Senior elementary education major Sarah Melton sells pizza for the annual Teeter-Totter held by ASA and SPE. The event took place for 36 hours straight and collected around $3,300. Yiqing Fu/The Bulletin

The Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity and the Alpha Sigma Alpha sorority held their annual Teeter-Totter-Athon in front of the Sigma Phi Epsilon house last weekend. Despite rainy weather, members persevered through the event that started at 9 a.m. on Friday and lasted through 9 p.m. on Saturday.

“I don’t think the cold weather had been a problem,” said Marissa Germann, sophomore marketing major and philanthropic chair for ASA. “We just put on our hoodies and people felt bad for us so they gave us donations.”
The 36-hour event is put on each year to help local charities like SOS, Big Brother Big Sisters and ESU’s Early Childhood Development program.

“It’s been right on par,” said Luke Chiddix, junior political science major and vice president of programming for Sigma Phi Epsilon. “I think people are being a lot more generous this year. I think Emporia businesses have slowed down due to a bad economy but individuals have made up for it.”
The event was also sponsored by Wheat State Pizza who set up a tent in the yard. Fraternity and sorority members sold pizza for two hours each day during lunch and dinner, making about $16 for every large pizza sold. Members also held signs for passing cars in front of the house to collect money.

Chiddix said the event raised roughly $3,300 and that the ESU football game did not negatively impact donations, since it brought more people into town. He said he noticed more traffic before and after the game.
ASA and SPE members signed up for shifts that lasted between 30 minutes to an hour. Germann said members were required to do at least three hours of teeter-totter. Games, music and s’mores kept them entertained between shifts.
“It is something that has happened long before I got here,” Germann said. “It is always something we have come together on each year to coordinate shifts. We see a lot of people off and on through the night, we just try to keep ourselves entertained.”
Over the summer, both groups went around to local businesses and received donations from Mr. Goodcents, Subway, Jimmy Johns, Walmart and Duby’s. Chiddix said they also received free advertising from KVOE and helped get the word out through Greek Life.

According to records, the Teeter-Totter-Athon started in 1996. Members of Sigma Phi Epsilon traveled to a Sigma Phi house in Missouri to pick up the four-person teeter-totter that is still used today. The only change is the event has been moved from spring to fall.

This is the Greek houses’ only major fundraiser during the year, but Chiddix said they are currently trying to plan another philanthropy event for the spring.

Rocky Robinson

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ΣΦΕ (Sigma Phi Epsilon)

Tanner Monroe, vice president of programming and crime and delinquency studies major, and Kyle Farmer, vice president of finance and secondary social studies education major pose with the Sig Ep house dog. SiSi Huang/The Bulletin

Sigma Phi Epsilon was founded at Richmond College on November 1, 1901 with the cardinal principles: Virtue, Diligence and Brotherly Love. ΣΦΕ has grown to more than 280,000 lifetime members, including over 14,000 undergraduates on 241 campuses in the United States.

“We are currently the largest fraternity in terms of undergraduate enrollment in the nation,” said Tanner Monroe, vice president of programming and crime and delinquency studies major. “We set up the highest GPA standard at the national fraternity. Maximizing members’ academic abilities is the number one priority of our fraternity. ”

The founders of Sigma Phi Epsilon set high standards for all brothers to follow.

”We sent three SigEps to Greece to learn about our balanced men because gracefully with balanced mind in balanced body, you will become a better person,” said Kyle Farmer, vice president of finance and secondary social studies education major. “The experience in SigEp helps me focus on money to balance the budget, and how to manage my time and realize who you are and become a better person.”

The fraternity also provides opportunities for motivated members to become leaders.

“We have a lot of leadership conferences that we are able to attend, and we get a lot of support from our alumni,” Monroe said. “There is so much you can do here.”

Farmer said he’s had many opportunities for leadership as well.

“All the fraternities help people develop leadership, but we are different in that we focus more on leadership,” Farmer said. “When I attended the leadership conference in St. Louis, where we gave out the ideas about how we help ourselves in different ways, I learned how to become a leader by uniting everyone under one rule and trying to make our fraternity a great place on the campus and in the community.”

In 2009, Sigma Phi Epsilon was responsible for 800 hours of community service activities, which accounted for almost one-third of the total reported hours within the Greek Community. 

“We will hold ‘Teeter-Totter’ every fall beginning in October and raise money for CECE,” Monroe said.

When asked about his attraction to Sigma Phi Epsilon, Monroe said they are “thirteen guys working for one common goal and we help each other out.”

ΣΣΣ (Sigma Sigma Sigma)

Whitney Wiebe, president of Sigma Sigma Sigma and secondary social sciences education major stands in front of the Tri Sig house. SiSi Huang/The Bulletin

 

A sisterhood called Sigma Sigma Sigma was formed in Farmville, Vir., in 1898.

“We are a sorority containing 58 members and aiming to help college girls to become better women,” said Whitney Wiebe, president and secondary social sciences education major.

Sigma Sigma Sigma holds the mission of establishing among its members a perpetual bond of friendship, to develop strong character and to impress upon them high standards of conduct.

“The advantage is that I know a lot of women and I can establish friendship and be close to them,” Wiebe said.

As part of the mission statement, Wiebe emphasized that what she learned most about was conduct.

“Through character and friendship, you really get to develop how to become mature women, like being a president – I have a lot of leadership responsibilities and encourage others in the house,” she said. “That’s kind of cool.”

Wiebe encourages all girls to come out and see what being a part of a chapter and a university is all about.

“Sigma Sigma Sigma has introduced me to amazing young women which some have become my best friends,” said Kalyna Nelson, vice president and sociology major. “My sorority has offered me many opportunities and has helped me become involved at ESU.”

 As a new director for Up’til Dawn, Nelson always keeps busy with her classes, practice, work and leisure time.

“Tri Sigma is a home away from home giving the opportunity to be an individual while transitioning through life in college,” she said.

Looking back over the entire experience and the support Sigma Sigma Sigma has given her, Nelson said, “I believe character and friendship are important because any person should be unique while representing themselves in a positive way and friendship is key to a happy life and will help any person become a strong and better person.”

While a Greek chapter may be the answer for finding a place to get involved on campus, determining which fraternity or sorority to join can be a tough choice. Sigma Sigma Sigma has set up a detailed goal for GPA achievement and also encourages member to do certain community service projects every semester.

“Tri Sigma is a sorority that is really trying to get women who want to become better women and are trying to live better lives, developing leadership go out around the sorority and experience lives together,” Wiebe said.

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