Dear Parents,

Congratulations! Your son has been given an invitation to join Sigma Nu Fraternity at The University of Illinois. I hope he will consider the opportunity carefully and make the best choice for himself. As a 1984 initiate and alumnus of the fraternity and President of the Alumni Chapter, I can state that our Alumni take great pride in seeing quality young men like your son perpetuate the legacy of our fraternity. It is not uncommon for parents to be curious about the commitments their sons undertake when it comes to lifetime membership in a fraternity. Having reaped years of benefits from my membership in and affiliation with Sigma Nu, I am pleased to report your son has begun a worthy mission. I will say that my parents’ concerns might have been somewhat reduced had they received a communication from the organization early on. This note is intended to give you a brief history, status and vision of Sigma Nu at the University of Illinois and to encourage you to applaud your son’s decision to be a joiner – a player – and not a spectator. Greek life at the University of Illinois is a tradition filled with opportunity like no other college campus. There will be many opportunities within the fraternity for your son to build leadership skills, to develop ethics, to fortify his education and to refine himself as a gentleman. Our principals very simply are Love, Honor and Truth. We seek only the highest quality men to further these principles.

Sigma Nu is a national fraternity founded in 1869 as a protest movement to the traditional hazing of freshman cadets at the Virginia Military Institute in Lexington, Virginia. The fraternity began with three cadets who were determined to take a stand against the humiliation and degradation of young men and to build instead, a social fraternity based on principals of love, honor and truth known then as the “Legion of Honor.” It is this movement that became Sigma Nu Fraternity nearly 140 years ago. Since then, over 200,000 men have joined “The Legion of Honor” on over 275 college campuses. The National Fraternity, our Illinois alumni and the collegiate chapter are unwavering in our commitment to maintaining our non-hazing standards. A fraternity is a place to build friendships, learn how to have a positive influence in the lives of others and within the community, and to mature as a gentleman. Hazing is destructive to all of this. Accordingly, we look for men who have the maturity to realize that any type of fraternity hazing is beneath the dignity of any man who would call himself a Sigma Nu.

The Sigma Nu chapter at Illinois, also referred to as Gamma Mu chapter was chartered on May 26, 1902. We have initiated over 1,600 members in that time and we boast a living alumni chapter of over 800 members. The chapter at Illinois has been synonymous with campus involvement since its inception. We foster a culture of abundance – a culture that moves its members to be of service to the University, the student population at large, the Greek Community and the local Champaign-Urbana community. It is no mystery that this philosophy will in turn bring honor to our members and to our organization. By their positive personal growth, our members sustain us and attract more members of that same quality.

Our alumni chapter is responsible for maintaining a housing corporation which maintains the premises occupied by the collegiate chapter. 1009 W Pennsylvania Avenue is a 36 room brick Georgian in the ‘Colonial’ revival style. The land was purchased and the house built in 1931 and renovated in 1946, 1985 and again in 1998. Our historic property is once again safely in the hands of a small group of our chapter alumni after having been owned and managed by our national fraternity for 10 years.  We are very proud of our house, it is a prize trophy of our membership and a critical element of our unity. At the present time the alumni chapter has laid plans to secure this historic and valuable asset in perpetuity through alumni donations.

Besides providing quarters, the alumni chapter has an advisory of 7 members who provide resources, direction and assistance in the areas of housing, effective organization, communication and especially scholarship. The alumni also have a career mentoring program through which collegiates may seek assistance from an alumnus in their chosen field with issues such as class selection, interviewing skills, job leads and networking opportunities. We have many very successful alumni in our ranks and this program is quite unique.

Should your son accept his membership invitation, as a parent, we want to welcome you to the Sigma Nu family. Your son’s work ethic, morality and character are a credit to you.

Congratulations, once again, in your son's invitation to take advantage of the Sigma Nu opportunity. You may find out more about our brotherhood at www.SigmaNuIllinois.com or the national fraternity website www.SigmaNu.org. If you have any questions for the alumni leadership, you may call me directly at 312.506.0230. I hope to meet you personally in the future. Until then, blessings to you and your family and wishes of great success for your son.

Best Regards,

Michael Ritchie
Gamma Mu #1382
President
Gamma Mu Alumni Chapter of
Sigma Nu Fraternity