"The Story"

In Fall 2003, Steve Gallo purchased a copy of Animal House 25th Anniversary Edition. The original classic came out in Fall of 1978. Steve Gallo and Dr. John Stamey were watching it on Sunday evening. About half way through the movie, Dr. Stamey stopped it and said, "Steve, looks like I might stay here at Coastal. It would be great to have a chapter of my Fraternity here." Steve replied, "That would be great. Count me in. How many do you need?"

From my days at Clemson, John Stamey said "we need 20."

Steve replied, "Great - now you only have 19 more to go."

The next Monday afternoon, Dr. Stamey was teaching a CSCI 140 Lab. He started off the lab with a remark about watching Animal House the previous evening. Half-way through the lab, Eddie Zalewski came up to me and said "Do you know anything about fraternities?"

Stamey said, "Yes, I do. Why?"

"Well, there are 12 of us who were pledges of Sigma Nu. They hazed us really badly. Sigma Nu is gone. We want something better than what's here at Coastal now. Can you help?"

"Sure," Stamey said. "I am a member of the Delta Chi International Fraternity. Let's call them and see if they are interested in starting a colony here.

Eddie and Stamey went down to my office at the Department of Computer Science at the end of the lab. I called Iowa City and spoke with Ray Galbreth. Ray took one look at the CCU website and passed me on to Director of Chapter Services Matt Killingsworth. Matt took a look at the CCU website and was impressed at the way the campus looked and the size of the institution.

Eddie and Stamey scheduled a meeting of his friends that Thursday evening. Steve and Stamey arrived about 15 minutes early. Standing at Eddie's house was Nick Moore, whom Stamey had advised when he was a freshman computer science major. For about 20 minutes, people walked through the back door to Eddie's house. In total, 23 people showed up to the meeting. The Chapter began that evening. At the end of the informational meeting, we elected officers for the special interest group. Steve Gallo was the President, and Eddie was the Vice President. Other officers of the special interest group included Brad Bollinger.

The interest group had its first social function at the 2003 Homecoming. We flew a Delta Chi banner (homemade) and had a cookout.

Jonathan Stovall and Reed Davis, Chapter Consultants for Delta Chi arrived on campus in early January 2004. They interviewed 27 men and extended 23 bids. Jonathan was here for three weeks, and Reed was on campus for six weeks. Initiation of the Founding Fathers took place in April, 2004.

Below are the milestones for the CCU Chapter of Delta Chi.

• October 2003 - Special Interest Group Formed (membership of 23)
• November 2003 - Homecoming, first cookout
• January 2004 - Colony formed and recognized by Delta Chi International
• February 2004 - Colony officers elected:
• - Steve Gallo - President
• - Eddie Zalewski - Vice President
• - Steve Lippencott - Secretary
• - Brad Bollinger - Treasurer
• - Nick Moore - Sgt. At Arms
• May 2004 - Founding Fathers initiated by the Clemson Delta Chi Chapter
• August 2004 - First Officers Elected from Founding Fathers (Gallo, "A")
• August 2004 - First Rush Week Held
• November 2004 - Alpha Class Initiation
• December 2004 - Second slate of officers elected (Marona, "A")
• January 2005 - Second Rush Week Held
• April 2005 - Beta Class Initiation
• August 2005 - Third Rush Week Held
• October 2005 - Chartering Banquet
• November 2005 - Gamma Class Initiation
• December 2005 - Chapter placed on Level 3 Probation for Hazing
• December 2005 - Third slate of officers elected (Schmidt, "A")
• January 2006 - Fourth Rush Week Held
• April 2006 - Delta Class Initiation held at East Carolina University
• July 2006 - Recognized #1 GPA at Delta Chi International Convention
• August 2006 - Fifth Rush Week Held
• December 2006 - Epsilon Class Initiation
• December 2006 - Fourth slate of officers elected (May, "A")
• December 2006 - Level 3 Probation for Hazing Successfully Lifted
• January 2007 - Sixth Rush Week Held
• April 2007 - Formal Banquet and Dance held
• April 2007 - Zeta Class Initiaiton
• April 2007 - Fifth slate of officers elected (Jolles, "A")
• April 2007 - Won 2006-2007 Greek Week Cup
• September 2007 - Fifth Rush Week Held
• October 2007 - Winners of the ADPi LionShare Challenge
• November 2007 - Eta Class Initiaiton
• February 2008 - Six Rush Week Held
• April 2008 - Won 2008 Greek Week Cup
• April 2008 - Theta Class Intiatiton
• April 2008 - Sixth slate of officers elected (Jolles, "A")