![]() ![]() That the founders should adopt Honor as a guiding principle was a natural move since a rigid code of Honor was already an established tradition of the VMI Corps of Cadets. ![]() The vows taken by these three Founders bound them together to oppose hazing at VMI and encouraged the application of the Principle of Honor in all their relationships. Hopkins, Quarles and Riley clasped hands on the Bible and gave their solemn pledge to form a brotherhood of a new society they called the Legion of Honor. Their efforts climaxed on a moonlit October night in 1868, presumably following Bible study at the superintendent's home, when the three met at a limestone outcropping on the edge of the VMI parade ground. These three men began a movement to completely abolish the hazing system at VMI. They were Greenfield Quarles, from Arkansas, a Kentuckian by birth, and James McIlvaine Riley from St. Hopkins soon was joined by two classmates and close friends who were also equally unhappy with the hazing situation. Not one ounce of hazing was he willing to suffer and he was doggedly adamant about eliminating it. However, Hopkins was unwilling to accept any amount of hazing then being allowed at VMI. Hopkins had experienced military subservience during the war, and was willing to tolerate a reasonable amount of constraint intended to induce discipline. At the Institute cadets suffered, not only of the ravages of war and a disrupted home life, but because of the system of physical harassment imposed on lower class men by their fellow students in the upper classes. The Virginia Military Institute was highly recognized for its civil engineering program and the South badly needed to repair its bridges and railroads. When Hopkins enrolled at VMI, the south was in a state of turmoil and just beginning to recover from the devastating military defeat it had suffered. That cadet was James Frank Hopkins, and it is to him and two of his classmates that Sigma Nu owes its existence. The story of Sigma Nu began during the period following the Civil War, when a Confederate veteran from Arkansas enrolled at the Virginia Military Institute in Lexington Virginia. So, amidst a backdrop of turmoil, North America's first "Honor" fraternity was established. The system of physical abuse and hazing of underclassmen at VMI led to James Frank Hopkins, Greenfield Quarles, and James McIlvaine Riley to form the "Legion of Honor" which soon became Sigma Nu Fraternity. Founded by three cadets at the Virginia Military Institute during a period of civil strife known as the Reconstruction, Sigma Nu represented a radical departure from the times. Sigma Nu's past is a proud and colorful one. Sigma Nu membership includes past presidential scholars as well as brothers who have graduated in the top of the class. Academics are important to the fraternity and many of our brothers excel in the classroom. Sigma Nu has brothers on athletic teams-soccer, tennis, football, golf, cross-country and baseball. Currently the brotherhood has men participating in all aspects of life at Wofford College. Recently, again with the aid of alumni contributions, we were able to restore the portico’s 90-year-old columns, paint the front façade, and install new stairs for easy access to the front.The Brotherhood of the Eta Omicron chapter of Sigma Nu fraternity strives for diversity and unity. Among other items, we installed a first-class Wi- fi system, made improvements to the baths, replaced light fixtures, repaired the mortar on the front steps, installed new washers /dryers, installed a sump pump to abate flooding, added furniture upgrades, and refinished the main level wood floors. In the past 18 months, we have made over $35,000 in improvements, significantly funded by alumni contributions. The Chapter brothers are financial partners with the House Corporation in funding the upkeep and improvements to the House and paid over $25,000 over the past two semesters adding to our Management Reserve Fund. ![]() In 2017, we paid off the 30-year mortgage secured in 1987 and the house is now mortgage-free. The house is architecturally significant and is the largest fraternity or sorority house at UVA with 10,000 plus square feet. A major $450,000 restoration in 1986, converted the third-floor attic to eight additional bedrooms and a gang bath and meeting room, new HVAC and electric systems and painting and plastering throughout the house. The house itself is as sound as most on Grounds- it was built in 1928 on a Board of Visitors grant of land from the President’s lot on Carr’s Hill. ![]()
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