History Archive

History

The brotherhood of Sigma Kappa Psi was first formed in the fall of 2004. At RA training, the idea was first brought up. A group of male RA's realized that there was not an existing social and service group to meet their ideals. The idea spread to other male RA's and to other male leaders around campus. The first SKY brainstorm session was held in Olin lounge. Prospective members were brought up as well as possible constitutional elements. As the fall passed, another session was held in Merner lounge where more of the same occurred. After that session, the foundation was laid but direction was needed. The group had three basic options: join and alter an existing group, start a possible national chapter, or start a new group. After discussion among the group, we decided to begin a new social and service group at Cornell. We decided against becoming a national chapter for two main reasons: the logistics of this process at Cornell were unknown and to minimize growing controversy about the group.

From the beginning there was opposition to a new group, let alone a national fraternity. We were strongly urged to join Sigma Tau, an existing group that was very small and without new members, was facing extinction. We, however, had already established our group ideals and did not feel it was appropriate to change another group's to fit our own. Many felt if SKY became a new group, Sigma Tau's chances of survival would be decreased. We thought we would draw from a different pool of men and, as a result, would not damage Sigma Tau. For these reasons, we felt a new social and service group was our preferred option.

Our weekly group meetings began in early October. Shortly after these began we submitted the first draft of our constitution to CSSG. This commenced our three month probationary period, during which we were to function as an existing group. At this time, our group consisted of twelve members, and we concentrated on three things: building a strong foundation for the group's future, forming tighter bonds within the group, and connecting with other groups. We participated in fall pledging, held an open informational session (which CSSG required), and organized a campus wide toga party.

Our first vote was January 19th, 2005. We needed 2/3 majority of existing groups and 2 unaffiliated reps. Our first attempt to obtain a charter was rejected. There was still uncertainty about the Sigma Tau situation and confusion within other groups about our values and beliefs. Upon reflection of the vote, one of our members, John Ugaste, decided he no longer wanted to remain with us. He still upheld our values, but he decided that the social group system wasn't for him.

After the vote, the group decided to focus more energy on building relations with other groups and less on campus visibility, which we had already obtained. By the time of the next vote, we hoped to plan an event with each group. In early spring, we decided to take a more active role in pledging. We organized and completed successful pre-pledges, had a great bid night, and accepted six new members. Along with this, we did many activities with other groups and worked toward our goal of building relationships with them.

After pledging our minds shifted to formal and our upcoming CSSG vote. We planned three informational sessions: the first for affiliated members, the second for unaffiliated students, and the last for clarification of our constitution. These went well, but they showed us that there was still strong opposition facing us. The sessions dispelled myths and rumors about our group and reduced opposition based on inaccurate information.

Events planned in April, along with formal, helped to integrate the new members into the group. Our group was stronger than ever as our support from other groups was at its peak. Resistance from three male groups and the uncertainty of a few others continued to make the upcoming vote impossible to predict. Every group was required to send a member to a pro/con session held by CSSG a week before the vote. Gamma Tau Pi failed to send a rep, eliminating their chance to vote. This raised our hopes and lowered the total number of votes to fifteen, which meant only ten were needed for us to obtain our charter.

Our second attempt at a charter passed on May 11th. We had accomplished what we were aiming at for eight months. To finish out the year, we began to organize for the next year and had a grill-out in front of Merner. At this we gave out three awards to outstanding members and wrapped up the year.