Sally Kershner
Features Editor
On the weekend of Sept. 30, the fraternity Phi Sigma Alpha (colloquially known as Sigs) celebrated their 100th anniversary of being an active fraternity at The College of Wooster. After almost a year and a half long process of gathering alumni and actives together, Phi Sigma Alpha welcomed 206 alumni back to campus for the weekend in honor of the 100th anniversary. One of the main purposes of the weekend was for alumni to spend time getting to know the current 29 active members in the fraternity and to share their experiences as members of Greek life at the College.
President of the fraternity, Grant Miller ’17, helped organize this entire celebration with the help of 2010 grads John Obeary and Kevin Whalen, along with Landre McCloud from the Alumni Office. However, there was a significant amount of involvement contributed by all the actives to help gather donations for the fraternity’s new scholarship in honor of the centennial anniversary. Actives have been calling alumni to gather donations and have so far raised $40,000 with an end goal of $50,000. The scholarship will be rewarded to an active member of Phi Sigma Alpha that is in need of financial aid and shows academic integrity.
To start off the weekend celebration, Phi Sigma Alpha hosted a dinner reception at J.A.F.B. where all actives and alumni from the fraternity were able to meet for the first time. The itinerary of the rest of the celebration included a Saturday morning reception with Dean of Students Scott Brown and President Sarah Bolton, a communal attendance of the football game later that day with tailgates and a dinner at Kittredge Dining Hall, followed by a post-dinner reception at the Best Western Hotel. Miller added that the goal was to keep the schedule for the alumni full to make the most of the short time they were on campus.
“A lot of the Sigs went to the football game because a lot of them used to play. The ex-football playing alum all lined the hill with the current football team and stormed the field. It was pretty cool,” said Marcus Bowers ’19. Bowers said that this was one of his favorite memories from the weekend since he also plays football.
He added that the centennial group photo was also a cherished memory. “One hundred years of Sig all in one picture was very special. Then at Kitt we all got to sit down and talk and get to know each other, tell stories and make connections; it was sweet.”
“I really always value meeting the older guy — seeing how we evolved but the same values are still there. We are still upholding the same principles as they did back then. Having so many of them back it was interesting to see how they interact as groups. The camaraderie is still there,” said Miller.
Members said the goal of the celebration was to bring a brotherhood together. “It was profound knowing that these guys were going through the same process in the 60s and that this is a brotherhood that all Sigs share. It’s cool because it gives a common bonding experience. You don’t even know him but you know he’s your brother. There are not many things that can connect generations like that,” said Bowers.
Miller said the celebration created a stronger bond within the fraternity.
“It was important to see how big this is. It is important to see how we as actives are responsible for how we move forward and how we are perceived by the College as a whole,” said Miller.