April 29 is Founders’ Day for several GLOs – Theta Xi, Phi Kappa Theta, and Chi Psi Sigma. It’s Make-a-Wish’s World Wish Day. And this year it’s also Flunk Day at Knox College.
Flunk Day at Knox College is a raucous celebration held every year in the spring. Its date and even the organizers of the event are a secret. On the morning of Flunk Day, the campus wakes up to shouts of students running around and proclaiming it is Flunk Day. The bells of Old Main signal that classes are cancelled and the only thing on the agenda is a good time.
Old Abe even made it to Flunk Day 2014 at the only remaining site of a Lincoln-Douglas debate. (Photo courtesy of Knox College)
Theta Xi Fraternity was founded at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) in Troy, New York, on April 29, 1864. It is the only fraternity in existence today which founded during the Civil War. Its founders are Peter Henry Fox, Ralph Gooding Packard, Christopher Champlin Waite, George Bradford Brainerd, Samuel Buel Jr., Henry Harrison Farnum, Thomas Cole Raymond, and Nathaniel Henry Starbuck.
The Theta Xi chapter at Southern Illinois University Carbondale was chartered on November 17, 1951 as Beta Delta, the 49th chapter of Theta Xi. Actives and alumni of the local organization, Kappa Delta Alpha, traveled to the Iota Chapter at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri. The installation began on Friday night with the initiation of 12 undergraduate members. The chapter officers initiated on Friday spent most of Saturday becoming familiar with the ritual, which had to be memorized before the installation Saturday afternoon. The remaining actives and 50 Kappa Delta Alpha alumni were initiated on Saturday. A banquet on Saturday night at the Candlelight Room in St. Louis capped the weekend’s festivities. William L. Randle and William R. Winkelmeyer, who on September 15, 1933, were founding members of Kappa Delta Alpha, made brief remarks. Randle was also Beta Delta’s first adviser. When the members returned to Carbondale, they initiated nine Kappa Delta Alpha members who had been traveling with sports teams and missed the St. Louis festivities. On Monday, February 23, 1948, in Shryock Auditorium, Kappa Delta Alpha sponsored the first All-School Variety Show. Today that show is known as the Theta Xi Variety Show.
Phi Kappa Theta was founded on April 29, 1959, Phi Kappa and Theta Kappa Phi, two fraternities for Catholic men, merged. Each had been founded because, at the time of their founding, Catholics were not typically welcomed into the other fraternities. Phi Kappa was founded in 1889 at Brown University and Theta Kappa Phi was founded at Lehigh University in 1919. The merger resulted in completely redesigned badge, pledge pin and coat of arms incorporating elements from each of the organizations.
Chi Upsilon Sigma, was founded on April 29, 1980 by seven Latinas at the New Brunswick Campus of Rutgers University in New Brunswick, New Jersey. The seven founders are Evelyn Burgos, Nancy Collazo, Mariela Freay, Catherine Miranda, Maricel Rivera, Sonia Rosa, and Maria E. Tejera. Its official name is Corazones Unidos Siempre (Hearts United Always). There are currently more than 70 chapters. Its national philanthropy is the I Have a Dream Foundation.
It’s also the Make-a-Wish’s World Wish Day. It’s the anniversary of the 1980 wish-come-true which sparked the creation of the Make-a-Wish Foundation. Chris Greicius received his wish to be a police officer for the day. More than 290,000 wishes have been granted since then. Chi Omega and Make-A-Wish have been in alliance since 2002. In that time, Chi Omega members have raised more than 13 million dollars. Chi Omega have volunteered more than 500,000 hours on behalf of Make-A-Wish. Chi Omega is recognized as one of their Cause Champion sponsors.
© Fran Becque, www.fraternityhistory.com, 2015. All Rights Reserved. If you enjoyed this post, please sign up for updates. Also follow me on twitter @GLOHistory and Pinterest www.pinterest.com/glohistory/
