History of the Eta Rho Chapter

In the beginning…

In 1988, there was no doubt who the dominant fraternities were at UNC Charlotte. Most of the fraternities and sororities had been well established since the early 1970's, but when Delta Sig came onto campus for the first time, it brought new life to the Greek system at Charlotte. Starting the Eta Rho Chapter of the Delta Sigma Phi fraternity was by no means an easy or overnight task. The dedication, sacrifices and hard work of the original members quickly paid off. Although Delta Sig is still one of the youngest organizations on the Charlotte campus, its long-lived history and tradition make it one of the best.

Mike Carper and Marty Snider meet at Bill Hookers in 1989.

The story starts when a group of young men were looking to join a fraternity, but could not find anything that fit. The two dominant fraternities at the time were Lambda Chi Alpha and Chi Phi, both being the best in all aspects of Greek life. But these young men were looking for more. Marty Snider, Mike Carper and Brett Cramer decided if they couldn't find an existing fraternity on campus that suited them, they would establish their own.

Marty took it upon himself to research national fraternities at the University library. He was looking for organizations that maintained beliefs, standards and values, different from those held by fraternities already at Charlotte. He wrote letters to four different organizations. An Indianapolis headquartered fraternity was the first to respond. A drug-free, diverse group of leaders, whose zero-tolerance for the hazing of its members made them instantaneously attractive to the group. They called themselves Delta Sigma Phi. And they had a local representative, Bill Hooker, already alerted about the Charlotte interest.

Another student looking into joining a fraternity was Jeff Monroe, a freshman living in Moore Hall. Jeff and some of his friends had looked at the existing fraternities on campus, but similar to Marty, Mike and Brett, wanted something more. Jeff however was a Delta Sig legacy, his father, Mr. Monroe, was a brother from the chapter of Delta Sigma Phi at Wake Forest University. Soon the group got together and with a combined effort, they began the task of putting together one of Charlotte's most involved and consistant organizations.

The First Step: Who is interested?

Marty Snider and Jeff Monroe with Bill Hooker in 1989.

Bill Hooker, a local alumnus from the Western Carolina chapter, came to campus to meet with Marty, Jeff, Mike and Brett. There was a mutual excitement and motivation between Delta Sigma Phi and its interest group. But this was no sign-on-the-dotted-line type deal, this would take time, energy, and dedication. "Go out and find a man better than yourself" was the charge from Hooker, and out they went. Marty, Mike, Brett, and Jeff began their search for people who were interested in joining, along the way tapping into the best resource for recruiting capable candidates… campus sorority girls. When leaders of other organizations found out about the new fraternity and what it stood for, they too wanted to be a part of the efforts to bring leadership and structure to the Greek System. "We wrote the book on leadership" was quickly adopted by the young class and eventually a group of 35 men gathered in the Moore Hall basement and a pledge class was born. The Alpha class was composed of student athletes and campus leaders, many with anti-fraternity sentiments, but all dedicated to changing that, and bringing UNC Charlotte a different kind of fraternity, one that would dispel myths and stereotypes. A diverse group of young men all dedicated to one common goal.

Students meet at the bottom of Moore Hall for Delta Sig interest meetings.

The Alpha class never went through formal Rush, originally not even recognized by the Inter Fraternity Council(IFC). But they remained a group, steadfastly committed to transform the vision of fraternities on campus. Bill Hooker continued his efforts along the way, helping the young men in getting started by giving advice and helping to facilitate their meetings. The first Executive board was Marty Snider, who was the President, Mike Carper, who was Vice President, Brett Cramer, who was Treasurer and Jeff Monroe, who was Secretary. Since they were a pledge class, they did not have a particulary structured meeting, therefore they did not have a Sergant at Arms until they learned how to conduct meetings according to the fraternity.

Ralph Hoggard at an interest meeting in Moore Hall.

The young men were constantly recruiting more members. The Alpha class would build their numbers, but not everybody that they brought in was an automatic member. The group was dedicated to its original goals of maintaining a certain standard for the men who would eventually commit their lives to the Brotherhood. Thus, the Alpha class would vote on themselves as pledges and refuse those who did not meet their high standards. Their final number for the Charlotte 49er Alpha Class of the Delta Sigma Phi fraternity would ironically end up at 49.

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