Tag: delta tau delta

Delta Tau Delta honors BranchRickey

By John Bonus, Transcript Reporter

Delta Tau Delta (Delt) Fraternity celebrated their 150th anniversary as a chapter at Ohio Wesleyan over the weekend of October 8.

Alumni and Delt national leaders came from around the country to take part in the festivities starting with the rededication of the house on Saturday morning.

The house, known to Delts as the Shelter, was rededicated in honor of Branch Rickey. Rickey was an OWU and Mu Delt alumni who signed the first African-American player to Major League Baseball.

Blake Andrews, president of Mu Chapter, said the decision to rededicate the Shelter to Rickey was an easy one.

“Branch Rickey represents the values and ideas that all Delts are committed to,” Andrews said. “The impact he had on racial equality in the United States made him the obvious choice when deciding who to honor in our Shelter’s rededication.”

Following the event the chapter had an open house where visitors could view the new renovations done in the house’s living room and library. The house improvements were carried out through a generous donation from an alumni.

That evening a formal dinner was held in the Benes room of the Hamilton Williams Campus Center.

Many Delts and alumni were honored at the dinner and a number of people spoke including OWU president, Rock Jones.

A special Delt ritual known as “Rite of Eyris” was performed by active members of the chapter. The ritual involved teaching the principles that the fraternity was founded on in a formal ceremony.

The Mu Chapter is one of the oldest fraternities at OWU along with being one of the oldest chapters of Delta Tau Delta nationally.

Campus for the cure

Students watch from afar as two volleyball teams compete. Photo by Susan Ugalde.
Students watch from afar as two volleyball teams compete. Photo by Susan Ugalde.

On Saturday, Sept. 5, at the Delta Tau Delta sand pit, the Ohio Wesleyan Greek community came together for charity and a little competition.

Beach Bash is an annual volleyball tournament held by OWU’s Mu chapter of Delta Tau Delta.

The philanthropic event raises money for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.

The Mu chapter of Ohio Wesleyan originally established the event four years ago, prior to the national fraternity’s partnership with the organization.

Since the partnership in 2012, the national fraternity has donated approximately $250,000 to the research foundation. Over the years, Beach Bash has typically raised between $300 and $500, depending on the year.

Many fraternities and sororities on campus entered teams in the tournament. The Delts even extended a special invitation to the Small Living Units (SLUs).

Students mingle by the sand volleyball court. Photo by Susan Ugalde.
Students mingle by the sand volleyball court. Photo by Susan Ugalde.

Typically each team pays $30 to enter, but SLUs were asked to give as much as they felt comfortable giving. While the Greek associations have funds devoted to events like Beach Bash, SLUs have a limited budget.

Besides reaching out to the SLUs, the Delts hoped to attract other non­-affiliated teams to increase campus involvement. The Delts offered to complete teams with their own members so more individuals could participate.

Sophomore Alex Niswonger, a Delt, noted that “the most important thing about an event is to get the whole entire school involved.” He added that the fraternity had a great platform to spread awareness.

Sophomore Zac Worley, a member of Chi Phi, also stated that increased awareness among new students could potentially help long-­term involvement with such events.