue, Ithaca, NY 14850
Elevens
Alex Dymersky | Alex Floess | Chris Boyle | Chris McKennan | Damon Gray | George Zheng | Greg Mauro | John Felice | Matt Dilluvio | Matt Loeb | Mike Mascarenhas | Ryan Engler | Ryan Tompkins
Twelves
Daniel Satnick | Daniel Wild | Dylan Brannon | Jonathan Correll | Karl Eichorn | Matthew Rowland | Michael Porta | Taimur Alamgir
Thirteens
Alex Huth | Alex Friedman | Carlos Cancela | Chris Nieberding | Dan Kong | Dhiran Singh | Eric Hoffman | Greg Malzberg | Hansen Lam | Henry Medina | Jacob Christ | James Critelli | Jerome Tse | Joe Blau | Joe DeMari | Justin Hawkins | Lucas Rhoads | Matt Bonta | Matt Trotter | Max Klefstad | Rich Dunning | Scott Bergman | Scott Shapiro | Stephen Lane | Topher Strayer
Fourteens
Billy Pereira | Bobby Wong | Christian Rieger | Daven Roshan | Devin Hegelein | Frank Arland | Jay Edwards | Jamie Cummins | Jerald Watson | John Grenawalt | John Peters | Jon Nance | Leigh Seidman | Micah Harp | Michael Hansen | Neil Parekh | Paul Bakoyiannis | Ryan Burkard | Ryan White | Sean Abraham | Taylor Thomas | Timur Ozekcin | Trevor Lu | Vaibhav Gupta | Zac Peterson
Absolute A Cappella
AEM Ambassadors
Alpha Phi Omega National
Service Fraternity
Amnesty International
Biomedical Eng. Research
CALS Ambassadors
CIVR (Tour Guide)
Cornell Ambassadors
Cornell American Society of Mechanical Engineers
Cornell Catholic Community
Cornell Club Baseball
Cornell Club Lacrosse
Cornell Concert Commission
Cornell Debate Team
Cornell Democrats
Cornell Distance Club
Cornell Economics Society
Cornell Hillel
Cornell Hotel Society
Cornell Investment Club
Cornell Jazz Ensembles
Cornell Mens Water Polo
Cornell Republicans
Cornell Solar Decathlon
Cornell Tradition
Cornell Programming Board
Delta Sigma Pi Buisness Frat.
Dump and Run Sale
Engineering Advising Office
Golden Key Honor Society
Hotel School Ambassadors
Institute of Biological Engineers
Last Call A Cappella
Mini Baja Team
Mock Trial
Navy ROTC
Order of Omega
Orientation Steering Committee
Pi Sigma Epsilon Business Fraternity
REACH
Sailing Team
Scabbard and Blade
Ski and Snowboard Club
SMC Board of Directors
Society of Hispanic Professional
Engineers
Statler Fellow
Statler Hotel
The Cornellian Yearbook
Varsity Golf
Varsity Heavyweight Crew
Varsity Mens Soccer
Varsity Sprint Football
...and many more
Our main philanthropy mission is the Winter Special Olympics. Each year, we raise money and volunteer at the Upstate New York Winter Special Olympics with the sisters of Pi Beta Phi. The rewarding experience is shared with all Phi Sigs across the nation, as the official philanthropy of Phi Sigma Kappa National is the Special Olympics.
This year we hosted a dodgeball tournament with the sisters of the newly established Phi Sigma Sigma to support the Ithaca Youth Bureau and plan on making it an annual event.
We also participate in many local charities including Into the Streets, Dump and Run, a can recycling program, a college town clean up, and many sorority philanthropy programs that we are invited to participate in.
Phi Sig hosts several social events a week, such as open parties, mixers, formals, barbecues, and brotherhood events.
Some of our most popular parties include our annual Escape, Oktoberfest, and Pledge parties.
We also host formals for homecoming, the winter holidays, and Valentine's Day.
The day after Slope Day, we hold a unique event called Mudtrack. An original Phi Sig ROTC sport, the lawn is cut into a muddy figure eight and players race in opposite directions, running into each other 3 times before the race finishes.
House DJs:
Phi Sig has multiple DJs to provide fantastic music to the partying masses. DJ Carlos Cancela (ccanc) is the former Phi Sig President and the primary Phi Sig DJ. Catch him on Fridays on Slope Radio or at Level B every Saturday, and feel free to check out his sites below. Others include DJ Vaibs and DJ REW, who spin for most open parties and mixers.
Twitter: http://twitter.com/c_canc
Blog: http://www.ourcazza.com/
Slope Radio: http://www.slopemedia.org/
Soundcloud: http://soundcloud.com/ccanc
The Phi Sigma Kappa Lodge
Completed in 1902, the Phi Sigma Kappa Lodge is the first house built to be a fraternity house in North America. Built specifically for the Gamma Chapter of Phi Sig, the house itself takes the shape of a gamma. The house is owned by the Gamma Chapter Alumni Association. It was originally built at a cost of $26,000.
The house is a large white colonial that has always housed the brotherhood of Phi Sig at Cornell, the fraternity's longest continously running chapter. When originally built, the house included a personal tennis court in what is now the North Lawn. The balconies and porch provide a great place to hold barbecues and outdoor mixers and offer a stunning view of Cornell and Cayuga Lake.
The lodge is historically recognized by the Tompkin's County Historical Society. In addition, the Rare Manuscripts Library at Cornell University houses many of the historical documents important to the chapter and the house itself.
Various artifacts and literature regarding the history of the house and its brothers are additionally found in the house's Dr. Norman S. Moore Alcove, named for a Brother and advisor to the Gamma Chapter for 75 years who also made it possible for us to own our chapter house.
While living in, brothers enjoy unique accomodations such as a ballroom dance floor, two bars, free cable and internet, a fully accessable restaurant quality kitchen, a music room, laundry machines, and many other benefits. The house has its own cook, Arthur Birnbaum, who cooks five days a week and has been featured in the Cornell Daily Sun.
The house underwent major renovations in 1989 using generous donations from our Alumni Association. A second renovation project is currently underway.
Phi Sigma Kappa National
The Cardinal Principles and Phi Sigma Kappa Creed are shared with all Phi Sigs across the nation.
The Phi Sigma Kappa Creed
In the firm conviction that my Fraternity demands of me a life of Faith and Purpose
I hereby solemnly declare My Faith in the wisdom and love of God; in the dignity and worth of my fellowmen; in the strength and beauty of true Fraternity; in the history and future of my Country; and in the traditions and program of my Alma Mater.
Henceforward, therefore, it shall be My Purpose to remain forever true to this, my fraternity's faith in me and in turn to preserve and promote courageously and unselfishly the chosen ideals of our mutual affection and common endeavor.
To this end I dedicate My Life to the maintenance of this Faith and the pursuit of this Purpose so that the ideals of Phi Sigma Kappa, being embodied in me, may be fulfilled in my Character and Conduct, and be known and honored by all men.
By these things I stand.
Phi Sigma Kappa Founders
Frederick George Campbell Joseph Franklin Barrett
Xenos Young Clark
The Phi Sigma Kappa Headquarters are in Indianapolis, Indiana. We send a few brothers to regional conclaves each spring and a national convention at a different city each summer where they meet Phi Sigs representing all chapters in the nation.
Interesting links:
Phi Sigma Kappa Songs:
http://www.phisigmakappa.org/phi-sig-songs
Phi Sigma Kappa Wiki:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phi_Sigma_Kappa
The Phi Sigma Kappa Cardinal Principles
To Promote Brotherhood
To Stimulate Scholarship
To Develop Character
Phi Sigma Kappa National: http://www.phisigmakappa.org/home
Phi Sig Spring 2012 Rush Schedule:
Tuesday 1/17 - Smoker 6-9 PM
Wednesday 1/18 - Brunch 11AM, Smoker 12-3PM, First round contacts 8PM, Casino Night 10PM
Thursday 1/19 - Tubing at Greek Peak 12-4:30PM, Smoker with Kyushu Hibachi Chef 9PM-12AM
Friday 1/20 - Smoker 2-4PM, Second round contacts 10PM
Saturday 1/21 - Indoor Paintball in Syracuse catered by Dinosaur BBQ 1-8PM
SPRING 2012
Phi Sig alumni remain active with the current brothers in the fraternity. There is an annual alumni weekend in the summer and alumni are invited to Phi Sig homecoming activities such as the annual Rich Gannon '92 Memorial Alumni Golf Tournament and the homecoming formal. Alumni also receive the Gamma Contact, the Phi Sig Gamma Chapter newsletter. The most recent copy can be viewed .
Brothers from the 1950s have created an alumni website: http://psk50s.com/
GammaContact-Fall2010.pdf
Phi Sigma Kappa has many famous brothers. Some notable brothers from Cornell include:
John S. Knight '18 : Publisher and owner, Knight Newspapers; member of Cornell Board of Trustees. Namesake of Knight Institute at Cornell.
Louis W. Dawson '19 : Former President, Mutual Life Insurance Company of New York
David French '60 : Former news anchor, CNN
Cornell Crew Team Early '60s : Champion crew team. All members featured on the June 18, 1962 cover of Sports Illustrated are Phi Sigs from Cornell.
Reggie Fils-Aime '83 : President and chief operating officer of Nintendo of America
Will Gluck '93: Film director, screenwriter, and producer. Some of his films include "Easy A" (2010) and "Friends with Benefits" (2011).
Zak Dentes '09 : Record-setting Cornell Sprint Football captain and quarterback.
This Cornell crew featured on the June 18, 1962 cover of Sports Illustrated are Phi Sigs from Cornell. Read the article here.
If you are an alumni who wants to get in touch with active members of Phi Sigma Kappa, please email our alumni secretary, Brother Trevor Lu (tl376_cornell.edu), or our Alumni Advisor, Bill Miller (willie53_comcast.net).
President:
Jon Nance: jbn36_cornell.edu
Vice President:
Ryan White: rew225_cornell.edu
Treasurer:
Trevor Lu: tl376_cornell.edu
Secretary:
Greg Malzberg: gwm49_cornell.edu
Rush Chairmen:
Billy Pereira: wrp24_cornell.edu
Karl Eichorn: kae55_cornell.edu
Scott Shapiro: sas443_cornell.edu
Social Chairmen:
Ryan Burkard: rtb58_cornell.edu
Vaibhav Gupta: vg96_cornell.edu
Philanthropy Chairman:
Jay Edwards: jre66_cornell.edu
Alumni Secretary:
Alumni Advisor:
Bill Miller: willie53_comcast.net
Webmaster:
The Chalfant Mural, painted by Brother Dick Chalfant in the '50s, depicts the journey through an undergraduate's four years at Cornell. It is placed in the Phi Sigma Kappa bar.
Cornell University
