On April 14, 1964, the Constitution was ratified by the brothers, and the day is now celebrated as Founders Day. On September 23, 1964, the general body discussed affiliation with a national fraternity. From the beginning the founders of Alpha Delta Chi recognized the possibility of affiliating with a national fraternity. The motion was tabled, however, because the members wanted to strengthen their young organization. The chapter continued to grow with the addition of pledge classes nearly every spring and fall.

            Alpha Delta Chi was a constant participant in Homecoming ceremonies, as well as being heavily involved in the activities of Greek Week. The fraternity was usually represented  impressively in all campus activities, and the members took an active part in all campus organizations, from student government to the residence halls. Notable among the fraternity activities was the presentation of a theatrical production in the spring of every school year.  Alpha Delta Chi, in conjunction with Theta Delta Pi, entertained the campus and community with consistently good shows, with all proceeds being donated to charity.

            Along the social line, it must be noted that numerous parties were held, with the highlight of the year being the annual Dinner-Dance held in the spring. This formal affair included the crowning of the Chapter Sweetheart for the following year. The tradition of the annual spring formal is carried on to this day, being held on or as near to Founder’s Day as possible. It is a chance to celebrate our history, as well as to rededicate ourselves to the commitment of moving the fraternity as a whole further toward our goal of Perfect Brotherhood.

            Over the first few years the fraternity grew in strength and number, never leaving behind the idea of national affiliation or local expansion. Alpha Delta Chi accepted its Beta Chapter in the spring of 1966 at North Carolina Wesleyan College at Rocky Mount, North Carolina. In the fall of 1966 the Omega Chapter was accepted at Salem College in Salem, West Virginia. The expansion strengthened Alpha Delta Chi, moving it into the 70’s and proving it to be one of the strongest organizations on campus. Both of these chapters, however, eventually became extinct although the Beta Chapter was active and healthy as late as 1988.

Maintaining the Founders’ Goals

            The late sixties and early seventies were a period of discovery and demand for change. Political unrest, protest, experimentation, and the call for the abolishment of war, racism, and “the bomb” were at the forefront of this decade.

            Slogans of the time included: Flower Power, Make Love Not War, America: Love It or Leave It, Peace, Hell No We Won’t Go, Right On, and Have a Nice Day. Alpha Delta Chi Fraternity reflected within itself some of the changes which were happening to the country.   The Founding Fathers had graduated as had the early pledge classes under their tutelage. Survival in the face of change was the call to order as a set of questions about which course to follow confronted the Brothers. This became one of many tests of growing pains the fraternity would face as new ideas about the direction of the fraternity evolved. Social issues had emerged which seemed to contradict traditional values. Some members believed the fraternity did not do enough in these areas, some believed these issues were not the concern of the fraternity. A large segment of society at the time looked down at fraternities, seeing little value in them as they represented part of “the establishment.” Sadly, some members believed this was true and became inactive. The fraternity began to dwindle in size.

            The history of Alpha Delta Chi has shown its ability to attract leaders. Despite the political and social changes that were occurring, these leaders were able to direct the fraternity into ever deeper bonds of brotherhood. To accomplish this goal, an evaluation of the rush and pledge programs was made. Minutes from the regular business meetings of the time illustrate the concerns many brothers had with the caliber of these programs. After healthy debate, it was affirmed that the quality of men being recruited into the fraternity was a higher priority than just sheer numbers. Besides a man’s proven skills, his potential and character were sincerely examined. It was this ideal which attracted brothers of different races and religions, as well as others who might not have actively rushed. The promise of potential matured and flourished and provided Alpha Delta Chi with quality members and future leaders.
            Somehow, the more things changed the more they stayed the same. Finances and obligations were always a fixation. Methods of raising funds ran from the mundane to the absurd. A question of legality occasionally accompanied some of these ideas. The end result was always the same: obligations were somehow met and the members’ resolve to keep ADX solvent prevailed.
            Along with fulfilling one of our major missions as an organization to serve the community, the social functions of the fraternity were consistently celebrated by the members and their many friends.

            The brotherhood of Alpha Delta Chi has always proven itself to be a resilient and enduring bond, especially in the face of trying circumstances.  The mid 1980’s was a critical era of the fraternity’s history that was characterized by this unique quality.  The membership had dwindled to less than 10 active members and the fraternity had lost much of the energy and momentum that characterized the earlier part of the decade.   After a particularly poor social event, the brothers met and decided it was simply time to start getting things done.  The members began a marketing campaign that would launch ADX into the limelight of the campus social scene.  The infamous residence of 140 Bowery was transformed into the focal point of the fraternity’s social endeavors.

            This social momentum spilled over into an active campus rush program that saw the number of brothers double with the initiation of the spring pledge class of 1987.  As the fraternity grew in number it re-embraced past traditions and established new ones.  The chapter once again joined in a wide array of campus activities and placed in several homecoming events in the fall of 1987.

            The next several semesters were marked by continued growth in both the size and organization of Alpha Delta Chi.  As the chapter began preparations for the 25 Year Reunion, the committee system began to take shape and more members were involved directly in the activities of the chapter than in recent years.  Thanks to the special effort and dedication of several unique Brothers in the late 1980’s, the chapter had begun its journey to becoming one of the top fraternities at FSU once again.  Although the members were faced with the tremendous task of considering nationalization detailed below, the 25 Year Reunion was truly a celebration of the brotherhood created in 1964 by the Founding Fathers of Alpha Delta Chi.

            In 1987, a committee of students, faculty, and staff was assembled to study greek life at then Frostburg State College.  The mission of the Greek Life Task Force was to provide recommendations for improvements to the greek community at FSC.  The committee’s findings included the recommendation that all current locally chartered fraternities and sororities be encouraged and assisted in acquiring national affiliation.  No new charters were to be granted to any groups unless they were nationally affiliated or sponsored.

            In the spring of 1988 just as Frostburg has been granted its “University” designation, a dramatic hazing violation was uncovered at FSU.  A student, pledging another campus fraternity, had a nervous breakdown during his final days of pledging.  The fraternity chapter lost its charter indefinitely and several of the members were suspended from FSU.  These events gained national attention as the former pledge appeared on daytime talk shows disclosing the details of the incident.

            As a result of the negative attention brought to the greek system and the potential of litigation being pursued against FSU, the Greek Life Task Force recommendation became a mandate.  The University sought the protections provided by national fraternities through their risk management policies and liability insurance and knew that the local chapters would be well served by national level programming and consultation.

            The ultimatum was issued: all remaining local chapters were to acquire national affiliation by the conclusion of the 1988-1989 academic year or lose their campus recognition altogether.  By this time, however, two FSU sororities had already affiliated nationally, Lambda Phi Delta with Alpha Sigma Tau, and Delta Delta with Phi Sigma Sigma.  This left the recognized local sorority, Kappa Tau Epsilon, and the fraternities Alpha Delta Chi, Delta Beta Chi, and Kappa Zeta Chi with a busy year ahead.

            Like other local chapters on campus, the members of Alpha Delta Chi were faced with a monumental decision.  Alpha Delta Chi was now recognized as one of the top fraternities on campus.  The members wanted to maintain the momentum they had already established and sought to keep their positive campus reputation while at the same time retain the local traditions that had established their identity as an organization.  Throughout the year, Brothers Kenn Hardy and Andy Fleischer were dispatched to attend numerous seminars and presentations given by national fraternities interested in FSU and Alpha Delta Chi.  When The Delta Chi Fraternity came to visit, they and the members of the chapter were quite impressed.  Delta Chi respected our local history and would allow us to keep a comfortable level of chapter control over our programming.  They were also unique in that they would allow all past members of Alpha Delta Chi to be initiated nationally at no cost.  Delta Chi associated the active members of Alpha Delta Chi on May 7, 1989 just a few short weeks after the chapter had celebrated the 25 year history of The Alpha Delta Chi Fraternity at FSU.  At the reunion groups of alumni resisted the change but many, including several Founding Fathers, realizing change was inevitable and positive, gave their blessings and their support.  While some thought Alpha Delta Chi was dying, others realized that by complying with campus policy and keeping our charter alive, Alpha Delta Chi would truly live on under the auspices of the national Delta Chi Fraternity.  As of this writing, over 30 Alpha Delta Chi alumni have been initiated into the bond of Delta Chi and 8 Founding Fathers attended the 30 Year Reunion of Alpha Delta Chi held by the chapter at FSU in 1994.

            Upon colonization with Delta Chi, the chapter gained momentum and increased its level of organization dramatically.  The several week period at the start of the Fall 1989 semester seemed as if it was a mini pledge program.  With information to learn from the Cornerstone, the Chapter Operations Manual, and new procedures and policies to follow, all the members became actively involved in the colonization effort.   The chapter saw instant results from important visits from several leadership consultants including Matt Prater, who almost single handedly initiated the Colony Founders into the Bond of Delta Chi on September 9, 1989.  The fraternity had new life as the members took the best programming and advice Delta Chi had to offer and combined it with the rich heritage of the Alpha Delta Chi fraternity to prepare for rush and the first fall pledge class in five years.  That year, the chapter more than doubled in size initiating over 35 new brothers in two semesters having started the year with less than 25 active members.          

           Throughout this colonization period, the members carved out the new character of the fraternity at Frostburg now known as Delta Chi.  New programs in rush, community service, scholarship, and fundraising, a renewed commitment to parliamentary procedure and a formalized committee system, as well as an effort to encourage brothers to play leadership roles in other organizations on campus where all characteristics of what many considered to now be the top fraternity on campus.  The spring semester of 1990 saw Delta Chi begin a series of recognitions and awards as the Colony won the first ever Greek Fest “Chapter of the Year” and “Service Project of the Year” awards. 

            Throughout this period of growth, the chapters leaders and several recent alumni strove to remind the chapter of its roots in several important respects.  Caution was expressed regarding the positive and modest reputation that the men of Alpha Delta Chi had always tried to maintain.  While the chapter began to take a leadership position on campus and become the most recognized fraternity at FSU, the members were mindful of avoiding the appearance of arrogance and conceit.

            Also, one of the primary tenants of the chapter throughout her history has been that, “the members make the fraternity, the fraternity doesn’t make them.”  In that spirit, the chapter strove to evaluate young men first and foremost according to their individual merit, character, and potential to be good members  of this fraternity.

            In the spring of 1991, The Frostburg Colony of The Delta Chi Fraternity staged a highly successful Chartering Banquet.  Some of the significant activities that weekend included an initiation ceremony for several ADX alumni conducted by the International President or “AA” himself, Gregory Hauser.  Also, a program was conducted by the members for over 20 parents of active brothers that attended the weekend festivities.  On April 27, 1991, the transition was complete, Alpha Delta Chi had joined with one of the best international fraternities in North America to begin a new era of brotherhood, scholarship, and leadership.

            With the resurgence of numbers in the early & mid 90s, Delta Chi quickly became the number one fraternity on the Frostburg campus. However, in the last half of the decade, many national chapters dropped or lost their national affiliations, pressing the active chapter to co-exist with several unrecognized and equally unrestricted fraternities and leaving only three national chapters in the IFC.  Deciding to keep national affiliation with Delta Chi, the active chapter took advantage of its close relationship with campus by holding rush events on campus, receiving funding from SGA and the Greek Council, being an active member of the IFC, and holding the largest social event on campus, the Delta Chi Annual Lip Sync held each Homecoming.

            The chapter encountered yet another great challenge in this same time period, as debt to nationals accrued to over $14,000 by the year 2000.  The active members contemplated returning to their ADX roots and “dropping the charter and partying harder.” However, consideration of the Founding Fathers’ original dream of maintaining a fraternal organization on the campus of Frostburg motivated the active members to persevere through these trying times.  By 2003, the debt was more than cut in half through vigorous fundraising and active social programming.

            In 2002, FSU’s government made a similar mandate to the one placed in 1987: local fraternities could accept campus recognition on the condition that they obtain a national charter within six years.  Locals Phi Tau, Alpha Gamma, Zeta Phi, and Tau Kappa Epsilon accepted IFC recognition.  Tensions rose between established nationals and the newcomers.  With the large number of local fraternities making their presence on Frostburg’s campus, the chapter’s numbers began to dwindle in the beginning of the new millennium.  This was found to be true of the other national fraternities as well. Even if active membership is not at the level of our glory days, remember this: Alpha Delta Chi is, and will remain, an active and successful brotherhood of men.