Pi Delta Psi

Pi Delta Psi (ΠΔΨ) is an Asian American cultural interest fraternity founded at Binghamton University on February 20, 1994.[1] As of 2020, the organization listed over 3,000 liftetime members spanning 30 undergraduate chapters and 1 alumni chapter.[2]

Pi Delta Psi
ΠΔΨ
Founded	February 20, 1994 (1994-02-20) Binghamton University
Type	Cultural interest
Emphasis	Asian American cultural awareness
Scope	National
Motto	"Excellence Through Brotherhood"
Colors	Red      White      Black
Publication	The Dragon
Philanthropy	Asia Foundation
Chapters	25 Active, 6 Inactive, 1 Alumni
Headquarters	P.O. Box 520269 Flushing, New York U. S.
Website	http://www.pideltapsi.com/

This organization is a member of the National APIDA Panhellenic Association (NAPA).[3]

History

Pi Delta Psi fraternity was founded at Binghamton University (SUNY) on February 20, 1994. The fraternity's founding members are David Lee, Philip Hunt, Sammy Wong, Spencer Seto, Ronny Chow, Damien Lee, Thuan Luong, Chester Huang, Christopher Murata, Tracy B. Tabije, and Michael Son.

An early picture of Pi Delta Psi's founding fathers, Binghamton University, winter 1996

A year after its founding, Pi Delta Psi was officially incorporated in the State of New York on April 19, 1995. After five years, the fraternity had grown too large for the Pi Delta Psi National Council to maintain. Thus in 1999, it was decided by the National Council to restructure itself in an effort to grow in proportion to the fraternity's expansion rate, standardize chapters nationwide, and increase inter-chapter cohesion. The National Council was also renamed the "National Executive Board" during that period.

After 25 years, this fraternity has expanded to 31 campuses spanning 14 states (New York, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Connecticut, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Maryland, California, Florida, Washington, D.C., Colorado, Minnesota, Virginia, and Georgia)

Mission statement

Pi Delta Psi and its members seek to bring about Asian-American unity by breaking down cultural barriers amongst Asian communities by upholding and/or instilling the fraternities pillars: academic achievement, cultural awareness, righteousness, friendship, and loyalty. Pi Delta Psi's mission statement also advocates an increase in education and awareness of Asian cultures as a means of overcoming racism.[4]

National events

National Convention

Brothers posing for a photo at Convention 3 at Rutgers University, Spring 2005.

Pi Delta Psi holds an annual National Convention in the August of each year. The National Convention is a formal 2-day meeting of members where the National Executive Board meets and discusses relevant fraternity issues with active members from all chapters. Discussed issues involve an overview of the fraternity, creating general goals, and national expansion. Cultural, professional, and/or leadership workshops are also held. The location of each year's National Convention is usually determined at the previous convention and changes annually.

National Winter Conference

Pi Delta Psi holds an annual National Winter Conference during the month of January each year. The Winter Conference is a daylong leadership retreat where the National Executive Board meets and discusses relevant fraternity issues with representatives from each undergraduate chapters. The event is typically held in the New York metropolitan area.

National Summer Weekend

Pi Delta Psi holds an annual National Summer Weekend during the month of July each year. The National Summer Weekend is a 2-3 day series of events that includes the National Summer BBQ, National Summer Conference, and National Summer Banquet.

The National Summer BBQ is normally held at Alley Pond Park in Queens, New York, and includes sporting events and chapter fundraising activities.[5]

The National Summer Conference is a private half day event where the National Executive Board meets and discusses relevant fraternity issues with active chapter members. Elections for the following year's National Executive Board also takes place during this event. The Conference is normally held in the New York metropolitan area.

The National Summer Banquet is a formal dinner event for Pi Delta Psi members which is normally held near the location of the National Summer Conference. National announcements such as awards and scholarships are presented during this event.[5]

Cultural awareness

Brothers of Tau chapter performing their annual lion dance on campus.

At the chapter level, each chapter is required to host a set number of cultural events on campus each year depending on the chapter's size; failure to achieve this annual criterion will result in the chapter losing its chapter status.[6][7][8]

Philanthropy

Brothers posing with California's then Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger during a philanthropy event.

The national philanthropy of Pi Delta Psi for 2009 was the March of Dimes, and fraternity is still an official team youth partner.[9]

Formerly, Pi Delta Psi's national philanthropy was the Big Brothers Big Sisters of America program. All chapters were expected to work closely with the Big Brothers program in their own campus community. At the Chapter level, each Chapter was required to participate in a set number of philanthropy events each year depending on the Chapter's size; failure to achieve this annual criteria resulted in the chapter having its status revoked.[7]

Controversies

In December 2013, prospective member Chun Hsien "Michael" Deng died from brain trauma due to hazing during an unsanctioned pledge event at the Baruch College chapter. Deng, 18 was a recent graduate of The Bronx High School of Science.[10] Deng and four other pledges wore 30 lb. backpacks filled with sand while members of the fraternity tackled them during a ritual known as "The Glass Ceiling," which represented Asian American struggle in the United States. Despite Deng becoming immediately unconscious, his fraternity brothers failed to call for emergency help, instead attempting to cover up the incident.[11] Baruch College responded by permanently banning the fraternity from their campus.[12]

Andy Meng, the former National Executive President for Pi Delta Psi said in a statement the incident happened during "an unsanctioned event that was strictly prohibited by our organization." After investigating the incident,[13] the fraternity revoked its affiliation with the Baruch chapter. Baruch also banned the fraternity from ever returning.[12] In February, 2014, the death was ruled a homicide, and the Monroe County district attorney expects to file charges after the investigation.[14] Deng's parent's had filed a lawsuit against the fraternity, including Mr. Meng, who is the younger brother of U.S. representative Grace Meng.[15] When Deng lost consciousness his fraternity brothers called Andy Meng who allegedly told them to conceal any evidence of the fraternity before calling the authorities.[16] On September 14, 2015, charges were filed against 37 members, including five for third-degree murder.[17] Andrew Meng is facing charges of hazing, conspiracy and hindering apprehension.[18]

On January 8, 2018, four men were sentenced to jail time as a result of the hazing incident subsequent to guilty pleas to charges of voluntary manslaughter, hindering apprehension and other charges.[19] Additionally, a Pennsylvania stated judge banned the national fraternity from operating in the state for ten years.[20]

Chapter locations

Map of Pi Delta Psi locations in the U.S. as of January 2014.

Greek Letter Designation	Collegiate Institution	Charter Date	Status	City	U.S. State/District
Alpha chapter	Binghamton University	February 20, 1994	Active	Vestal	New York
Beta chapter	SUNY Buffalo	December 3, 1994	Active	Buffalo	New York
Gamma chapter	Hofstra University	December 7, 1996	Inactive	Hempstead	New York
Delta chapter	Stony Brook University	May 17, 1997	Active	Stony Brook	New York
Zeta chapter	New York University	May 17, 1997	Active	New York	New York
Eta chapter	SUNY Albany	December 13, 1997	Active	Albany	New York
Theta chapter	Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute	December 13, 1997	Active	Troy	New York
Iota chapter	University of Rochester	November 24, 1997	Inactive	Rochester	New York
Kappa chapter	Cornell University	April 25, 1998	Active	Ithaca	New York
Lambda chapter	Rutgers University	November 21, 1998	Inactive[21]	New Brunswick	New Jersey
Mu chapter	The Ohio State University	April 22, 2000	Active	Columbus	Ohio
Nu chapter	Carnegie Mellon University	December 8, 2001	Inactive	Pittsburgh	Pennsylvania
Xi chapter	University of Massachusetts Amherst	November 24, 1999	Active	Amherst	Massachusetts
Omicron chapter	The George Washington University	November 15, 2003	Active	Washington	District of Columbia
Pi chapter	University of Maryland at College Park	November 13, 2004	Inactive	College Park	Maryland
Rho chapter	University of California, Riverside	March 30, 2002	Inactive	Riverside	California
Sigma chapter	University of Florida	November 13, 2004	Active	Gainesville	Florida
Tau chapter	Pennsylvania State University	April 19, 2003	Active	University Park	Pennsylvania
Upsilon chapter	Rochester Institute of Technology	November 18, 2006	Inactive	Henrietta	New York
Phi chapter	University of Central Florida	April 7, 2008	Active	Orlando	Florida
Chi chapter	University of South Florida	November 9, 2008	Active	Tampa	Florida
Psi chapter	Saint John's University	November 8, 2008	Inactive	Queens	New York
Omega chapter	University of Connecticut	April 12, 2008	Active	Storrs	Connecticut
Alpha Alpha chapter	Northeastern University	November 19, 2005	Active	Boston	Massachusetts
Alpha Beta chapter	Columbia University	April 23, 2005	Inactive	New York	New York
Alpha Gamma chapter	George Mason University	November 17, 2012	Active	Fairfax	Virginia
Associate chapter	University of Colorado at Boulder	December 6, 2009	Active	Boulder	Colorado
Associate chapter	University of Minnesota	April 16, 2011	Active	Minneapolis	Minnesota
Established Colony	CUNY Baruch	December 5, 2010	Revoked	New York	New York
Established Colony	University of California, Berkeley	December 4, 2011	Inactive	Berkeley	California
Established Colony	Georgia State University	March 11, 2017	Active	Atlanta	Georgia

References

1. "Pi Delta Psi History". Pi Delta Psi. Retrieved 2015-09-24.
2. "Pi Delta Psi Chapters". Pi Delta Psi. Retrieved 2015-09-24.
3. "National APIA Panhellenic Association Homepage". Pi Delta Psi. Retrieved 2008-07-01.
4. "Pi Delta Psi Mission". Pi Delta Psi. Retrieved September 14, 2015.
5. "Pi Delta Psi National Events". Pi Delta Psi. Archived from the original on 2011-07-15. Retrieved 2008-07-01.
6. "The different faces of race". The Tartan. Archived from the original on 2009-01-06. Retrieved 2007-01-29.
7. "Asian-interest Greek groups grow at CMU". The Tartan Online. Retrieved 2005-01-31.
8. "Asian groups recruit". gwhatchet.com. Archived from the original on 2010-04-12. Retrieved 2004-02-05.
9. "Pi Delta Psi is On the Move". March For Babies Blog. Retrieved 2009-03-03.
10. Heather Holland; Ben Fractenberg (11 December 2013). "Baruch College Student Dies in Fraternity Hazing Ritual in the Poconos". DNAinfo New York. Archived from the original on 13 December 2013. Retrieved 13 December 2013.
11. "Student tried to cover up frat-link in fatal hazing: cops - NBC News".
12. "Baruch College Institutes A Lifetime Ban For Pi Delta Psi After Hazing Death".
13. "Baruch College Student Dies in Fraternity Pledge Ritual in Poconos". The New York Times. Retrieved 2013-12-11.
14. "Coroner: Death at a Pi Delta Psi fraternity 'ritual' ruled a homicide - CNN.com".
15. Connor, Tracy. "Hazing Suit: Baruch Fraternity Pi Delta Psi Let Michael Deng Die". NBC News. Retrieved May 10, 2015.
16. "'His Parents' Hopes Rested on His Shoulders': Hazing Death Victim Michael Deng Had a Bright Future Ahead of Him, Lawyer Says - people.com".
17. Zauderer, Alyssa (September 14, 2015). "37 students charged in hazing death of Baruch College student Michael Deng". Pix11. Retrieved September 15, 2015.
18. "5 People Charged in Baruch College Hazing Death". US News & World Report. 2015-09-15. Retrieved 2015-11-18.
19. Rubinkam, Michael (8 January 2018). "4 ex-fraternity members get jail in pledge's hazing death". ABC News. Retrieved 9 January 2018.
20. Rojas, Rick (8 January 2018). "Fraternity Is Banned From Pennsylvania After Student's Hazing Death". The New York Times. Retrieved 9 January 2018.
21. http://greeklife.rutgers.edu/chapterscouncils/suspended-organizations/. Missing or empty |title= (help)

External links

• Official website