Theta Chi

Founding Theta Chi was founded on April 10, 1856, at Norwich University in Norwich, Vermont, by two military cadets, Frederick Norton Freeman and Arthur Chase. A third man, Egbert Phelps, is considered to be the "assistant founder" for lending his help and advice to Freeman and Chase after transferring to Union College in 1854 (he was a member of Chi Psi fraternity). The first initiates after the founders were Edward Bancroft Williston and Lorenzo Potter, both initiated on . When Freeman and Chase founded Theta Chi, they spelled out its purpose in its constitution. Article I stated that the objects of Theta Chi were to "bind by closer bonds the members to each other and the mutual assistance of each of its members;" "the advancement and carrying out of any measures at the institution in which it shall be established which shall be of importance to its members," and "the mutual benefit and improvement of all its members." Theta Chi's early history is closely connected to the history of Norwich University. In 1866, a fire devastated the university, destroying the Old South Barracks, where the fraternity had been founded. This disaster prompted the university to move from Norwich to its present location in Northfield, Vermont. In 1873, the university nearly closed due to financial reasons; however, fraternity member Charles Dole, then serving as a professor at the university, met all of the university's financial obligations from his own pocket, saving the institution. In the fall of 1881, Norwich University was reduced to only twelve students and Theta Chi's membership was reduced to one collegiate member, James M. Holland. In November of that year, Phil S. Randall and Henry B. Hersey approached Holland and insisted that they be allowed to join Theta Chi; Holland agreed, which saved the fraternity from extinction. Unlike other men's college fraternity mergers, Beta Kappa was completely absorbed into Theta Chi with no changes to the name or ritual. The Foundation Chapter of Theta Chi Fraternity, Inc. was established in 1953 as a charity to provide educational scholarships and assistance. In 1965, the Zeta Gamma chapter was installed at the University of Alberta in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, making Theta Chi an international fraternity. == Symbols ==

The Greek motto of Theta Chi is '''', which is translated as "An Assisting Hand." Theta Chi's motto was secret from the founding in 1856 until the 1930s, at which time it was made public and incorporated into the fraternity's Coat of Arms. The fraternity's maxim is "Alma Mater First and Theta Chi for Alma Mater," and refers to one of the founding ideals of the fraternity: loyalty to one's college or university over the course of one's lifetime. Theta Chi celebrates it Founders Day on April 10. Creed Frank Schrenk (Kappa, 1915) wrote the Creed of Theta Chi. Monument On August 29, 1931, the day of Theta Chi's 75th Anniversary Convention, a stone monument was dedicated at Norwich, Vermont. The Monument of Theta Chi is a remembrance of the founding of Theta Chi Fraternity. The inscription appears as follows: == Philanthropy ==

Theta Chi's preferred philanthropies are the United Service Organizations (USO), Wounded Warrior Project, the Children's Miracle Network, the American Red Cross, Relay for Life, The Kyle Charvat Foundation, and Habitat for Humanity. == Chapters ==

Theta Chi currently has 151 active chapters and five colonies across the United States and Canada. ==Notable members==

Theta Chi has initiated over 215,000 members since its founding. == Local chapter or member misconduct ==

In 1997, Binaya Oja died participating in a drinking pledging ritual at Clarkson University. Pledges were to drink until they vomited. His family filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the fraternity. In 2008, Harrison Kowiak suffered a fatal injury while playing a capture-the-flag-like game as part of initiation at Lenoir–Rhyne University. In his family's wrongful death lawsuit filed against the fraternity, it was reported Kowiak's head struck the concrete when he was tackled. In 2012, Philip Dhanens died due to alcohol poisoning after drinking 37 shots of hard liquor with his fellow pledge brothers at Fresno State University. Three Theta Chi members were arrested and charged for his death following the incident, and as of 2020 the chapter is still inactive. In 2018, a Theta Chi member and student died due to alcohol poisoning at the University of California, Santa Cruz. The organization was disbanded from the university. In 2018, a Theta Chi pledge at Drake University sued the fraternity on the local and national levels after a hazing drinking incident left him near death. In 2019, a Theta Chi member at the University of Arizona sued for medical expenses and severe loss of eyesight after a hazing incident on April 12, 2019. In the claim the pledge cited being beaten and forced to exercise on broken glass while members played loud Nazi music and beat the pledges. During this period a glass of habanero sauce was thrown into the pledge's eyes where he suffered chemical burns, chemosis, and a corneal abrasion. In February 2021, a petition with over 10,000 signatures to suspend the Theta Chi chapter at the University of Massachusetts Amherst emerged after the fraternity hosted several large parties, which were allegedly the cause of higher numbers of COVID cases on the UMass campus. The chapter was put on an interim suspension, but no other punishments were given out. In October 2021, the Theta Chi chapter at the University of Massachusetts Amherst was the center of a student protest after claims that a female student was drugged and raped at a party circulated on various social media platforms. A protest that attracted a crowd of over 300 students turned violent when car windows were broken and a resident of the Theta Chi house was hit with a bottle. Another petition that had over 30,000 signatures pushed administration to suspend the chapter, but the chancellor at the time, Kumble Subbaswamy, said without an official complaint or report, there was no way for them to properly investigate the incidents. In December 2022, the Theta Chi chapter and school at Rutgers University–New Brunswick was sued by a freshman who was allegedly forced into drinking life-threatening amounts of alcohol as a pledge and fell down several flights of stairs which resulted being hospitalized with severe injuries. Shortly after the lawsuit was filed, the letters on the housing for the Theta Chi chapter were taken down. ==See also==